alee_HTHI

Sociology Project

2009-04-25T17:05:00.000-07:00

For this project, we studied human interactions in class before conducting experiments. Our first expirement was Alejandra trying to steal Paris' tire. Alejandra asked a total stranger to help her "fix" her tire and right as he was about to help her change the tire, Paris walked out demanding an explanation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCqkDA-r6nc

Our second expeiment was a drive-thru "abusive" relationship between Paris and Alejandra. Paris was the verbally abusive boyfriend and Alejandra was the accepting girlfriend. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X72_HicuzHo

The reason for these experiments was to observe peoples reactions.

Why People Do What They Do

2009-04-24T13:12:00.000-07:00

Our recent project was on Drugs and Why People Do What They Do. This project involved: researching a drug of our choice (mine was Methamphetamine, more commonly known as crystal meth), visiting a rehabilitaion center, writing a short story.

In this blog, you can find the following:
-Short Story
-Extra Credit Poem

The Last Chapter

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df77d9wt_3hqkf29fp&btr=EmailImport

What A Bad Trip

I close my eyes
I’m not tired
The high is rushing
Through my veins,
My skin
Behind my eye lids
What a bad trip

My hands shake
Then they stop
They’re cold
Then they’re warm
What a bad trip

Internal bliss
Eternal bliss
Internal fear
Eternal fear

I fear for the future
What it has in store for me
I fear for the past
The things I haven’t been able to let go of

Too much time to think
This drug sinks in
My head spins
I’m back on my feet

Where am i?
What is this room?
Oh it’s my house
What a bad trip

I’m cold
I’m hot
I’m numb
I’m lost

I see the words on the screen
They don’t make sense
My mind is in another dimension
The screen shakes
Am I typing correctly?

I swallow, my throat is dry
I reach for water,
It spills all over me
What a bad trip.

I can’t function

I cry,
Hopeless
When will this nightmare stop?

If only I hadn’t take that pill
If only I hadn’t taken that extra line
If only I had resisted

This music isn’t enough to drown out my inner cries
I’m only hurting myself

I’ll close my eyes and force the bugs back under my skin
I’ll close my eyes and make my mind quiet
I’ll close my eyes and listen to the words of the song
I’ll close my eyes and hope not to wake up…

I’m not awake
I won’t awake

Resource Management Project

2009-04-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2w-hYJJriY
(Please view my Public Service Announcement)

Our Resource Management Project was to study a specific problem globally or within the United States. My topic was the Congo. At first, I decided I wanted to tackle "blood diamonds" in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, however, after conducting research I learned that this cause had already been solved. I did further research, and with Elika's help, I decided to do my project on Coltan/Cassiterite.

In this blog, you can find the following:
-Research Paper
-Official Letter to Congressperson
-Abstract Paper
-PSA (Public Service Announcement)

Research Paper: Diamond Wars

Across the vast plains of Africa, diamonds are being used to fuel war. Diamonds are so lucrative for greedy governments, pillaging rebels, and devious enterprises that war has become a useful cover for smugglers. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) there is an uncontrolled war over diamonds and for millions of Africans, who happen to get in the way, it is a cause for terror. Similarly, this issue is much like the war in Sierra Leone, which was resolved in 2002, but currently in the DRC, this problem isn't being properly addressed.
Sierra Leone, which has produced some of the world's highest quality diamonds, is, to this day, one of the poorest nations on earth. It began as a Civil War, between Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, the President of Sierra Leone, and The Revolutionary United Front (RUF or “The Rebels”) an army fighting for a multiparty system. It was a conflict over a profitable land and a return to a dual government system. Sierra Leone's neighbors, Guinea and Liberia all wanted to bring stability and some form of democratic rule. During Siaka Stevens rule in April 1978, he turned the government into a one-party system which upsetted many citizens. In 1992 rebel soldiers overthrew Stevens' successor, Joseph Momoh, and demanded the return of the multiparty system. That same year, Lieutenant Colonel Johnny Paul Koroma assumed the title, Head of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC also known as “The Rebels”). Koroma and the Rebels were supported by Liberia's president, Charles Taylor, who sought control of Sierra Leone's rich diamond fields. Koroma’s reign of terror consisted of a destroyed economy, murder, torture, rape, and brutal maiming of thousands of civilians. The conflict was officially declared over in January of 2002 when the UN took control of the diamond fields and placed them back into the hands of President Kabbah. Charles Taylor, the former Liberian president, was put on trial and charged with crimes against humanity. He was accused of assisting the Rebel group and was responsible for atrocities which included hacking off the limbs of civilians, sexual slavery, conscripting child soldiers, and even cannibalism. The diamond fields' revenue was unbelievable. Some of the world's largest diamond dealers have approximately 4 billion dollars worth of gems stockpiled. Diamonds are indeed valuable, but perhaps not as valuable as suggested. Risking the lives of millions isn't worth a diamond on our hand, neck or ears. A quick (not entirely accurate) solution would be to stop buying diamonds from countries that don’t have a functioning government. By doing this, military generals who are behind these conflicts would have little reason to continue.
Much like Sierra Leone, the Congo is endowed with a specific abundance of valuable and natural goods, such as diamonds. Congo’s military has risen up against the weak government and is trying to gain control. The DRC civil war has drawn in military forces from neighboring countries, Uganda and Rwanda, whose main warring factions are currently occupying the eastern portion of the country. Nevertheless, the cause of the Congo Civil War was due to the Rwanda Civil War, which was fought between the Hutu militia and Tutsis citizens. In 1996, the aftermath of the war and genocide in Rwanda spilled over to the DRC. President Kabila agreed to assist Rwandan refugees, but by 1998, relations between Kabila, the foreigners and military groups deteriorated. In July of that year, he ordered all foreign troops to leave the DRC. When most refused to leave, a fight erupted throughout the Congo and Rwandan troops rebelled. Their intentions were to replace Kabila with the Congolese Rally for Democracy (another Rebel group). Their failed attempts sent them back to Eastern DRC, where they re-established and took control over portions of the Congo and continued to fight the Congolese Army and foreign allies. Despite supposed attempts to terminate the war, massacres continue in Eastern Congo. This conflict between nations and diamonds was resolved in 2003 but a new combat in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has caused a drastic decrese in populations, immense suffering for civilians and lost hope. This cartel calls for urgent action to improve protection and increase assistance .
Despite years of war in the Congo, and much needed peace, the new elections were designed to bring stability, instead it brought death rates even higher. Since the beginning of this war, effects within the DRC include the displacement of 3.4 million people, as well as the impoverishment of hundreds of thousands more. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the deadliest conflicts since World War II and more than 5.4 million people have died as an effect. An estimated 100,000 civilians have been forced to flee during the most violent of times, including many who had been displaced by earlier waves of fighting. The days of chaos in Congo were supposed to be over, however, during the elections they suffered a $500 million debt. These elections were supposed to end wars and rebellions and give hope to citizens, but the elections have not unified the country or radically strengthened the Congolese government. It’s noticeable that the justice and the military system barely function, but, even in the darkest of times, there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel.
Invisible Children (IC) is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2003. It began with three young filmmakers who journeyed to Africa in search of the truth and what they discovered was tragedy that inspired them to make a difference. What they found was a misfortune, children were being used as weapons and made the viticms of war. In response to this calamity, they filmed and aired their first documentary called "Invisible Children: Rough Cut," which exposed the tragic realities of Northern Uganda’s children soldiers.
Invisible Children Inc. was created to give compassionate individuals an effective way to respond to the situation. This non-profit helps transform apathy into activism, education into inspiration. Individuals in the United States (and beyond the borders) are encouraged to use their unique voices for change. IC focuses on war-affected regions, and has developed an enterprise that works directly with people and institutions to realize their full potential to make a difference. Through education and modern economic chance, partnerships are made in communities to help strive to improve the quality of life for individuals living in conflict and post-conflict regions.
Together, the United Nation and Invisible Children can make a difference, but they cannot do it alone. If you wish to be active in helping better the lives of many, please visit their website at http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php. It is important that this crisis is made public, and that we need to make it public now. As the founders of Invisible Children would say, “We know that in order to realize greater change people must do more than empathize; they must be compelled to act (Invisible Children).”

High Tech High International
atorrero@hightechhigh.orgcell: (858) 248-1942
home: (858) 571-5351

Dear Madam Representative:
My name is Alejandra Torrero and I am a high school senior student at High Tech High International and wish to present some concerns to you about foreign policy. In 1991, Sierra Leone endured the infamous Diamond Wars that claimed the lives of many. It was resolved 11 years later with our help and their dedication to fix their government. In 1998, the Democratic Republic of the Congo suffered a Diamond and Government War that was ended in 2003. Although the war is over, they are on the verge of a third war involving coltan; this material is extremely valuable here in the United States. In other words, we are funding this war, funding millions of deaths, and funding poverty.

If you are unaware the U.S. as well as Europe uses coltan for many daily used products. Coltan is used primarily for hearing aids and pacemakers, airbags and GPS, ignition systems and anti-lock braking systems in cars, to laptop computers and mobile phones, video games and digital cameras. The upsurge in electronic products over the past decade resulted with an inflated high demand and price increase for the mineral. The high demand means more lives at risk: young and old, men, women and children.

Perhaps, we could fund research programs that would be willing to find a different metal or substance to activate these multiple technological devices. Either way, I don’t find it appropriate to involve ourselves with a country whose tactics in collecting valuable goods is murder. This death rate due to this war has resulted in over 5.4 million to date. High death rates is not the only thing causing Congolese to suffer. The war has led to the recruitment of child soldiers, child slavery for coltan mines, an estimate 1.1 million more people now live with HIV/AIDS, the mass displacement of peoples, and the widespread use of rape as a weapon of war.

America cannot remain a forceful advocate by collecting, buying, selling or trading cargo from a country with an unstable government. We must show the world we are prepared to help nations in need. We can invest our money in another item that can help our technological needs and save the lives of thousands. We showed Sierra Leone democracy, why can we not do the same for the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

Barack Obama said in his inaugural speech, “To those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect.” We took a huge step forward, as a nation, towards a new beginning. It is time to show “we are willing to extend a hand” for it is clear to see they have unclenched their fists.

I would appreciate it if you would contact me as soon as madam representative has the chance to ensure me that you will do everything possible to help out another nation in need. Thank you for taking the time to read my letter,

Sincerely,
Alejandra Torrero
5383 Camino Playa Norte
San Diego, CA 92124

Abstract Research Paper: Diamond and Coltan Wars

Across the vast plains of Africa, diamonds are being used to fuel war. Diamonds are so lucrative for greedy governments, pillaging rebels, and devious enterprises that war has become a useful cover for smugglers. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) there is an uncontrolled war over diamonds and for millions of Africans, who happen to get in the way, it is a cause for terror. In 1998, the Democratic Republic of the Congo suffered a Diamond and Government War that ended in 2003. Although the war is over, they are on the verge of a third war involving cassiterite and coltan; both materials are extremely valuable here in the United States. In other words, we are funding this war; funding millions of deaths, and funding poverty.
The Congo is endowed with a specific abundance of valuable and natural goods, such as diamonds, coltan, and cassiterite. Despite years of war in the Congo, and much needed peace, the new presidential elections were designed to bring stability. Instead it brought death rates even higher. Congo not only fell deeper into debt, due to the elections, but more than 5.4 million people have died as an effect of the diamond war. An estimated 100,000 civilians have been forced to flee during the most violent of times, including many who had been displaced by earlier waves of fighting.
Coltan is the primary source of tantalum, a rare and valuable metal. This metal is in huge demand in today's high technology industries. It is used primarily for hearing aids and pacemakers, airbags and GPS, ignition systems and anti-lock braking systems (in cars), to laptop computers and mobile phones, video game consoles and digital cameras. The upsurge in electronic products over the past decade resulted with an inflated high demand and price increase for the mineral. The high demand means more lives at risk: young and old, women and children. Even in the darkest of times, there will always be a light at the end of the tunnel.

Gun Control PSA

2008-11-20T13:21:00.000-08:00

Please go to the following blog site to view my groups PSA on Gun Control:

http://justanotherbeaner.blogspot.com/

Declaration of Independence

2008-11-20T13:13:00.000-08:00

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for Alejandra Torrero to dissolve the political bands which have connected her with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal staion to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle her, a decent respefct to the opinions of mankind requires that she should declare the causes which impel her to seperation.
The history of the present President of the United States and Government is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all hyaving in direct object the establihsment of an absolute Tyranny ov er the youth.
· They have restrained underage citizens to explore the city past the hour of eleven.
· They have restricted the youth to explore the blissfulness of tobacco until the age of eighteen.
· They have deemed it illegal for underaged voting, believing that minors are incapable of making informed decisions while most teenagers are more capable than older citizens.
· They have refused to give us the provuledge to bear arms given the state of our age while we could use it just as safely as older generations.
I, therefore, the Representative of the Teenagers of the United States of America, Assembled appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our inentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of this Nation, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Teenagers are, and of the Right out to be Free and Independent to do thses following things. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fotunes and our sacred Honor.

Doctors Without Borders

2008-11-12T14:46:00.000-08:00

On November 7, 2008, the seniors at High Tech High International took a suprise trip down to Balboa Park for an unforgettable day. The purpose was to view life outside of the states through the life of a refugee.

Millions of people everywhere around the world, 15 minutes south of the border, live in poverty and die every year because of war, water shortage, lack of education, sickness, and draft. Doctors Without Borders is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists.

If a war were to happen tomorrow, would you be able to grab a few things (that you, yourself, had to carry) and leave your house? Would you wait for your husband or wife, mother or father to come home before leaving? Would you leave without them? Could you endure a 10 mile walk in one day with only a gallon of water while carrying your home on your back? People live through this EVERY DAY.

As a high school student, I hardly cared (before) about outside life. Sure, people suffer all over the world but I can't always be preoccupied about others, I need to take care of myself and work towards a future. I want to be a doctor. I want to travel. Doctors Without Borders is a job I can see myself participating in. To learn more about this organization go to: http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/aboutus/

Ideology

2008-10-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

In Elika's class, we were asked to form a group with people who had same platform beliefs on how to run a country. My group, Ethan Thompson and Taylor Addison, came up with these following ideals:

-Same Sex Marriage
-Pro Gun Control
-Pro Choice
-Semi Green
-Decrease Federal Government involved in Public Education
-Decrease Sex and Drug Regulations
-Increase Taxes on Richer/Large Corporations’ and Decrease Taxes on Poor/Smaller Corporations’

Same Sex Marriage:
We believe anyone, dispit their gender views, should be able to marry whomever they choose. They deserve equal rights, just like any other citizen in the U.S.

Pro Gun Control:
Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.

Pro Choice:
A woman’s choice ove rher body is non-negociable. If abortion is needed in a certain case, it should be done safely and legal.

Semi-Green:
We should be working towards solutions to preserve and protect our environment for a healthier, better life.

Education:
Decrease federal government involvement in public education. We need more funding towards education and we need more programs to help broad the minds of younger generations.

Sex/Drug Regulations:
Decrease regulations on drugs and sex, people are responsible for themselves. Programs should be provided for those who wish to take better care of themselves while being involved in these things.

Taxes:
Increase Taxes on Richer/Large Corporations’ and Decrease Taxes on Poor/Smaller Corporations’. Our future depends on it.

Fed. 10 Response to Reading

2008-10-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

This reading was more helpful because Elika provided questions at the beginning. It made it easier to question myself and the reading while reading it.
The only thing I really understood from the reading was that a faction was a group of people who were passionate/interested in a certain topic (like a political party) who were concerned about the well being of other citizens.

Green Party

2008-10-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

In our Government class, students were to take a quiz and based on our results we were to include the history of the party, name, animal symbol, slogans, site for the convention, an issues platform, famous party candidate/individual, and a three-minute (3-5 minutes) opening speech for our party's convention.

Logo/Symbol of Green Party:

History:
The Green Party is a political party which was first established in Tasmania in 1972. Organization in the United States began in 1984, inspired by the success of the German Green party. In 2007, it became the third modern party with a Federal Elections Commission-recognized Congressional Campaign Committee. The Green Committees of Correspondence were the first Green political organization in the United States, forming in 1984 and eventually becoming known as the Greens/Green Party USA. This organization still exists. The first candidates to run on the Green Party ticket in the United States were Wes Hare (NC), Joel Schechter (CT), and Richard Wolff (CT), who ran for local offices in 1985. Official ballot access was not achieved, however, until Jim Sykes' run for governor in Alaska in 1990.

Ideaology:
The Green Party of the United States emphasizes environmentalism, non-hierarchical participatory democracy, social justice, respect for diversity, peace and nonviolence. Their "Ten Key Values," which are described as non-authoritative guiding principles, are as follows:
Grassroots democracy
Social justice and equal opportunity
Ecological wisdom
Non-violence
Decentralization
Community-based economics and economic justice
Feminism and gender equity
Respect for diversityPersonal and global responsibility
Future focus and sustainability

Famous Party Canidadtes:
In the year 2000, the ASGP nominated Ralph Nader and Winona LaDuke for president and vice-president again. This time, the pair were on 44 state ballots and received 2,883,105 votes, or 2.7% of all votes cast. Nader's strong showing in several states solidified the changes in the Green Party from an "anti-party party" to an organization primarily dedicated to electoral campaigns. In particular, that was the widespread understanding of thousands of recruits to the party, as it went through an unprecedented rate of growth

Site for National Convention:
The 2008 Green National Convention took place on July 10-14, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois at the Palmer House Hilton and Symphony Center. This served as both the venue for the Presidential Nominating Convention and the Annual Meeting of the Green Party of the United States

Slogans:
"Under Republicans, Man exploits Man. Under Democrats, it's just the opposite." - Earl Gray"The Green Party is the party for the 21st Century""In a nutshell: Ecology and Community!"

Political Platforms:
War on Terrorism
The use of Homeland Defense monies to spy on citizens exercising First Amendment rights is particularly onerous, as are "sneak and peek" provisions of the U.S.A.P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act that allows surveillance of libraries, readers, the Internet, and computer users. Basic rights ensuring individual privacy are under attack. The U.S. government's use of high tech tools, including intrusive monitoring, data mining and analysis to identify and disrupt citizen activists, should be seen as an attack on fundamental rights of an engaged, active citizenry.The Green Party calls on Congress and the courts to reign in constitutional and civil liberties abuses that have become prevalent in the Bush administration and the John Ashcroft Justice Department
Healthcare
Medicare, which provides health care for over 40 million Americans, is at risk. We would vigorously pursue savings and cuts from abundant waste and fraud, eliminate unnecessary services that benefit providers more than patients, and rein in pharmaceutical industry price-gouging. National measures to reduce work hours, promote cyber-commuting for work, and increased vacation time for workers will significantly improve the public's health. We advocate access for all, irrelevant of income, to stress management training such as meditation techniques, yoga, tai chi, qigong, and biofeedback. improving the quality of our nation's food supply and our personal eating habits will lessen the strain on our health care system. We advocate subsidies for organic foods, as well as removing sugar/caffeine snacks from schools. This could save our nation as much as $700 to $850 billion of the $1 trillion annual health costs. We support the teaching of holistic health approaches and, as appropriate, the use of complementary and alternative therapies such as herbal medicines, homeopathy, acupuncture, and other healing approaches.
Education
Educational funding formulas at the state level need to be adjusted as needed to avoid gross inequalities between districts and schools. Educational grants should provide balance to ensure equal educational access for minority, deprived, special needs, and exceptional children. In higher education, federal college scholarship aid should be increased and offered to any qualified student. It is time to stop disinvesting in education, and start placing it at the top of our social and economic agenda. We oppose vouchers, or any scheme that will transfer money out of the public school system. That course only leads to a separate and unequal educational system. We also oppose charter schools or the administration of public schools by private, for-profit entities. We advocate state funding for day care that includes school children under the age of ten when after-school programs are not available. Classroom teachers at the elementary and high school levels should be given professional status and salaries comparable to related professions requiring advanced education, training and responsibility. We support tuition-free post secondary (collegiate and vocational) public education. Until tuition-free schooling is available to all, student loans should be available to all students attending college, and should be repayable as a proportion of future earnings rather than at a fixed rate. The Leave No Child Behind Act must be repealed, especially the section that gives the military access to student records.
Environmental Justice
Devoting greater efforts to full enforcement and prosecution of environmental crimes. Funding environmental crime units for district attorneys in counties with significant pollution problems.Imposing a moratorium on siting new toxic chemical or waste facilities in those counties with the highest percentage exposure to hazardous substances. Not forcing workers to choose between a hazardous job or no job at all. Preventing communities, especially low-income or minority communities, from being coerced by governmental agencies or corporations into siting hazardous materials, or accepting environmentally hazardous practices in order to create jobs.
Abortion - Reproductive Rights
Women's right to control their bodies is non-negotiable. It is essential that the option of a safe, legal abortion remains available. The "morning- after" pill must be affordable and easily accessible without a prescription, together with a government-sponsored public relations campaign to educate women about this form of contraception. Clinics must be accessible and must offer advice on contraception and the means for contraception; consultation about abortion and the performance of abortions, and; abortion regardless of age or marital status. We endorse women's right to use contraception and, when they choose, to have an abortion. This right cannot be limited to women's age or marital status. Contraception and abortion must be included in all health insurance policies in the U.S., and any state government must be able to legally offer these services free of charge to women at the poverty level. Public health agencies operating abroad should be allowed to offer family planning, contraception, and abortion in all countries that ask for those services. We oppose our government's habit of cutting family planning funds when those funds go to agencies in foreign countries that give out contraceptive devices, offer advice on abortion, and perform abortions.
LGBT
The Green Party affirms the rights of all individuals to freely choose intimate partners, regardless of their sex, gender, or sexual orientation. We support the recognition of equal rights of persons gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender to housing, jobs, civil marriage, medical benefits, child custody, and in all areas of life provided to all other citizens. We support legislation against all forms of hate crimes, including those directed against people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, transgender, and intersex.Immigration
Preferential quotas based on race, class, and ideology should be abandoned for immigration policies that promote fairness, non-discrimination and family reunification.The Green Party calls for permanent border passes to all citizens of Mexico and Canada whose identity can be traced and verified. Work permits for citizens of Mexico and Canada must be easily obtainable, thereby decriminalizing the act of gainful employment. This action would help eliminate exploitation of undocumented persons by criminals engaged in human contraband (coyotes) and unethical employers. It would also help ensure that taxes will be paid in each corresponding nation per its laws. These measures will also help temporary residents from Mexico and Canada to secure driving privileges and liability insurance. Labor laws must be adjusted to take into account seasonal foreign workers. Employers must provide full rights to wages and health benefits to immigrant workers who make voluntary contributions to pension plans and pay Social Security taxes. We advocate an end to employer sanctions, which have been shown to hurt not only undocumented workers but also U.S.-born workers (especially those of color). A fair and equitable legalization program will provide equal access to working people of all nationalities, not tied to a specific employer or guest worker program. Programs involving temporary worker status must include the option of permanent residency for immigrants already in the U.S. and protection of migrant worker savings. Greens oppose "English-only" legislation. We would advocate legislation to ensure that federal funds marked for communities to provide ESL (english as second language) training, and health and social support services to immigrants actually go to them. When funds are spent in other areas, immigrants are being deprived of benefits that they earn as productive workers in their communities.

Green Party Speech:

Thank you for giving us the chance to voice our opinions this year at the National Convention. The green party is an organized political party and has been so since 1984. For those of you who don’t know, our main focuses are on the environment, how we can focus on staying green and keeping ourselves (the nation) healthy without damaging nature; respect for diversity, we believe in giving everyone equal rights; peace and nonviolence; war isn’t always the answer and conflicts can be resolved with communication and one-on-one discussion. The Green Party is the party for the 21st century. For healthcare we advocate access for all, irrelevant to income. Improving the quality of our nation's food supply and our personal eating habits will lessen the strain on our health care system (organic). For our education system, we want to ensure equal educational access for minority, deprived, special needs, and exceptional children. In higher education, federal college scholarship aid should be increased and offered to any qualified student. It is time to stop disinvesting in education, and start placing it at the top of our social and economic agenda. The Green Party is the party for the 21st century. A woman’s right to control her body is non-negotiable. It is essential that the option of a safe, legal abortion remains available. Clinics must be accessible and must offer advice on contraception meaning consultation about abortions and the performance of abortions, and abortions regardless of age or marital status. The Green Party supports the recognition of equal rights of persons gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender to housing, jobs, civil marriage, medical benefits, child custody, and in all areas of life provided to all other citizens. The Green Party is the party for the 21st century. The Green Party calls for permanent border passes to all citizens of Mexico and Canada whose identity can be traced and verified. Work permits for citizens of Mexico and Canada must be easily obtainable, thereby decriminalizing the act of gainful employment. We want to devote greater efforts to full enforcement and prosecution of environmental crimes. We don’t want to force workers to choose between a hazardous job or no job at all. In doing so we will prevent communities (especially low-income or minority communities) from being bullied by governmental agencies or corporations into sitting hazardous materials, or accepting environmentally hazardous practices in order to create jobs. Ladies and gentlemen, look around, times are changing. It’s time to focus on the present in order to move forward into the future, that is why the Green Party is the party for the 21st century.

My Three Questions

2008-10-02T19:39:00.000-07:00

1. What is your personal opinion on the abortion issue? Are you pro or anti?

2. Considering the current economic crisis, what would be your first act in solving this issue and how do you plan to make it easy for all the citizens in the United States to live with one less stress?

3.What is your personal opiniong on gun control? Are you pro or anti?

VOTING PSA

2008-10-01T08:31:00.000-07:00

PSA's

2008-09-23T20:31:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utfNHYzag7U
This video ^ as I mentioned earlier today, wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be. It is catchy and I do believe it reaches out to most teenagers, youth and adolescence. But it seems too cliche.
Maybe it's just me, but you need some more concrete evidence and facts to make a good point and encourage people to vote.

Convo about "Why We Should Vote?"

2008-09-23T20:20:00.000-07:00

I thought my classmates came up with some interesting points. I thought they made an o.k. point about making the citizens taking a test before voting. However, I wasn't too pleased about the ignorance that was thrown around. They made it seem that if you are an American you should know perfect English and we shouldn't make an exception for those who can't. Apparently, if you are too lazy to learn the language, you shouldn't be allowed to vote. My father, for example, doesn't know perfect English, but it doesn't stop him from researching and making his own personal choices. He certainly isn't "stupid" and knows what he's doing AND he is far from lazy, he knows how to make a good, informed decision and I don't believe he needs to take a test in order to vote; let alone a test in English. He already became an American Citizen and he did it in English just like the government wanted.
I personally think laziness should be appointed to the government. If an American goes to a foreign country, they are bound to find many people who speak fluent, if not, good English. Why should other countries accommodate themselves for us, if we can't do the same for them? It could provide more jobs for translator's and it could help our system seem more friendlier and less racist or prejudice.
The whole conversation made me a bit angry, but I chose not to say anything because that would have led to another, unnecessary topic. (read above)

If I Could Vote?

2008-09-23T14:41:00.000-07:00

If I had the chance to vote I would vote. My cousin right now is of age and she is refusing to vote. She thinks the government is too corrupt and her vote wouldn't count. She's being stupid and not thinking of the possible ramifications if she doesn't vote, what it could do to this country, her future or my future. She is an older role model for me, but right now she isn't acting like one. If i could vote, I would. It's important to vote because if we want to change the world then this is the first step in doing that.

I am a Democrate. If I could vote, it would be for Hilary Clinton. She is someone I hope to some day emulate. She is a strong woman who knows what she wants and will fight to the end for a future she believes will help the United States.

What makes an American?

2008-09-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

In class today, we read a short story called My Name is Osama. We reflected on it and then wrote our own meaning of What it means to be an American.

When I get mad at my friend (who is jewish) I yell at her and say, "Sorry we can ALL be jewish." I know it's wrong and I should never single her out because of that, but sometimes it get's so frusturating thats she's so smart and I'm not. I know I should stop and I will. It's not fair when I say such a hurtful thing.

I hate being Mexican sometimes. I look white-but my name would say other wise. I wish I had a simpler name so life wouldn't be so difficult for me or my family.
It hurts me when my father can't speak good English with his heavy Spanish accent, no one can understand what he's saying or when he's trying to tell a joke. It's not embarrassing, it's just painful to watch and have to decode every little thing for him or friends. He knows what he wants to say but the words come out wrond like he has aphasia or something.

Being an American shouldn't mean worrying about your ethinicity or religion. Every man (AND WOMAN) is created equal. We should respect each other for who they are. The End.

Government in Day-to-Day Life

2008-09-09T12:27:00.000-07:00

I see the government every where, on my way to school, the government controls stop lights. They even budget our school and control our board of education, they workers inside the school (staff, dean of students, director, janitors). Government controls air lines and fossil fuels used to make it operate. They control hosues, building aand demolishing them and the land on which they've erected them. This world is full of Big Brother.

Political Party

2008-09-07T12:56:00.000-07:00

I don't know anything about political parties (or specifics) only that there are Democrates and Republicans (Bush is a Republican, lol). I'm not happy with the choices Bush has been making, which would kind of make me a Democrate.
I know on trait that makes you a Republican and that is being anti gun control. But I am anti gun control, I believe in "the right to bear arms" (Second Amendment). I know one trait that makes you Democrate is being anti war in Iraq. I am anti war; and I konw that going to war with Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq was a bad idea.

Indie Rock

2008-06-03T09:41:00.000-07:00

History: After the punk rock scene in 1970's a number of musical styles emerged from the streets of the UK. They gained underground populatiry and signed with unknown or unpopular labels. The music was generally influenced by punk music, '60s pop music, and occasionally electronic music and European pop. This broad range of artists and musical styles was often known as indie music, as it was rarely featured on commercial radio or television. Still other bands and artists did not use record labels, and traded their music by posting cassettes to one another to gain more media attention.
The thought behind indie, or alternative music, is that the musician has the freedom to play and write music that is completely genuine unlike some Pop bands that will play anything for a bag of gold. It really wasn't until the mid-1900s that indie song writers began popping up everywhere. Now there are hundreds of bands classified as indie.

Song: cover song:http://www.jamglue.com/search?category=All+of+Jamglue&query=Kooks
Seasideby The Kooks

We chose to use The Seaside because of its simple but beautiful lyrics and music. The kooks are a great example of one of the many indie bands to make it big in the 21st century. The Kooks made it big in 2004 after playing free concerts at colleges and universities. The song, The Seaside, we believe was inspired by the the lead singers home town, the Yorkshire seaside town of Saltburn.With all of us soon to be leaving for college I know I personally can relate to loving my home town and all the memories I have had hear.

Seaside - The KooksTabbed by: Alex Branchini
Do you want to go to the seaside?
I'm not trying to say that everybody wants to go
I fell in love at the seaside
I handled my charm with time and slight of hand
Do you want to go to the seaside?
I'm not trying to say that everybody wants to go
I fell in love at the seaside
She handled her charm with time and slight of hand
But i'm just trying to love you any kind of way
But i find it hard to love you girl when your far away ... away

New Indie: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=107443193MySpace Girl by Bubble Boy

Middle Indie: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=1244976Don't Cry Out by Shiny Toy Guns

Older Indie: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=20745745Familiar Ceiling by Phil Spector

june book report

2008-06-02T10:07:00.000-07:00

Laurents, Arthur. WEST SIDE STORY.

I saw the musical in New York when I was 10 years-old; I was talking with my sister a few weeks ago and we were recollecting our memories and fun times together, so I decided to read the book. It's a wonderful, modern day Romeo and Juliet. The story takes place in Manhattan, New York, on the west side.

Set on Manhattan's Upper West Side, the rivalry between two teenage gangs of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. The young protagonist, Tony, who belongs to the native Manhattan gang (Jets), falls in love with Maria, the sister of Bernardo, also the leader of the Puerto Rican gang (Sharks). They meet each other for the first time at a dance, where they dance and share an almost kiss. They are broken up by Bernardo and Riff (the gang leader of the Jets). Riff and Bernardo agree to meet for a war council at Doc's Candy Store, considered neutral ground. An infatuated and happy Tony finds Maria's building and serenades her outside her bedroom. Meanwhile, the Sharks arrive to discuss weapons to use in the rumble. Tony arrives later and suggests "a fair fight" (fists only), which the leaders agree to. Bernardo believes that he will fight Tony, but must settle for fighting Diesel from the Jets instead.
The next day, Tony meets Maria at the bridal shop where she works. Anita finds out about their secret love, but agrees to tell no one (not even her boyfriend Bernardo). When Maria learns of the fight, she begs Tony to stop it, which he agrees to do. Later that night, at the fight Bernardo taunts Tony, ridiculing his attempt to make peace and provoking him in every way, but Tony keeps his composure. During the rumble, Riff and Bernardo get in a knife fight. Tony warns Riff to back away, but Riff shakes him off and continues the fight. At some point, Riff has an opportunity to stab Bernardo, but Tony holds him back leaving Riff vulnerable. Bernardo stabs and kills Riff, provoking Tony to pick up Riff's knife and kills Bernado. Everyone (the Jets and Sharks) break out in fight, they soon scatter when they hear approaching sirens, except Tony, who stands in shock at what he has done. He manages to get away.

News travels fast, Maria finds out about her fallen brother. She cries and does not wish to see Tony. Tony sneaks into her room and comforts her and apologizes for her lost. To wound up in love, they don't notice Anita's presence at home. Tony leaves out the fire escape and run towards Doc's Candy Shop; where he hides from the rest of the Sharks seeking revenge. Before leaving Maria's house, Tony and Maria both agree to run away together, for they now know their relationship will never be aloud in the West Side. She gets things together to meet Tony down at the shop but is stopped by the sherif. Maria begs Anita to run down to Doc's to tell Tony she will be delayed, but to still wait. At the store, the Jets taunt Anita with racist innuendo and physical abuse, when horrified Doc arrives to stop the boys. In anger, Anita tells the Jets that Chino has decided to kill Maria for he could not kill Tony. Doc relates the news to Tony, who has been pacing in Doc's cellar. Tony is heartbroken and frusterated, no longer willing to live, so he leaves to find Chino, begging for Chino to kill him too. Maria appears out of nowhere calling for Tony and at that moment, Chino arrives and shoots Tony. Tony dies in Maria's arms, as the rest of the Jets and Sharks arrive to mourn the lost of Tony and Maria's lost.

My favorite character in this book was Maria. She's young and naaive; she wishes for someone to come and save her. She's petite with brown hair and brown eyes (Puerto Rican of course). She is one of the main characters. And it isn't until the end when she tells everyone that she's ashamed of them, and is pained by all the death, does she show true character and understands the value of life and love; and I admire her for that. I'm much like her and all I want is world peace and equality. I would do what she did.

I love this book and would recommend it to anyone who already loves the Romeo and Juliet plot. It's got good morals and ethics and killing one and then another will have no win and no one will be satisfied. It taught me that we should love and not engage in meaningless fights, because everyone suffers.

Other Books:
A Clearing in the Woods
Gypsy
Home of the Brave
The Time of the Cuckoo

Architecture?

2008-05-28T13:53:00.000-07:00

Not everyone knows about Louis Kahn, or his architecture for that matter. It's weird to think that I could have seen some of his work and not even taken the time to think about who this person was, where he came from, who did he dream of becoming, or how did he get to that point in life. I'm not that interested in architecture or the art of it; it's merely something I don't care much for and personally, I don't know how this applies to ethics.
I suppose, if you knew his life, you would have your own judgments on it. But then, no one is perfect. He did have a hard life as a child; he burned his hands and his face, and with only the support of his mother, became something great.
He had many lovers in his life, and most people, with strong morals, would be against that. If you are Catholic, it would be against G-ds will to love someone other than the person you have married; and only after you're married can you have sex and produce a child. He had three special women in his lifetime and had three children. He was only married to one. It's sad that he could afford to love three different ways, and not just one. But then that shows the capability of so love, and how versatile it can be, and how much people can take before they break.He also supported the thought that work should be more important than anything else. Because when everything else in life fails you, you should be able to turn to your work and continue on when there is little hope left. It’s important to want to succeed in life, and to pursue a career that can be beneficial to the world. I adored his idea of a perfect utopia, where the citizens would park outside the city and walk in and around the city, to keep it from reach a polluted state. It was a crazy dream, most people shot him down, but he drew it and made believe. It’s important to dream, and to aspire to create and be something different. You should always put forth 100 percent in whatever you do, because one day you can have it and the next day it will be gone. Or you could be gone.
It was interesting that he decided to cross out his address in his passport before he died, as if he was hiding on last secret from the world before he died. I don’t believe he ever got the chance to express how he really felt, or found who he really wanted to be. For some, it’s hard, for others it comes easy. I believe the ones who struggle the most, put for more effort, dedication and passion before their passing time, to leave a mark on society and make others think and flourish before their time is up.It was an interesting movie, and I enjoyed it a lot; it was different, but did give a different view of life.

Dying Children

2008-05-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/05/20/ethiopia.children/index.html
because of a year of drought and soaring food prices, ethiopian children lives are being threatened. with little food, to even feed one person, Egu's village elder says, "We are losing our children day by day." small rains that normally allow Ethiopian farmers to plant a second crop each year did not come this year. "There is a crucial shortfall in the supply of therapeutic foods used to treat children with severe acute malnutrition, the UNICEF official said."
the U.N. children agency needs $50 million dollars to help during these suffering times. UNICEF estimates that 6 million Ethiopian children under the age of 5 are at risk and that more than 120,000 have only about a month to live. without the immidiate assistance, they will fall into malnutrition and eventaully death.

Journal: Classrooms have become unnecessairly high tech

2008-05-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

http://www.mercurynews.com/community/ci_9034769?nclick_check=1&forced=true

To the author of this article:

I agree with you, maybe, 30% on this whole article. To an extent, I do believe it is necessary to have a teacher actually teach you and text books need to be read. However, computers are the next generation; whether you want to admit it and see it, is a different question.
High Tech is the way to go (words spoken from a High Tech High International student).
I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) you went to a school that taught you how to take notes (the recording method or the old fashion written method); then later to a school were you were taught how to use different programs to write articles, such as this one, all of which involved "advanced technology." We all learn how to use basic computer skills at some point in our lives. Why not start at a younger age? It happens at schools every year, all the time. When I was in middle school, I learned long division in 5th grade. I look at the elementary system now, and they're teaching it in 3rd grade. Change is happening all the time. If we teach kids to use computers at a younger age, it could lead to competition later on. If we all teach them the same curriculum, then wouldn't it make sense that only the passionate and the dedicated will succeed and go to college; and the ones who do not wish to put forth effort will stay behind?
Most would agree that, we live in a "dog-eat-dog world," where the moment you let your guard down or you stop trying, someone bigger, better, quicker, stronger, prettier will kick you from you throne and down you will fall till you have nothing left.
So I say, no; it is not a mistake to teach second graders basic computer skills or have fourth graders present something on a PowerPoint. Let them strive and fight for their education. Let there be a teacher who guides them in the right direction and assist them when technology fails them. It's the cycle of life and it ain't gettin' any easier.

vocab. week seventeen

2008-05-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

interminable: endless, tiresomely long; seemingly without end. I chose this picture to represent interminable because it's clear that the man that stood infront of the tanks in China was fed up with the raging wars in his country. Interminable deaths had driven this man to his edge. He wanted peace and justice.

intuit: know or grasp by intuition or feeling.

laboriously: in a laborious manner. Depending on what career you want to persure when you get older, it can either be laborious or not. Being a doctor without a doubt is very laborious work.

proximity: nearness in place, time, order, occurrence or relation.

reticence: reserve; the trait of being uncommunicative; not volunteering anything more than necessary.

senescent: aging; growing old. I chose this picture to represent senescent because it's an old woman. It's natural to become senescent over time. It's a natural beauty that only some can appreciate. I hope to age with grace.

shroud: to cover.

situation: the general state of things; the combination of circumstances at a given time. This person looks like her was put in a sticky situation. The cause of all the stress has given him a headache. I think it's time for some tyleno:D

synchronously: The way in which signals caused by interrupts are generated.

tortuous: highly complex or intricate. Some music pieces that I used to play on the piano used to be tortuous. They were hard and because of my carpal tunnel it mad it even harder to play at times.

tranquility:repose; a disposition free from stress or emotion. I chose this picture to represent tranquility because this woman is in a very tranquil state of mind. It's important to always keep a level head and to stay in touch with your inner self.

kill trill

2008-05-12T21:38:00.000-07:00

Eighteen year old Jean Pierre Olewicz claim that he acted in self-defense, finding him guilty of murder in the gory stabbing, beheading and torching of a man. Prosecutors called Sorenson's slaying a "thrill killing." They stated that he was excited by the prospect of killing someone and getting away with it.
Jean admitted to stabbing Sorenson 13 times after an extortion plan went awry and Sorenson threatened his life. Orlewicz said Sorenson began waiving a gun around, so he grabbed a knife from a tool bench and stabbed him from behind. They fell to the ground, "I kept trying to stab him and get leverage in the fight," Orlewicz said. "I was stabbing him in the back." He said his actions after the death were all out of panic.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05/12/burned.torso.ap/index.html

Non-Profit Logo

2008-05-12T09:10:00.000-07:00

Book Report

2008-05-11T19:46:00.000-07:00

king, stephen. the girl who loved tom gordon. 1999 Scribner. pocket books: 1999.

i love stephen king. i've read most of his books: The Shinning, The Green Mile, 'Salem's Lot, etc. i haven't read any of his books since 9th grade, and i just felt a need for change (i looove scary books). this is a thriller novel and kinda of mystery (if you've never read a king book before, then you wouldn't know his style of writing. he writes weird, fictional stories; that involve magic and sometimes irrational things). this book takes place in a new hampshire woods; in the 1990's.

this book is about a nine-year-old girl named Patricia McFarland (trisha), who gets lost in the woods over a long period of time. trisha is in the middle lof a feuding divorced family. she is (what she calls) the weak glue that keeps her brother and mother together; while her fauther lives in massachusetts. on day, her mother decides to take the kids on a hiking trip. to avoid the bitter yaking between another fight, she falls back to use the bathroom. in doing so, she suddenly becomes lost in the deep woods; unable to find her way back to the main trail. She is left with a bottle of water, food, a gameboy, and a walkman. Now and then she listens to her walkman to keep her mood up. she becomes aware of a search party that is out looking for her. and to also listen to an on going game between the red sox and yankees. tom gordon is her heartthrob, favorite red sox player; and by listening to the game she is somehow filled with the idea that if they win, then she will be saved. she starts to take steps to survive by conserving what little food she has with her. within this week she is put through physical and mental tests; falling of cliffs, eaten alive by mosquitos and wasps, and eventually she begins to believe that she is in a confrontation with a wasp-faced, evil entity who is hunting her down (also known as the God of the Lost). barely alive, and suffering from pneumonia and near death, she finds herself at a road and near civilization; but suddenly confronted by a bear. to scare it off, she pitches a tom gordon through. she takes a pitchers stance and throws her walkman at it, startaling it. a hunter finds her and scares the bear away and takes her to a hospital. there she wakes up with her parents and brother by her side. before they leave, she asks her father to hand her her signed baseball cap by T.G. and does his famous ending game tradition; pointing a weak finger towards the sky (as if a pray to God saying thank you).

the main character of this story is trisha. she is only nine years old, but described as tall for her age; and she also appears older than what she is. she's a tom girl who loves baseball and thats the only she has in common with her father. she is a very strong girl who, when put through tough situations, can withstand anything. i chose her because, thoughout the whole book she acted mature for her age; and no matter how bad things got and even when she wanted to cry, she never gave in and faught her way to survive. at the beginning of the book she was always driven crazy by the fights that broke out between her mother and father and brother. she wanted out of this family, or wanted a new one. but after all she could do was be thankful for what she had, even when it didnt seem like much.

as i said before, i love stephen kind books. there's just something about them that grab you and keep you interested. they're like no other type of writing style. what i liked most about this book is that it teaches you to be appreciative for what you have, because there is no garauntee for tomorrow. stephen king isn't for everyone, and like i mentioned before, i never really liked them until i started reading them in 9th grade. so if you;re interested in erie, dark, thrilling, irrational books, then king is right for you.

if i were to compare myself to trisha, i think i would be able to survive in her situations. she thinks very pessimistically (i mean, who wouldnt, in her situation?) but im a surviver as well, and i always htink on the bright side of life. as for a different ending to the book, right now i cant think of one, but i was a little dissapointed at the end. i kinda hoped that this dissapearence would bring her family more together. it did; but stephen didnt really elaborate much on the situation.

vocab. week sixteen

2008-05-05T13:37:00.000-07:00

1. acquiesce: assent: to agree or express agreement.

2. amorous: inclined toward or displaying love. That simple peck on the cheek from the girl to the boy is enough for anyone to see and conclude that she is thankful for her flowers. The reason why I chose this picture because it's obvious the little girl is showing her gratitude towards the boy by being amorous. This is such a cute display of affection.

3. aroma: a distinctive odor that is pleasant. The sweet smell of aroma from my burning incense always helps me relax. It makes my room smell good too, and my parents like it way better than the aroma from my perfume (because this is more organic than mixing chemicals together to make a sent).

4. awkward: not elegant or graceful in expression.

5. consummate: having or revealing supreme mastery or skill. The yoga instructor in this picture is portraying intense consummation. Her mind and body are both working together to relieve stress and keep a stable mind set. I believe it takes extreme skill (and practice) to get this flexible and enjoy a work out like this. This picture shows a very high level of consummation.

6. conversely: with the terms of the relation reversed.

7. deleterious: Harmful in subtle or unexpected ways. The kitty was quick to be deleterious while sneaking up on his fellow feline. This picture shows how no matter how tammed we can turn an animal into; they will always have their naural instincts. Where it's done in a playful manner or serious.

8. delirium: craze; state of violent mental agitation. The person in this picture is in a state of delirium. This picture reminds me of the music video by Silverstein (Heroine). Something must have driven this man to insanity; hence the crazed face.

9. ecstasy: a state of being carried away by overwhelming emotion; a state of elated bliss. The wide open field and blue sky, gives the viewer an emotional filling. An ever lasting bliss; a feeling os ecstacy. It's a perfect picture and perfect mind set.

10. enamored: crazy: marked by foolish or unreasoning fondness.

11. futile: producing no result or effect.

12. incantation: Words/lines which are spoken or chanted in a magical fashion.

13. inevitability: the quality of being unavoidable. I chose a picture of a sunrise; because much like a sunset, it's inevitable. The sun must always rise and must always set. It's one thing that can never be changed; and it has a beauty that you will always remember.

14. infatuation: foolish and usually extravagant passion or love or admiration. These are a couple of clips of Beyonce's (Crazy In Love) music video. It shows and infatuation for a man (her husband, Jay-Z).

Proposal

2008-04-16T15:17:00.000-07:00

I think we should America on trial for environmental issues. They voice the opinion to go green, yet we still use and buy oil for cars, which still pollutes our environment. We still have plastic bags when we could be using paper.

GAY TAXES

2008-04-15T09:38:00.000-07:00

Gay couples often pay higher taxes because they don't get the federal tax benefits that go with marriage. And for couples in state-sanctioned domestic partnerships, civil unions or same-sex marriages, filing federal income taxes can involve doing three sets of paperwork instead of one.
Most states ban gay marriage and don't recognize same-sex unions in any way. Only in Massachusetts can gay couples legally marry. Since 1997, nine other states and Washington D.C. started offering civil unions or domestic partnerships that give some or all the legal protections of marriage.
Those protections include allowing gay couples to file state taxes jointly -- and potentially save them money.
In New Jersey and the other states where same-sex unions are formally recognized, couples can file their state taxes jointly, but they must file their federal tax returns as individuals.
That means doing income calculations twice.
"If you are not a different sex," from your partner, Schwartz said, "you are strangers, basically, under federal law."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/personal/04/14/gay.taxes.ap/index.html

vocab. week thirteen

2008-04-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

1.)revere [ri-veer]: to regard with respect tinged with awe; venerate. I have a revere for a lot of my friends. They have all given and taught me so many lessons in life, and it only seems fair that I respect them and give them the courtesy that they deserve.

2.)vertigo [vur-ti-goh]: a dizzying sensation of tilting within stable surroundings or of being in tilting or spinning surroundings.

3.)punitive [pyoo-ni-tiv]: serving for, concerned with, or inflicting punishment.

4.)slander [slan-der]: a malicious, false, and defamatory statement or report.

5.)squander [skwon-der]: to spend or use (money, time, etc.) extravagantly or wastefully/ scatter. I find it ridiculous that some people squander all their lifes savings for something so small and deadly.

6.)panache [puh-nash]: a grand or flamboyant manner; verve; style; flair. Danielle's bow reminds me of the word panache. It's very stylish and vibrante.

7.)forlorn [fawr-lawrn]: desolate or dreary; unhappy or miserable, as in feeling, condition, or appearance. This woman looks very forlorn, as if she's ready to drift off into an unknown.

8.)quell [kwel]: to suppress; put an end to; extinguish.

9.)concision [kuhn-sizh-uhn]: concise quality; brevity; terseness.

10.)libel [lahy-buhl]: the act or crime of publishing it.

11.)defamation [def-uh-mey-shuhn]: the act of defaming; false or unjustified injury of the good reputation of another, as by slander or libel; calumny.

12.)misdirection [mis-di-rek-shuhn]: a wrong or incorrect direction, guidance, or instruction. This is clearly a misdirected picture. You should get an education and strive to do your best.

Sexual Pervert?

2008-04-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

Malory Pinkney II, a six year old boy, came home from Skyland Elementary in tears on Tuesday. His father and mother Charlene and Malory Pinkney asked what had happened. It seems that day Malory was given a disciplianry referral for making suggestive comments about a teacher, and now he is afraid the boy is being made out to be a "sexual pervert."
His father is a pastor of Holy Ground Full Gospel Ministries, a home church he started in November. He also works with a counseling program for inmates, so he says he knows the damage that can be done when someone is given a negative label early in life.
He said, personally, he was more offended by a school art project his son brought home earlier this year. Pinkney said Malory made a collage using pictures from magazines that were provided by the teacher. He said the pictures included one of a nude woman. He said that his wife brought that collage to the principal and asked how it could have happened.

http://www.wyff4.com/news/15783745/detail.html

Book Report on A Thousand Splendid Suns

2008-03-30T09:18:00.000-07:00

Hosseini, Khaled. A THOUSAND SPLENDID SUNS. The Penguin Group. Riverhead Books: 2007.

If you did not know already, this is the same author who wrote The Kite Runner. I really enjoy this authors writing style. My mom finished reading this novel and gave it to me during this spring break to read it. I thought it would be perfect to write about for my book report. The time era takes place 1959 all the way until July of 2002. It takes place mostly in Kabul, Afghanistan.

This book is about two girls who grow up to be woman, and how a series of unfortunate events eventually lead them to each other. The first girl is named Mariam, she is a harami (a bastard child). Her mother was a servant in her fathers house (his name is Jalil). When Jalil found out she was pregnant, he sent her away from society, towards the mountains of Gul Daman where he built them a house and gave them food and supplies, only so no one would ever find out what he had down. He is a very popular man in Gul Daman.; he many stores and a cinema (the only one for miles around). Mariam was brought up by her mother, who had harden her heart towards everyone in her life, especially Jalil. She raised Mariam to believe that Jalil was a horrible man and that he doesn't care about her as much as his other 3 wives and 9 children. Mariam refuses to believe it, so on her fifteenth birthday she leaves her small sactuary and walks a miles to get to the town of Gul Daman where she finds her fathers house. She begs to be let it, but no on does. Afraid to lose their reputation, Jalil's wives and children (along with Jalil) make up lies to get her to go away. When they finally have their driver take her home, they find that Mariam's mother killed herself, leaving Mariam an orphan now. No one wants to take her in. Her father eventually lets her stay at his house. They give her a nice room to stay in, and feed her; but after two months they decided to marry her off to a man named Rasheed (who is about 45; Mariam is only 15). who then takes Mariam to Kabul. There she goes through a series of getting pregnant and losing the baby about 6 or 7 times, Rasheed is not the kindest of man's and treats her poorly; and because of the raging wars that go during those 30 some-odd-years, Mariam is left with no one once more and is forced to live a life of abuse, lose, famen, and hatred.

On the other hand, there is a girl named Laila who was born into a family whose father is a brilliant man, who reads and educates (but because of the war, he looses his job and is forced to stay home). A mother who cooks and cleans like any good Afghan wife, but has a mind of her own and speaks her mind, whose son's have also been sent to war. When they're lives are lost, unforgivable battles take flight in Laila's house between all three of them. Mostly, it is her mother who goes into the deepest of depressions and has no desire to flee the country. Laila has a best friend, his name is Tariq. They go together like two peas in a pod. They are always inceperable. As they get older, it becomes obvious to many adults that Laila has feelings for Tariq. She does her best to avoid him, but lust and curiosity gets the best of her and things happen that should have never happened. When a bomb explodes right on top of Laila's house, she is the only survivor. Her father and mother perish in the explosion and fires while she is left with cuts, bruises and a deaf ear. They were finally planning on leaving Kabul to Pakistan where they would stay with a family relative until the wars seized. She is found by Mariam and Rasheed who take her into their home and nurture her back to health. Rasheed asks for her hand in marriage and Laila accepts. Much more happens after this, but I believe if you're interested enough, you will read this book.

Laila is the main character, although this story starts out with Mariam, Laila's character flourishes and shows a lot more than Mariam's. She has light hair, rosie cheeks and light jade eyes. She was a smart and funny girl. She was playful and happy, even during the darkest days of her life, she did her best to be hopeful. As I read through this book, I saw Laila grow and mature and take on things that no woman should have to. I chose her because she was a strong character, her spirit and body and mind. She always did what she thought was right, and what would help her and her family. She spoke up and defended people even when she knew that the ramifications would be severe. I loved her character. I don't think I would have had her strength and will to carry on, the way she did. I would have been ready to give up way long ago, if my parents died, I would want to be with them.

It took me less than a week to read this book, so I would say yes, this book entertained me, I loved reading it. I knew things like this happened to woman daily in Afghanistan, but through the eyes of a man who came here to America it seemed more powerful. As if her saw things similar when he used to live there. If you want a good book that will make you cry, but you always what to know what's going to happen next, you should read this book. It's definitely a heart breaker but at the same time you find yourself yelling at the book:P Its a great book, and anyone could read it, I think everyone should read it. I dont believe you should have to read Kite Runner before this one; but I do believe you should read both of them.

Other books:
THE KITE RUNNER

Surviving kids in Memphis killings guarded

2008-03-06T10:06:00.001-08:00

Nine people were found in a house; where six of them were dead (wounded and slain) and three kids were found wounded but alive. They are currently under protection by the police. They are being hospitalized and not even their relatives can visit them or comfort them.

"This is a sensitive investigation. We're keeping everything under the wraps right now," says detective Joe Scott. The police can offer no motive to the killings, which happened over the weekend at a small brick house, in a neighborhood where low-income homes sit near cheap motels and junkyards. Residents near the murder scene said gunfire is not unusual in their neighborhood, and no one called police when shots were heard over the weekend.

The adult victims were identified as Cecil Dotson (30), who was renting the house; Hollis Seals, (33); Shindri Roberson (20), and Marissa Rene Williams (26). They declined to identify the children.

The Memphis City Council announced a $30,000 reward Wednesday for anyone who can help solve the case.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/05/memphis.killings.ap/index.html

Creative Writing

2008-03-05T19:58:00.000-08:00

POEM ABOUT ART...

throughout the centuries
and long before the arts,
GOD created man
to paint and sketch, to sculpt and build
all throughout the centuries
because that was GOD's will.

from early caveman,
lonesome stick figures,
from Leonardo to Raffi
the bravest ninja turtles of their time
all through out the ages
although some viewed it as a crime.

potential that grew,
in the hearts of many
to draw the line
between "good and evil"
is nonsense and stupidity
because art is nothing but beauty.

throughout the years
it bloomed to chalk, spray cans and sharpies
merely toys to pro masters
but saviors to young bastards.

art has risen and fallen
much like that sun or summer wheat
yet its passion that lives in many
but art will continue for centuries.

Documentary Book: Flyboys

2008-03-05T09:22:00.001-08:00

Bradley, James. FLYBOYS A True Story of Courage. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publications Data. 2003.

For our Documentary project, we needed to read one book that took place during the time of our specific war. My war was World War II so i chose to read James Bradley's Flyboys A Story of True Courage (also, the writer of Flags of Our Fathers). This is a true story of eight Flyboys (equivalent to today's fighter pilots). This book was written in 2003, but it takes place from the beginning of the nineteenth century all the way up to 2003.

The plot of this story is the events that led up to WWII, and what our founding father's and presidents could have done differently to try and change it. As a whole, there were a lot of things that I didn't know about, and reading this book was the interesting, and I LOVED IT! James didn't just talk about the U.S. and it's flaws, but Japan and China, Germany and Italy (most of Europe and Asia; as well as our invovlment in WWI). There was so much that I hadn't learned when we studied the Civil War, the American-Mexican War, WWI and WWII. One part of this book, (it was in the second chapter, and it captured my intention immediatley), was once conflict that the U.S. had with Japan at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The conflict was Japan named itself the Land of the Gods, while the U.S. named itself the Land that God Created. It was amazing to read something entirely new and how this dispute between who was right and wrong turned into something worse. There is some much history about Japan, and it's so interesting! It's astounding:D and magnificent, there are no words that can describe how I felt when I read this book.

There isn't just one main character, because it's composed of so many characters. The author doesn't just focus on one person. But there was on character that grabbed my attention. His name was Jimmy Dye. He was only 18 when he joined the army and became a Flyboy. When James was writing this boys story, he mentioned something that I agreed whole-heartedly with. He said, "All along, Jimmy's parents kept watch. Fast-talking Jimmy was now old enough to fight and die for his country. But on the last date of his life, he was too young ot be alone wih a girl." He wrote this sentence after he had mentioned a girl that Jimmy really liked (her name was Gloria Nields), and that was their fourth date together; sitting in Jimmy's living room with his parents sitting right across from them. Jimmy was the youngest of the Flyboys, and its disheartening that it was drilled into their mind that they had to die for their country. But it was amazing how well he kept himself together and never gave up, even when times were bad (i.e. his friends were killed, he almost drowned when his plane crashed into the water, and in the end, being captured by the enemy and dying a POW).

I absolutley loved this book. However, I don't think I would just recommend this book to just anyone. There are some confusing parts that I think a person who doesn't enjoy reading would just read over and disregard some of the most important parts of this book. It's also really heavy, there are a lot of gruesome things that are described and written in this book. But it is a good book, and anyone who can handle the truth about any war, is most welcome to read it.

vocab. week seven

2008-03-03T10:08:00.000-08:00

1.)scuttlebutt [skuht-l-buht]: an open cask of drinking water. a drinking fountain for use by the crew of a vessel. I saw the hugest scuttlebutt at the party I went to last night.

2.) bulwark [bool-werk]: a wall of earth or other material built for defense; rampart. any protection against external danger, injury, or annoyance. Most cities in the 1800th century built a bulwark to guard their territory.

3.) hubris [hyoo-bris]: excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance. The boy showed an immense amount of hubris, it made him less attractive.

4.) dearth [durth]: an inadequate supply; scarcity; lack. The ship was dearthing supplies, that the sailors feared they would not make it to the new world.

5.) deference [def-er-uhns]: respectful submission or yielding to the judgment, opinion, will, etc., of another. The guard deference every person who looked suspicious as they entered or exited the building.

6.) emulate [em-yuh-leyt]: to try to equal or excel; imitate with effort to equal or surpass. The little boy, dreams of emulating Beckham and becoming a professional soccer player.

7.) imitate [im-i-teyt]: to follow or endeavor to follow as a model or example: to imitate an author's style. I imitated everything Mason did in his POL, the teacher was not impressed and gave me an 'F.'

8.) mimic [mim-ik]: to imitate or copy in action, speech, etc., often playfully or derisively. The girl didn't realize how annoying she was until I mimicked her every word and action.

9.) endemic [en-dem-ik]: natural to or characteristic of a specific people or place; native; indigenous. The native American's were actually not endemic to the "America's." During the first Ice Age, they traveled along the bridging of ice caps from Asia.

10.) aborigine [ab-uh-rij-uh-nee]: one of the original or earliest known inhabitants of a country or region. The tree was an aborigine to the Pennsylvania forests.

11.) inchoate [in-koh-it]: not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary. The yearbook is inchoate, and we fear we might not make the deadlines in time.

12.) precursor [pri-kur-ser]: a person or thing that precedes, as in a job, a method, etc.; predecessor. My cat precursored our guest, but quickly ran away in fear.

13.) volatile [vol-uh-tl]: evaporating rapidly; passing off readily in the form of vapor. The kettle signified it was ready to come off the stove when the volatile came out of its nozzle.

vocab. week six

2008-02-25T22:22:00.000-08:00

1.) Embezzle [em-bez-uhl]: to appropriate fraudulently to one's own use, as money or property entrusted to one's care. As sad as it sounds, my parents will embezzle their property to me once they pass on to the next life.

2.) Emaciate [i-mey-shee-eyt]: to make abnormally lean or thin by a gradual wasting away of flesh. Models are stupidly thin because they don't eat. They just emaciate.

3.) Obsolete [ob-suh-leet]: no longer in general use; fallen into disuse, of a discarded or outmoded type. That hairdo quickly became obsolete, everyone had it.

4.) Obviate [ob-vee-eyt]: to anticipate and prevent or eliminate by effective measures; render unnecessary. The S.W.A.T. team obviated the bomb in a matter of minutes.

5.) Penchant [pen-chuhnt]: a strong inclination, taste, or liking for something. I grew up with a penchant for foreign food.

6.) Paucity [paw-si-tee]: smallness of quantity; scarcity; scantiness. The mouse takes nothing more than a paucity ration.

7.) Sycophant [sik-uh-fuhnt]: a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite. A sychophant is the reason why sea otters are dying out.

8.) Taut [tawt]: tightly drawn; tense; not slack. She was very taut on her wedding day.

9.) Tenuous [ten-yoo-uhs]: thin or slender in form, as a thread. The stripper pole was tenuous, wide enough for a hand to grasp it firmly.

10. ) Tenacity [tuh-nas-i-tee]: the quality or property of being tenacious --> holding fast; characterized by keeping a firm hold. She grew up with fear of the dark, it was no tenacity that she grasped my arm firmly while we walked that dark streets at night.

Dead Man Walking

2008-02-21T13:58:00.000-08:00

A man who killed and dismembered his wife was sentenced to serve at least 50 years behind bars. the jury found him guilty of second degree murder. Stephen Grant choked his wife, Tara, to death, then cut up her corpse in a machine shop. When asked about her disapperance, he tearfully told reporters he didn't know where she was.

Grant contacted the Macomb County sheriff's department on February 14, 2007 and told them that he hadn't seen his (34-year-old) wife since they last argued on February 9th. On March 2, he allowed deputies (with a search warrant) to search his home. Within minutes, he borrowed a friends pick-up truck and drove away. The deputies found Tara Grant's torso in a container in the garage.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/02/21/wife.dismembered.ap/index.html

Downfall

2008-02-20T22:09:00.000-08:00

Downfall was about the last few weeks Hitler was in command. It was a foreign film (it was in German). I really liked the video photography in it. I left a huge impact. There was such graphic sceens that made me think about how we would portray our documentary. I think it would be best to potray both sides of World War II, Germany's and the U.S. (someone once said that if we're going to critic the downfall of something great, we should also be willing to get the other person's story).
I think the final days of Hitler's rule however would be too intense. But it was an amazing movie. I think I'm also going to watch Saving Private Ryan. That was a U.S. point of view on the war.

vocab. week five

2008-02-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

1.) lucidity [loo-sid-di-tee]: free from obscurity and easy to understand; the comprehensibility of clear expression. It was amazing how lucid she was after coming out of acoma for 3 years!

2.) conciliatory [kuhn-sil-ee-uh-tawr-ee]: tending to conciliate. I regained my friendship in a conciliatory manner.

3.) countermand [koun-ter-mand]: to revoke or cancel. I countermanded Sophia's request to ditch school and go to Sephora.

4.) acumen [uh-kyoo-muhn]: keen insight; shrewdness. The acumen in which she studied the vase made her a very good galler-er.

5.) insurrection [in-suh-rek-shuhn]: an act or instance of rising in revolt, rebellion, or resistance against civil authority or an established government. There were many insurrections during the 1960's.

6.) fidelity [fi-del-i-tee]: loyalty. conjugal faithfulness. I have a fidelity to my boyfriend.

7.) complicit [kuhm-plis-it]: choosing to be involved in an illegal or questionable act, esp. with others; having complicity. Drug dealers always find a way to lure in people to act as mules. They never realized that they were being complicit.

8.) steadfast [sted-fast]: fixed in direction; steadily directed. We set the wrong course and were headed steadfast towards north.

9.) emancipation [i-man-suh-pey-shuhn]: the state or fact of being emancipated. Ghandi emancipated India during a time of crisis.

10.) bolster [bohl-ster]: a long, often cylindrical, cushion or pillow for a bed, sofa, etc. There was a divan with bolsters in the corner of the room.

Cocaine Teen

2008-02-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

Lynn DeJac has spent 13 years in prison after being convicted of strangling her 13 year old daughter . But forensics now show that her daughter overdosed on cocaine.
But even as the district attorney announced that the death of Crystallynn Girard was not a homicide and could not be prosecuted, Lynn DeJac insisted that a former boyfriend was responsible.
However the jury is still convinced that DeJac killed the girl after a night of heavy drinking and are planning to retry her in the spring.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/02/14/mom.exonerated.ap/index.html

vocab. week three

2008-02-03T20:55:00.000-08:00

1.) disseminate [di-sem-uh-neyt]: to scatter or spread widely; broadcast; disperse. After I told Danielle to not tell anyone my secret, she went and disseminated it anyways.

2.) eloquence [el-uh-kwuhns]: the practice or art of using language with fluency and aptness. She had only taken spanish for one year, yet she spoke it with eloquence.

3.) austere [aw-steer]: severe in manner or appearance; uncompromising; strict; forbidding. My mother had asked me to clean my room austeredly.

4.) baleful [beyl-fuhl]: full of menacing or malign influences; pernicious. Hermes was the only Greek God who was baleful.

5.) bigot [big-uht]: a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion. Sometimes I think Darnell is a bigotter.

6.) relapse [ri-laps]: v to fall or slip back into a former state, practice. n an act or instance of relapsing. She swore that she was over him, but she seemed to relapse within minutes.

7.) repudiate [ri-pyoo-dee-eyt]: to reject as having no authority or binding force. to cast off or disown. The boys mother repudiated him once he turned eighteen.

8.) resilience [ri-zil-yuhns]: the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity. Gymnasts train to be resilienced after doing a nearly impossible trick.

9.) sanguine [sang-gwin]: cheerfully optimistic, hopeful, or confident. I sometimes wish i was as sanguine as Danielle. I hope to emulate her some day.

10.) renovate [ren-uh-veyt]: to restore to good condition; make new or as if new again; repair. It's my dad's job to renovate the apartments when the tenant has left or moved out.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

2008-02-03T20:26:00.000-08:00

Albom, Mitch. The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Little, Brown & Time Warner Paperbacks. 2003.

My mother recommend that I read this novel, and I did. This book takes place during the 1960's and every time before and after that. This book, mainly takes place in heaven and flashes back to "earth time." [I found this book to be very much like Slaughterhouse Five; just, not so gory].

This book starts at the beginning of the end. Eddie is the main character of this book. He's a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him, as he tries to save a little girl. Once dead, he goes to heaven and revisits every important event in his life that has changed who he is. The point of his "time-travel" are so he can realize that his life was inspired, and was worth it. It also allows him to clean himself of his sins and regrets in life. I liked the people that he visits in heaven because they all had something different and good to teach him. It was really heartwarming and made me think that there could possibly be a heaven. (Obviously many kids at my age have "nothing" to believe in, so we're atheists. But i like that my mind has been opened up to something totally possible).

During this book, Eddie stays an old war vet. He has a very bad knee (that's where he was shot during the war and he never recovered from that injury). He lacks self-confidence and faith in the world and human kind. He's rather pathetic and incapable of hope. At then end of the book, he confronts his worst fear. He had killed a little girl during the war and she meets up with him in the end and asks him to clean her wounds. This changes him. He is able to let go of every bad thing that has happened. Every forced choice that was made for him.

I loved this novel. (obviously i choose these books in hope that I'll like them, but this one was excellent). It kept me going, because I always wanted to know what would happen next. It honestly gave me hope for a possible afterlife. It made me wonder, if I were to die (or when I die) who will be my "Five People." This book also taught me to appreciate what little time I have left. To go with the flow, and to never hold silly grudges, because it all goes by so fast.
This book was such an easy but entertaining read. I would recommend it to anyone who really wants to learn more about themselves. Or anyone who wants to be given a reason to exist. It's your decision to change your life, but if you want help, you should definitely read this book.

I don't think I would be able to put myself in Eddie's position, only because I havent lived 83 years, and i don't have that many regrets. His were on a drastic measure. However, most of them were reasonable and I could relate to the issues he had with his father. The book ended with a happy medium. He found peace and I'm glad that I made the decision to read this book.

Mitch Albom Books:
-Tuesday With Morrie
-For One More Day

Earthquake

2008-02-03T20:20:00.000-08:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/02/03/rwanda.quake.ap/index.html

Two earthquakes happened within hours apart in the Congo and on the border of Rwanda on Sunday. Thirty-nine people were killed and hundreds were injured in the Congo . This is the first 6.0 magnitude quake to happen in the Congo.
The second quake was 5.0. This happened within hours of the first one; which traveled near the countries' border, in Rwanda's rural Rusizi district. Thirty-four people were killed and 231 wounded in Rwanda.

vocab. week two

2008-01-30T07:18:00.000-08:00

1.) equivocate [i-kwiv-uh-keyt]: to use ambiguous or unclear expressions, usually to avoid commitment or in order to mislead; prevaricate or hedge. The only reason why he was being equivocate was because he was naturally shy.

2.) eradicate [i-rad-i-keyt]: to get rid of something; to kill in large numbers or destroy completely. I had to eradicate the evidence before the investigator arrived.

3.) erode [i-rohd]: to deteriorate. Sulfur acid has eroded the man's skin, killing him in a matter of minutes.

4.) erratic [i-rat-ik]: sentric, crazy, unpredictable. He had been in an Insane Assilum that it was no shock that he was somewhat erratic to the outside world.

5.) escalate [es-kuh-leyt]: to increase. I lived, during the time hwere gasoline prices' escalated.

6.) esoteric [es-uh-ter-ik]: to be understood by ceratin people. You have an esoteric interest in latin.

7.) espouse [i-spouz]: to take up a cause. I espoused christianity.

8.) eulogy [yoo-luh-jee]: formal expression of praise. Sadly the eulogy when to waste, they found Eli alive in Darnell's closet:)

9.) euphoria [yoo-fawr-ee-uh]: a feeling of happiness. I get a sense of euphoria whenever I'm with Cody.

10.) euthanasia [yoo-thuh-ney-zhuh]: act of painless or merciless killing. Aborting a still born would be an act of euthanasia.

11.) epitome [i-pit-uh-mee]: a perfect example. This class is the epitome of annoying.

The Da Vinci Code

2008-01-24T09:58:00.000-08:00

Brown, Dan. The DA VINCI CODE. Doubleday U.S. & Bantam U.K. 2003.

This is mystery/detective novel and i chose it because i have always wanted to read it, but never got the chance. I saw the movie and I knew that the book had to be much better. It takes place in France and begins with a man named Robert Langdon (a Professor of Religious Symbology) in modern times.
Robert is dragged into a murder case. The murder of renowned curator Jacques Saunière. He is immeditaly suspected of the crime. However, in comes Sophie Neveu, a detective and granddaughter of Jacques. She helps prove Robert's innocence by investigating the clues that her gandfather left behind. The interpretation of hidden messages bring out the starteling truths of who and what Jacques was and what he left behind for both Robert and Sophie.
Robert would be the main character of this book. He is a confident, sure man. Tall with brown hair and a soft face. One of his flaws is his fear of enclosed spaces, or claustrophobia. He is very smart and together with Sophie, they figure out anagrams and number puzzles. I love the Robert's character, I feel a connection with him, or I can picture myself standing next to him listening to every single word. (He also sounds like a very sexxy man;]).
This book was an easy read, but it was SO interesting, that it kept my attention the whole time. I couldn't put down my book, and that's what i loved about it. I usually don't like to read, but reading this book was a pleasure. It was very informational, it talked about a lot of history that i learned last year in Ross' class, so it was kind of a refresher course. I would recommend this book to people who love to read, just to read, and if like enjoy books that have a lot of twists and turns. I can totally see this book happening in real life, and it's magnificently written. It made me jump and gasp a lot.

DAN BROWN'S BOOKS:
Angel's & Demons [the sequel to Da Vinci Code]
Digital Fortress
Deception Point
The Solomon Key

I have yet to read any other books on Dan Brown, but maybe I will in the future. I enjoy his writing style.

Candidate Profile

2008-01-24T09:48:00.000-08:00

JOHN EDWARDS
-democrate
-one year term as NC senator
-he's over 35, he's lived in the U.S. for 14 years, he was a nominee for 2004 Vice President elections
-plans to: end Iraq war; stop Poverty; create a Universal Health Care; and halt Global Warming.

Born on June 10, 1953, John Edwards was raised in South Carolina for a sort period of time. The Edwards’ family moved several times during John’s childhood, eventually settling in Robbins, North Carolina. John was a football star in high school and was the first to attend college. He attended Clemson University and transferred to North Carolina State University. Edwards graduated with high honors earning a bachelor's degree in textile technology in 1974. While at UNC he met Elizabeth Anania, they later married in 1977 and had four children. Wade, was born in 1979, Cate in 1982, Emma Claire in 1998, and Jack, born in 2000. Their eldest son Wade was killed in a car accident on a North Carolina highway in 1996. Edwards and his wife began the Wade Edwards Foundation in their son's memory; the purpose of the nonprofit organization is "to reward, encourage, and inspire young people in the pursuit of excellence." In 2004, Elizabeth was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was treated and continued to work within the Democratic Party and her husband's One America Committee. In warly 2007, Edwards and his wife announced that her cancer had returned; they said that the cancer was "no longer curable, but is completely treatable" and that they planned to continue campaigning together with an occasional break when she requires treatment.

John Edwards is an American politician. He was first a one-term senator in North Carolina as well as a Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004. He is currently a canidate for the Democratic nomination in 2008 Presidential election. John Edwards' bold ideas have shaped the debate in this election. He tries to create universal health care and haltes global warming. Works towards ending poverty or ending the war in Iraq and restoring America’s moral leadership around the world.

Why We Fight

2008-01-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

This movie was really well flimed and edited. I loved the old movies that were tied in with today's events. The main charater was a man who lost his son in the war and i thought that was well thought out. It made a huge impact on me especially when he said, "Why do you keep on showing the towers fall down?" as if he was trying to say, 'why do yo keep showing the loved ones burn up in smoke and fall down?'
I was a little sad that it was all against AMERICA as a whole, i would have liked some different perspective; pros as well as cons. But regardless, i loved the movie:D

i hope there is something, that i can seriously do, in the future.

vocab. week one

2008-01-22T08:26:00.000-08:00

1.) intrepid [in-trep-id]: resolutely fearless; dauntless. to be a Sergeant, you have to be an intrepid person.

2.) trepidation [trep-i-dey-shuhn]: tremulous fear, alarm, or agitation; perturbation. trembling or quivering movement; tremor. the girl walked the tightrope with trepidation.

3.) despondent [di-spon-duhnt]: feeling or showing profound hopelessness, dejection, discouragement, or gloom. The girl lay broken and despondent in the rain. She had been defeated, there was no going back.

4.) decorum [di-kawr-uhm]: dignified propriety of behavior, speech, dress, etc. the quality or state of being decorous; orderliness; regularity. She presented herself with proper decorum that won the hearts of millions.

5.) aspire [uh-spahyuhr]: to long, aim, or seek ambitiously; be eagerly desirous, esp. for something great or of high value; to rise up; soar; mount; tower. I aspire to become a doctor, not just a doctor, but a surgeon.

6.) vacillate [vas-uh-leyt]: to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute. to sway unsteadily; waver; totter; stagger. I'm still just one in a million vacillate girls. Should we marry? Should we be independent?

7.) desultory [des-uhl-tawr-ee]: lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected. He was never an honorable man. He was desultory, incapable. I despise him.

8.) fallacy [fal-uh-see]: a deceptive, misleading, or false notion, belief, etc. To believe that war is the only key to peace is a fallacy.

9.) formidable [fawr-mi-duh-buhl]: causing fear, apprehension, or dread: a formidable opponent. of discouraging or awesome strength, size, difficulty. The president of the United States causes a strong sense of formidableness.

10.) heritage [her-i-tij]: something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth; an inherited lot or portion. I am very proud of my mexican heritage.

11.) guru [goor-oo]: Hinduism. a preceptor giving personal religious instruction. He is such a guru when it comes to technology.

Dinosaursand Insects

2008-01-14T18:03:00.000-08:00

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1702501,00.html
For years, scientists have been curious about how dinosaurs have become extinct. It was solved a couple of decades ago: a giant asteroid or comet slamming into the Earth, resulting in a dust cloud that shrouded the sun, cooled the planet dramatically and killed off plants and animals wholesale. It's a compelling story, Alternate theories — the dinosaurs succumbed to allergies, from the rise of flowering plants, or to world-shaking volcanoes in what's now India, or to disease — have always bubbled around the periphery of the conventional wisdom. We wrote about one of these hypotheses a couple of months ago.

Authors George and Roberta Poinar specialize in ancient insects preserved in amber and also in fossilized dinosaur poop. The authors aren't arguing that the dinos all died in a massive epidemic; rather, the constant wear and tear of illness weakened the dinosaurs.

Bus Crash

2008-01-08T22:40:00.000-08:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/01/08/bus.survivor.ap/index.html
In Salt Lake City, Richard Scarborough, was one of the survivors in bus crash that took place on Route 163 through Monument Valley en route to Phoenix. He was thrown 30 feet from the bus, when it skided off a curve and plunged 41 feet down an embankment and rolled a few times after that.
He suffered a broken collarbone and torn shoulder ligaments. But after endouring such trauma, Scarbough (who is also a information-technology manager and a a former Air Force officer with first-aid training) hobbled over to the damaged bus to help any other survivors. He lost a friend in the accident, Jeffert Rivera, 32. He also found the son of another friend, Joseph Debolske, 18, who was also dead.
With his training in first aid; he as well as other passangers, pulled seriously injured victims from the debris and covered them with clothes from suitcases, to "avoid shock." The driver, who suffered minor injuries will be questioned once he is released from the hospital.

my top three

2008-01-01T18:45:00.000-08:00

Creative Story

2007-12-17T16:20:00.000-08:00

Prologue
My favorite MOPA picture was the black, grey, and white scale photos of the naked couple. The photograph had been photoshoped with interesting things: squares, wings, moons, moons with eclipses, bones, skulls, etc. It was very professional and outspoken. I loved them. Here is my story.

UNTITLED

They had always loved each other, Irene and Josh. But things just weren't the same anymore. They would argue more than on occasion. They’re jobs were failing because of the tension between them. No time to actually care about work or do work. They lost touch with their family. They’re sex life was nonexistent. Friends had given up hope on them. Nothing seemed important anymore.
Whenever Josh was in a good mood, Irene wasn’t. And when Irene was in a good mood, Josh wasn’t.

One evening, Josh had asked Irene out for dinner and a drink. Irene thought about it and realized that neither of them had had any sort of one on one interaction with each other for a very long time. So, naturally, she agreed.
A few minutes later, they were walking down the cold streets of New York, side by side. Not talking. Not noticing the other's presences. Not making eye contact. Just walking.
It didn't seem awkward to either of them, for they had long forgotten what the other person looked like, or talked; as if they were invisible.
They arrived to their destination; Josh politely opened the door for Irene. She nodded in appreciation, but they still said nothing.
Irene walked up to the hostess and said in the quietest voice possible, "Two please."
The hostess smiled and walked them both to a booth towards the back.
This made Josh uncomfortable, he didn't want to feel obligated to say something. Little did he know, Irene felt the same way too. But they were here, so they thought, “might as well make the best of it.”
They had both order spaghetti, shared a bottle of wine and a slice of chocolate cake. After they had finished, they both had realized that neither of them had said a single work, except the thank yous and pleases to their waiter.
Josh coughed, "How's work?"
Irene avoided his gaze and whispered, "Its fine. I think I might possibly loose my job though."
Josh added, "Me as well."
They both looked at each other slightly, but not for too long.
"Shall we go?" gestured Josh. Irene nodded, grabbed her jacket and stood up. Josh reached for Irene’s jacket, as if to offer help her put it on.
"No...It’s ok," as she pulled the jacket out from his range.

Not too far away, was an old woman, sitting in a booth watching Irene and Josh. She had noticed that their relationship was pathetic and it only took an hour for her to realize it. She stood up and walked over to them. In her hand, was a camera. She was a photographer. Suddenly, without Irene’s or Joshes permission, she announced,
"OH MY, what a lovely couple we have here."
As she snapped shots, both Irene and Josh looked flustered. The rest of the restaurant was looking at them, smiling, as if to egg them on to pose.
Josh grabbed them camera furiously.
"Ma'am!" he pleaded. "Not tonight."
"Oh, but my dear, I thought you would enjoy some memories," she innocently said.
Josh looked at her with hate and discomfort.
"Well, I see my work here is not appreciated. But before you go, here." she handed Irene a card.

ELLA’S PHOTOGRAPHY
646-247-4123

Irene cracked a smile and mouthed 'thank you.' The old woman nodded in appreciation and walked out the door. A few seconds later, Josh and Irene followed. Upon exiting the restaurant, Josh bawled with laughter, "Can you believe that woman?!" he bent over half way, gesturing a person who was about to be sick, sick with laughter. Irene only nodded. She had the woman’s card in her hand and was flipping it around.
That evening, Irene sat up in the living room. She couldn't get the woman’s face out of her mind. She shuddered to think that the woman knew that their relationship was failing. How could she have known? Irene thought. I've never seen her a day in my life.
The phone lay a foot away from her. Irene laughed in her head, what could this woman possibly offer, except a few photos of Josh and herself. Besides, this relationship was bound to end, why buy pictures that she would later burn? She tossed the card aside and went to bed.

The next day, it was pouring. The night light clock that lay a few inches away from Joshes head digitally said 5:29…5:30. Suddenly the clock screamed with noise. Startling both Josh and Irene.
“Jesus Josh,” moaned Irene.
“Sorry, I forgot,” he mumbled in response; as he reached over to smack it asleep again.
It was a horrible Saturday morning, but frustrated that Josh, once again forgot to turn off his alarm clock, Irene stumbled out of bed. She went into the kitchen and got a bowl and filled it with cereal and a splash of milk. She walked barefoot towards the couch, plopped down and turned on the T.V.
She flipped through the channels, annoyed that she was awake so early on a Saturday. Nothing good is on, She thought. She left it on an info-mercial and gazed out the window. She gave a big sigh then looked around the room, when suddenly her eyes fell upon the card that she had received last night. She turned her head from side to side, looking at it with curiosity. She looked towards the bedroom. There was no movement that Josh was awake. She walked over to it and picked it up. The card burned in her hands, as if it were begging her to call the woman. She bit her bottom lip. One call couldn’t hurt, She thought, it’ll probably go straight to voicemail since it’s so early.
She picked up the phone, dialed slowly. One ring…Two ring…
“I’ve been expecting you’re call,” said a calm voice.
Irene’s face grew stiff; she looked from side to side. Was she watching me, She thought.
“When do you want to come in deary?” the woman’s voice was so soft and caring.
“Uh, I—I…”
“How about 6:30, don’t be late. I have a very busy schedule. Bye now,” Irene heard the receiver click.
Am I really going to do this?, She again thought. She glanced towards the kitchen clock, it read 5:55. Suddenly she thought, I don’t even know where this studio is. She looked down at the card and it read:

34th Street
639 Studio #13

Startled, she flipped the card to the other side, Ella's name and number was gone. She shook of this crazy feeling. Irene got up and quietly walked into the bedroom and pulled on some clothes. Before leaving, she left a message for Josh, just in case he was to wake up and wonder where she had gone. The note read:

Josh,
Went to the grocery store.
Be back whenever.
–Irene

She stepped out into the rain with her umbrella hanging on her shoulder and he rain boots splashing in the water. The photographer’s house was about 20 blocks south. Irene contemplated whether or not she should just walk, seeing that would be her only form of exercise that day, or if taking the subway was her best bet. The wind was blowing hard, and she decided she didn’t want to spend so much time seeing this woman. She walked a few blocks north to the subway station and took a ten minute ride down to 35th street; she got out and walked the last block. When she arrived, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. It was a red brick building, with a little graffiti here and there. And it said 639 on the top right corner. The door pushed open easily. Irene stepped in and walked towards the elevator shaft. She lifted the door up and stepped in; pulled it down and hit number 13. The elevator gave a shake and began pulling up; almost as if it were forcing itself too hard against gravity.
It halted once it reached the 13th floor. Irene struggled to lift the wooden door up. She stepped out into the hallway. The inside looked much cleaner, more presentable than the outside. Irene felt more comfortable as she looked at Studio #13 that was right in front of her. Irene lifted her hand up to knock on the door, but it creaked open before she could even lay her hand against it.
“Come in deary,” said the same calm voice.
Irene pushed the heavy door a little more to fit her small frame through it. Her gaze fell upon hundreds and hundreds of photos that were hanging on clothes lines to dry. The windows, as a whole, were huge; but existed of small tiny glass squares. There were thick red curtains that draped from the top of the ceiling to the bottom of the floor. Red lights were visible, but not turned on. On the far right of the studio was a platform with a black sheet hanging behind it. Three cameras were set up; one straight in the middle, the others on each side of the middle camera. It looks like a studio, thought Irene.
“Where is he?” questioned the old woman.
“Oh, well, um, he’s still asleep. I didn’t tell him I was coming,” she responded, unsure if Ella would be please with her reply.
“My dear, how am I supposed to make things better, if I’m only helping one half of this relationship?”
“I’m sorry, but how could you possibly know that our relationship is diminishing. I’ve never met you a day in my life. I’m sorry, but, this all seems a bit odd.”
“I may be old, but I’ve had my share in love once or twice before,” this came slyly out of her mouth.
“But,” began Irene.
“Bring him tonight. I promise you it will be worth your while.”
“But!”
“Now go…” Ella wove her hand furiously towards the door. She returned to focusing the light on her cameras.
Irene walked towards the door without turning around to look at the old woman. She was embarrassed that this woman would be interfering with her life. But she was still curious about this woman’s intentions. Why would she be helping me?, again thought Irene.
Irene walked the 20 blocks back home. Her mind was still in a state of confusion that she didn’t even hear Josh asking her questions once she walked into the house.
“What?” Irene said with a puzzled look on her face. “I’m sorry hun, I wasn’t listening.”
“WHERE—ARE—THE—GROCERIES?” emphasized Josh. “Jeez, what goes on in that head of yours Irene?”
“Oh, right. Well I decided not to buy any. I just…needed to get out of the house I suppose.”
“Uh huh…,”Josh whispered. He turned his back to her and returned to the kitchen where he was cooking eggs.
Irene followed at a safe distance, she didn’t want irritate him so early in the morning. She finally spoke up,
“Hun, what would you say if I wanted to take you out to dinner tonight?”
Josh looked up from cooking and gave her a strange look, “You really want to do that again? I mean, of course, but, wasn’t last night a little…awkward?”
“Yeah, it was but, can’t we give it another chance?” she begged.
“Whatever. Where didja have in mind?”
“Oh…a little place I know. Don’t worry, nothing fancy,” she assured.
“Fine,” he responded.
“Fine,” she replied.

The rest of the day, Irene spent working on papers and essays for work; while also thinking of the perfect outfit for that evening. Josh spent the day watching the game that was going on, on the other side of the States; in sunny California. Towards four that afternoon, Irene finally gave up on working and began getting ready. She walked in the bathroom and began her shower. She opened the door a crack and yelled,
“Be ready by 6!”
“SURE, SURE,” Josh yelled back, his attention fully on the game.

“You ready?” Irene asked as she walked out into the living room.
Josh double looked at her, “Yeah…Wow, you look….Amazing.”
“Thanks,” she gave a weak smile.
The T.V. spoke, “We will be expecting snow, snow, snow. So keep warm ya’ll. In other news…”
“I guess there will be snow. I’ll get you’re coat,” offered Josh.
By six, they were heading out the door, Irene for the second time, endured the cold winds and rains of New York. They walked side by side up a block to the subway. They sat next to each other in empty seats on the subway, ridding in complete silence. A little girl a few ways down the same car looked at them. She gave a smile and a little wave to Josh, who acknowledge her gestures and responded with a wave and smile. They got off on 35th Street.
“Hun, are you sure it’s this way?” Josh asked taking in his surroundings.
“Yeah darling, just this way,” as Irene walked off, leading the way.
Josh hurried behind her. They arrived at the same apartment that Irene had been at earlier that morning. The rain had stopped, and the winds weren’t as strong now. But still cold from the dampness of their overcoats and streets, they hurried in.
When Josh laid eyes upon the elevator he spoke up,
“OKAY, what is this Irene? Where are we going?”
Irene bit her lip, she couldn’t keep what was to come from him. She said,
“Do you remember that old lady from the restaurant last night?”
Josh thought for a bit then said, “OH NO. NO, NO, NO, NO!”
“JOSH! Please. I don’t ask you for much.”
“What do you expect to get out of this Irene? Pictures? I can take you picture any day,” his voice was loud now, it filled the corridors and rang.
Irene’s eyes began to tear, “I just wanted to do something fun.”
“I can’t believe this,” Josh said, shaking his head and pacing back and forth and in circles in front of Irene.
“Please?” Irene finally said.
“Yes, Josh, please.”
Irene and Josh spun around and saw the old lady was standing in the elevator now.
“How—How,” stuttered Irene.
“Never mind ‘how’ child. Josh please, come. I assure you, you won’t regret it.”
“Ma’am, no offense, but I think this is crazy!” Josh said again shaking his head.
“How about we make a deal. One picture. If you are not satisfied with one picture, then we’re done. You can pack up and go,” Ella said with a hint of determination in her voice.
Irene and Ella both looked at him. A few minutes passed and finally Josh through his hands up in the air,
“Fine. But only one picture,” now pointing his finger to the old woman. She smiled and welcomed them to the shaky elevator.
She opened the door to her studio. Everything looked the same as it had when Irene first saw it. But the blinds were closed letting no source of light in. The cameras were in the same position, but there were lights illuminating the platform and there was a soft grey back drop behind it instead of a black one.
“Now, if you please,” said Ella, pointing to the stage.
They both stepped on.
“Oh no! I’m sorry, I forgot to mention: please, remove you’re clothes.”
Irene gasped and Josh yelled,
“OH HELL NO.”
“My dear…,” began Ella.
“NO, NO, NO! This isn’t what we signed up for.”
“We had a bargain.”
“Oh yeah? Well, fuck it. I’m outta here,” Josh leaped of the stage and headed for the door. Suddenly to the door slammed shut and locked its self. Josh jiggled the handle and banged against the hard, cold wood.
“What the fuck is this?”
“My dear, we had a bargain. Please, come. Let’s begin.”
A few minutes passed and Josh was still trying to open the door. Irene stood on the stage still in shock about what the woman had asked of her. Josh finally let out a grunt of failure and walked away from the door towards the stage. He began to pull off his coat. Then his shirt. Irene followed his lead. Coat. Shit. Pants. Undergarments. The both stood on the stage naked. Irene wrapped her arms around herself, protecting her body from the invading lights. She looked up and Josh who was gently gazing upon her figure.
“What?” she said nervously.
“Nothing, it’s just…How did you get so beautiful?”
Irene let out a little laugh. They began talking and before they knew it Ella had started snapping photos hear and there. The time flew by, and more and more they felt more comfortable with each other and their bodies. They began interacting a bit more; with the help of Ella of course. The night flew by and soon they were both exhausted from the excitement. It took every ounce of energy to put their clothes back on and say their goodbyes.
“Thank you Ella, thank you so much.”
“My pleasure.”
“Yeah thanks Ella,” muttered Josh.
“When should we come pick up our pictures?” Irene asked.
“Sometimes next week my dear,” replied Ella.
“Alright, thanks again,” Josh and Irene said in unison as they left.
They left the building and walked the block back to the subway. Then, it began to snow. They looked up into the pitch black sky, letting the flakes hit every inch of their body. Irene looked ahead and saw Josh was looking right back at her, with a smile on his face.
“I love you. And I’m sorry I let things go.”
“Me too babe,” she whispered.
He held her neck and he kissed her passionately.

The following week both Irene and Josh walked back to the same place they had taken pictures one snowy night. When they arrived however, Studio #13 was empty. There was nothing there but a yellow folder in the middle of the room that said “Irene and Josh.” Irene and Josh looked at each other, confused.
“Why did she just get up and leave?” Josh asked.
“I have no idea. Then again, it was weird that she was up and here in the first place, you know?”
“Totally.”
They opened the folder and there were three photos of Irene and Josh, and a small note from Ella and it said:
Making things happen is your first step.
Love, Smile, Dance, &Laugh
And never forget.

Thomas Jefferson FBI info.

2007-12-10T13:51:00.000-08:00

name: THOMAS JEFFERSON

nickname: "Man of the People" and "Sage of Monticello"

born: April 13, 1743

died: July 4, 1826

height: nearly six foot

weight: thin

hair: wore a white wig

Major events during his presidency was

summary: Thomas Jefferson was our third president(1801-1809); the principal author of the Declaration of Independence(1776); and one of our most influential Founding Father for his ideals on Republicanism in the United States.Jefferson served as the wartime Governer of Virginia(1779–1781), first United States Secretary of States(1789–1793) and second Vice President(1797–1801).

the Louisiana Purchase and the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Growing up, he had got an excellent education, thanks to the prosperity of his father. After years in boarding school, where he excelled in classical languages, Jefferson enrolled in William and Mary College in his home state of Virginia, taking classes in science, mathematics, rhetoric, philosophy, and literature. By the time he was admitted to the Virginia bar in April 1767, many considered him to have one of the nation's best legal minds.

Jefferson had married to a woman named Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, but death cruel took her from Jefferson, 20 years before he became president. His successors were his two daughters, Martha Patsy Jefferson Randolph and Maria Polly Jefferson Eppes.

Barder and Charlie

2007-12-10T10:36:00.001-08:00

barder was the runt of his litter, no one ever believed he could be something special. his brothers and sisters always left him out of the games. his father never paid him any attention. his mother was the only one who really cared. he thought for sure he would be the last of the puppies to be chose for a family dog. but as soon as charlie looked at barder; he has this feeling, this connection.

charlie was the runt of his family too. two older brothers, who would always give charlie a hard time. one day, charlie's mother took charlie out to the country side, where they had a puppues for sale. when they arrived, only four were left. he walked over to the pen slowly, looking at each of them. sunddenly three eager puppies jumped up ti the brim, while on sat quietly in the corner.

"that one," charlie squeaked, pointing to barder. his mother looked over towards barder and said,

"now hunny, that one doesn't look too healthy, why not one of these three," as she pointed to the three little puppies who so happily wagged their tails.

charlie shook his head fiercley ad held his arms out. the farmer lifted barder out of the pen and placed him in the boys arms. when their eyes met, the boys new in an instant there was a connection.

[[years later]]

"barder, im home!" shouted charlie. charlie was much older now as was barder.

"good afternoon charlie, did you bring me a treat?" said barder eagerly. charlie shoved his hand vigurously into his pocket and pulled out a dog treat. he threw it up in the air and barder jumped in the air to meet it, and eat it.

"mm that was delicious," barder said, smiling.

"hey, i have something to show you..."whispered charlie. barder moved closer to his master wondering what it could be. charlie dug in his backpack and took out something orange and ragady.

"ew," barder sniffed and backed away. "what in dog's heaven is that?"

"a torbin," smiled charlie.

"i believe you mean, 'turban' charlie," corrected barder.

"yeah yeah, mom said it as magical," charlie said, expressing a very big smile. barder mearely rolled his eyes and sighed.

"WHAT?" charlie demanded. "you don't believe in magic? you are such an old dog." charlie stormed off to his room, leaving barder in the kitchen.

that evening, after dinner, barder creeped into charlie's room. charlie pretended to be asleep, still angry with his friend.

"charlie," barder whispered. "i know you're not asleep...please charlie, i didn't mean no offense."

"barder...,"he whispered

"yes! yes charlie?" barder said excitedly.

"will you fly with me?" charlie said sitting up in bed and looking at his dog companion. barder smiled at him and said,

"of course charlie."

charlie got out of bed and crossed his wood flow bare footed, tip-toed out into the hall way and towards the closet. he opened the door as quietly as possible, he reached his hand in and found his orange turban. he creeped back to his room where he found barder with his head half way out of the window. barder turned around and said,

"are you sure this is going to work?"

"barder," charlie said sturnly. "you have to believe."

"right, believe...i knew that."

charlie slipped his turban on and got on barder's back. barder got up on the ledge and jumped off. barder barked,

"OH NO! WE'RE FALLING."

barder's eyes were tight shut, and all he could hear was charlie yelling,

"BARDER OPEN YOUR EYES."

barder finally obeyed and say that they were flying. they were high in the deep, black, sparkling sky.

"wow," the both gasped. And they' sailed off into the night.

HOOKED

2007-12-06T14:12:00.000-08:00

Under the circumstances, i believe this would all depend on the person you are. If you are a sensitive person, you would do it for anyone. If you are selective, you would probably do it for some people. If you are a heartless bitch, then you would do it for no one.
It's really hard to do something so drastic for someone who you dont know.
I think i would also be pissed if someone just kidnapped me and forced me to stay attached to someone for nine months. but then again i dont think i would go willingly if they asked me.

Book Report

2007-12-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

Vonnegut, Kurt. SLUAGHTER-HOUSE FIVE. Dell Publishing. Random House Inc. December 1991.

I chose Slaughter-House Five because it was recommended by a teacher. I was suppose to read it last year, but i got sick, so i was excused from the project. This book is War-Fiction Novel. This book takes place pre, during, and post of World War II. It's about a man names Billy Pilgrim. He was put into war that he had no wish to participate. He is mentally unstable and insists that aliens take him away from planet Earth to the planet of the Trafalmadorians. He can also go back and forth through time.

What intereseted me most about this book was the way it was written. How it jumped through time; you really had to follow to plot line in order to understand what was going on in the story. It was thilling, reading this man's adventures. It's based on a true event in time, and he (Kurt Vonnegut) actually was in WWII and was in a Slaughter House, during the Dresden bombing. The main plot was about Billy Pilgrims travelings throught his life.

Billy Pilgrim was a "funny-looking child who became a funny-looking youth-tall and weak, and shaped like a bottle of Coca-Cola." He has no real qualities, except he's a professional optomitrist, a poor soldier, and a mild wife. He was the main character, so he was my main interests.

This novel was passionatley written, and i loved ever single chapter, every single page. It hinted information about who Kurt really was, and it was informative about World War II. There were a few lines that really grabbed me. The first was, "so it goes." "His father died in a hunting accident during the war. So it goes." or "His name was Howard W. Campbell, Jr. He would later hang himself while awaiting trial as a war criminal. So it goes."
"So it goes," to mean symbolizes, "oh well," or "and that's just the end of it."
There was another part of the book that said,
God grant me the serenity to accept the things that i cannot change,
to change the things i can,
and the wisdom to tell the difference.
I love this quote, and live by it.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants their life to be changed.

Other books that Kurt Vonnegut wrote are:
Bluebeard
Breakfast of Champions
Cat's Cradle
Slapsticks
Welcome to the Monkey House

Myspace Suicide

2007-12-03T17:13:00.000-08:00

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/03/internet.suicide/index.html

Okay this article is just ridiculous.
Myspace, once again is being attacked because a few words were being exchanged on the internet.
Thirteen year old Megan hanged herself after a dispute online with a boy named "Josh."
But "Josh" wasn't really a boy; it was an 18-year-old woman who posed as him to figure out why Megan was being so mean to a neighbors daughter.
Messages were sent back and forth, arguing over how mean Megan was to her friends.
When Megan told her mother about this, her mother got upset about the horrible language she had used online. Megan's response was, "I can't believe you're not on my side," Megan ran upstairs and hanged herself.

And although there's nothing that can seriously be done about this whole thing, Banas [Megan's Attorney] swears "they will go unpunished."

vocab. week thirteen

2007-12-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

1. subtle [suht-l]: fine or delicate in meaning or intent; difficult to perceive or understand; irony. delicate or faint and mysterious.

2. vehement [vee-uh-muhnt]: zealous; ardent (passionate) ; impassioned.

3. zealous [zel-uh]: diligent, full of, ardently active, devoted. It to zealous work to make that sand castle. Believe me the tide came in and washed away out first one. Then we got bored and left it alone. We finally finished it around sun down:)

4. adverse [ad-vurs]: opposing one's interests or desire. unfavorable or antagonistic in purpose or effect.

5. averse [uh-vurs]: having a strong feeling of opposition (competition), antipathy (loathing), repugnance(hate), etc.

6. blatant [bleyt-nt]: offensively noisy or loud.

7. alleged [uh-lejd]: doubtful; suspect; supposed.

8. aggravate [ag-ruh-veyt]: to make worse or more severe; intensify.

9. discreet [di-skreet]: regard to respecting privacy or maintaining silence about something of a delicate nature; prudent; circumspect.

10. factoid [fak-toid]: something fictitious(false) or unsubstantiated that is presented as fact. I chose John Mayer's new album Waiting on the World to Change, because his hit single is about the war in Iraq. There's one line that says, " And when you trust your television/What you get is what you got/Cause when they own the information, oh/They can bend it all they want" so it makes me wonder...is what we are hearing a factoid? Just to get us to believe in what we should and shouldn't.

11. flout [flout]: to treat with disdain, scorn, or contempt; scoff at; mock. I'd treat my cat like this, with flout. I mean only if she did something wrong :] haha. As you can see in this picture, this cat stole a piece of paper, and you need crucial punishment to make sure it won't happen again.

12. forte [fawr-tey]:a strong point, as of a person; that in which one excels. Last year, I successfully skateboarded in heels. I even took a picture to prove it! In the end, I forted. (I've had some bad experiences with skate boards).

13. disinterested [dis-in-tuh-res-tid]: not influenced by selfish motives.

Current Event on France: Youths Attacke Police Station

2007-11-26T20:11:00.000-08:00

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3911702

French youth rebel against the police station; after a long high speed chase where two teenage motorcyclists are left dead. The young adults torched and open fired on the cops and left the captain hospitalized with a severe injury to the face. The reason for this horrible massacre was due to the incident that happened earlier that evening.
As I mentioned before, there was an accident that involved the death or two motorcyclists, one 15 the other 16; who both died at the seen. Rumors had been curculating that the police officers were the cause of this horrid accident, but in the end, it was the teenagers who were riding unsafley through the streets of France. Niether of them had a helmet on.

vocab. week eleven

2007-11-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

loquacious [loh-kwey-shuhs]: talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling; rambling. The group of girls had a very hard time convincing their teachers that they could sit together; for the teachers could see that when they were together, they were very loquacious.

oligarchy [ol-i-gahr-kee]: a form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons or in a dominant class or clique; government by the few. The men were poewer hungry to become part of the oligarchy. They made bargains and threats just to reach the top.

quotidian [kwoh-tid-ee-uhn]: daily, usual or customary; everyday. It was the quotidian that he get up and eat breakfast, then go to his shrine and pray from nine till one.

vocab. week nine

2007-10-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

recapitulate [ree-kuh-pich-uh-leyt]: to review by a brief summary, as at the end of a speech or discussion; summarize. Dr. Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. always knew how to recapitulate after a powerful speech.

empathy [em-puh-thee]: Identification with and understanding of another's situation, feelings, thoughts, attitudes and motives. My mother has empathy for me when I have a bad day. She always has the right things to say when I'm feeling down.

incognito [in-kog-nee-toh, in-kog-ni-toh]: having one's identity concealed, as under an assumed name, esp. to avoid notice or formal attentions. Usually the bad guy in a movie is disguised incognito, and you usually never find out until the very end.

Mark Twain speaks through Huck

2007-10-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

In the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain expresses many ideas and opinions about this specific time period it was written about. Twain voices many opinions through Huck, as if to say that he does not tolerate what society was doing at that time.

A backdrop of colourful depictions of Southern society and places along the way, Huck Finn and Jim, Miss Watson’s slave, decide to flee on a raft down the Mississippi river to the free states. I believe this symbolises the fact that Mark couldn't flee from the restraints of his fathers passing. His father could have possibly been just as harsh on him as Ms. Watson was on Huck. Much like Mark, Huck was a true supporter of abolition and emancipation, he would never change his views because he felt so strongly about these subjects. But because society didn't view it as a bad thing, he had to follow the rules.

One man of honor in this novel is 'Nigger Jim,' as Twain called him to emphasize the irony of a society, as the only true gentleman. Jim is the only gentleman and a true best friend towards Huck. Mark was a writer, writers are supposed to create characters with their own views, experiences, and beliefs, basing them on their environment and time period.

In no way does Huckleberry Finn portray any of the beliefs of Mark Twain; Huck is purely a character with beliefs suitable to his location and time period. Twain, being a great American writer creates a second personality of himself in his book Huckleberry Finn. Racism, prejudice was common at the time but he didn’t let it stop him from showing his expressions in a popularly read story.

vocab. week ten

2007-10-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

flourish: (v) [flur-ish, fhlur] to be in a vigorous state; thrive. Life was lost at one point for the wounded soldiers. War had made them weary and daft. But just like a cherry tree that blooms in the summer, the batter soldiers flourished into something new; a gentleman.

tranquility: (n) [trang-kwil-i-tee] quality or state of being tranquil; calmness; peacefulness; quiet; serenity. The sunset puts me in a state of tranquility. Where my mind becomes one with nature and everything else fades away.

tempo: (noun or plural) [tem-poh] Music. relative rapidity or rate of movement, usually indicated by such terms as adagio, allegro, etc., or by reference to the metronome. Beethovens' Moonlight Sonata was played in a retardando tempo. The notes trickled from the page, through my hands and onto the keys.

Jessica's Story

2007-10-15T18:40:00.000-07:00

while on her way to school one morning, Jessica Shadi received a phone call from home. Back in Israel, her pestering mother called asking if her day was going well. Yapping vigorously in Arabic, Jessica quietly explains to her mother that now that she's away from home, she doesn't need to be calling her all the time wondering if she is alright in New York. Jessica has been living in New York for 8 months now, and is pretty comfortable with her surroundings. Juggling her notebook, i-pod and cellphone she walks through the turnstiles. Her mothers' please to come home angers Jessica and she misses her train. Frustrated that her day was already bad, she waited for the next train that didn't show up till 8:45, and school started at 9:00; it took at least half and hour to get to NYU. She decided to get a head start on her school work. While on the subway, she met a boy named Errick Schmell, they talked about photography (something they both had in common). Already her day seemed to be improving. Once at her stop, they both got off and walked a few blocks together, when they arrived at NYU, they said their good-byes and Errick gave her his number. She said she would call him sometime.

Class was a blur, all she could think about was Errick. By photography class, she was so glad that she could spend some time doing something artistic and creative. While she was in the dark room, her and her friend Melissa starting talking about Errick. She wanted to call him that evening to see if he was free to go out, but she didnt want to go alone, so she asked Melissa if her and Derek would join them. They planned to meet at La Salsa Club on 79th street at 9 o'clock.
She left school an hour early so she could get home quickly. On the subway she called Errick, it went straight to voice mail. A little upset about that, she left him a message asking him if he would call her back as soon as he got the message. He finally called back around seven. Jessica musterd up the question, and asked him if he would meet her at La Salsa around nine that evening. He said he would not have a problem and said he would see her soon. Thrilled, Jessica quickly ran to her closet and looked for an outfit for heself. She went through a million outfits and picked something simple, boots, a pair of jeans and a red halter top. Confused whether or not she sould wear her head piece, she called up Melissa and asked. Melissa came over and told her to take it off, she then fixed her hair and put make-up on her. She dazzled and glittered.

At 8:30 they left the house and met up with Derek at the subway. They arrived at nine on 79th street. Jessica immidiatley saw Errick, and they were soon lost in the music and dance. She danced the night away, and soon Errick and Jessica became girlfriend and boyfriend.