Last Blog of the Year

The topic that I liked best was when we were able to rant or talk about the things we are enjoying lately. It gave us ability to not focus on specific things and let us think freely. I did not like the topic where we had to make the little animation talk. I just did not enjoy it for some reason and I also didn't like having to interact with certain sites we used. I put some effort into my blogs but not an extreme amount. I won't lie, I only did the bare minimum on the ones I did not enjoy or did not know what to say for. I thought that the blogging was a good experience because it got us to look more at what other people think and people can also see what we think. I learned some things but I can't remember specifically...

Top 3 Stories in no Order
Ambush
All Quiet On the Western Front
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

(all my favorite stories were war type and based as you can see. Those type of topics really interest me.)

Advice to Miss Wolff

I would start off by not letting the kids goof off much. The class is beneficial and you can learn a lot if you pay attention. I would also suggest keeping All Quiet On The Western Front as a story to read. I enjoy it a lot and it is very interesting. Keep the Graffiti board going because it helps you figure out who has read the story and knows what they're talking about. I guess that's all the advice I have and hope things are well for you next year.

Great Gatsby Soundtrack

1) Somebody stole my gal by Ted Weems
Just by the name it relates to Gatsby having Daisy "stolen" from him. Since this happens he of course tries to get her back and rekindle their love.
2) I've found a new baby by Clarence Williams Blue Five
This sums up Tom cheating on Daisy for such a long time with Myrtle.
3)Aint Misbehavin by Louis Armstrong
It sums up how the guys or girls never that they were doing anything wrong when the cheated on others.

Mark Twain's Wit

A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.

I really like this because it talks about how if someone has a new idea that seems different and absurd is just an idiot. This happens a lot when people have new ideas. They are ridiculed but when they succeed and they become well known people want to be by their sides although those people put down the inventor. 

What's good?

A show that I really love is Bomb Patrol Afghanistan. It shows the true reality of the war and it also relates to me a little bit. For a while my brother contemplated going into E.O.D. but he luckily didn't. What the people in the show do is really testing death. E.O.D. is Explosive Ordinance Disposal so they have to go any situation where they have to disarm an I.E.D. or Improvised Explosive Device. This shows how the people at war really put their life on the line for us and they do not get enough respect but I really do love the show. It keeps your attention but I'm sad it will most likely have to come to an end soon because of the war winding down. Regardless it is my favorite show right now.

Stories of the Quest for Civil Rights

http://www.archives.gov/midatlantic/education/desegregation/orange-county.html

This story really surprised me. It surprised me because I didn't realize that there were more than blacks that were being segregated and discriminated against. But even with their segregation, they were not as tough on Mexicans as they were on blacks. Also since the same ideas were brought up in court with the Mexicans and the Blacks, the Mexicans were much more successful showing how much worse that the Blacks had it.

Harlem

The person that I looked at was Augusta Fells Savage. She interested me a lot because of her skill with modeling and making portraits. One thing that stuck out was that he made a lot of things that related to a religion rather than being something obscure. One thing that happened to her that made me thought a lot about Bessie and Sadie was when she was denied admission into a school. The sisters felt strongly about having blacks and whites in schools together.

Having My Say

I hate it when people say that people of different color do not have an equal chance. It's complete crap. Everyone has equal chances at the things that they do. They may not have the best situations in life but they have to look past that and strive and try for the things that they hope to achieve. If anyone works hard enough they can do anything they set their mind to. A good example is Donald Driver of the Green Bay Packers. He was a homeless kid for a lot of his life but now he is one of the best wide receivers that the Packers, or the NFL have seen. I also hate when people blame their failures or lack of success in life on their family. They blame it on how they lived a tough life and had issues but everyone has problems in life. No one has a perfect life, everyone has struggles and all you have to do is push past them and learn from them and it will make you a better person. So in conclusion I believe that everyone has equal chances for success and opportunities in life if they just strive for it and possibly make sacrifices in life.

Expressions in Art

The name of this picture is The Human Race. I found this as suiting because the end of Having Our Say was called "Outliving the Rebby Boys". Outliving the Rebby Boys is winning, sort of like beating them in a race. Sadie and Bessie always wanted to show what African Americans can do and they did it with showing they can beat out the people who were trying to put them down.

Connections from Whitman

"And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became," I can relate with this well because when I was kid I had a big imagination. I would imagine being a race car driver or anything that I would encounter throughout the day. Now a days if we ever did that we would be made fun of for enjoying life, so clearly our childhood was when we could live freely and enjoy life.

Emily Dickinson's Garden of Poetry

http://www.poetseers.org/early_american_poets/emily_dickinson_poems_nature/5/

Some keep the Sabbath going to church;

I keep it staying at home,

With a bobolink for a chorister,

And an orchard for a dome.

Some keep the Sabbath in surplice;

I just wear my wings,

And instead of tolling the bell for church,

Our little sexton sings.

God preaches, -- a noted clergyman, --

And the sermon is never long;

So instead of getting to heaven at last,

I'm going all along!

- Emily Dickinson  

What I believe Dickinson is trying to say is that while everyone is at church, she is at home enjoying her garden and nature in general. She is also then in heaven all the time, where she really wants to be. 

Affirmations of Life

Something good that is happening today: Nothing is happening which is good. Other than writing blogs, there's nothing to do today which is a relief. It's always nice to sit down and relax sometimes after being stressed out or very busy. Everybody needs it once in a while and is always something that is greatly enjoyed.

Connection to Nature

A recent connection to nature for me was looking at the stars on the river for a star chart I had to do. It was just interesting and fun to look in the sky and see the vast space that is up there. You can also get the feel of how small we are compared to everything else. It was also a nice time to just sit back and see nature do it's work, so to say.

Team Edgar

I like Edgar a lot more than Hawthorne. Edgar does not ramble on for a while about pointless descriptions. Edgar also writes stories that I can enjoy reading. Edgar's stories are very interesting and do not have much description that makes me want to stop reading or skip across it. All around Egar is better because his stories will keep you interested in what he is talking about and you will not get lost in pointless description.