Current Connection 3.2

Rock and Roll has been around for a long long time. Many people have come and gone that helped shape up this world. People like The Beatles, Elvis, Led Zepplin, and famous rock stars like all of them have affected our culture today, but they were not the only ones. There are also a group of women rockers who also helped define rock music and the components within. In the article "10 women who made rock history" the article talks about females that also helped and gave a huge impact into rock music.

Rock music has always had women that helped shape up and develop the beauty of rock music. "As early as the late '60s, artists like Grace Slick and Janis Joplin were fronting A-list bands, and shortly thereafter the genre began to see its first all-female bands, such as The Runaways, and Fanny." People tend to sometimes ignore or forget the female rock singers, just because they are not male. Both male and female rock stars have changed rock and influenced many things that make our culture today. Rock is not just guys, females can also listen to rock, play rock, and enjoy rock as much as I do.

We are all influenced by someone who we think is above us. We have role models and try our best to be like them. "Some were a major influence on artists of their generation and the next, some were a major influence on the success of the bands with which they worked. And all excelled at creating and performing rock music, as songwriters, instrumentalists and singers." Many rock stars today were influenced by female singers back in the day, believe it or not, female singer did affect and are a huge part of the rock society today.

Males are not the only ones who can become rock stars, everyone can become a rockstar. As long as you have the skills and the right connections, you can be successful. The article states "One of the first women associated with hard rock, Pat Benatar's rise from bank teller to arena rock star" Pat, a very successful rock star, was just a bank teller. Not only was she not a male, but was far away from the music industry and became one of the top most successful rock artist to ever exist. Never let anyone tell you that you can not do something, if your heart and mind are into what you want, you can become what you want. 

As a male, I am very ashame that people can complain or say that women did not have any impact on rock music because they played a big role and have achieved great success. 

Women rockstars have had great success and have influenced many people today to be great. The list goes on and on, and more and more women rockers keep coming in. I believe that you can be what you want to be, do you? 

Current Connection 3.1

Have you ever heard of Amy Lee, Ann Wilson, or Pat Benatar? If not, those are some of the wolds greatest female rock and roll vocalists. Most bands and most people see that rock bands typically have male vocalists and when a female sings, they don't put both of them on the same level. Female vocalists are never given enough credit for what they do, people tend to think that male singers are better. In the article "Corrected: Female musician presence on the rise for Knoxville bands" the article goes deeper into the subject and gets the opinion of female rockers.

In the article, female rockers are trying to prove that female musicians can also rise to the top. "In general, men are socialized to speak out, be loud, express their opinions, and women are socialized that their opinions and feelings aren't always valid or as worthy" In our society females still do not get as much respect as men. As a male, I believe that everyone is equal, no matter what color or sex, we all have our opinions and they are all worthy to listen, but females such as Elizabeth Wright do not always receive the respect they deserve. I believe in equal opportunity for everyone.

Women who speak out or take a stand for what is right are typically looked down upon, in the article, it states that "There are higher stakes for women who take an outspoken, public stance. Whether it's sexist comments online, dismissal of women's experiences or knowledge or patronizing responses, those things happen every day" Being on the internet often and looking through comments on videos, tweets, or anything dealing with social media and a person's opinion can have a negative effect. I have seen guys bully a girl and say sexist comments because they feel that they are not worthy but that is not true. Girls also deserve the respect guys do, especially a girl who is trying to show the world what she can do. Being put down like women do can often hurt one real bad.

The music industry is hard to get into, there are many people who try and try but can not seem to get far into it, especially women, and that is very sad. "I see the music industry as just one aspect of a society that still sexualizes women rather than appreciates our intellect, that silences our voices or belittles our opinions rather than hearing our valid thoughts and experiences, and that denies women access to traditionally male-dominated fields," People need to learn to appreciate the things a person can do no matter who they are. Just because of the sex of one is different, it does not mean they are less than someone. Skills are not affected by the appearance but by the passion someone has for something.

As a musician, I have been in a few bands and the first thing we look for is a female vocalist, not because we do not like male vocalist, but because the idea is not very common. Yes there have been many succesful bands with female singers, but you do not see as often as you see male singers. I give equal opportunities to everyone, and what it comes down to is who is a better singer, not who is a male or a female.


If you can sing, you already are special. Actually, everyone is special, we all have different skills or talents that make us different from others. A person's sex does not affect that, I know many female singers who can sing much better than male singers and male singers who sing better than other female singers. I just think that female singers do not get the respect they deserve, they try their hardest to be something in life and someone always has to bring them down. If we could ignore one's sex, would things be different? Would we treat people better?

Current Connection 2.1

Every decision and action we make can affect a person emotionally, physically, or mentally. There are many times when we speak without thinking and hurt someones feelings. Too many people have taken bullying lightly and think its alright to call a person a name, or hurt them. The negative acts taken towards someone else could be considered bullying and could change someones life. Rachel's Challenge is a program that wants to create peace, make our learning environments safer for everyone, and impact our society in a positive way.

"Each day 160,000 students do not go to school because they are bullied, teased and harassed." This statement shocked me! How could someone be so selfish and ignorant that they bully someone so much, to the point where they don't want to go to school. 160,000 is a big number, especially for students that don't attend school. One of those students who are being picked on and bullied could be our next Steve Jobs or our next president, yet they fear a place where they are supposed to be learning at, not bullied. We must think before we speak, and realize that our words can really tear someone down instead of building them up.

Shortly before her death, Rachel wrote, "I have this theory that if one person can go out of their way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction of the same. People will never know how far a little kindness can go."An act of kindness is anything simple, it can be picking someones pencil up, or opening the door for them. Every act can make someone feel a little better after a long day. We don't know what a person is going through or what their home and social life is like, so an act of kindness can show someone that not everyone is the same and that someone cares. When you show someone kindness, and they show someone else, it will indeed start a chain reaction and can dramatically affect the school environment. It would most likely decrease bullying and increase happiness within the students.

"In one survey, 78% of students indicated they would definitely intervene in a bullying incident in their school after seeing Rachel's Challenge." The program has truly impacted schools, and is still going. Rachel one wrote down that she would "touch millions of peoples hearts" and she is doing just that. More than 19 million people have been touched by Rachel's message and continue to spread the word. The more people know, the less bullying there will be, and the more peace and safety will be in the world.

As a student, I see bullying, I have been bullied, and I have bullied others. I regret my actions and words and wish I could take them all back, but once done or said, you can never take it back. After learning about Rachel's challenge, I decided that I would never bully anyone again and that I would do my best to prevent such acts. Showing kindness and respect will be my new goal, and hopefully people will see that anyone can change.

Rachel's Challenge has impacted many people around the United States and even some out of the country. The program is a very well needed program that can change someone or something in the matter of minutes. People make mistakes and hurt others, but they can also change and help the ones who they once hurt. Our decisions today can affect our tomorrow.

Current Connection 1.2

What makes a good school? Some may say the schools size and others the resources; some may think it's the sports and others believe its the location, but I believe what school comes down to is the education. Although we are all required to attend school and are all taught the same lessons, it is hard to find a school that will teach you the proper skills and techniques to prepare you properly for college. Has the United States done a good job with our educational system? I believe not. The article THE STATE OF COLORADO EDUCATION: Recipes for good schools hard to find by Debbie Kelley and Carol McGraw, talks about what makes a good school and whether we, the United States, are doing a good job with our educational system.

In the article Kelley and McGraw state, "There's no simple fix for America's struggling education system."The United States may be strong militarily but are we meeting our expectations educationally? I think not. There are many schools around the United States that have not prepared the students enough for them to succeed and bypass others around the world. There are also many countries around the world who are ahead of us educationally. I support the military, but our education is more important, therefore we need to focus on that.

"It's not the plays, it's the execution that counts." said Rockne in the article. There are teachers who believe that a lesson will teach everyone the same, but in reality, we are all different. We, the students, have different ways of learning. Some of us are visual learners, some can learn by activities, and some can learn by listening but in the end, we are all different and all require different methods of learning and receiving the lesson. I, a student in high school, believe that we must step up our educational methods and prove to them that we can take over the top.

The author concludes that, "The U.S. education system ranks 17th among developed nations, according to a report that education firm Pearson and the Economist Intelligence Unit released in November. It ranked Finland and South Korea as providing the best education systems, followed by Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore." We may be able to brag about being a world leader since 1945, but clearly we are not as advanced educationally. 17th place among all developed nations is not that great. We need to step up our game and show the rest of the world we can lead in every aspect of life.

     
As a high school student, this saddens me. If we were in the same level as Finland or South Korea, I could assume that we, high school students, would be better prepared for the next steps in our lives and we would also have better test scores. If we aren't learning all that we can at the best capacity, then we need to try harder. Teachers and students both need to give it our best and try harder than ever. We can be at the top yet we want to slack off and it shows in the end. We are ranked 17th and that's not very good. I am part of this and I feel like we could do much better. 

     
The United States has not done a bad job with our education, but we can do better. We have the talent and resources to progress through the ranks and be placed in the top 3 nations with the best education, we just need to put a plan together and start removing parts that are affecting us.We can do it, the only thing needed is the motivation. I can see this happening within the next few years, can you?

Current Connection 1.1

     In the article "Pakistani schoolgirl Malala who survived assassination attempt honored for education activism" by the Associated Press, the authors talk a young girl by the name of Malala is rewarded the Children's Peace Prize for her act of courage and her bravery. Malala is a young girl who was nearly killed for standing up for what she believed in and for standing up for her education and the education of many other young girls in the Middle East.

"Malala was 15 years old when she and two of her friends were attacked on their way home from school in Pakistan's northwest Swat Valley." stated the author. Young girls, or women in general, are not allowed to be educated through school in the Middle East. There are young girls who still go to school and put their lives on the edge everyday just to be able to learn from a school. Men around those parts of the world believe that women should not be able to go to school but instead should stay home and take care of the house work and of their families.

The author states,"The 16-year-old said she accepted the prize Friday in the historic Knights' Hall in The Hague "on behalf of all the children all over the world who are trying to go to school." There are many people who do not want to go to school or do not even try when they are there yet there are people who wish they could get an education and even risk their lives trying to obtain one. Everyone who complains and says they hate school needs to walk in the shoes of person who can not get an education and wishes they could.

The author of the article also says, "She survived and now attends school in England after being flown there for treatment." Malala can now happily learn and has impacted the world with her action of bravery and courage. It's unbelievable that a person has to go through all that pain just for education. Everyone deserves the right to education no matter the race or sex of the person. Malala is a strong girl and a very brave one also, Malala and her friends survived the attack and have left a mark on history for the cause of education for women in the Middle East.

Malala was an extremely courageous young girl who stood up for education and what she believed was right, she deserved that award and she also deserves much more, especially the respect and love from people all around the world. I, a student in the United States, am very unappreciative sometimes. After reading this artcile, I relaized how much of an honor going to school and obtainig an education really is.
    
Would you stand up for your freedom of education or would you just sit there and live your life full of ignorance? Only you can decide, Malala decided what she thought was right and stood up for her decisions. If Malala, the young girl who stood up for education, could go through all this pain, then why do we complain about going to school if we have the freedom of going?

Words hurt

      "5 Things Parents Shouldn't Say To Their Kids" is an article that I can relate to because my parents have said some things in my past that I wish I haven't heard. I can remember one that always scared me was the one when my mom used to tell things like  "I'm leaving if you don't hurry" or "I'm going to leave without you." I began to get so scared that I had to be by her side at all times.  Debora Gilboa, a parenting speaker, says, "If you want them to believe what we say is true, we cannot say something that is patently false." My parents used to scare me when they told me they were leaving or that I had to go into what they called "time-out" and stuff like that. I started to realize that it started to not happened so now I don't really get scared when they tell me "We are taking your phone" or when they say "We will be watching you" because I know they won't. 
      My parents always told me to apologize after I did something that wasn't right.  "Young children don't automatically understand why they have to apologize." If a child goes through their childhood apologizing and not even knowing what for, they'll do that all their life about every little thing. I know people that they apologize for every single thing they do, it gets to the point to where it no longer has a meaning to be sorry. I can say I am sorry but I may only say it to be nice and not because I meant it. I think it is important to teach children when it is proper to say sorry and not to make them say sorry for everything they do.  In the end "Words hurt and they can't be taken back, so be careful" says Debbie Pincus" and I fully agree with her. 

http://shine.yahoo.com/team-mom/5-things-parents-shouldnt-kids-171300904.html#!exz4M

BHS SADD

     Recently at Batesville High School our sutdent body has started a SADD Chapter. "Founded as Students Against Driving Drunk in 1981 in Wayland, Massachusetts, SADD has grown to become the nation's leading peer-to-peer youth education and prevention organization with thousands of chapters in middle schools, high schools, and colleges." Students Against Destructive Decisions or SADD is an organization that help people our age make better decisions in our high school years that will help us in our future rather than affect us. Like the website stated, it has grown to be the "nation's leading peer-to-peer youth education and prevention organization.."Some of those decisions could be drinking, drugs, drunk driving and such. SADD has realized that it's not just alcohol that's available to students, but also drugs and other destructive decisions that could really hurt them. "SADD's unique approach involves young people delivering education and prevention messages to their peers through school- and community wide activities and campaigns responsive to the needs of their particular locations." Summer is almost here and for some of us, that means going down to the sandbar and hanging out all day with chances to drink and even smoke.
     "Membership into SADD is a commitment and a voluntary process. Members set the environment for other students to follow here on campus." Most of the members of SADD volunteer in their communities to make it a much safer environment for everyone around this town. Most of the work done is by the students but in order for it to take action, the adviser must agree. In order to get more people into the SADD Club, one most show and be a good influence and must show others all the good things about being part of the club. "Service projects are one of the best ways to constructively engage youth; in fact, the rewards and experiences gained during a service project have the potential to leave a huge impact on not only those in need, but also those serving." Having hands on activities is fun and can attract many people to join and help. The point of the activities is not to be rewarded or recognized but its to show others that you care about the environment and your peers that you will do anything to keep them safe.

http://www.sadd.org/mission.htm

Woman Abuse Is Bad

Abuse comes in all kinds of forms. It is not only physical, such as hitting or beating, but it is emotional and verbal, as well. Words hurt and manipulation can also tear someone down, slowly but surely. Usually, emotional abuse takes place in relationships. Though it is definitely not always men abusing the women, it is more common for the women to be the victim. Women are weaker, physically, giving men more power over them, and some men seem to enjoy taking control of that vulnerability.

 In many countries, especially third world countries, women abuse is not considered normal. It is a regular thing that people learn to accept, which means men repeat the same abuse to their future wives or daughters, creating a cycle that never ends. In the Middle East, there is a practice that has gone on for many years. It is frowned upon, but the abusers do not always get the consequence they most definitely deserve. It involves throwing acid onto the face of a woman, either to get revenge or for some other personal reason. The acid, a harmful chemical, burns the face of the woman, literally melting off their skin and leaving behind a gruesome look. Although the advanced technology we have allows surgeons to reconstruct those victimized by the heartless attackers, the women abused will never have the face they once had.

In a small tribe in an African country, there is a tradition that has been passed on through generations of women. The difference between the acid attacks that takes place in the Middle East is that while the attackers in the Middle East are male, the practice in Africa is performed by the women. The practice in itself has a meaning behind it, it is to try to prevent young girls from being sexually assaulted by the men in the tribe. It involves beating a young girl's breasts with hot rocks, in order to prevent the breasts from growing in, ultimately making them seem far too young to have sexual relations with. The practice is painful and does not always prevent the breasts from coming in, but rather only leaves burnt skin and scarring, physically and emotionally.

Women abuse is everywhere. Not only in third world countries, but in our own towns. Although it may be impossible to stop abuse from happening altogether, there is always hope to try to minimize it as best as possible. Anyone can help, by teaching children from an early age that abusing someone is wrong, or by helping end somebody's pain who is going through it already. There is no limit to how the world can help those abused and make women feel at peace and safe in their lives.

http://womenshealth.gov/violence-against-women/

Good vs Evil

Our country has been attacked in many ways, most of them are thru violence. Now here is a new threat that has even more potential than any other method used to attack another country. This method is referred as "hacking." It may not appear to be a huge threat but it could severely hurt our country. Yahoo News has stated that "the growth in the number of hackers, the software tools available to them, and the thriving economic underground serving them have made any computer network connected to the Internet impossible to defend flawlessly." The internet is not a place that you can hide something and someone never finding out about it. Nowadays everything can be hacked and with the increasing number of knowledgeable hackers, it will only become harder and harder to protect private information from them. Dell Inc's chief security officer, John McClurg stated that "They outspend us and they out man us in almost every way," The leaders in the technological world are being hit and targeted by hackers from all directions, the work load is increasing and the number of hackers is only rising. We may indeed already be in a war with hackers across the earth. "The attacks are not only from China, which Washington has long accused of spying on U.S. companies, many emanate from Russia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Western countries." Hackers have only one goal, that goal is to mess with people just because of differences. I don't think it's right that we can't even trust the internet without the risk of being hacked and them stealing important information such as credit card numbers or Social Security Numbers. http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-near-impossible-battle-against-hackers-everywhere-080356080.htm 

Bravery Around The World

     In an article by Dylan Stableford from Yahoo! News called, Malala Yousafzai Speaks Publicly, the world is informed of a brave, young girl from Pakistan who was shot by the Taliban and survived.
 
Malala Yousafzai is a fifteen year old Pakistani girl who advocated girl's education rights. In the fall of 2012, while Malala was walking home from school, the Taliban issued a shooting and attacked the young girl, shooting her in the face. According to Associated Press, "the Taliban... targeted her because she promoted 'Western thinking.'" The Taliban, an extremist Islamic political group responsible for numerous terrorist attacks, do not believe in "Western thinking," nor giving women much rights at all. The attack on Malala Yousafzai sparked controversy around the world.

On Saturday, February 2, 2012, Yousafzai successfully underwent surgery in order to reconstruct her skull. Only a couple of days afterwards, she released a video speaking to the public and stated, "I want every girl, every child, to be educated." Malala also announced her success with the surgery and her determination to continue to advocate girls' education rights. In order to achieve her goals, she has launched the Malala Fund, an organization that will support education for young girls.

This article grabbed my attention immediately, not only was an innocent human being shot by vicious men, but it was a fifteen year old girl. I cannot in any way relate to her situation, considering we live in two completely different countries with completely different cultural backgrounds and beliefs, but I feel strong sympathy towards her, due to our similar ages. It makes me realize that no matter how old you are, you can make a difference in the world.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/malala-yousafzai-speaks-video-143346420.html

Animal Cruelty

     Humans and animals may not be the same, but they are still something we should love and take care of. Animal cruelty is something I strongly stand against. Most cases are the same and we have all known or met someone who has abused an animal or has seen someone do such act. There can be situations where the animal was not feed properly, was not taken care of properly, and was beaten out of anger or for "disciplinary methods."
    I happened to own a dog and I love him. My neighbor doesn't take good care of his dogs so I help them. That day I came across this article, reported by CNN, I read about how 20 year old Kevin Dean Parrish "put his grandmother's dog into a heated oven after it nipped at him." He told the police that he had a past of having "anger issues" and he was actually planning on leaving the 9 pound Chihuahua-Pincher in the oven, until his brother walked into the room. The dog is recovering fine from the burns it got from the oven, this is still a very cruel thing to do to an animal and I also find it very strange as well. I find all of this so similar to an experience I had we I was younger.
    When I was about 10 I had a friend who had a Labrador breed dog. I loved that dog, and it surprised us all with little puppies. I asked him if I could have one and he said yes. Our family took in the dog and we named it Max. I played with this dog all the time, he was like my best friend and I took care of my little buddy as if he was my little brother. which at the time, I was a single child. Time went by and we moved, Max stayed with us and everything was fine. I went back to visit my friend and noticed that his dog had burns on its legs. At first I really didn't think much of it. I later realized this dog has been thru so much. I asked my friend what happened to it and he said the dog ran away and some random family took him in, when the dog came back, those burns were on it. After this experience, animal cruelty just bothers me. I just think it's odd that both of these situations are alike and I happened to come across this report. Animal cruelty should not me something to be looked upon, not one bit. We all need to love everything and everyone no matter what.


Couldn't find original article but here is the same one but reported by Opposing Views:
 http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/animal-rights/oregon-man-kevin-dean-parrish-tries-bake-chihuahua-oven-dog-survives

Hurricane Sandy allows looters to party

After a tragic hurricane, people were looting but honestly, that's just a stupid thing to do. New York Daily News says that "people were running in and out Rent-A-Center carrying big flat screen tv's." When you're in the middle of a hurricane, you don't NEED a T.V, what you need is things that can help you survive. Not only did people steal TV's but they also took liquor! What was going through their minds? "Hey let's have a party and watch TV while Hurricane Sandy is killing our city!". No, I understand if you steal things that you need like food or clothes, but a TV and alcohol is not necessary. I think it was wrong from their part to do that but I guess I can't change that now.

Drink drink drink

Hey guys! Lets drink liquid nitrogen! No. Don’t do that. Unless you’re an 18 year old woman from England. But serioulsy, this woman was having a night out drinking and partying like she was party of Jersey Shore on her 18^th birthday and decideds to drink LIQUID NITROGEN. Just in case some of you don’t know, liquid nitrogen is mostly use as a coolant. So pretty much, she froze her stomach. She said she started "becoming breathless and developing severe stomach pain." She was then rushed to a hospital where they did some tests on her and found out her stomach was perforated.

I don’t see why anyone would even think of drinking liquid nitrogen, I know it was her birthday and she was having fun drinking and all but you have to know what you’re taking in before you drink it. I had a cousin who went to England last summer for his birthday and he drank a lot. This reminded me of him becauase later that night he got taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning. I still don’t see the point or the intention this girl had on drinking liquid nitrogen. I guess you’ll be “cool” if you drink liquid nitrogen. No pun intended. If you’re going to drink, at least drink something that won’t almost kill you. What she did was really stupid and she deserves it because if she knew what it did and still did it, you must be an idiot. No offence. I guess my point is that if you’re going to drink, don’t drink subsrttances that can harm your body to the point where they remove one of the most important organs in your body, your stomach. You’re stomach is so important to your body and you’re just pretty much asking for death if you drink what this girl did. There is nothing good about drinking it. The name even sounds sketchy.

I feel sorry for this girl but also I feel kind of glad she got what she deserved. So one thing I would like to tell her is, next time you drink, drink something that you get from a bar not a science lab.

Twitter Drama, ecall 911.

Twitter has been a social networking site that has made many people happy, including myself.  Sometimes though, things can get a little TOO far.

Kara Alongi, a 16 year old girl from New Jersey, tweeted something that gave a lot of people a scare. “There is someone in my hour ecall 911,” Alongi posted on Twitter at 10:12 pm Sunday. She was faking a kidnapping incident so people wouldn't know she was really running away. She was found in Carneys Point around 4:30pm on Tuesday. I think Kara was wrong for doing that. First of all, she can’t even spell “house” and she added a letter e to the word “call”. All I have to say is that if you are being kidnapped, you don’t tweet about it! You call 911 immediately. She scared a lot of people by tweeting such thing. I was worried for her. I didn’t know there could be someone in your “hour”, I hope no one is in MY “hour”.

Another thing that bothers me is that she is in America. We have it good compared to other countries. Why would you run away? Oh, daddy didn’t get you the iPhone 5? RUN AWAY. No. A kid in Africa didn’t get food that day and he still stayed home. She had no reason to cause this much drama. People felt sorry for her, I didn’t. If you looked at her past tweets, you would know why.  All I have to say to Kara is, NICE TRY.

It was wrong of Kara to tweet such thing and to cause this much drama. If you have problems, talk to somebody about it. Don’t get half of the U.S involved in it.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/10/kara_alongi_missing_nj_teen.html

Zombie Attack?

         We all have heard about the "zombie apocalypse" and other things such as that. But this time the HALO Corp., a security firm, is going to organize an event using zombies. 

    What will they do? It's actually really cool! They are going to "throw a whimsical spin on a very well respected training exercise." Basically they are going to do a training that will show how law enforcements and other people react to an actual attack. Instead of Al-Queda, we have zombies. This way more people will get into it. I'm sure that the author who wrote this had the purpose to show people that thru this exercise, people will realize we are capable of protecting our country from any attack. I agree with everyone that is helping host this event.

    There may be people who disagree with this but I actually agree with it all. This is a really good way to show people how America does things. One of the neatest parts out of all of it is that it will be hosted during Halloween. I think it is a perfect time since zombies are monsters in our minds. 

    This event actually reminds me of an even that I witnessed. I was out of state and enjoying the time when all of the sudden people dressed as zombies started running around the streets and chasing people who were smoking. Apparently it was a group of people who were against smoking and it taught people a lesson not to smoke. 

    In the end, I believe this will be a good way to show people how things are and also, the author did a great job on sharing about this. I wish luck to the HALO Corp. and any other organization related to this event. 

  
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/09/18/zombies-to-invade-san-diego-counter-terrorism-summit/

Manhattan Rebirth

The new World Trade Center seems like a heavy, strong building. It will hold a lot of weight and it will also weigh a lot. It will be better protected than the last one and it says it will be bigger than the "Eiffel Tower". Now that is huge! I can tell this will be a pretty big building.

My Reading Bucket List

1. The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan
I love the series of Cirque Du Freak and this is the type of books I actually enjoy reading. I love these books because they are catchy and I can get into them easily. This specific book is the first of the series, I plan on reading the whole series by the end of this year. It is my goal. What happens to Darren? Read and find out!

2. A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan
The reason why I want to read this book is because since Darren became a vampire and has had to run away, I want to find out whats going to happen next. He could get caught or the truth could be revealed. The only way to find out is by reading this book. That is the reason why I wanna read this book. This is the second in the series too. I want to finish the series.
3. Tunnels Of Blood by Darren Shan
I want to read this book because I want to find out why Mr. Crepsley has to leave and I want to the whole story behind the Vampire Clan and why Mr. Crepsley was the prince..he might of been the general. Either way he was leading the clan and all of the sudden he has to leave. Why would he do that? I don't know and I wont know until I read the book. Thats why I want to read the book.

4. Vampire Mountain by Darren Shan
8 years have passed since the Tunnel's Of Blood and Darren and the crew have to go on a journey. They go to Vampire Mountain and they meet a few people. One very imprtant person would be Mr. Crepsley's mentor, Seba Nile. They then go to a meeting where Darren has to prove he is worthy of being in the Vampire Clan. I want to read this so I can find out what will happen to Darren.
5. Trails of Death by Darren Shan
In this book Darren is forced to take trials to prove that he is worthy to be in the clan. At one point he faces death and he got encouraged to leave the mountain and just be free. Kurda follows him as he leaves and they go to the Vampeneze cave. Darren and Kurda get followed by Gavner Purl and he tries to get them to come back but ends up following them. I want to read this book to know what will happen to them. They could die or something can happen to them.
6. The Vampire Prince by Darren Shan
Darren fell into the river that carries the dead bodies of vampires and he was being washed away but by luck he met two wolves. Streak and Rudi. He gets into a war and Arra dies. He was found and the Princess makes him become the Prince. What happen in between all these events? Im going to have to read this book to find out everything. That is why I want to read this book.

7. Hunters of the Dusk by Darren Shan
Darren gets visited by Desmond Tiny, the creator of the tiny people and the vampires. He tells him that he has to find the Vampeneze Lord and kill him. I dont know what could happen next. Will Darren find him or will he get killed? I cannot find out until I read this book. That is why I want to read this book, to find out what happens to Darren on his journey to find the enemy.

8. Allies of the Night by Darren Shan
There is a fight between the Hunters and the Vampeneze. Darren and Mr. Cripsley go back to Mr. Cripsley's hometown to see if the Vampenze set up some terretories there. Darren is discovered by the police and is forced to go back to school. He then reveals himself as a vampire to Debbie and to his friend Steve. What happens next? There will be a big fight. I want to read this book to find out who will die and who will survive. That is the reason on why I want to read this book.

9. Killers of the Dawn by Darren Shan
In this book Mr. Cripsley dies and Darren feels empty. They think the war is over but it was not. Steve, his bestfriend, later reveals himself as the enemy of them all. The Vampeneze Lord. Darren feels empty because thanks to Steve he lost the one who brought him into the Vampire world, Mr. Cripsley. What will Darren do? I have to read the book to find out. This story is getting interesting.
10. Lake of Souls by Darren Shan
Instead, it focused on searching the identity of Harkat Mulds in the past life. After losing a person that already became his parent, mentor and best friend, Darren went to Cirque Du Freak with a broken heart. Here surrounded by his old friends, he learned how to ‘live’ again. But, as usual, that temporary happiness had to be interrupted by a little old Desmond Tiny, who came and gave an offering to Harkat Mulds to find his true identity. Being thrown in the middle of nowhere without enough preparation, Darren and Harkat had to survived the game created by Mr Tiny. Adventures, clues and rewards, with one final destination, the Lake of Souls.

Forgiveness....

Should we forgive the ones responsible for the Titanic? They might of killed a thousand or so people, but it wasn't their fault. They did not plan on any of this to happen. They thought the Titanic was supposed to be "unsinkable". All of this was never planned. Therefore they didn't need the life boats, they thought. Everyone deserves forgiveness, no matter what they did or said. People change and become better people. After all they did, we should forgive them also. If you did something bad, would you want to be forgiven?

     Good literature is something not most people can find. There may be many books and authors but not all can write good literature. There is one book that can be considered as good literature,Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
     Of Mice and Men is a perfect example of not only good literature but also about things in life. Unlike other books this book shows problems and solutions, faults and failures. One outstanding character that shows the traits of a hero is George.
     There are many reasons why this book is a prime example of good literature, one of them is because they do not hide anything from the readers, they show mistakes so people can learn from them, the character that shows these traits is George. From a readers point of view, this character is always showing good leadership and expressing his feelings, he is an honest man who tries to correct his mistakes and if he ever does get in a problem he will solve it and not run away from it.
     George is a normal man who travels with Lennie, a mentally retarded man. They both have had good and bad times together but at the end they both love each in father and son like relationship.
George is always getting Lennie out of trouble. But Lennie only cares about little soft things. He doesn't remember anything anyone says, George said "might as well spen' my time telling you things you forget".
     The reason why I think George is a good example is because he doesn't hide any faults or failures, he expresses them so that other people can learn from his mistakes. There were many problems he has been in thanks to Lennie like the time when they got "driven out of Weeds" just because Lennie had to "touch anything he likes". To me Lennie is a "little kid" and George is like his father he is always protecting him and getting him out of problems.
     There are many more great examples of good literature throughout this book that will show the reader what a good example of "good literature" is like. It may not be a perfect ending, but not every story has to end in a happy way.

The Main Place in Main Street.

Batesville may be a small town in Arkansas with nothing to do, we are known for football but that's about it, Batesville is one of those towns with nothing to do but to hang out with friends. Even though it may seem boring, one of my favorite places around here is the Melba, even though we have another, much more popular, theater, the Melba is my favorite. There are many reasons to why I think how I do. As you walk down Main Street, approaching the Melba, you start smelling popcorn, if you enter the building the strong smell of popcorn butter combines with the smell of candy, it is a little cold in there but not much, while you talk you might taste a little dust since this place is a little old. You hear a movie playing in the background or if it is before the show, you hear gossiping. Children sitting down, excitingly waiting for the movie to start and parents trying to calm their children down. This may not seem like much but you always have to enjoy the small things in life.