My Last Blog

     I have to say that this year's English class was the best I have ever had. I really enjoyed using the smart board and the class over all was pretty successful for me, but I did not like how we would have to write practice essays in class. I think the my favorite part of class was the use of technology, for example we would take quizzes using remotes and we would have power point presentations. The best part was that we got to review by playing Jeopardy. I think that was the best way to review because we were learning while having fun at the same time. One thing I did not like about this year was that all of our work from different class were piling up, but I liked that Mrs. Kirkman would work with us most of the time.
     Another part of Mrs. Kirkman's class I really enjoyed was the Facebook group we made. I have to say that that group helped me a lot on test and assignments because we got to ask questions and discuss with each other. I also really liked how it kept us up to date with everything going on in English class. This year's AP English Language class helped improve my writing and I even learned new techniques in writing. What I liked the least about this year was the essays. It was hard for me to write a complete essay in class and sometimes I would even blank out, but is still helped me prepare for the AP test. I am really gonna miss this class!

Red, White, and Beer

     The essay Red, White, and Beer is sarcastic and meant to be a parody. The speaker of this essay is Dave Barry and the occasion the purpose is to discuss the ridiculous commercials we see on television and how it always something to do with the United States of America. The tone of the essay is obviously sarcastic and satirical, and the audience is the reader. The subject is mainly on the commercials that are constantly being shown as patriotic and American. Barry talks about one commercial that is advertising Miller, which is a very well-known American beer. He is making fun of how it shows men as sweaty, shaking each others hands, and how this supposedly what American men are supposed to be like. Another commercial he talk about is when a group of men are building a house while drinking beer. He also mentions how after the commercial was shot, they probably kept pushing up a wall until it fell on to somebody's truck and the owner of that truck shook their hands. It it very obvious that Barry is being sarcastic because no person would want their house built by a bunch of drunk people, but because it is shown as being American people would actually do it. This essay also shows the affect patriotism has on products.

"Difficult To Tell If T.J Maxx Hit Hard By Recession"

     The following article, "Difficult To Tell If T.J Maxx Hit Hard By Recession" is found in the Onion.com and is written by The Onion. The article is about whether or not T.J Maxx has been affected by the recent recession. Financial analysts have observed more than a 1000 retail stores and have concluded that the large amounts of merchandise thrown every where is evidence that T.J Maxx has either been devastated by the recession or carrying on as usual. According to economist Graham Stinson, they are not sure if the messed up aisles may be a sign that T.J Maxx is on the verge of bankruptcy or if they are just doing really well. More evidence includes costumers stuffing their carts with lamps and children's shoes with bras inside of them. Lake Forest, IL resident Brian says that they are doing really bad because they are selling their products for really cheap prices and you have to take advantage of them before they go out of business. I chose this article because I found it interesting and funny. The article is basically making fun of retail clothing stores in general and the situation they always seem to be in. Every time I walk into one of these stores, such as T.J Maxx, the clothes are thrown on the floor, the the merchandise are mixed in together, and there is always a huge line.

"Mexico Under Siege"

     The article "Mexico Under Siege" found in the Los Angeles Times is written by Tracy Wilkinson. According to this article, Juan Arturo Vargas, who is also known as "The Rat" would threaten businesses every week in Nicolas Romero. Nicolas Romero is small working-class town that is an hour away from Mexico City. He would force the owners of the businesses to pay from $25 to up to several hundred dollars. His leverage is that either they pay or their kids get hurt. Police and prosecutors say that "The Rat" worked in the fastest growing nonlethal criminal enterprise in Mexico, which was extortion. Businesses, construction projects, and even some of Mexico's most wealthiest citizens has been a victim to extortion at least once. This has reached a point where the priests are not even safe. Extortionist have the capability to shut down school systems, destroy real estate companies, and drive entrepreneurs into hiding or out of the country. Although the act is not violent, it still leads to violent results. For example a casino in Monterrey that failed to pay off extortionists was firebombed, killing 52 people of which were mostly middle-aged women playing bingo.
     Extortion is a crime that is actually increasing the number of drug cartels across Mexico. According to Edna Jaime, the head of Mexico Evalua, extortion is under reported and does terrible damage to the economy and to the society as well. Two-thirds of extortion cases are not reported to authorities. This type of crime usually takes place on the telephone by pretending to have kidnapped a relative, threatens to kidnap them, or pretends to be outside of their business or home and prepared to open fire. The extortionist does not always have information about the target and relied mainly on fear. Some of the extortionists also include gangs who have control over the territory their in and makes their threats in person. These types of people demand "quotas", which are a kind of protection money.

The Great Gatsby

     The speaker of The Great Gatsby is Nick Caraway, the occasion takes place during summer in various places in New York, and the subject is about Gatsby and the overall life of rich people. The narrator Nick Caraway, recently moved to New York from his home in Midwest because he started to get bored with his life there and wanted a new beginning. He moves to West Egg, which is a area specifically for people who get their money from working. His neighbor is also Jay Gatsby who lives in an extravagant mansion next to his house. Nick's cousin is Daisy, who is married to Tom Buchanan and he is also having a love interest with Jordan Baker. The subject of the story is mainly about Gatsby's life and a rich person's life as a whole. In the beginning of the story, Nick is constantly hearing rumors about Gatsby and how he was able to get his money. One of the rumors he hears is that he is involved in "bootlegging". Nick begins to learn a little bit more about Gatsby's life when he is invited to one of his parties and also in the in the Jordan Baker starts making connections about Gatsby and Nick's cousin Daisy.

Argumentative Essay

     Whether you are writing an essay or talking to a person, language is always there. Language is what allows us to communicate with one another and it also give a lot a way about a person's background. You can easily tell how a person was raised or the type of personality they have by the language they use to speak. You can even tell from the way they write because the way a person speaks is usually reflected in their writing as well. If a person speaks using proper language and less slang, you can be able to tell that that person was raised well by his or her parents. Another example is that if someone is using constantly using foul language and insults, you can automatically tell that they have a rude personality and vice versa. You can even tell by the language they use when meeting someone for the first time.
     Language is also important towards how we speak to certain people. For example, we are more likely to use a more proper for of diction to an authority figure, such as a parent or a teacher. People generally speak differently with their friends than when they are around authorities or even strangers. When we are around our friends, we tend to speak with more slang, less proper usage of words, and more relaxed. This is because we feel more comfortable around our friends and there is no need to be formal around each other. When we are around someone who is older than us or someone who is of importance, we speak with a formal tone of voice because it is an important way of showing respect.

Party in the 1920's

     If I was Jay Gatsby and could afford a $100,000 party that lasted an entire weekend, the one I would have for sure is champagne, wine, and more alcohol. The reason is because this takes place during the Prohibition which means that rich people would want to get their hands on them more than ever. One other major thing I would, include is a lot of people. Just like any other rich person, I would probably invite hundreds of people that more than likely I do not know. This invitation would include my neighbors, famous people, close friends, and basically anybody who has a name. Another thing I would include, just like in any other rich person's party is five-star catering by a very expensive company and a fancy type of music to play in the background. I would also probably spend a lot of money on fancy and expensive decorations all over the house and even on the outside, which would include lights for nighttime. There are many more things I could set up at my party, such as maybe a private concert with a very famous Jazz band, invite people from other countries, or even have a private bar put in the back.

"Complex effort to rid San Nicholas Island of cats declared a success"

     The article "Complex effort to rid San Nicholas Island of cats declared a success" is taken from LA Times and written by Steve Chawkins. This particular article discusses a plan that was set-up to get red every single cat living on the island. The plan took at least six agencies, an estimation of $3 million dollars, and 18 months of trapping all the cats. Originally, biologists tried using dogs to scare the cats into the traps, but they kept getting distracted by other animals on the island, such as foxes. Their other plan was to use "fielid-attracting phonics" which was digitally recorded meows, but that that did not work either. Finally, it took a bobcat hunter who was originally retired and around 250 traps that had built-in flashing lights that could be seen by researchers from miles away. The reason that they decided to get rid of all the cats was because they were beginning to actually endanger other animals that were living there as well. For example, they were reportedly feeding on an endangered type of lizards and also Western gulls and Brandts' cormorants. The cats even competed with the island foxes for food.

1920's Prohibition

     In the year 1920, the selling and consuming of alcoholic beverages was made illegal under the Eighteenth Amendment. Despite that it was officially illegal to drink or sell drinks, bars still had them available by "speakeasies" and "bootlegging". Many people also still had private bars in which they provided alcohol. Because of Prohibition, the value of alcohol went up increasingly since it was now illegal. One other reason why people wanted to drink alcohol more than ever was because of the war and people wanting to forget and have a good time. "Moonshine" also became popular during this time, which was when they would make their own alcohol from their bathtubs. Even though this was very dangerous, people still drank it because it was alcohol. The Prohibition is significant in The Great Gatsby because although alcohol was illegal, it was still possible that the upper-social class was able to get a hold of them, especially during their parties.

"Helicopter-plane Collision"

     "Helicopter-plane collision barely missed a 'catastrophic' outcome" article was written by Jeff Gotlieb and Shelby  Grad from LATimes.com. The collision occurred in Bay Area, where a helicopter and a plane collided into each other. Although it was still an accident, it could have been much worse according to the owner of a flight school whose student was present in the helicopter. If the helicopter had hit the plane differently then it would have been "catastrophic". The owner of the flight school also said that the helicopter was hit from behind by the plane, but it was hit in such a way that they were both able to land safely. Wayne Prodger, who is the owner, added that if it had just been a few feet higher, then the plane would for sure have crashed right into the helicopter. Luckily, only the pilots had suffered minor injuries. The accident happened somewhere between Oakland and Sacramento. Both the helicopter and the plane each landed in the different areas. I find this article to be important because if only little thing had changed, then the entire accident would have been different.

"Whitney Houston's Death: Security Hold Coroner's Case

     The article based on the death of one of the greatest singers is from La Times.com, written by Ari Bloomekatz. After the singer was found dead in her hotel room, Beverly Hills police have requested a security hold on the details of the coroner's case according to a Los Angeles coroner's official. On Sunday afternoon, an autopsy was completed, but the cause of her death is still unknown. Despite this, they are still undergoing a series of toxicology tests which could take six to eight weeks. It is still unclear whether or not she died from natural causes or suicidal. According to the article, no more information from evidence in her hotel room or the cause of her death will be released because they are still in investigation. Whitney Houston was found unresponsive in the bathtub of her Beverly Hills hotel on Saturday afternoon. Investigators are still looking in the possibility that she drowned in her bathtub.

"Man Whose Wife Disappeared Dies With Sons In Explosion"

     According to NewYorkTimes.com written by Matt Flegenheimer and Isolde Raftery, a husband who is supposedly responsible for his missing wife, died in a house explosions with his two sons. The incident occurred on Sunday in Washington and it is said by authorities to have been intentional. The explosion took place around noon shortly after social workers took the two sons home for a supervised visit with their father. The husband, Josh Powell was under investigation because of the disappearance of his wife that happened two years ago, according to Deputy Chief Gary Franz. John Powell let the boys inside the house, but did not let the social workers enter and the explosion took place right after. He also sent his lawyer an email saying, "I'm sorry. Goodbye." One of the social workers also called a supervisor stating that the house had smelled like gas. Due to all of these actions, it was very clear that this was an intentional act. I think that this article is important because a man who was possibly responsible for his wife's disappearance and was also jailed, blew up his own house and two sons and there is nobody knows why he really did it.

Transcendentalism

     Today I sat outside in my backyard for only about half'n'hour, without any type of electronics and basically just observed the environment all around me. While sitting, I began to notice certain things, that otherwise I probably never would have guessed even existed. I noticed how all the roses in my backyard was in different sizes and how each one was mixture of both red and white, instead of just one color. I watched how the birds landed on the grass and picked at the soil with their beaks, looking for food. I also noticed how the wind blew through the trees and how the water in my pool actually moved around like tiny waves.
     For thirty minutes, I sat on the porch swing and soaked up the sun while relaxing in nature. Separated from the any type of technology, I began to wonder if it was necessary to have an excessive amount of electronics in my life. Sitting outside and simply watching nature, helped me realize that there is more to life than just technology, such as nature itself. This experience made me feel as if I am a part of God and nature as one. For at least a little while, I was able to feel at peace and calm with my surroundings.

Why I Chose Bernard

     From all the different characters in Death of a Salesman, I think I relate to Bernard the most for many reasons. One reason is that Bernard does his best in school and takes his work seriously. Bernard worked hard to become a successful lawyer, but he never gave up and eventually he did become successful. He was even able to get himself a case in the Supreme Court. Although I do not wish to be a lawyer, I hope to do exactly what Bernard did in order to become successful also. Another reason why I chose Bernard is because he was not pressured by anyone to take school seriously and he chose to work and study hard all by himself. I believe I relate to him the most because we both take our work seriously and we do it because we chose too on our own. I do not think I can relate myself to any other character because Biff likes to work outdoors, Happy is ignored by Willy, and Willy puts too much pressure on Biff.

Death of a Salesman

     Death of a Salesman is a play written by Arthur Miller, although he is not really considered the speaker. The speaker of the play has actually not been verified. The occasion of the play takes place during the late 1940s and inside Willy's house. It also takes place in different parts of cities, New York and Boston. The play takes place between Monday night and Tuesday night, except for the "Requiem" which takes during Willy's funeral, a couple of days after he committed suicide. The audience of the play is anyone who is reading it or could be even watching it. The main purpose of Death of a Salesman is to inform us about Willy Loman's wish to live the American Dream and the pressure to become successful. Overall, the subject of the play is Willy's life, his flashbacks, and the different relationships he has with the characters.