Last Chance ~ April 26,2010

Going to college has never really been a choice for me to make. When I was younger, my mom always told me that I have to go to college and that I had no choice in the matter, just like going to high school or middle school, it was required. I was also forewarned that my parents would not be paying for my college so I had to find a way to finance my own education. My parents came to this conclusion because with all of their friends’ parents paying for their education, they did not take it seriously. If it was someone else’s money, they didn’t care what they were doing. However my grandparents made my dad pay for his own college and he took it a lot more seriously because of that. My mom did not pay for her college but then again, she only went to college for 2 years. My first real job was when I turned 14. I worked at a hair salon, sweeping up hair, shampooing hair, and even sometimes even coloring and perming it. I worked there for a year until my boss retired. After that, when I was 15, I was hired to work at Chick-Fil-A, where my sister’s also worked. That job was fun, however, the manager and owner were really greedy and after working there for a year and a half at minimum wage, I quit. Then I got the best job in the world, I worked at Bead Bungalow. This place was awesome because I learned how to make jewelry and I got to use my creativity. I worked there for 2 years but after then, I had to get a teaching internship in order to get college credit towards my major. From then on, I worked at Royal learners as a teacher. All of this work experience gave me the skills to succeed on not only on a monitorial basis but also on an academic one because it taught me how to balance both at the same time.

Thats All!
~Ali

Living in Greece ~ April 14,2010

If I could live anywhere on this earth it would have to be the shoreline in the country of Greece. In Greece there are many beautiful buildings anywhere you look and the people are so accommodating. The beautiful buildings would be any of the wide variety of museums that many different cities in Greece have. Also in 2008, the Olympics were hosted in Greece so there are many newer attractions to see that were built just for the people who attended the Olympics could enjoy as they stayed in Greece. However the buildings are not the only beautiful thing in the cities scattered throughout Greece. If you even start walking through the city towards the coastline, you can see the gorgeous clear blue water and the white sandy beach area. The water looks even more beautiful in contrast to the white adobe houses that tend to always line the shore. Also the people that live there are so welcoming and inviting that you will want to live there too. Many people who live in Greece have had family there for many centuries. This is different for Americans to experience because of the many immigrants that come to live in America. The people of Greece give visitors a sense of welcoming by treating them as if they were their own family. Through this feeling, the natives of Greece make the tourist want to come back and experience more of their country. Walking down the narrow cobble stone of the streets, the visitor will tend to receive at least 10 smiles and maybe even a hug or two. Also the food is very fattening but very good! Incorporating olive oil into most everything that they make, Greek food is very rich in taste. It is for these reasons and more that I would want to live in Greece.

Outside for 15 ~ April 12, 2010

In my time out side, I got to really sit and think about where my life was headed and how I am able to get there. I sat at Centennial Olympic Park and watched little children run in and out of the fountains in little ruffles of bathing suits. Shrieking and running away from the unexpected spouts of water, the children always find refuge in their parents. The children are never too far from their parent’s watchful eye because if the terrible event in which their little one should fall, their protective guardian will be just seconds away to come and scoop them up into loving arms. Also near- by is the big grassy area in which fake bleach blonde girls sit and fry their skin till they are as dark as a burnt marshmallow over a blazing fire. These kinds of girls will never be satisfied with the way that they look until they give the false image that they are actually sporty girls who happen to get tan from all of the out door activities that they participate in. They think that if they look as though they do sports that it will attract the right type of boy. Of course, I can not forget to mention the super gorgeous boys running around with out shirts and in long board shorts. Throwing the football around as though it takes no effort, they only drop the ball twice. As the sun sets the constant buzz of people goes to a minimum and the beauty of the stars seem to outshine any human or even a beauty queen. The lights in the park switch on and then all of the sudden the busy park that was filled with families seem to trade places with sweet romantic couples.

That's all for now

~Ali

The end of the moonshine ~ April 7, 2010

In the article “Legendary Tennessee Moonshiner Plied His Trade to the End” by Stephen Miller, the author writes about a man who, according to tradition, has been making moonshine for generations now. This was his way of life and he was proud of what he did. With Cocke Country Tennessee being in the top four moonshine capitals of the world, Mr. Sutton had great business and was able to keep a family tradition alive through yet another era. During his life, Mr. Popcorn was able to take part in a documentary and was able to write an auto biography entitled “Me and My Likker”. This made him quite popular though out the rural towns from Tennessee to North Carolina. Not only did people start to recognize his name, but they also sold memorabilia to those who wanted Mr. Sutton to be a part of their fine dining experience with plates adorning his slim bearded face. The making of this special kid of hard liquor goes back to when the Scottish- Irish came over to the New World in order to make a better lives for themselves. Although it was not illegal until after the Civil war, today it is still very much illegal to sell and make moonshine. This will continue to be the case until the federal government can somehow regulate the selling of moonshine and also get a cut in the profits. Trying to regulate each urn in which the moonshiners make their liquid gold can be a hard task to do also. Each farmer has a different machine in which they make different kinds of liquor so there is not just one specific way to completely regulate the machines. After having several close calls with the law, Mr. Popcorn finally got busted. The police caught him with over 186 gallons of moonshine stashed away in an abandoned school bus on his property. The day before he was to report to jail, his wife found him dead in his truck.
That's all for now!

~Ali

Summer Job ~ April 5, 2010

With this summer approaching so much faster, it forces me to think about what I will be doing this summer. I have decided to work at a preparatory school called Royal Learners where I will be teaching students who have been held back because if grades. My job description for this particular place is to ensure the safety for all the students I am in charge of, helping students understand crucial concepts for certain areas of study, and making sure that each student excels not only academically but also socially. I have worked at Royal Learners for about 2 years now, starting when I was a senior in High school. As a senior, I was in a program that allowed me to go to school part time and have a part time internship. I learned a lot my first year of working there because I got to shadow a great teacher and mentor to me Mrs. Karen. She not only knew how to make sure that all the kids were taken care of but she made all the kids feel like someone loves them and really cares about what they do. Karen also helped me with my personal life sometimes too. For instance, when my grandmother got diagnosed with breast cancer Karen, herself being a breast cancer patient, told me what to expect and how to help my grandmother. She was a great influence in my decision to pursue a teacher career in the special education area of education. Karen recently passed away just a week before my spring break. She battled breast cancer long and hard and she finally defeated it when she passed away. I will never forget the great lessons that I have learned from her in the past and I will continue to live with her passion towards other children I work with.

That's all for now!

~Ali

the shortage in fruit flies ~ April 2, 2010

The article that I chose to write on this week is one in The New York Times. Olivia Judson wrote an article in the opinion section entitled “Laboratory Life” in which she describes how evolution never stops. She starts off by giving the scenario of a fruit fly being swept up by a scientist and put into a bottle. Then she goes on to describe how the life of this fly is significantly changed. The first way that their life is change is the life expectancy of the fruit fly. In the wild, a fly’s average life consists of around 80 days; however after being swept up into a bottle for research, the fly is only expected to live five or six days. Also they are expected to mate with a particular female or male fly instead of choosing their own partner. With those factors and the fact that the food is different, the species will most likely be traumatizing to the animal. The difference of a true wild fly and ones that have grown up in a lab are that they can only live up to a couple days after being released back into the wild after testing. This particular strand of fruit flies will eventually not be able to survive on its own if the scientists keep taking the flies at a rate that they are right now. However, I think this world can live with a few less flies bugging us all.
If it weren’t flies however, more people would get involved in trying to save these animals from the horrid scientists. In reality though, these scientists could be saving us and we don’t even know it. I think that if a scientist has probable cause to test on animals that it should be ok to do so.


Thats all for now
~Ali

Bail Bonding ~ March 31,2010

I think that Bail Bonding is necessary. Having large amounts of money on the line if you don’t show up for a court date sometimes is the only incentive to getting people to return. When a judge sets bail, he or she takes into consideration how much an individual makes and what they can use as bail. People use their house titles and car titles even to make that kind of insurment to return. What other actions can our country take to ensure that these criminals come to their court date? A man who steals a blanket from a store because he is cold is just as much a criminal as someone who has committed murder. Each citizen knew that what they were doing was wrong and they still chose to do it; thus they are in the wrong. One is much more preventable than the other however. With him being cold, there are several homeless shelters that give out blankets to those who do not have any. The man could have simply gone to the shelter and requested a blanket. The other option that this man had instead of stealing, which is clearly wrong according to the law, is to start his car. During the interview, he says that he relies on his car on a daily basis so there must be gas in it so he can get places; therefore he should have just started the car, gotten warmed up while he was on his way to the homeless shelter to get a blanket.

Thats all for now!
~Ali

Fat food ~ March 29, 2010

I believe that this article can be true. Given the right amount of proof through medical testing and a publicized journal on how effective this research is, I think that this could have some truth to it. Americans really do not fully understand how much fat they in take on a daily basis. Americans are all about how fast they can get something and this has even overlapped into our food choices. Growing up in America often teaches people that they should get anything they want or need fast, and if they do not get it fast enough, they either complain or find another way to get it faster. In order to make food fast and to make it last longer, scientist made up a chemical in which mostly all fast food restaurants use called preservatives. This chemical harms our bodies and makes the food dangerous as we digest it. The effect of eating this food that contains this special chemical is not immediate, however over time it slowly makes the metabolism slow down and makes our bodies addicted to the food in which we consume. Other countries have caught on to America’s recklessness and have out -lawed the use of preservatives. With just this, America should have the brains and guts to make the same lawful decision to help out our over- weight country and hopefully extend the life span of those who accept the help. I loved the tips on why you should not watch your frozen dinner slowly rotate in the microwave in hopes of getting the entire meal heat to the correct temperature. People have actually adapted to getting their food in a quick way that is still satisfying to them so they do not need to go out and shop for more healthy snacks and other food items.

Thats all for now!
~Ali

School Standards ~ March 26, 2010

I chose to write on the opinion editorial entitled “Enforcing School Standards, at Last”. This article was published in the New York Times on March 2010. In this article, the reporter states that the age of schools actually reforming their education for their students in exchange for money. This idea came from and was enforced by Obama’s administration who just granted Delaware and Tennessee financial aid. In this government aid, Obama promises to distribute 4.3 million dollars across the entire nation. The amount of money each state receives is based upon how well the state is educating the children living in their state. To get as much money as they need, each state can maximize the number of points their state earns to get more funding. Ways to build these points include: building a clear understanding between teacher unions and school districts for programs that would build the training of teachers, turn around failing schools, encourage the creation of high-performing charter schools, creating data- driven instructional systems, and finally promoting quality science instruction. The plan also states that it will favor states that made the proposition that they should be taking student achievement into account when evaluating the overall success in teaching evaluations. Delaware, the first state to receive funding, promised to enforce a way for teachers and principals to show the growth of student’s achievements to prevent the state from receiving an unfavorable rating. Also they promised to use this information to remove these ineffective teachers from classrooms in their state. Tennessee already passed a strong law mandating that at least 50 percent of teachers or principal’s evaluations should be based on the achievement of the students in their classrooms. In implementing these new laws, these state proved to the leaders of this country that they intend to improve the education system as a whole in the United States.

That's all for now!
~Ali

The Best book ever~ March 24, 2010

The best book that I have read would have to be “A Prayer for Owen Meany” by the incredible John Irving. This book was the best book that I have read yet because not only does it keep the audience interested by suspense, but it also keeps the readers guessing what could possibly happen next. Also this book was interesting to me because it held a lot of religious symbols hidden in the story that if you picked up on them, then it would make the book that much more interesting. An example of this interesting hidden symbolism is when the main character, Owen Meany, and his best friend, John Wheelwright, are on the quest to find out who John’s true father is. It was rumored that John’s mother was a virgin when she had him so that was one symbolism referencing Jesus having a virgin for a mother. Another symbolic thing that happened in the complex story is that when the boys were very young, Owen predicted his death, when and how he was going to die. This was also referenced back to Jesus because on his last supper with his disciples, he told them that he was going to die. Owen also was compared to Jesus because he died saving other people. Owen died saving a bunch of men from exploding and dying from a bomb planted in a restroom. Jesus was said to have saved many people because he died and saved them from an eternity in hell by dying for their sins. Owen also saved John several times. One time that really stuck out in the story is when Owen wanted to save John from the war drafts. In order to do that something has to be physically wrong with you so Owen, being the best friend, cut off a third of Johns trigger finger on his right hand because he was right handed. This did save John from having to get drafted but he said that he will forever question if that is the reason why he is still alone and not married today.
books.google.com


Thats all for now~
~Ali

Phoenix ENT LLC. ~March 22,2010

I work for a company named Phoenix ENT LLC. In this company, I got to concerts and site out the good bands. If they are really good and I feel as if they could represent our company well, I approach the band afterwards and ask them if they are already signed with a group. After I made the initial remarks with the band and I still feel as if the band joining our company would further our progress, I get my boss to go to another concert in which that particular ban is playing. In that concert, I take notes of all that the band need to fix including stage presence, communication between band members, the image the band has together, or the musicians in the band. After the show, we approach them together. Usually I do all the talking, in which I find out if they are still interested in signing with us. If they are still interested, I present them with the things that they would have to change in order to be a part of the company and then we proceed to go over the contract and see if they have any questions. Usually, we let them go home and think about it for a week and get the contract looked at by a lawyer so they know what exactly they are getting into. If they still agree, we sign them and get a photo shoot lined up immediately for them. With the pictures we take at the photo shoot, we can get flyers and a logo up and going in order to get their name out and schedule gigs for them. Then if a concert hall or another band needs either an opening act or a main band, they contact me. In contacting me, I get the information to the members of the band and see if one, they want to do the gig, and two, if they are available to do the gig. At the concert, I make sure they have exactly what they need and make sure they are where they need to be when they need to be.

That's all for now!
~Ali

Proud Confederates ~ March 19,2010

I chose to write on a piece in Vanity Fairs magazine. The title of this article is “Yes, Southerners are Still Proud of the Confederacy” and it is by Vanity Fair. This particular article was written and published on the internet on April 7, 2010. In this article, the author was pointing out that people in the south are still looking for ways to celebrate the south and what it did not accomplish. It still never ceases to amaze me what people do to relive the olden days. Whether it be through their children or through the actions that they themselves make on a daily basis seem to only be in the interest of themselves. In one instance, a Virginia governor wants to remember what the confederates did by making a month to take time and learn about it. He proposed that they preserve the month of April to be the official Confederate History month in the state of Virginia. This month would make time to remember all of the good things the confederacy did in the past. When asked about slavery, the governor responded that slavery was not a significant issue for the people of Virginia back then. Also when a NY Times correspondent wrote in an article about a women’s basketball game that it might not be a women’s sport after the way the women played in the first half really blew the readers away. When the University of Connecticut’ women’s basketball team won the NCAA tournament, this sent this particular reporter into a tizzy saying that the opponents were not playing their best. After reporting that he thought that it was so badly played, he wrote that because of their bad mistakes in the game, it might have set back the ability for women to also play in a national basketball team for a few decades.

Invisible Homeless~ March 15, 2010

I personally do not believe that the homeless are invisible. I see them every day on the way to school and they make themselves known to be by constantly asking for money every time they see me. I chose to write on a man named Michael because he is a musician and I can relate to his story because my father is a musician as well. At the beginning the man asked Michael why he was homeless. He responded that he was once a personal nurse for a lady for 2 years then out of the blue she kicked him out. Also he mentioned that he had lived on the streets for 20 years before that time also. First of all it was very apparent to me that he did not like living on the streets because after 20 years of living on the streets, he went out and made something of himself. Also, in his wishes at the end of his interview, he sang to us that he would like a place to call his own. I think that people like to go back to their old habits if one thing goes wrong in their life instead of fighting the current and trying to make their lives better. Sure, I understand that it is very hard to find a job now- a- days in this economy. However what happened to him being a personal nurse? He never said that after he got kicked out for no reason that he went to look for another job. I tend to ignore the homeless when I pass them because some of them are really dangerous and they carry weapons and if you are not careful, you could end up dead for just the $2 in your pocket.

Michael from InvisiblePeople.tv on Vimeo.

That's all for now!

~Ali

The Census~ March 5, 2010

The article I chose to write on today comes from the web site/ news paper called Slate. This particular article that sounded interesting enough to write on is entitled “Count Me Out” by Ted Rose. In this particular article, the author writes on if you can really get in trouble for not filling out the Census. On the form it clearly states that if you do not fill it out and return it, then you can face charges and maybe even jail time. However, there is no law that clearly states that if you do not fill out the census then you will be punished. The Census Bureau does not prosecute those who do not participate or those who fill it out with false statements. However there is a benefit to filling out the census and to do it correctly. When the government gets the numbers of people living in a particular area, they can grant that area more money to create more streets if it is necessary for the town to function. The author then supports this with evidence from a case in 1960 where a man refused to answer the extended questionnaire about the economic standing of his house hold. He argued that the government does not need to know this information and it is an invasion of his privacy. However at the end of the trial, the judge found him guilty and charged $100 and a 60 day prison sentence. Though everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I do not understand why any one would not fill out the Census. At tops the questionnaire would take one family member fifteen minutes to complete, it does not cost them anything, not even postage, and it has the potential to better the communities in which they live in.

That's all for now!
~Ali

Karen ~ March 1, 2010

One Source that I normally did not choose was entitles utne.com. Once getting linked to this web site, I found one of the most interesting titles and had to read more to figure out what it was saying. This article was entitled “Grieving on Facebook” and this article was written by Julie Hanus. In this posted article, it describes the story of a particular case in which the friends of a young gir did not know when it was time to stop grieving the loss of their friend. One friend posted a picture of her and the lost young lady when she first passed away. After months of having it as her profile picture, the girl wrote underneath it when it was alright to post a different photo that did not have her deceased friend in it. I find this article very interesting because I have just lost a dear friend and mentor to me and I was facebook that really helped me grieve. My friend had been battling breast cancer for several years now and when she fell back out of remission; her family posted a group on facebook prompting others to pray for her recovery. A few months later, she passed away. After the message was sent that she had gone to be with God, posts started appearing on the prayer wall telling how wonderful this woman was and how she had touched so many lives. This helped me in my grieving process because not only could I share how much this woman had influenced my life but also I could see that she touched so many others on her time here on earth. This brought comfort to me because I knew then that this woman of God had fulfilled her purpose down here and is now cancer free living without pain.

That's all for now

~Ali

The Mysterious Robert Johnson~ February 26, 2010

Robert Johnson was a guy who really wanted to play the guitar better than anyone else around. There is a legend that one night he was walking around in the middle of nowhere and when he got to a crossroads in the road, he saw a man standing there. Once the man approached him and said that he was the devil and if he sold his soul to him, that he would be able to fulfill his dreams and play better than anyone else. This seemed like a good deal to him so he took it, sold his soul, and from then on was better than anyone else. Many people haven’t really seen a picture of him because it was said that if someone did take a picture of him that you could see just a skull where his head is supposed to be because he was dead once he gave his soul away. However the picture that the man had of a famous guitar player that he thought was B.B King but was actually Robert Johnson is one of the two photographs that they have of him. One photograph that they have of him is one that is thought to be his very own, it was thought be taken in a photo booth and amount to be just a bit smaller than an average postage stamp. The second photo that is known to the public is one done be the Rolling Stones magazine in which he was just voted to be a part of the Rock and roll Hall of Fame. Though this was a big deal, it is said that the artist was dressed very casually and had a cigarette barely hanging on to his bottom lip. His ending to his short story was tragic though because he died at a very young age. However his music became very well known and liked. He also was known as an idol to present day artists such as John Mayer who contributes his talent and his curiosity to Robert Johnson.

That's all for now!

~Ali

Spring Break ~ March 3, 2010

My best Spring break adventure was in April of 2008. I went with Trey, his mother, and his aunt down to their condos right on the beach of Panama City. I had never been to Panama City Beach before for spring break but had heard a lot of crazy stories that had come from there. The first day we got there it was raining a little bit so we decided to unpack and go out to eat. The next day we finally got to lay under the blistering hot sun all day. During the winter, I turn as white as a ghost but after the first time I am out in the sun, I am tan the rest of the warm seasons. I decided not to put on a lot of sun screen because I wanted to get really tan…. Bad Idea! Trey decided to be funny and make a simile face on his stomach with the sun screen so when he did lay out he would have that on his stomach. We laid out there longer than what we were anticipating so when it came time for us to go out to dinner that night, we were both as red as lobsters. It was really painful going to sleep that night so the next morning we went out and bought a bottle of Aloe each. By the end of the trip, his bottle was gone. We had 2 more nights that we were going to stay so on that night we went to Wild Willie’s pineapple shop because I had never eaten there. Before we were seated, his mother wanted to take photos of us on the beach so after about 50 million pictures, we were finally seated. That night, Treys mom ordered us crème’ Brule and told Trey to be romantic and to eat dessert out on the beach. So he surprised me and had candles on the beach with a blanket spread out on the sand for us to sit on. That was my best spring break.

That's all for now!

~Ali

My oh so great photograph ~ February 24, 2010

My oh so great photograph that I like so much is a picture done by an artist that is not very well known named Alfred Eisenstaedt. Alfred Eisenstaedt was working as a photographer at that point in time for Time Magazine and experienced a moment in Americans history that forever changed us. The photo he took was called “Soldier kissing girl in time square”. This was a very famous photo because it was taken August 15, 1945 at the end of the world war two and because the soldier was just so happy to be home and alive, he picked the first girl he saw and took her in his arms and kissed her. The photographer, Alfred Eisenstaedt, just snapped pictures left and right in order to capture this special moment in American history that he did not even get the names of the people in the pictures he took. However on the 50th anniversary, the man and woman in the picture were identified as Edith Shain and Carl Muscarello.
The reason why I like this photo so much is because it showed America celebrating after many years of loss and heart ache. Also I enjoy this particular photograph because it shows just how young our soldiers were who fought for our independent country. These men were just merely boys who wanted to show that they could fight for what they were told was right. These boys still had dreams of being married and having kissed a random girl who just happened to be standing right next to where he was at that point in time. This photo also shows the spontaniousness of the men who were just barely able to be called men while fighting for our country.

That's all for now!
~Ali

Strong Support ~February 22, 2010

Growing up, I had a strong family. My mother and father both supported me in whatever I felt like I would exceed at. First it was dance and tap, then it was to the soccer fields, then I wanted to be a cheerleader so I had to take gymnastics, and finally I settled in on singing. This made them happy because my father is a musician himself and he was able to give me voice lessons every week. Soon, not only was I winning competitions but I was also being hired to sing at special events across the Atlanta area. I was only in middle school at this point so my father worked hard with me to ensure that my future in singing was secure. Once I hit high school, I was put in the top choir, given several solo opportunities and was encouraged to be a part of an a-capella group for the community. With this responsibility and holding down a job, I decided that I could no longer carry on with my singing path that was chosen for me. I was pushed into evening lessons so that when I came home from school and work, I would go straight into a voice lesson with my father. This lead me to my decision in not wanting to sing in college. I was so tired of being told what I can and can not do because of my vocal chords and how they would affect them. When it came time to sign up for college classes, my father looked over my schedual I alid before him and frowned. He told me that he was very surprised to see that I have music no where in my future and asked why. I told him that since I will be a teacher, I wanted to devote all of my time and effort into teaching and what it takes to be a wonderful teacher, so I dropped music because it had nothing to do with my dreams I had for myself. I was expecting frogs to fall from the celiling and for him to be so upset with my decision but instead, he told me how much he supported me and that he was proud of the woman I am becoming. From that day on, I knew that I would always have the unconditional support of my family no matter what the circumstances behind it.

That's all for now!

~Ali

Justice ~ February 19,2010

At first glance this article is appalling to those reading or hearing it for the first. However to make a true unbiased judgment against one party, you have to know the circumstances surrounding the events that happened. The police officer could have seen something that he wanted to take care of and did not politely ask the three women to move. Sometimes people just want attention so they make a story out of nothing. Also how likely is it that the police officer knew that they were talking about funeral plans for their mutual friend? I do not know about you but I do not listen to conversations between the people walking in front of me on the way to class or any where else I happen to be going. People should get both sides of the story before making an opinion to which side they will take. If the police officer was wrong in his arresting, he will be correctly punished by the police force for his actions, however if he did have a right, the general public will never hear that the woman was wrong. If the tables were turned though, the public will hear about how the police was so prejudice and wrong in their actions and there will definitely be a court case to follow.
However, if this story is true and really did happen the way that these women portrayed it, it was wrong of the police officer. Discrimination of black, white, man, or woman needs to stop. Sometimes people do commit acts against other people just because of their sex or race. However, if you do not let it get to you or you stop looking for them, you will not be so offended all the time. People have to stop looking for arguments sometimes and just need to let things not bother them so much.


That's all for now!
~Ali

American Standard ~February 17,2010

I am writing on the Jay-Z song “On to the Next one”. This song really made me start to think about what kind of message this would send to other people who do not live in America, about the life style American s portray on a day to day basis. In this song, Jay-Z keeps telling his audience that he is on to bigger and better things each time something else comes along that is better than what he has. “Now double your money and make a stack”, in this line, he is not satisfied with the amount that he has. He has to go and double it to even think about making him happy with what he has. Then when he says “Niggas want my old shit, buy my old album, Niggas stuck on stupid, I gotta keep it movin’”. In saying that, he suggests that people are stuck on the old and that he wants them to experience the new and that if you do not then you are stupid. Then in the next line he says that other people make the same kind of stuff but he makes the blueprint of what every one else is making. The blueprint suggests that he is the original in music and no one could be newer than him. In a following line he states “ Came in the Range, hopped out that Lexus”, this makes the listener understand that he traded in his Range rover for something bigger and better and that is his Lexus. After that, he dises the Jonas Brothers saying that they are not grown up. Also makes fun of them because they are publicly virgins’ still, I think that is something to brag about personally. In his video, he has the latest and prettiest girl dancing behind him and the most up to date watch on his wrist. Also he brags about the people he knows and how he can get in touch with them any time he wants to.

That's all for now!

~Ali

Red neck woman ~ February 15, 2010

I chose to write on Gretchen Wilson’s song/ video of Redneck Woman. This song is interesting to me because I like the way she describes every stereotype of what a red neck woman are supposed to have and in some ways prove that “red neck” women really do not care what other people think about their life style. The video is a great representation for the words in the song because it starts out with her riding around on a 4 wheeler getting all muddy, which is something that a “classy” woman would not do. This is a great representation of the lyrics being sung because it is telling the audience how she really feels along with the visual of what is generally not expected from a woman. Also she uses footage of her driving a big pick-up truck and her going “muddin” with other red neck types of people. Lots of people perceive red neck women to be pregnant or with lots of children running at their feet in a trailer park. Gretchen is trying to tell people to think past that stereotype and say that she does not need fancy designer clothes to make her feel special or to make her man love her like other “classy” people. Another thing about her visual argument is when she is singing in the bar to all her “red neck sisters”. This adds to her visual argument because “classy” women usually do not step foot in a bar so this is where she chose to shoot the video. In her song some of the lyrics are that she prefers beer over wine, she can get the same stuff as any other person at Wal-mart for cheaper, and that she isn’t some prissy doll. These descriptions tend to make up a “red neck woman” but Gretchen is just telling her listeners that she is just as much a woman than someone who does the opposite as her.

That's all for now!
~Ali

David Bowie's argument ~ February 10,2010

I will be analyzing David Bowie’s video of Moonage Daydream. This particular clip was from Bowie’s farewell concert thus he is trying to remind the audience what they were going to be missing. This particular clip is an oral argument because of the lyrics he used in his songs. He said “Keep your mouth shut, you're squawking like a pink monkey bird And I'm busting up my brains for the words. Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe Put your ray gun to my head
Press your space face close to mine, love.” In his lyrics, he tries to get the woman to run away with him to a moonage daydream in which he is trying to come up with the words to tell the woman.
Also when scanning the crowd, you can tell that the fans are obviously upset that this is his final show. You see women crying and holding on to each other to try and comfort one another through this last show. Also you can see that the band is really trying hard and pouring their all into the last performance. The main singer is really trying to connect to his audience by singing directly to them and also my closing his eyes and meditating on the words. By closing his eyes, the artist is really focusing on trying to get the audience to feel the emotions he is putting into the song.
Finally, another visual argument that this artist is making during his final concert is his appearance. He has a big flowing shirt with no pants and long boots. The shirt could represent a kind of clothing that a person could slip into a day dream in. His hair is also kind of a mess and not really tamed. This hair style could represent that he just woke up from his “moonage daydream” or that he really just doesn’t care about his hair.

That's all for now!

~Ali

Op/Ed article ~February 12,2010

I chose to write on the article entitled “Principal forbids 5th grader to wear Obama shirt to school” off of the WISTV web site. The article is about a school in Sumter South Carolina that forbid its’ students to wear political paraphernalia to school until the president Obama was sworn in.
There has been a lot of debate surrounding this decision. One of the arguments was that they were not allowed to wear those t- shirts and other paraphernalia because the president is black and therefore the people in the state of South Carolina are racist because they do not want black people to rub it in that they have a black person in office. Another argument is that if the fifth grader did wear that shirt to school that he would have been expelled and people didn’t see why he would have been punished for just wearing a shirt.
This is where I start to get an opinion because of my future career. In Elementary school, when something happens or if they don’t want something to happen, the staff of the school is really good at notifying parents of these happenings. With proper warning from the school of what will happen if you do something against their will, and the student still decides to do it, I believe that the student and the parents have full responsibility to accept all punishment. The argument was that he was just in fifth grade and he didn’t know any better. Last time I checked, children learned how to read in kindergarten and sometimes even before then. Therefore the student should have been able to read the notification sent home and also been able to comprehend that it was against the rules for him to wear such a t- shirt.


That's all for now!
~Ali

Wanting what we can not have ~ February 8, 2010

Isn’t it funny that we humans, especially Americans, always wish for things that we don’t have right at that moment? Americans have always had the worst case of the stuff wanting. Back in the sixties we had to be the first to the moon and claim it as ours. Given that we were scared that other counties were going to put satellites into the sky so that they can spy on us. Even currently if we see a new version of a cell phone or a play station game, we have to run right out to the store and snatch it up real fast so we can have the best of the best all the time.
I caught myself just today wishing that it was spring or summer again just because I missed the nice warm weather. However when it is spring or summer experiencing the hottest pits of the seasons, we wish that it was winter or fall again just so we can cool off. We constantly wish for something we can not have, be it materialistic or emotionally.
Another example of wanting something we can not have is on an emotional level. For example, my best friend has this guy constantly around her asking her out, telling her that he loves her and that she is beautiful. He asked her out probably around 5 times and on the fifth time, she told him to go find someone else to date. So he took her advice and is now in a relationship with another girl. However since he does not pay attention to my friend anymore, she misses it and wants him to tell her how beautiful she is, but he does not! When trying to get someone to notice you, always play hard to get because if you give up too easily, you are not worth the chase and they will be board.

That's all for now!
~Ali

Visual Argument~ February 3, 2010

My favorite visual artwork is one with a road that doesn’t go straight but all different directions then after all the loops, it straightens back out again. I feel that this visual artwork makes the claim that though the path may seem unclear at the beginning; you are always going to get back on track to where you are supposed to be going. This is a claim that can be connected to life in general, relationships, school, or even work no matter the age of the person viewing it.
I enjoy this particular piece of visual art because it reminds me of my own life sometimes. Just when it seems like I am making all the right decisions that I need to get to my ultimate goals, my like decides to throw me a curve ball. For example, just when I thought that I had found the absolute love of my life and decided to make things official, he started doing drugs and hid it from me. My life was going to be great! He was from a well respected family and he showed me that he loved me in ways that I knew that it was true. Then after 2 years of dating, he told me that he had been doing drugs for 6 months and he was hiding it from me. Life threw me a curve ball so I decided to throw one back. I chose to break up with him and start over when I got to college and so far, I’m doing great!
I think that this visual argument is important because it shows that people can go a lot of different ways but then again find their way to the right path they were intended to go down. People from different ages, backgrounds, and cultures can all relate to this picture because everyone has taken a wrong turn at one point in their life and now they are on the right path one more.

Here is my pic

That's all for now!
~Ali

"Don't ask, Don't tell" ~February 5, 2010

I chose to write on the article “A Smoke the Bigots Out of the Closet” by Frank Rich in the Ney York Times opinion section. In this article, the author made it very clear of who really supported the men of the military no matter what it was made of. He reported that John McCain spoke out against the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military. This made the republican side of the government look like they were against open gay and lesbian people into the military, when in fact it does quite the opposite.
The “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was implemented when Bill Clinton was elected after assuring the American people that the acts of harm against gay and lesbian men and women in the military. The case that Bill Clinton cited when campaigning the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was that of U.S. Navy Radioman third class Schindler and shipmate Terry M. Helvey. This case was when Schindler beat and killed Shipmate Terry M. Helvey to the point that the corpse was not even recognizable. After implementing the policy, these acts of violence taking place in the military had a distinct punishment for this discriminatory act of violence.
.Some people are against repealing this policy because they feel that a person should be who they are without having to hide who they really are. Repealing this policy would mean that these acts of violence would not be as harshly punishable for the person who committed that crime. If people knew that these men and women who are openly gay or lesbian were gay, then that would open up so much more violence towards these men and women who are protecting our country. So if they are protecting us, why can’t we stand up and protect them?

That's all for now!
~Ali

link

Guido Lifestyle~ February 1, 2010

In both the show and the article, there is a certain stereotype in which Italian males and females try and squeeze themselves into. The males decide that having extremely tight shirts, muscular abs and enough hair gel in their hair to make all the children’s hair in America act right, makes them look like a Guido. Now Guidetts are a whole other species in themselves. These girls, from “Italian Decent”, walk around in tight clothes that make their fat stick out on their bodies, lots of lip gloss, hair as big as a mountain, and heels tall enough that if she accidently fell, she would twist her ankle. Appearance is key in a Guido world. If you don’t have the look, you do not have the right to call yourself a Guido. Also another similarity is that they both live on the Jersey Shore in beach houses. This gives them access to all the night life on the shore including night clubs, bars, and the beach. The way that they let others know about their house is also similar. In pumping the music up really loud and standing on the roof deck and yelling at “hot catches” from above. One more thing that makes the show and the article the same in Guido aspects is the fact that they all they really want to do is get drunk. Their life revolves around getting money for alcohol, spending the money on alcohol, and consuming the alcohol. Nothing else matters other than those few steps to getting drunk. Going to clubs, working , and getting chick all have something or another to do with their life’s goal, getting drunk.
In the article we read, the main difference from the TV show is that there are no girls living in the house, besides Moo’s girl, so there are no ugly cat fights over jealous house mates and slutty girls.

That's all for now!
~Ali

Sex Ed ~ January 29,2010

Sex protection or abstinence? This has been the question for teachers and parents alike who have to teach kids about sex. Parents often choose the abstinence choice because they do not want to become a grandparent at a young age. However everyone knows how teenage hormones tend to take control of their minds and make bad decisions for them. In the New York times opinion column, “Sex Ed in Washington” by Ross Douthat was written to raise the awareness of how the politicians in Washington plan to deal with this debate.
Blaming Bush, yet again, for the rise in teenage pregnancies, politicians believe that since Bush stressed the abstinence approach of birth control, more teenagers were not educated about “safe sex” and thus became pregnant. I don’t think that this problem is because of Bush. As it said in the article kids make their decisions based upon who they hang out with, what morals their parents taught them, and what kind of morals the kids themselves have.
In the topic of what we should teach our kids in school, I think we should teach both abstinence and protected sex. I was taught from a very young age that abstinence is the best choice because you don’t have to even think about becoming pregnant, unless your name is Mary and you have a baby because of Immaculate Conception. Kids should be taught with the emphasis on abstinence, but because kids do what they want when they want, they should also be taught on how to avoid becoming pregnant. I don’t believe there is such thing as “safe sex” but there are ways to increase your chances of not becoming pregnant. Also, when a girl does become pregnant, she has to know what to do and how to tell when she does become pregnant.

That's all for now!
~Ali

Campaign Financeing~ January 27,2010

With the ability to give huge financial donations, big corporations will have power over politicians. Giving money, especially large amounts of money, to any one person always blurs the line of if it should be considered bribery or not.
In the case of what happened in Florida, I can see what the bail makers were trying to do, save their own pay check; however, making a bigger pay check for yourself does not help any one else. If it saves the county or state large amounts of money and if it keeps prisoners a second chance to prove themselves, I think that they should think about the positive sides rather than just being self centered and think just about you and what this decision is for you.
When running a campaign for a political position, or any other position for that matter, you have to be very careful of things people are willing to give you and why. Normally people would jump at the chance to just accept a large amount of money; however, you have to think of the repercussions that accepting the money might bring along. If you do decide to accept the money, you have to see what the person or the company is associated with because what they are associated with, you magically become associated with. Also you have to read between the lines and see what they really want you to do. No person is going to do something for you without expecting something in return, it’s human nature. Why scratch someone else’s back if they won’t scratch yours? Finally before accepting money from an organization or a person, you have to be willing to do something for them. Being nice is all fine and dandy, but in order to keep the relationship on the right track to have to give a little to get a little.


That's all for now!
~Ali

Debatable Issues ~ January 25,2010

The most controversial matter going on in the United States’ government system is the matter of health care. Republicans hate the bill because they see health insurance as a privilege and that those who can’t afford it should not have it because then they will get it for free while we still have to pay for ours. The democrats believe that health insurance is a right and that everyone should have it.

I personally do not want the health care bill to pass. This is not because I am a republican or I think that people should pay their own bills; however I do not support universal health care. Hawaii had this kind of health care for just their children and the state fell into a financial hole they are still working to get out of. Also with this health care, people who can’t afford to go to a doctor will soon have access to the same specialist doctor that I go to without paying the hefty fee that my parents pay every time. Again I don’t really care about money, but with my expensive doctor being available to everyone, it will make the already long waiting list just longer! Sometimes my colon just does not want to wait for a doctor so when it does act up and I have to go to the hospital, it will take twice as long for my doctor to get there if a lot of people start to see him and that will not be good at all.

Therefore if this new health care bill passes, when I become sick at any point in time, I won’t be able to get the proper or professional help that I need and pay for in a timely manner in which it can becomes critical for my body.

Here are some videos on debates for both sides of the issue:

and


That's all for now!
~Ali

God vs. Natural Disasters ~ January 24, 2010

For this blog post, I chose to write on an article in the New York Times entitled Between God and a hard place by James Wood. In this article, James research concluded that back in the 1700’s preachers and men of religious background felt that natural disasters happened because God was either punishing the people or he was just trying to get through to them. Also in recent events when Obama gave a speech about what happened in Haiti, he basically said that since God was on his side and he had luck was the reason why this disaster did not affect him.

Being a devout Christian myself, I believe that everything happens 1) because it is in God’s plan and 2) because everything happens for a reason. I also think that the preachers and so called Holy men of the 1700’ s were way off the target when they put together sermons preaching that this natural disaster was the people’s fault because of their actions. God does put his followers through hard times but that is just to make our faith in him stronger.

Also Pat Robertson was way off in his beliefs that this earth quake was a blessing to the Haitians. I think that it does give the people of Haiti a fresh start however you can not over look that this was a tragedy in itself and completely put the casualties on the back burner. You do have to focus on the good things when tragedy occurs, however, because if you keep dwelling on the bad, the people as a whole will get more and more depressed and they will never see a way out of it.

Finally on the speech Obama made, I think in some ways he was right but in others he was way off. God defiantly did have his hand over us but at the same time luck has nothing to do with it. Sure there are scientific theories and evidence that this happened just because of science, but luck still doesn’t have anything to do with that either.

That's all for now!
~Ali

Anything~ January 20,2010

Paid Parking lots in the city are the most frustrating things to deal with. This past Friday was, my good friend’s birthday so we went to the Hawks vs. Suns game. After the game we went back to my apartment so we could have cake and all that. His cousin parked in a paid parking lot right across the street from my apartment. We put in $3 and the ticket said that we would have to come back down at 4:50 am to extend the time. After that was all taken care of, we went to my apartment and had a great time! When 3 o’clock rolled around everyone got really tired but Kim refused to go to bed so she could pay the parking lot to extend their time. However I could tell that she was really tired so I offered to go down and pay. She agreed so at 4:30 I woke up and went down to pay. I put $3 in and I received the ticket on which it said that the expiration time was still 4:50. So I waited till 4:50 and put $3 more into the machine. After retrieving this ticket, I saw that the expiration time was still 4:50! I was about to call the company however I realized that I left my cell phone up stairs. Just as I was about to head back to my apartment, I heard someone ask if I needed help. I explained my situation to him and he said I was in luck because he worked for the company. He told me if I tipped him, he would insure that my friend’s car would not get booted. I explained to him that I was not going to spend another penny of my money in this stupid lot. After that was said, he asked if I wanted a ride to my apartment, I refused so he opened the passenger door to his car and started to push me in! As soon as he started pushing, another car entered the lot and I managed to run over to it. When I reached the other car I looked behind me and saw the guy speed away from the lot. Regardless to say after all of the trouble I went through, we still had to move my friend’s car and pay an additional $5 for that lot! I hate paid parking lots.


That's all for now!
~Ali

Teacher Evaluation Reform~ January 15,2010

The article I chose to write on was published in the New York Times under the Opinion tab. This article was entitled “Walking the Walk on School Reform”. I chose this article because, being a future school teacher, I find that it is important to keep myself updated on new things in the school system so that I will be prepared for the job when the time comes.

“Walking the Walk on School Reform” states that the teacher union The American Federation of Teachers’ president Randi Weingarten proposed a new reform in the school system by reforming teacher evaluations. She claims that the evaluations should be reformed because poorly trained evaluators go into classrooms all around the United States and spend an hour or less “evaluating” a teacher’s performance. However there is no way that spending an hour or less with a teacher can give an accurate reading on any teacher.

I agree with Ms. Weingarten’s new proposal to improve teacher evaluations. I believe that without this reform, students will continue to be set up for an unfair education in which teachers are not performing their job accurately. Setting student up with this approach will set them up for failure. By spelling out the professional teaching standards, each teacher will know specifically what their job requirements are and assures that they will carry out their duties.

Also, Obama shared with the nation before being elected into presidency that he wanted to give incentives to teachers whose students do the best with standardized tests. This approach is unfair to teachers across the board. Judging teachers mostly based off of the accuracy of their students is a poor test of what the teacher is doing in the classroom. While how students do on standardized test is defiantly one of the teacher’s main concerns with their students, it is not something that they should focus on solely. Some students are not great test takers, so why should great teachers be penalized for those students who don’t care about education?

That's all for now!

~Ali

Earthquake in Washington D.C. ~January 13, 2010

Natural disasters claim the lives of thousands of people every year not just in the United States but all around the world. The most memorable ones that have happened in the past ten years are the Tsunami in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Haiti’s recent earthquake was devastating to the country because almost all of the buildings were knocked down because in Haiti, there are no building codes that all buildings have to measure up to. Also because all the buildings fell down due to lack of building codes, when falling, the buildings trapped and crushed people underneath them causing several thousand in the country to die.

If this situation would have happened in the United States, more specifically Washington D.C, I believe that the damage would still be the same however we would have the ability to get back on our feet. Just like when Louisiana was almost completely washed away, our country would rose to the occasion and got matters worked out. Though some would argue that it took way too long for the help to arrive, our country still got the work done. Also, Haiti is a very poor country and very underdeveloped. (Not to say that our country is any richer due to the seven trillion we are in debt)In our country we had the insurance to rely on in order to make everything the way it was before. America had the resources to help our neighbors out by giving them things they needed in the time of great need. However Haiti is right next to the Dominican Republic, with which do not have to best relationship between the two of them. Thus, Haiti had to wait for the help of other counties far away rather than right next door to them. Though the deaths have not had an accurate count, officials think there are thousands dead.

That's all for now!
~Ali

Who I Am ~ January 11, 2010

What makes me, me? I was born in Missouri but we moved around a lot with my dad’s job. However we go back there to visit family every year so I still consider myself a “northerner”. My father is a Minister of music at various churches so I have grown up a Christian and plan on staying that way for the rest of my life. Having a dad in ministry gave me the ability to jump in and teach kids in Sunday school and in an after school tutoring program at the church from a young age. From this experience, I found my true love, teaching.
Now I am going to college in order to get my teaching degree so that I can help more children understand hard to learn concepts. Though my major is Early Childhood education, I will be working on getting a specialization in Special Education.
I have found that my favorite musical group is Paramore. Also my favorite book is A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. The reason why this is my favorite book is because there are a series of hidden symbols that can mean something different every time you read it. I guess that since you can get something out of this book every time you read it, it gives me a fresh reason in why to read it time and time again.
My outlook on life is that everyone should be happy for most of their lives. I know that seems like a very immature outlook, and kind of cheesy but it is truly what I believe in. I try and help others achieve this goal by constantly smiling and doing helpful little things just to make others feel good. These are just some of the things that make me, me!

That's All for now

~Ali