Social Action Project (FC)

In AP English we are doing a social action project. For the social action project we have to choose an issue that is addressed in either Beloved,  The Heart of Darkness, or the studio museum. Then we have to figure out how the issue impacts us today and ways we can address the problem.

For my social action project I decided to do an issue that is addressed in The Heart of Darkness. In The Heart of Darkness there are numerous social issues, like identity, madness, and feminism, but I chose to do corruption. In the book a character named Mr. Kurtz is corrupted by his desire for power and wealth. In the beginning of the book Kurtz is described as being a prodigy, but when we are introduced to him in the book he is mad with power. I chose to do this issue because in today's society police officers are corrupted. They break their social contract and abuse their power for personnel game. 

For the social action project Javaughn Miller and I chose to make a video. We got clips from various YouTube videos and news websites and we put them together. We chose to use Tupac's song Changes because of its meaning. In the song he tackles African American social issues, like police brutality and drug use. In the song he says "cops give a damn about a negro? Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero." He addresses how African Americans are killed by cops and how the cops aren't punished. This song not only addresses these issues, but it also inspires people to fight police brutality. So watch the video and leave a comment on what you saw or what effect it had on you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXScKQVP1hQ&app=desktop

The deflategate scandal (PB)

 PATS NATION

By now you should have heard about the deflategate scandal involving the patriots. If you haven’t heard about it then it is when the New England Patriots was accused of delating footballs during the AFC championship against the Indianapolis Colts. The NFL investigated the deflating of the balls with a lawyer named Ted Wells. They discovered texts implicating Tom Brady, Jim McNally, the official locker room attendant for the Patriots, and John Jastremski, an equipment assistant for the Patriots. Wells also found evidence that Tom Brady was buying John Jastremski gifts. To punish Tom Brady the NFL has suspended him for 4 games, the Patriots have to pay 1 million dollars, and they have to forfeit 2 future draft picks.

I am shocked that Tom Brady had anything with the deflating of the balls and the punishment that the NFL gave Tom Brady. The punishment that the NFL gave them is outrageous and I am not the only person who feels this way. Patriot fans and some NFL players was not happy with the news about Tom Brady. LeGarrette Blount said on twitter “this is absolutely ridiculous SMH” and Patrick Chung said “fucking ridiculous”. I think the NFL is being hard on Tom Brady because they are trying to set an example. He is a future hall of famer, one of the greatest QBs, and a household name.

Deflating the footballs didn’t even have an effect on the game against the Colts. The Colts are trash and they got blown out. Even Eli Manning, the quarterback for the Giants, tried to play with deflated footballs to see if they had an effect and he said it didn’t, but it varies with QBs and weather. I also read an article that stated that Tom Brady could have a strong chance at winning the deflategate appeal. This is because one of the attorneys who will try to appeal the suspension, represented Adrian Peterson and got his indefinite suspension from the NFL appealed. Also other high profile appeals that occurred recently will affect Brady’s case.

 

 

The Clippers (SSR)

http://www.inquisitr.com/2061443/clippers-vs-spurs-series-turns-into-nbas-best-of-2015/

 

My favorite NBA team is the clippers and my favorite player is Chris Paul. I used to be a Miami heat fan but a few years ago I became a clippers fan. One reason why I became a clippers fan is because I saw a clippers game and I saw how nice the team is.

On Saturday the clippers beat the spurs 111-109. It was a very close game. Chris Paul had 27 points and 6 assists. He did all of this after tearing his hamstring in the first quarter. I agree with the article, this was a good series. I was upset that the clippers were going to face the spurs in the first round because the spurs is a good team, but I never doubted them. Some people doubted that the clippers would win the series but I knew they would win.

In the second round the clippers are facing the rockets. I like he rockets but I predict that the clippers will win after 5 or 6 games. The only team I am really worried about is the warriors. During the regular season the warriors have won 3 games against us and we have only won once. Also Chris Paul can’t guard Stephen Curry. Whenever they face each other Stephen Curry makes Chris Paul look ridiculous. For example, in the last game they played against each other Stephen Curry broke Chris Paul’s ankles. However I think that the Clippers will win the championship because this is my sports teams’ year. The patriots won the super bowl and now the clippers are going to win the NBA championship.

English Novels (CRR)

In English class we have been reading the Heart of Darkness for a while. Before going on spring break we finally finished reading it. I was happy that we were done with that book. There were numerous words in the book that I didn’t know that I had to look up. Every page there would be a few words that I had to stop reading and define. Another thing I didn’t like about the book was it was difficult to understand. There was some parts in the book that I didn’t know who Marlow, the main character, was talking to. However, one thing I like about the book is its perspective on colonization. This book was kind of interesting because I never read a book from the point of view of the colonizers. I only read books from the point of the people being colonized or the point of view of the slaves.

Now in English class we are reading Beloved by Toni Morrison. This book, like The Heart of Darkness, is about slavery. However, this book is from the perspective of a slave named Sethe. I like the book so far. The book is interesting and it is easier to understand than the Heart of Darkness. It will also be interesting to see the similarities and the differences between the two books and their take on slavery.

AP lit (CRR)

In AP literature we have been reading the book, The Heart of Darkness. It has been very challenging reading it. One thing that is difficult about it reading it is its vocabulary. Most of the words that are in the book I haven’t seen before like ostentation and despondency. Another thing that is difficult about the book is the text. Sometimes it is kind of hard to understand what the book is saying.

Another thing we been doing is grammar rules on noredink. I like this one better than the old grammar rules we use to do because I remember the things it teaches us. I also like how it incorporates are interest into the questions.  

South Park (FC)

For this free choice blog I really don’t know what to write about, so I am just going to talk about comedy. One thing I find funny is comedy that is outrageous and that doesn’t care about the consequences of what they say. Some of my favorite comedy shows are South Park, Tosh.O, The Chappelle show, it’s always sunny in Philadelphia, and blue mountain state.

I decided to write about comedy shows because I was watching some South Park videos on YouTube of the funniest moments and I found it hilarious. One thing that makes South Park funny is the characters. Some of their funniest characters are Carman, Butters, Randy Marsh, Towelie, and Mr. garrison. One thing that I like about South Park is they don’t care about who they offend. They make fun of celebrities, politics, and social issues. One of my favorite episodes is when Butters was a pimp. One thing that made this episode funny is Butters is a little kid and he is really naïve. At first it started off with him hiring girls his age to kiss boys on the playground for money. Then as his business grew he asked real pimps for advice and he stole some of their prostitutes. Another thing that made this episode funny was the words he used and the way he used it. He used words like “bottom bitch” and the pimps were telling butters that he has to hit his prostitutes to earn their respect.

Overall South Park is a funny show. A majority of their episodes are funny and sometimes they start off normal then they get really weird. If you haven’t watched South Park I suggest that you watch it.

 

Economics (ID)

In economics we have been learning about the United States economy and some terminology that has to do with economy. For instance, consumer, producer, and resource. Before taking this class I knew a little bit about the economy and how it works. This was because I took economics when I was in middle school, but I didn’t know much about the U.S economy.

In Economics we have been learning about the type of system we have, which is a free enterprise system. This system is when a nation’s economic decisions are the result of individual decisions by buyers and sellers in the marketplace. We have also learned the common features of economic systems and the questions that each of them must respond to. Yesterday we learned about the principles of the free enterprise system. The six main principles are freedom to choose our employment, right to private property, profit motive, competition, consumer sovereignty, and freedom of contract.

In the past month that we have been taking economics I have learned a lot of things I never knew. There are still some things I don’t know about the United States economy that I want to know and I feel like I am going to learn all about it in this class.