Fair

As I walk through the halls today I've noticed the many unjustified, unfiltered comments and seen some truly enraging comments about African-Americans, such as "ship them back to Africa." How unfair is that? People in Ferguson may have some of a justified reason to be angry. I am not justifying the violence of last night. However some people may feel that the Prosecutor himself was biased, his father was shot in cold blood by an African-American man.

ferguson

I am sure we all know about Ferguson. May god be with them during this hard time. The question is what is really happening in Ferguson? after the announcement about the grand jury's decision mass cayuse broke out. many stores were looted and people say they were looted because of the grand jury's decision but is that really why they looted stores and shots were fired or was there something else?

For my research project I chose to focus on the subject of human trafficking in Africa. It is difficult to focus on only one certain area of the world because human trafficking has turned into an international trading system. I could never image being taken from my family and forced to either do domestic labor or become a sex slave, let alone be shipped overseas. The word I am choosing to base my essay off of is "helplessness" and when I was researching for my story that I'm going to follow throughout my essay I found a story of a young girl that fit that word perfectly. The story is about a 16 year old girl named Anna who is betrayed my a family friend and forced into the trafficking business. If anyone is interested here's a link to help you with your research: http://www.antitraffickingconsultants.co.uk/anns-story/

Shake the Dust Lift a Line

“This is for the celibate pedophile who keeps struggling.”

“Shake the dust.”

I picked this line because it is very risky, very blunt to put out there. I think this author put it in there because he wants the reader to know that this affects everybody, that no matter who you are or what you do this affects you. When he writes “Shake the dust” I think he is saying the shake the labels because everyone has one. Every single person is labeled in one way, shape, or form. We can’t change the fact that we’re labeled, so own it. We can’t get out of having a label. So as he says “grab the world by its clothes pins and shake it out again” which i believe means to show the the labels who's boss, if everyone has a label yours might as well be a good one, if you don’t like your label, find a way to change it. The world can’t help that we label, its human nature, its what we do, so we shouldn't let it bother us and if we don’t like it, “shake the dust” and get a new one.

The New English Project

   Hey guys I am just doing a click little blog about what I am doing on this upcoming blog. My top three choices are, Hate- Genocide in Rwanda, Perseverance- Myanmar human rights, and lastly Human rights and Freedom. I think these will be an exciting choice and also open to new ways of thinking about other civilizations. Thanks for reading!

HELP. :c

For my research project, I can't decide which assignment I want to do, earthquake in Haiti, Anti gay laws in Cameroon, or Freedom of religion in Indonesia, they all have my attention,

"Shake the Dust" lift-a-line

Do not let one moment  go by that doesn’t remind you that your heart beats 100,000 times a day.”

This quote jumped out at me because I feel like it was telling me to never take a single day in your life for granted and to be thankful for the life you live and that you are alive on this Earth. I feel like a lot of times, people don’t live their life to their fullest and just kind of cruise around and don’t take the time to step back and really admire what is around them and just appreciate everything God has done for them.  When this line said that “your heart beats 100,000 times a day” amazes me and reminds me that I am a living person. I get to get up every morning and go to bed at night as a living, breathing, human being. What else could be better than the fact that we live on this wonderful Earth, in one of the best countries, in a midwest state, in our big city. To  me, nothing could be better than  living the blessed life  that we are living today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR5onCPquqY

I wanted to share this video because I am very passionate about marching band and drumline and I wanted to share this performance. This is from a group called Gateway Indoor Percussion. I was fortunate to see this performance on two different occasions last year and I was amazed at their level of execution. Gateway is not a high school drumline, but highschoolers are allowed to try out. This video is not of an actual performance and they aren't in uniform, but it's the best quality I could find. If you have any questions or comments I'd love to hear.

What are you thankful for?

Hey Ladies and Gents, seeing as it is getting fairly close to our beloved Turkey holiday, I felt it would be appropriate to remember the basic meaning of Thanksgiving: Thankfulness. If you're thankful for anything, here would be a great place to say it. I'll start. I'm grateful for my mom, who's math skills still allude me to this day. For my dad, who tries to be funny even when nobody understands his jokes. To my adorable yet slightly deranged canine who helps me find optimism in the hardest of times (aka finals week), and lastly for pop-tarts, which encourage me to get up every morning. So please share! Gracias!

Police Brutality

http://goo.gl/gCxctA
Greece

http://goo.gl/RjcNrq
Ferguson, Missouri

With the recent events in Ferguson, it seems to be police brutality is a go to consequence to anyone who dares to protest or defy the government. As it seems to continue to be a reoccurring theme throughout history from Rodney King, Greece, and now Ferguson do you agree with brutality? Yes or No or in certain cases? What is one way that would be able to stop police brutality with peaceful protesters in the future?

Inhumane

If someone does something horrible such as with the Sandy Hook shooting( Pretending of course that the shooter is alive and apprehended) Does the shooter deserve to be treated as humanely as someone over seas involved in terrorism and being held in Guantanamo?

A Cool Theme... . .

Cut and paste any of your ideas from your "a cool theme" journal entry.

Lift a Lines!!!!

Take any of your lift a line writings from either "Shake the Dust" or "Antigone" and cut and paste them to share.  You all rocked these assignments!

New Hobbit Movie

I have to know, who's excited? If you've read the book, how do you think it is compared to the movies and how do you feel about the changes made? Further more, what would you think if they made the Silmarrilion a movie?

Poems

Have a favorite poem? Found an interesting one? Wrote one?
Well post it here if you want to!

Favorite Song?

What is your favorite song?
Mine are Blue Lips by Regina Spektor
& Jealous by Chromeo

World Problems!

Journal (in a comment) about a something you think is a problem in the world. Convince us why it is a problem (if you use ethos, pathos, or logos)--great!

What genres of music do you like?

My personal favorites are classical and rock, what are yours?