Q1

Q4

There are many people out there that influence you, whether it is on TV, music, magazines, movies, or anything else someone can reach out to you on. My favorite cultural icon would be Wiz Khalifa. The reasoning behind this is because he grew up in a not so good area, and his family wasn’t all that wealthy, but he made it out and made something of himself, now he is making millions of dollars. I like Wiz Khalifa because he knows where he could be and he doesn’t think he is better than anyone. Wiz Khalifa knows who his fans are, and what they are like, so he makes music to inspire them and he says this in many interviews that he does. Wiz Khalifa also holds concerts for people that don’t have the money to see him in regular concert, I think that is very unique and I have never heard of an artist doing that before. Wiz Khalifa isn’t all about himself. His family, friends, and fans play a huge part in his life. Wiz Khalifa truly is a great person, and this is why he is my favorite cultural icon.

Q3

I’ve been in English class for a countless number of years, and I’ve done a fair share of reading books in class, but my favorite book would have to be “Tuesdays With Morrie”. This would be my favorite book that I have read in English because I could relate to it. The reasoning behind me relating to this story is that my Uncle Tom was diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis also known as Lou Gherig’s Disease, the same thing Morrie was diagnosed with. This book touched me in a way, as if that my Uncle was right next to me reading it. This was my favorite book because it brought back so many memories of my Uncle Tom. Everything in the book that Morrie and his family went through, I went through almost the exact same encounters. I’m happy that Mrs. Schafer had us read this book because it truly was my favorite book that I have ever read.

Q2

Summer is soon approaching and I am sure everyone is excited. Because I sure am. This summer I will be doing a lot. This summer will mostly consist of hanging out with my friends and making some good memories. I will also be hitting the beach up a lot. I like going to the beach because its nice and relaxing, it’s a peaceful, fun place to be. I also like going there with Kyle because he likes to try to pick up women, and I like to watch him try. This summer I will also be going to Black Lake with my family. We split a cabin up there with my dads friend. I like to take the boat out and I also like to fish. Another thing I like doing there is wake boarding and water skiing. I’m not too good at either of them but I still have fun. I enjoy going to black lake with my family because it’s a great bonding experience and we all come together and have a lot of fun. While we are in Black Lake we will be going to Alexander Bay. Alexander Bay is where it gets poppin’. There are clubs, bars, restaurants and a whole strip of things to do. I can’t wait to go hangout with my family at Black Lake.

O4

My father is my hero. I say he is my hero because he has taught me everything that I know to this day. My father is my boy. He taught me how to crawl, walk, run, lift weights, and drive. I don’t know where I would be without him in my life. I often take him for granted though. I will stop pushing time with him away and I will start spending more time with him. He is the greatest guy I have ever met in my life, and I’m not saying this because he’s my dad but I’m saying this because it’s true. I love that man and I will never stop loving him. My mother is the best mother out. You all can say that about your mothers but my mom will always be there for me. Little or big, she will stop whatever she is doing just to help me and I appreciate her for that. My parents mean the world to me and I don’t know if they know that, and I just wanted to say thank you to them. I love you mom and dad!!!!!

O3

This blog is a choice blog, and my writing in this blog will probably wander through various topics. Senior year is quickly coming to an end, some people are filled with joy, but for me I am filled with butterflies. This is my last year at Alden High School and its quite scary because I’ll be growing up and doing adult things and I will have to start making adult choices. Time flies, I remember when I was in the middle school…8th grade moving up day looking at the High School and saying “four more years and I’m out.” Boy did those four years fly by. If anyone that is an underclassman reading this, I want to say live it up, and don’t wish that these years would fly by because I know that I will miss high school and I’ve heard people say it all the time, I didn’t think I’d be one to miss it, but thinking back on the memories and the friends I’ve made here, I know that I will miss it. On the other hand, this past weekend was my birthday weekend and it has been my best birthday yet. I spent the very beginning of my birthday which was 12 am on Saturday the 28th with my best friends, Eric Roth and Joe Foss and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. During the day after I got some sleep, I celebrated my birthday with my brothers and my parents, I am starting to value time with my family as I get older because I’ve learned that anything can happen at any time in your life. That brings me to my next thought. Ive seen kids that are completely disrespectful to their parents and I just don’t get why… they brought you into this earth and have cared for you for so long, and you think it’s “cool” to treat them like crap…. Why?

O2

I found this article to be very interesting. I agree with the fact that not going to college will be costing you a lot in your life such as job opportunities. I believe this because the economy is getting really bad and people are starting to get laid off and without a good education, you can barely get a job anymore. After high school I do plan on attending college. I will attend a two year school, then transfer over to Edinboro to get my Bachelor’s degree in criminal justice. After I get my bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice I would like to move down south to become a border patrol agent. Soon after becoming a border patrol agent I would like to move to a higher rank in the Criminal Justice Field such as a US Marshall. I would like to do this because this is what a lot of people in my family have done and I have a great understanding for the Criminal Justice Field. Remember, Go to college!!!!!

O1

Now if you’re a big NBA basketball fan, you may find this blog interesting. Rajon Rondo, a star player for the Boston Celtics has been suspended for the #2 playoff game against the Atlanta Hawks. Rajon Rondo did not like a call the referee made and he let the ref know by bumping him with his chest. Now some people are saying that he tripped and accidently bumped into the ref, he may have tripped but he definitely could have easily stopped to not hit the ref. You can clearly see Rajon Rondo force his upper body at the ref. The NBA and all other sporting leagues clearly state that you cannot touch the referee. Rajon Rondo got a little worked up and let his emotions get the best of him by forcefully bumping into the referee. In my opinion Rajon Rondo should’ve gotten suspended. I believe this because these are professionals and if the league didn’t take such action kids that look up to him might think that it is okay for you or somebody else to go after a referee in any sport. Rajon Rondo was the best player on the team in game 1 of the NBA playoff series and they lost the game to the Atlanta Hawks. Having Rajon Rondo out will be a big challenge for The Boston Celtics, especially because Ray Allen is also out. This means the team will have to come together to make up for the loss. Paul Peirce will definitely have to have a stand out game while Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo are not there for the game. I picked this article because many people don’t agree with the ruling on Rajon Rondo being suspended and I wanted to give people a point of view from an athlete like myself. source : http://espn.go.com/boston/nba/story/_/id/7874196/2012-nba-playoffs-rajon-rondo-makes-bad-situation-worse

P3

In all honesty, I don’t think teachers should be evaluated by complete strangers. These teachers know how to teach, or else they wouldn’t be doing it… right? Some teachers may have a couple kids in there classes that are not learning at the rate of other kids, but they are still getting good marks and they are basing the teachers evaluations off the previous years they taught and how much better these students are doing. It somewhat seems as if these teachers have to make these kids better than the year before, but how do you do that if you have a less matured class. Or a teacher with more advanced kids going against a teacher with less advanced kids it just doesn’t make sense to me. This whole article barely made sense to me in a way and I’m sorry to say that because I have to write a blog on it. The kids in the class could be really smart, and they could have a really bad teacher but the teacher gets a really good evaluation because her kids know the material.

P2

Earlier this school year, we were asked about our goals. I just read back to my group A blog and read up on a few of my goals that I had set for myself. I’ll start off by saying this year was the best year of school I could have asked for, I kind of want it to start over. One of my goals makes me kind of sad in a way. This goal was to win the State Championship in football. This did not happen and it makes me sick because I had no way to help my team late in the season, but I wouldn’t have traded this football season and the memories for anything. In my eyes, we won the State Championship and I am proud of all the boys on the team. I also had another goal, to make the best of my senior year and as you just read; I am doing just that. This is the best year of school I have had yet and I love it. I also wrote that I would like to help the school become a better environment. I have some days where I am making it a better environment but there are some days that I am not, and that I am adding to the craziness in Alden High School. Overall I am happy with my goals that I have accomplished this year.

P1

You want to know how much television I watch? I spend a good amount of watching television throughout my day, but it depends what day it is. On weekdays I come home right after school and turn on the good old TV, I also spend a lot of time watching TV on weeknights. What else is there to do besides lay in bed trying to fall asleep because you have school early the next morning? When it comes to television shows, I am easily entertained. Therefore I watch a lot of TV shows such as; River Monsters, Man Vs. Wild, Pawn Stars, Auction Hunters, Portlandia, Sports Center, a lot of shows on MTV, I also like to spend a good part of my time watching sporting events, and watching a lot of shows on ESPN. In my house hold, we have a lot of TVs, I have one in my room, my little brother has two in his room, my parents have one in there room, my older brother has a TV in his room. We have a TV in my living room, kitchen, and in my basement. There are many positives and negatives when it comes to watching television in my eyes. If you are watching a reality TV show like Jersey Shore, I think you get stupider as you watch the series. If you are watching shows on ESPN, I’d like to say that it is a positive because you can learn about the game, learn stats, and also learn a great knowledge about sports in general. When it comes to TV everyone has their own favorite shows, and their own opinions on their thoughts about the positives and negatives but these are mine, if you don’t agree then so be it. Overall, I love television, watching TV is very relaxing.

P5 online publishing

Another choice blog… in this choice blog I will write about this class and how I feel like I’m greatly improving in it. This class started all the way back in September, I may or may have not taken this class because someone told me it was an easy class to be in, and one of my favorite teachers of all time is teaching it… I thought that would be the case at first, but I have grown to love this class. I really never wrote about my thoughts or what I wanted to write about so I really didn’t enjoy writing all that much, but being in this class changed that. I have learned to love writing. Being in this class, and having a great teacher and a great editor really changed my ways of writing. When I first heard we had to do a certain amount of blogs, and an article every week it scared the crap out of me because I did not think that I could make the deadlines, and a few times I did not. Now that is not the case, I look forward to the blogs that we have to write every week, and I really look forward to the “Items of Interest”. I look forward to these blogs because I know I will have a chance to write a choice blog about anything I want to, and express how I feel about that topic through my way of words. I look forward to the Item of Interest because we get to take articles out of the present times and discuss them between the class, I like this because we somewhat have a say, and can express how we feel towards that topic. I also saw some changes in my writing, as if the words I type come out naturally and don’t look weird anymore.

P4: Warren Sapp

This week we have two choice blogs to write about… crazy is it not?! Well since we have two choice blogs, I figured I’d write about something that would be easy to write about, in my case… celebrities and bashing them for their pure stupidity. Warren Sapp a Super Bowl Champion, a 5 time Pro-Bowl honoree, has recently filed for bankruptcy. Now the question you are all probably wondering, is how does a professional athlete that was one of the highest paid of his time, all of a sudden file for bankruptcy? It’s a crazy question and I believe that everyone is wondering the same thing… How did Warren Sapp go 6.7 million dollars in debt? Now I’m sorry but to me, that seems quite impossible. The guy makes 45 thousand a month working for the NFL Network, and that’s 540 thousand a year. Warren Sapp should not be in the spot he is in right now with the money he made, but probably because he is not a disciplined individual he does not have any money in his pockets. Warren Sapp owns $6.45 million in assets. These assets being 240 Jordan sneakers which is $6,500, a watch that is well over 1 grand, and a very expensive lion rug. Oh and another thing that seems to be unreal, is he lost his Super Bowl Ring, and also lost his National Championship Ring from college. That really grinds my gears especially being a football player myself, those are the things in life you can’t replace, you work all your life to get those rings, and you lost them, they’d be protected at all times, hell I’d even wear them every day, but I sure do know I wouldn’t be as careless as Warren Sapp and lose them. Someone please help this man.

N4

A grown man killing a teen… that just seems messed up doesn’t it? Well something more messed up is that the man that killed Trayvon Martin hasn’t been put in jail yet? Why do you ask… no one knows. Some people are saying that the state of Florida is being “racist” to this case, but I do not know who to side with because I wasn’t there, and I’ve heard two different stories about this case. The story I would like to believe is that Trayvon a 17 year old African American male was walking to his dads house wearing a hooded sweatshirt, holding a bag of skittles, and a can of Arizona Iced Tea, was approached by Adult Male George Zimmerman, being accused of being suspicious Zimmerman got violent and soon this altercation ended up in a murder, where George Zimmerman had shot 17 year old Trayvon Martin. I would hope this one is true because I would like to see this man in jail. I was just thinking the other day, if that were my friend, brother, any family member, I would like to hunt the murderer down.

The other side of the story came out to say Trayvon Martin is somewhat a “menace” to society. This was said because Trayvon had been suspended multiple times for multiple reasons. One of these reasons he was claimed to be a “menace” to society was because he vandalized some lockers in school. Another reason he was suspended was for having a marijuana pipe, and a baggy on him that carried bits and pieces of the drug. They also posted some of his tweets and they seemed to be very aggressive, one read something about him punching a bus driver. Officials said that he had many aggressive tweets, and a lot of them were about doing drugs..

Even if Trayvon Martin attempted to attack Zimmerman when he walked up on him, he may have had a reason, the Adult male was carrying a gun… The cops even told this guy not to approach Trayvon, but he still did…

N3

Where I work… that my friend, is a funny question. Simply due to the fact that I do not currently have a job. No I am not one of those kids that are spoiled and are handed everything in life, I just have to focus on my school work, that is my full time job, school. The reason why I say it’s a job is because I slacked off a few years back and in the middle of this year and I tied my self up. So that is why school is my full time job. I used to work at a farm… yes that’s right the farm that everyone knows about… the one right down Broadway… its called Foss Livestock. Boy oh boy, that was a fun job… most of the time. I liked it a lot, it kept me really busy and I learned a lot that I did not know before. It was nonstop working, always on the go, that is what I liked about it. When I graduate high school, I am going to school for Criminal Justice, or I am going for teaching. I have a few careers planned down the road for my self. Yes I would like to be in the Law Enforcement field; Specifically D.E.A, I.C.E, F.B.I, or a U.S Marshall. I would like to do one of these jobs because they all seem to have an adrenaline rush. And if you really knew me, I love adrenaline rushes. Another career I could see my self doing, is being a social studies teacher, simply due to the fact that I love social studies, and what is going on in the world today. I would like this job because I feel as if when I’m getting older, the kids will still keep me young.

N2

The weathers getting warmer, the sun is poking out more, everyone is excited, the Easter Bunny is soon to come, shorts, flip flops, tank tops, no jackets… SPRING IS HERE. Spring is a beautiful month, I feel as if this time of the year brings everyone joy, since the winter season is in the past! I love the smell of the fresh grass that is growing, and the smell of it when I cut it. Everyone is in a better mood this time of the year, maybe because they hate snow…? Or is it because it’s getting warmer…? Or the fact that the summer season is fast approaching us! Spring is not my favorite season, although I love it, summer is way better, but since this blog is about the likes, and dislikes about the spring season, I will have to write about that. Spring truly is a great time of the month. You see the nice fresh green grass, flowers popping up in every direction you look, the leaves on all of the trees start to fill in, and the best of all, fresh fruit!! What is dislike about spring… it’s not much due to it being such a pretty season, but I hate when it rains, I absolutely hate it! Well kind of, sometimes I love the rain, but when its down pouring the whole day it really grinds my gears. Another thing that I dislike about spring would have to be all of the bugs come out to play. :[ If I could create a bomb that would kill all of the bugs in the United States of America I totally would. They are just gross, and really annoying. I hate getting bit by them because it itches soooo bad. Well I hope you enjoyed reading my blog about the wonderful season of spring!

N1

In this blog we had the chance to sit down with a randomly selected class member to do an interview with them. The person I interviewed was Jose Blanco, aka Joe White, okay okay, aka Joseph Aaron White. Sitting down with Mr. White was quite interesting and funny. Joe moved to Alden school district in 2005 when we were still little guys. Joe is part of a band named “Larrabe” he says his job is to “look dumb”, but we all know he is the lead singer, and plays the chords. Joe hopes one day that he will make it big in whatever he plans to do.

I asked Mr. Joseph Aaron White, how he got the name “Joseph Aaron White” just joking around, but he actually had a very interesting reason why his parents had named him, what they named him. Joseph Aaron White was named Joseph Aaron White because of a family friend. His dad grew up with the Bruskee’s. Joseph Bruskee which was like Joe’s dads second father, was in the Navy and sailed on a ship named the Aaron Ward. This is why how he got the name Joseph Aaron White.

With Joseph Aaron Whites talents as a musician, you would think he was born with a guitar and a microphone in his hand… but this is not the case… In the 6th grade, Joes dad had bought him a guitar, and he practiced on that any time he could. He soon started playing with random people, watching live concerts on DVD, and his dad would always play the Beatles. Joe said he liked the sound of the guitar and the way people could sing. Joe stated “I liked the sound, and wanted the fame” while asking him what inspired him.

On Fridays and Saturdays, Joe usually has band practice or a show. On weekends Joe says you can find him down town, on Allen St. Elmwood, and on Chippewa. Joe calls his Sundays “Consumption Days” he says that he likes to relax and eat a lot of food on Sundays.

Jose Blanco loves to travel, he says he drives an estimated 500 miles a week, from going to school, East Aurora, the city of buffalo, and Akron. Joe also stated that he looks forward to road trips and touring, but he does not like driving when its late, but he loves to fly at all times of the day.

Finding out that Jose Blanco likes to travel, I asked him where his favorite place he has traveled to, and why. After Joe was asked this question, he sighed and yelled, “THAT’S TOUGH, but it would have to be Louisiana because I am there all the time. It’s a nice place to relax and write music, I also like crawfish boils.”

M4

Another choice blog, I kind of am excited about writing this choice blog. I will write about some of my favorite players in the NFL. Yea I know its way past football season, but with a lot of the professional athletes having their contracts up I thought it would be a good topic to write about, plus its football, I can easily write about football. My all-time favorite NFL player would have to be Mike Vick. I have followed Mike Vick since he was playing for Virginia Tech. Mike Vick is my favorite athlete to watch because of the simple fact that he is a play maker. I say he is a play maker because he is always making the game exciting, and when there isn’t anyone to throw the ball to, he takes it himself and runs, he is a very fast runner and it is hard for defenses to handle him. Another one of my favorite players would have to be Marshawn Lynch. I like Marshawn because he is a very explosive running back. It is very hard to stop a player of his size and strength, he also has killer speed. Peyton Hillis an Arkansas graduate is another one of my favorite fact due to his size and strength. If you watch him run, you will see him hitting the players trying to tackle him before they hit him. Peyton Hillis is the true definition of a beast. He is one of my favorite running backs because when I watch him play, it kind of reminds me of my self in a way because he runs hard and low to the ground. You never see him dancing in the backfield waiting for something to happen. He hits the holes very hard. Well here are some of my favorite NFL players and some reasons why they are my favorite.

M3

In my short 17 years of my life, I have had many embarrassing experiences. I hope no one reads this blog that I’m about to type because I am embarrassed to write about these experiences I have faced, and if you are reading this do not judge me for what I am about to write, because I would not be writing about this if I didn’t have to get a good grade in Online Publishing. When I was just a little guy playing Pee-Wee football, I was hit with a tragic experience. It was my first year ever playing football and I had just ate a big dinner before football practice. I was just a little guy 6 or 7 years old, keep that in mind. I was a shy kid when I was little and kind of kept to myself while practicing because I didn’t really know anyone on the football team. We were warming up for practice and I just had this sick feeling in my stomach. My stomach felt like it was twisting and turning a million miles an hour. I didn’t know whether I had to burp, let out some gas from downstairs, puke or go number 2. Thinking the best of the situation being the optimistic person I am, I thought I would just have to burp or release some gas from the basement. I started forcing a ton of burps out and everyone thought it was funny so I kept doing it. I then had the urge to let some gas out of the basement and since everyone was laughing at my burps I decided no big deal let it rip. Well I let it rip and my stomach was fine after that and we all shared a good laugh. I didn’t think anything of my previous action and I sat on the ground and felt a mushy feeling in my pants, it was so embarrassing. I told my coach and he laughed and said “That a boy racing stripes go to the bathroom and clean yourself up” jeez, I will never forget about this day, and to this day my Pee Wee football coach from 10+ years ago still won’t let me live what happened down, he is always greeting me with “what’s up racing stripes? “ Do not judge me.

M2

This blog topic on distracted driving; Let’s face it almost everyone has been texting and driving, or talking on their cellphone and driving at one point in time, but would they be doing this if they knew the dangers? CBS states that Teens are most at risk while texting and driving, or talking on the phone and driving and getting into an accident. I feel this is stated because teens are seen to be “more rebellious” in this day and age, and we think that we are “invincible” to everything. I’ve had a lot of family members that have gotten into big car crashes and have gotten seriously injured, and some that crashed and died on the scene of the accident. Whether or not they were texting while driving, or talking on the phone and driving, they were distracted in some way. I put myself in their shoes, and their parent’s shoes, and it made me think about my actions while driving before I perform them. When I first got my license I was texting and driving a lot, and holding many conversations at once. I thought I would be fine with it because “I’m invincible” but that’s not the case. Seeing a lot of my family get into car accidents and suffering serious consequences changed my driving experience. I am still guilty of texting and driving, but it’s to tell the person I’m talking to that I will text them back when I get to my destination, or at a red light. If I have someone in the car with me, I give them my phone so I am not tempted to text and drive, and I will have them text for me. In my eyes, my life is not worth sending a text message, and neither is yours. Before you pick up your phone while driving, think about the risks… your life is in danger, whoever is in your vehicle, life is in danger, and other people driving on the roads life is in danger because you WANT to text someone back, texting is not a necessity, it can wait.