Mrs. Kirkman's Awesome Class

     During these past three years at Pilibos, I can almost complain about all the teachers, except my English teachers. This year was so much fun. It passed by so fast. I liked how everything was so calm, smooth and organized. I loved how you would always try to accommodate with our crazy schedule. I really liked how we used the smart board. That way everything was fair. There was only one thing that I can pin out about improving this class. When we read a novel, my notes were everywhere. If each section of notes had a title, or a theme, it would be so much easier when its test time. Other than that, I truly loved everything.      I, personally hate reading. Surprisingly, I loved The Scarlet Letter. No other teacher, would even consider watching the movie Easy A. I was so interested in making the comparisons between the two. It was awesome!I loved the theme and all the symbols. The one story I did not like was Nature. In my opinion, it was boring. Even though, it is required for the AP test, it was written in a weird language and it was too hard to focus on the story. Other than that, I liked most of the stories. Overall, I think it was a fun year!

"Red, White, And Beer"

       "Red, White, and Beer", is a satire piece, written by Dave Barry. He is the speaker of this piece of literature. Througout the entire piece, the tone is patriotic, yet sarcastic. He shows the reader, who is the audience, how beer commercials are "patriotic". He also adds humor, because he says the idea of patriotism is sweaty men, shaking hands. Also, when the men are building and pushing a wall in a commercial, after they stop shooting, they continue pushing and the wall crashes and hits a truck. Then the owner comes and shakes his hand.I believe he is trying to prove, that theses commercials have nothing to do with patriotism. People follow what the television offers. He also emphasizes famous people in his piece, and because they are icons, everyone wants to be like them.
       In my opinion, this was one of my most favorite piece we have read. Everyone can relate to it, because even today, some commercials are very unrealistic and symbolize nothing. Media does control the world, and commercials do affect peoples idea of things. The humor is very obvious in this piece. He is making fun of the "patriotic" beer commercials,  and whoever drinks that beer is many and a "great" American.

"Man Finally Put In Charge of Struggling Feminist Movement"

       This article was issued on December 3, 2007. The author is anonymous. The article explains how Peter "Buck" McGowan took over as the new chief of worldwide initiative for women's rights. He oversees the day to day operations. He made eliminating sexual harassment his first priority before working on securing many other things. He says, "All the feminist movement needed to do was bring on someone who had the balls to do something about this glass ceiling business." Throughout the whole article, he had used phrases like "You cant wast time pussyfooting around protests and getting all emotional about a bunch or irrelevant details" Even the women, are praising him, saying how he is a self assured guy and now the feminist movement gains respect. Do they not see what just happened? It is supposed to be a FEMINIST movement , and they put a guy in charge? They just lost the whole concept of what they were working for. The movement is supposed to show, how women are independent and can do anything just as well as men. I believe that this is where the sarcasm and humor kicks in. It shows, how women can be so blinded by men's power, and the author uses great phrases that Mr. McGowan has said, to show that he is also sexist. He says, "If you want to enjoy equal rights you have to have a real man-to-man chat with the people in charge." He is using other men to help the women movement.
       I think this article gives women much to think about. Why would they put a man in charge? Women can do the same things as men, even sometimes better. The humor and sarcasm is all in this ironic situation.

News Article

     This news article was written by Sari Roan, in the LA Times on March 15, 2012. Studies have shown that abuse in childhood appears to be a strong risk factor for alcohol addiction later in life. Dependence on alcohol can be linked to genetics, drinking during teen years, or even mental health. But, the new studies have shown that sexual or emotional abuse during childhood years has an incredibly strong link with alcoholism in later years.A study was conducted at the National Institute on Drug Abuse which surveyed 196 mean and women who were being treated for alcohol dependence.One quarter of the men and 33% of the women reported a history of physical abuse during childhood. The study also showed that sexual abuse raised the risk of anxiety disorder and increased the risk of developing depression. The people who were abused have a higher rate of suicide attempts.
        I think that this article is very important, because a huge amount of people today are alcoholics. Everyone judges, thinking that these people just want to get drunk and have fun, but now there is proof, of why many of them became alcoholics. It makes me happy, because i do not like to judge people, I like to listen to their side of the story, before assuming anything.

SOASPT

     The speaker of the Great Gatsby is Nick Carraway. He had graduated from New Haven. He had joined the army and when he returned home, he realized he was bored. He then decided to go to New York to join the bond business. He rented a small house located on the West Egg, right in from of Gatsby's huge, extravagant mansion. Throughout the first chapter, Nick repeated that his father told him to not judge people. He is cousins with Daisy, who is married to Tom and is attracted to Jordan Baker, Daisy's high school friend.The novel takes place in 1922, summer in New York. Long Island was separated into two sections. The East Egg and West Egg. The West eEg was the "new money" people. The East Egg was where the people who were born into rich families or had inherited money lived. The subject is Nick's new experiences, friends and mystery. The audience had the chance to experience one of Gatsby's parties, because it was written with so much detail, anyone can just picture the party. The tone is mysterious. The author has written the story  in a way, where there are small clues, which can help the audience foreshadow what is going to happen next.

Language IS Important

      We live in the most diverse country. People talk with accents, with different tones, use different dictions etc. But, there comes a point where the way a person talks reflects on their personality. If someone uses profanity may times, for no absolute reason, that makes the surrounding people the he/she is an uncontrollable rude person. You would second guess them and not trust them as much. I am not saying that people who cuss are people who you should be afraid of, but if they randomly burst out cuss words, be careful. Nevertheless, people who talk with a higher vocabulary, using pleasant words and talking in a tone that sounds right are viewed upon as "smarter" or "more polite". For example, doctors, lawyers etc. Everyone believes what they say, just because they use big fancy words. I believe that accents  make people unique. It shows other people a slight view of their culture. If it is a horrible accent and it is to an extreme, where people do not understand what you are saying, you can work on it, but do not loose it, because it makes you who you are. Finally, the different dialects give all the different cultures to express their own feelings in their own words. Yes, sometimes it comes in handy to know a second language, but it is even better when people come and ask you to teach them some everyday words.
        I always try to talk in a way that will make me look smarter. I think that if you talk like you know what your talking about, everyone else will believe you. I try not to use the word "like" alot, because that just makes me look blond. I truly do believe that accents do make us unique. It is awesome to hear all the different accents.

News Article

      I love reading Yahoo! news everyday. Today, something caught my eye. Taylor swift declined a teenagers request to go to prom? I thought to myself, why is this important? Why is it in the news? So, I decided to click on it.
     18 year old, Kevin McGuire has a painful struggle with leukemia since he was 13. He had a remission in 2010 but relapsed and is fighting cancer once more. His older sister Victoria, was very impressed with her brothers bravery. He never doubted himself and never asked "why me"? Throughout all his treatments, he kept his character, continued playing basketball and even joined the varsity football team. His prom was coming up. This is when he started doubting himself, saying why would anyone go to prom with him. He is going to be bald and his appearance is changing. This is when his sister decided to make a Facebook campaign. Kevin always looked up to Taylor. She decided to campaign about her brother. After it attracted 90,000 people Taylor responded saying no to prom, but instead asked him to go to the ACM awards. He was ecstatic. He recovered enough to accept the invitation and hes ready for his date with Taylor.
     I think this is very important, because it shows that not all stars are bad people. Taylor just made a Teens dreams come true. She is helping him recover. Not only, did she ask him out, she is taking him to one of the most extravagant award ceremonies. Go Taylor Swift! The article was written by Wendy Geller on February 24.

Disneyland Party!

       As a kid, I have always loved Disneyland, but hated waiting in lines for the rides. If I had $100,000 I would rent out Disneyland for the whole weekend. I would order the best catering available and fill the happiest place on earth with the people I love. The people would be able to stay in any hotel they want at night and enjoy the fireworks and water shows. Then, I would use the remaining money, to hire entertainment. This includes live bands, famous stars, Mickey Mouse and so much more. There would be a parade every 5 hours to keep people entertained and different eras in the different parts of Disneyland. You can go on rides, dance or even sleep. This for me would be the perfect party. I would also include, small booths, where people can buy jewelry or food and that money would be donated to charity. Finally, as the people leave, I would give them shirts with my face on them, so every time they see it they will remember this amazing party they attended. Now that is worth $100,000!

News Article

      The article " Arsenic Found In Some Infant Formula", was written by Shari Roan on February 16, 2012 in the LA Times. Arsenic has been found in two infant formulas that have brown rice syrup as one of the main ingredients. Arsenic is a toxic element that is a contaminate found in rice, because the crops absorb this chemical from the soil. Arsenic can cause skin, lung and intestinal irritations, also miscarriage and infertility. After research, out of twenty nine cereal bars, the ones that contained brown rice had arsenic levels two to twelve times higher than the allowable limit. The only way to not get contaminated is to stay away from brown rice. Rice Starch does not contain arsenic.
        This article is important, because it informs parents and kids about the consequences of some of the foods they ate. It is especially important for pregnant people, because they could loose their baby by eating a cereal bar. Take into consideration of what you eat and always conscious of the ingredients in your food.

Death of F.Scott Fitzgerald

        F. Scott Fitzgeral died on December 21,1940 in Hollywood, California. He has been known for drinking exesivelly. When he first came to Hollywood in 1967, he tried screenwriting. It did not work for him. He began having affiairs with a movie columnist Seilah Graham. His drinking was interefering with his work. In 1939 he lost his contracct with Metro Goldwyn Mayer. That year was not a good year for Fitzgerald. He was found bouncing between freelance movie gigs and hospitals. A couple days before Christmas, he had a heart attack at Graham's apartnment. He was only 44 years old. Not many people came to his funeral. He had shut out everyone in his life.
        Now, knowing this important information, I am pretty interested what suprises  the Great Gatsby holds. Almost every amazing, famous writer has been a drunk or durg addict. This type of writin gopens peoples mind, and makes them realize things that they would never think of. I am excited. "All good writing is swimming under water and holding your breath".-F. Scott Fitzgerald

News Article

     I remember, the class discussing a model with a twenty-inch waist, but I did not believe it until I found this article. It is called "Natural 20-inch Waist", written by Joanna Douglas on February 7, 2012. Romanian model Ioana Spangenberg claims that she has a natural twenty-inch waist, where her hip is thirty two inches. She is thirty years old and weighs about eighty-four pounds(average weight for a ten year old). She says, that she had insecure years, but her husband Jan saw true beauty. She eats three full meals, and has snacks on the side. She has had this body since she was little. Because, Ioana is Romanian, when you are overweight it shows that your family is wealthy. So, because she was extremely skinny she would stay home and stuff herself so she would gain weight but it would never work. Now, she has become a great model, but the only worries people have is that women do not try to attain her tiny size.
      When I first opened this news letter, I was in awe. She is so tiny and petite, yet beautiful. It is very interesting to see something like this. She is a unique person. I can only imagine, how hard life had been on her. How was she supposed to find close to fit that tiny waist? What did people think of her? I am truly happy that she is confident and happy with her body, because now she can flaunt her amazing, cool body.

News Article

    The article "Blast Kills Husband of Missing Utah Woman, 2 Boys", from the Associated Press is written by Gene Johnson and Mike Baker on February 5,2012 at 5:20 P.M.  Days after a judge ruled against josh Powell custody for his two kids, he took the kids into the house and blew it up. The social worker who dropped off the kids smelled gas and called the police, but the house had already blown up. Ed Troyer,Pierce County sheriff's spokesman, concluded that Powell had planned the whole thing because of all the emails he had sent to the authorities. Jeffery Basset represented Powell in the custody case, and had received an email from Powell a few minutes before saying, "I'm sorry, goodbye."
      I found this article very disturbing. I do not like the idea of a parent killing his kids. He took away their lives. The kids did not have the chance to have experiences. He is already considered a murderer, but he did not kill any random person, yet his two boys. I hope no family has to go through is agonizing story.

Observing Nature

        Today, around two o'clock I decided to go outside, sit and observe nature. I sat in the middle of my backyard. The wind was blowing my hair back, I could feel the sun hitting my face, warming me up and I could hear the annoying caws of the black, ugly crows. I could see the bugs on the plants, just creeping around. I can hear the flies and bumble bees in the bushes. The wind, sounds like someone whistling. It smells incredibly floral, even though it is winter.
         I am watching Milo, enjoy the nature. He squints his eyes as the sun's rays get stronger. He sits and enjoys the wind. I look down on the floor and i realize all the shadows. It is like I am in another world. Our shadows create a parallel universe. This was the first time I realized this. The most interesting part of nature were the clouds. I could stare at them all day long. They are like literature. They can be interpreted any way you want. Today, I was happy so every cloud I saw had a positive idea included. Observing nature does take you away from the real world. P.S: Milo opened the gate and ran away, so I had to cut this observation short, but no worries, while I was chasing him, I observed the nature.

Death of a Salesman SOAPST

   Death of a Salesman is a unique book. It showed the audience the American Life. It mainly focused on the American Dream, and it only becomes reality with hard work. The author of the play is Arthur Miller, he is also the speaker.The story/play takes place in the late 1940-s at New York. During this time, people from all around the world would come to America, just to make their dreams come true. The Loman family lived in a house, surrounded by large apartment buildings.
    This book/play has two audiences. One, is the reader, who is enjoying the book. The second audience are the people who atually went and saw the play.The purpose of the play was to entertain the reader, and inform this generation what type of life people had in the forties. It showed the reader,the different goals and perspectives people had during that time. The subject of the story is the American Dream and the hardships of making it true. Overall this play was written in a very understandable way. I do not like reading books, but this play was actually fun to read.

Happy Loman

     Death of a Salesman had many characters. The Loman family was very interesting. One character that i can relate to is Happy Loman. Happy Loman was a very "happy" boy. He was the youngest in the family, just like me. Happy always tries to make the people around him happy and satisfied. Throughout my life, I have always tried to make everyone happy, so that I would be satisfied, but then I realized that this concept does not completely work. Everyone was happy, except me. I think, Happy had the same problem. Both, Happy and I strive to reach success. I try to get good grades, so I can attend a good University and hopefully someday become successful. Happy always tried, to be perfect, but he was stuck behind Biff's shadow.
      Biff was trying to become successful, so he can gain his father's attention. I want to become successful, so I can be happy and satisfied with what I have accomplished. I am the youngest one in the Mehserdjian family. Sometimes, I do get stuck behind Sanan's shadow, especially when she gets good grades, but it does not bring me down. It makes me want to work even harder, so i can outshine everyone in life.