No favorite sentences from books, but I have some lyrics that stood out to me this past week (all from Eminem):
"Your hate is what gave me this strength...cause I came at 5'9" but I feel like I'm 6'8"!" - Eminem in "Lighters"
- I admire this sentence for its confidence that Eminem radiates when he is rapping. This confidence is how I would love to feel; the confidence to say anything you think is right, the confidence that people will listen to what you say, and the confidence that you don't regret what you say or do.
"Had a dream, I was king, I woke up, Still king" - Eminem in "Lighters"
- This is another line by Eminem that shows his confidence in himself and what he is doing. He's the best rapper right now and he knows it while showing he knows it in a cocky, perfectly described way that flows well with the soothing beat and attitude of the song. He is also saying that his dreams are his life. He is a internationally known artist and is living the "American Dream."
"I swear to God I [anger] a Happy Meal off" - Eminem in Nicki Minaj's "Roman's Revenge"
- The reason I like this line is because Eminem has a talent and a feel for creative rhymes. Sometimes they aren't appropriate but if you think about it, you can see that what he says makes sense and in a creative fashion. In this line he saying to his "haters" (people who don't like him) that he can make them mad, but he is still going to continue what he loves to do (make songs) and in the way he wants to do it. Many of Eminem's rhymes including the line above are forms of satire that make you laugh, but at the same time criticizes the subject he portrays. Eminem's confidence allows him to describe what he is thinking in the most satirical way possible; ways that the average person wouldn't even begin to think of. And it comes so natural for him like a God given gift.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Pink Out, But No Pink
It's Senior Night for the varsity football team and the leaders of the student section told the student body to wear pink to school and at the big game; actually it's not a big game in terms of who we play(Carroll), but more to the fact that its the senior players' last home game at Homestead High School.
The problem is with the Pink out is for one, I do not have a pink shirt. My failure attempt at thinking salmon was close to pink was a big mistake. Plus, at lunch, the back table is selling breast cancer shirts that are pink but also black shirts to raise money to support the research of breast cancer. Most of the people I saw bought the black shirts so in the end, the school will look like a "blackout" instead of a Pink-out. Some people did actually buy the pink shirts so at school and at the game, our student section won't be any "out;" it'll be a mixture of pink and black and it will make Homestead seem unorganized in how their student section supports the football team. This years painter boys need to do a better job at organizing the student section and getting students to actually participate in the cheers.
It's not their faults entirely though. Some students of Homestead that go to the games are there just to socialize and not watch the game; therefore, they do not care about the cheers led by the painter boys and the excitement that needs to be presented in order to support the football team. It's a sad scene at times when the painter boys are the only students performing cheers while the rest of the student body sits around and stares at them like they're idiots. The painters boys need to find a better way of getting the crowd pumped, but at the same time I feel bad for them because many of the students that stand in the student section don't care about what's going on besides in their little world.
The problem is with the Pink out is for one, I do not have a pink shirt. My failure attempt at thinking salmon was close to pink was a big mistake. Plus, at lunch, the back table is selling breast cancer shirts that are pink but also black shirts to raise money to support the research of breast cancer. Most of the people I saw bought the black shirts so in the end, the school will look like a "blackout" instead of a Pink-out. Some people did actually buy the pink shirts so at school and at the game, our student section won't be any "out;" it'll be a mixture of pink and black and it will make Homestead seem unorganized in how their student section supports the football team. This years painter boys need to do a better job at organizing the student section and getting students to actually participate in the cheers.
It's not their faults entirely though. Some students of Homestead that go to the games are there just to socialize and not watch the game; therefore, they do not care about the cheers led by the painter boys and the excitement that needs to be presented in order to support the football team. It's a sad scene at times when the painter boys are the only students performing cheers while the rest of the student body sits around and stares at them like they're idiots. The painters boys need to find a better way of getting the crowd pumped, but at the same time I feel bad for them because many of the students that stand in the student section don't care about what's going on besides in their little world.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Currently: Week 5
Title/Pages:
Yao Ming Biography/Pgs. 167-200
The Best American Sports Series/Pgs. 1-81
Total: 114
Yao Ming Biography/Pgs. 167-200
The Best American Sports Series/Pgs. 1-81
Total: 114
Sentences of the Month
"Only the strong survive" - Only the Strong Survive. This sentence is from a biography of legendary basketball player Allen Iverson and this sentence summarizes the entire book. Iverson had a tough route to the NBA, dealing with drugs, family problems, and friend issues which shaped him into the person he is now.
"I prayed they would not notice the color draining from my face." - World War Z. This sentence is said by the narrator in the first chapter after the infected young boy broke away from his chains while the doctor was inspecting him and chased them out of the room. The doctor (narrator) was so terrified yet he didn't want to show it because he is a cocky person and a "man." That fact that he was so terrified made me laugh. It was like a annoying self-centered character in a movie finally dying or something of the sort.
"His voice was flat, robotic as if he had rehearsed this speech or was reading from something" - World War Z. The narrator called up his best friend that's also a doctor to help him diagnose this young man's infection. Once he told the doctor his symptoms, the doctor froze and said the line above like he knew what was going to happen and what the results were going to be if he didn't do something about it quickly.
"I prayed they would not notice the color draining from my face." - World War Z. This sentence is said by the narrator in the first chapter after the infected young boy broke away from his chains while the doctor was inspecting him and chased them out of the room. The doctor (narrator) was so terrified yet he didn't want to show it because he is a cocky person and a "man." That fact that he was so terrified made me laugh. It was like a annoying self-centered character in a movie finally dying or something of the sort.
"His voice was flat, robotic as if he had rehearsed this speech or was reading from something" - World War Z. The narrator called up his best friend that's also a doctor to help him diagnose this young man's infection. Once he told the doctor his symptoms, the doctor froze and said the line above like he knew what was going to happen and what the results were going to be if he didn't do something about it quickly.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Currently: Yao
My mom bought me Yao Ming's biography about 5-6 years ago and I haven't picked it up since she handed it to me as a present. I figured now would be a great time to read it so I have something to blog about. I read the first 171 pages for this weeks reading log and I hope to continue reading and finishing the book.
Yao Ming grew up in China as most people know with his basketball parents. His dad played for the China national team for awhile and his mom played ball in college. This is where Yao Ming not only gets his skills, but his ridiculous height. He was ALWAYS taller than the kids around him. In fifth grade, he was already six feet tall!!! I'm six foot one now but back in fifth grade I was only about five foot two maybe. Yao started playing basketball when he was around the age of five when his parents took him to a recreation league fo youngsters. At first, since he was growing so fast, he didn't have much balance and was slower than the shorter players. He ended up loving the game and wanted to improve so his parents worked with him. He became a dominating figure by the time he arrived in high school and started playing for China's national team when he was seventeen!!! When Yao got drafted into the NBA, he was an instant superstar. Everyone around the league wanted to see how good this 7'6'' Chinese was and what he could do for his new team the Houston Rockets. Yao qutoes in the biography that we was extremely nervous about coming into the United States and learning the culture let alone the up-tempo, more physical game play of the NBA. Yao ended up being an All-Star every year he played in the league and almost won a NBA Finals with the Rockets. Yet, Yao was prone to injuries; he suffered many knee, feet, and other lower body injuries that kept him out for seasons at a time. This is not in the book, but Yao eventually had to retire because he had too many injuries and didn't want to risk a more serious injury. Yao left his own great legacy in the NBA and is a future Hall-of-Famer. Basketball fans and the NBA will never forget the kind, gentle, dominanting Yao Ming.
Yao Ming grew up in China as most people know with his basketball parents. His dad played for the China national team for awhile and his mom played ball in college. This is where Yao Ming not only gets his skills, but his ridiculous height. He was ALWAYS taller than the kids around him. In fifth grade, he was already six feet tall!!! I'm six foot one now but back in fifth grade I was only about five foot two maybe. Yao started playing basketball when he was around the age of five when his parents took him to a recreation league fo youngsters. At first, since he was growing so fast, he didn't have much balance and was slower than the shorter players. He ended up loving the game and wanted to improve so his parents worked with him. He became a dominating figure by the time he arrived in high school and started playing for China's national team when he was seventeen!!! When Yao got drafted into the NBA, he was an instant superstar. Everyone around the league wanted to see how good this 7'6'' Chinese was and what he could do for his new team the Houston Rockets. Yao qutoes in the biography that we was extremely nervous about coming into the United States and learning the culture let alone the up-tempo, more physical game play of the NBA. Yao ended up being an All-Star every year he played in the league and almost won a NBA Finals with the Rockets. Yet, Yao was prone to injuries; he suffered many knee, feet, and other lower body injuries that kept him out for seasons at a time. This is not in the book, but Yao eventually had to retire because he had too many injuries and didn't want to risk a more serious injury. Yao left his own great legacy in the NBA and is a future Hall-of-Famer. Basketball fans and the NBA will never forget the kind, gentle, dominanting Yao Ming.
Friday, September 16, 2011
3 Most Interesting Poems
1. "The Trail is Not a Trail" - Gary Snyder
2. "Gee, You're so Beautiful that It's Starting to Rain" - Richard Brautigan
3. "Wild Geese" - Mary Oliver
"The Trail is Not a Trail" by Gary Snyder makes my think of someone who doesn't have many options in life at an early age but then as the person continues to work and continues to move forward more options become available until everything is available like in Snyder's last sentence, "Everywhere to go." Another way of thinking about this poem is the literal meaning of just taking a trip into the wild, the roots of life where there are no roads, no rules, and you can go anywhere you want; the true definition of Freedom.
"Gee, You're so Beautiful that It's Starting to Rain" by Richard Brautigan is humerous in the fact that he relates the girl's beauty to the grades you get on a school report card. I also took it as he saying that she is his top priority rather than school, but he is intertwinning the two important things at the time for a teenager. Brautigan probably thought of this poem in high school or college.
"Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver makes me think that you have to trust your instincts like geese do as they migrate thousands of miles as she states, "You only have to let the soft animal of yuour body love what it loves." Yet my mindset changes when she ask to tell her about somone's despair and she'll tell them her's and at the time the world still goes on. It's like when a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship is broken and each side goes to their friends to talk about it. If it was a bad break up then both sides would be hurt and it would feel like the world has stopped or that they are stuck in life, but as we all know, time doesn't stop and love hurts. They have to move on with their lives like "the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscape."
2. "Gee, You're so Beautiful that It's Starting to Rain" - Richard Brautigan
3. "Wild Geese" - Mary Oliver
"The Trail is Not a Trail" by Gary Snyder makes my think of someone who doesn't have many options in life at an early age but then as the person continues to work and continues to move forward more options become available until everything is available like in Snyder's last sentence, "Everywhere to go." Another way of thinking about this poem is the literal meaning of just taking a trip into the wild, the roots of life where there are no roads, no rules, and you can go anywhere you want; the true definition of Freedom.
"Gee, You're so Beautiful that It's Starting to Rain" by Richard Brautigan is humerous in the fact that he relates the girl's beauty to the grades you get on a school report card. I also took it as he saying that she is his top priority rather than school, but he is intertwinning the two important things at the time for a teenager. Brautigan probably thought of this poem in high school or college.
"Wild Geese" by Mary Oliver makes me think that you have to trust your instincts like geese do as they migrate thousands of miles as she states, "You only have to let the soft animal of yuour body love what it loves." Yet my mindset changes when she ask to tell her about somone's despair and she'll tell them her's and at the time the world still goes on. It's like when a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship is broken and each side goes to their friends to talk about it. If it was a bad break up then both sides would be hurt and it would feel like the world has stopped or that they are stuck in life, but as we all know, time doesn't stop and love hurts. They have to move on with their lives like "the clear pebbles of the rain are moving across the landscape."
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Friday Menu
According to this personality test, my type is E.N.F.J. E. for Extroverted, N. for iNtuitive, F. for Feeling, and J. for Judging. My results put it in words like "I'm distinctively extroverted, moderately expressed intuitive personality, slightly expressed feeling personality, and moderately expressed judging personality."
I looked up the word "extrovert" and dictionary.com defines it as being out-going which makes sense for me. I make decisions with my intuition so that part makes sense. I expected my feeling personality to be higher than intuitive and judging because I care about other people and I use my emotions on many occasions. Having a judging personality really surprised me. I don't consider myself as a judging person. I always thought that when people are judging it has a negative connotation behind it. Is there a positive connotation for a judging personality? Overall this test was really fun and I hope that we do more of these in the future.
I looked up the word "extrovert" and dictionary.com defines it as being out-going which makes sense for me. I make decisions with my intuition so that part makes sense. I expected my feeling personality to be higher than intuitive and judging because I care about other people and I use my emotions on many occasions. Having a judging personality really surprised me. I don't consider myself as a judging person. I always thought that when people are judging it has a negative connotation behind it. Is there a positive connotation for a judging personality? Overall this test was really fun and I hope that we do more of these in the future.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Only the Strong Survive, But what makes you strong?
The biography about NBA Allen Iverson is very unique in the fact that when we say someone has a rough childhood, Iverson's was the roughest. His father left him when he was very young. Allen doesn't even remember what his father looks like. His mom worked two sometimes three jobs to be able to afford food and barely a shelter for her and her son. Allen stayed in the same school district but constantly moved from different apartments to hotels then motel and so on.
Everyday after school, Allen would shoot hoops at his school's playground to pass the time until his mother picked him up very late at night. One day, while he was in elementary school, a group of high school boys asked him if he wanted to play a pickup game with them. He agrees reluctantly since he didn't have anything else to do. He was the last player picked up and on the first play, he crossed one of the boys and spun pass the others to lay the ball right in the rim. While Allen was playing, an AAU Travel basketball team coach happened to see him play and was amazed by what this young man was doing. The coach approached him after the pickup games were finished and asked him to come to the next practice that he was having. Allen didn't want to at first and declined the offer, but the coach was persistent and talked to his mother the following day. Allen's mom thought it would be good for him to play and make friends so she agreed to have the coach stop by later to pick Allen up. Once Allen's mom told him about the practice, he refused to go with the coach to practice. His mom literally dragged him outside to the coach so he would go. This one little incident changed Allen's life forever. He became the starting point guard on the travel team and was becoming well known. His high school varsity coach even game to most of his AAU games to witness greatness in the making. By the time Iverson was a freshman; he was already a top ten player in the nation and started on his high school's varsity team. Freshman making varsity let alone starting was extremely rare back then so everyone wanted to see what this new kid was made of. In Allen's first game, he put up an amazing 42 points against another top team. He went on to lead his team to three state championships from his sophomore to senior year. Yet Allen had an ego which redirected college scouts away from him, so his mom personally went to THE coach Josh Thompson II (Hall of Fame Coach) and begged him to let Allen play for him because Allen needed a fatherly figure and she always admired Coach Thompson II as a coach and as a person. He agreed and the first year Iverson played atGeorgetown Philadelphia Turkey
Everyday after school, Allen would shoot hoops at his school's playground to pass the time until his mother picked him up very late at night. One day, while he was in elementary school, a group of high school boys asked him if he wanted to play a pickup game with them. He agrees reluctantly since he didn't have anything else to do. He was the last player picked up and on the first play, he crossed one of the boys and spun pass the others to lay the ball right in the rim. While Allen was playing, an AAU Travel basketball team coach happened to see him play and was amazed by what this young man was doing. The coach approached him after the pickup games were finished and asked him to come to the next practice that he was having. Allen didn't want to at first and declined the offer, but the coach was persistent and talked to his mother the following day. Allen's mom thought it would be good for him to play and make friends so she agreed to have the coach stop by later to pick Allen up. Once Allen's mom told him about the practice, he refused to go with the coach to practice. His mom literally dragged him outside to the coach so he would go. This one little incident changed Allen's life forever. He became the starting point guard on the travel team and was becoming well known. His high school varsity coach even game to most of his AAU games to witness greatness in the making. By the time Iverson was a freshman; he was already a top ten player in the nation and started on his high school's varsity team. Freshman making varsity let alone starting was extremely rare back then so everyone wanted to see what this new kid was made of. In Allen's first game, he put up an amazing 42 points against another top team. He went on to lead his team to three state championships from his sophomore to senior year. Yet Allen had an ego which redirected college scouts away from him, so his mom personally went to THE coach Josh Thompson II (Hall of Fame Coach) and begged him to let Allen play for him because Allen needed a fatherly figure and she always admired Coach Thompson II as a coach and as a person. He agreed and the first year Iverson played at
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