Misunderstandings

Last week, in Government class, the teacher showed us two different videos. Videos that at first I thought that they were going to be informative and boring, but in the end they were far from it. The point of both videos is about a misunderstanding between to people and how those misunderstandings then lead to the two people having an argument about it. The first video is with Abbott and Costello, and how they are having a discussing over who is in first base. The second video is about President Bush and Condi and how they have a discussion about who is the new president of China. If you haven't watched them then you should, and if you have then it´s worth watching it again.

As you will see in the videos, misunderstandings between two people can lead to an argument. It’s amazing how words, if not used correctly, can change the meaning of what you’re trying to say. Words are powerful and the way we use them are even more. Now what do you think of the videos? Did you find it entertaining? Have you seen this before? Do you think that words are powerful? Have you seen any other videos that have this same problem?

By Nicole Gabriel

Should We Save Endangered Species?

      Although this may seem like a straightforward question with a straight forward answer, it is not. Two sides fight violently (verbally) against each other over this issue. The cost spent on organizations dedicated to the salvation of endangered animal species is becoming incredibly much to the concerns of those who do not innately experience sympathy for creatures that aren't human. With over 2,000 animals nearing extinction, how should we go about this issue?
    Many people argue that we should allow nature to take it's natural course. It is not our duty to help those animals who cannot help themselves, besides, we're at the top of the foodchain, why should we care? Does our position at the top give us the go ahead for mass extermination though? A lot of the animal's are endangered because humans have encroached on their land, their homes, or, in the case of the whales, have been hunted to near extinction for their blubber. Although, personally, I'm not sure that we should save certain animals from extinction, it does seem our duty to fix what problems we have caused.
     It is incredibly costly to save endangered species. Billions upon billions dollars go into building habitats and breeding programs. It seems that some cases just can't be helped. Those are the cases that should be abandoned. Survival of the fittest does need to play in somewhere (I'm looking at you, pandas).

So, should we do anything about this? or should we, collectively, say that animals should learn how to solve their own problems and save their own furry behinds?

This is an image of the last Thylacine. It died on the 7th of September in 1936, due to extreme neglect and abuse. The species became endangered due to bounties placed on their heads by British colonists in Australia.

Here is a compilation of the little bit of footage we have of the Thylacine.


-Gabriella Loosle

What Your Sleeping Positions Say About You.

So as my creative juices died out, I asked HaNuel, my classmate, what I could write about for a blog post. But before she even answered I had already found an interesting video about sleep, and as I watched it I received a notification that HaNuel had answered. I opened the link and believe it or not, it was exactly the same video I had been watching just seconds ago! Isn´t that strange? Well, I thought it was.

So the actual topic for this blog post is not about my weird experience. The topic is actually about our sleeping positions and what they say about us. I have come to realize that everyone has a sleeping position that they prefer. It might be sleeping face down, or sleeping like a soldier, where your arms are right next to you, but almost everyone has a position they prefer. Have you ever wondered if the way you sleep means something? Well it does! I can´t really say I have a favorite position because the position I sleep in depends on many other factors. So it´s kind of safe for me to say that I sleep in all positions… So enough about me. Now think of the position you sleep in and then comment on it. Hope this was interesting to watch.

-Carlota Carrillo 

ODE TO THE PAST

I know that it's really unhealthy to keep on looking back at the past, but sometimes, it's worth it. Part of a child's childhood (ha ha ha) is watching TV. Most of the cartoons back in the old days, we full of wonder, new adventures, and well-written stories. Cartoon shows like Kim Possible, The Proud Family, Inuyasha, and Hey, Arnold! made childhood days awesome. Before TV used to show us moral lessons and take us on adventures that our innocent minds needed.

One of my favorite shows was Kim Possible. It was about a spy girl that tried to stop a mad scientist from conquering the world. It might sound cheesy or very cliché, but the adventures portrayed in it where awesome. From snowboarding down a mountain to catch the bad guys to fighting against a black belt enemy with fire powers, a.k.a. Sheego.

Another of my favorite shows was Rugrats. It was about a bunch of babies that were driven by their imagination. I loved to see that even them could have fun with toy screw driver and a Cynthia doll. They went to Paris and stopped a wedding. They simply had so much fun!

What was your childhood favorite TV show? Cartoon? Would you like for channels to have a come back week where they showed all the old TV shows?

Kim Possible

Rugrats

That's So Raven

Bear in the Big Blue House

By: Arielle 9th

Phone Bloks

by Kelly cs

The cameras on phones can be pretty awful. Whenever I try to zoom in the picture gets really blurry and has really low quality. My bother has a fake camera for kids, its bright orange, extra large, and really grimy and even that takes better pictures. It even has more editing options built in, and you don't have to use apps to edit a picture. So lets say that you like photography, and you want to take high quality photos but you don't want to carry a camera with you all the time. If you are that type of person then would you be ok with sacrificing better speakers for a better camera? I bet a lot of you would. Or lets say you want extra storage because you have a ton of large gaming apps. Odds are you would be ok with sacrificing a camera for extra space. Before phones have never let you do that, you get a standard model all with the same features regardless of your need for a phone. Wouldn't it be great if you could customize your phone to make it suit your needs? This is where phone bloks comes in (yes, bloks I guess misspelling it makes it cooler or more hip). Phone bloks were created by a group of three men who wanted a customizable phone, that would reduce waste and not need to be replaced just because of a broken screen. It was later bought by Motorola (Google). It is basically a base, and you can customize the hardware so it suits your needs. They are currently working on getting funding and getting it developed. Google hopes to send out build your own phone blok kits sometime in the next few years. You just replace parts as needed, you can even by screens of different quality or to replace broken ones. My ideal phone would have tons of space, an ok camera, and not focus too much on texting, and have a great browser, that hopefully works with adobe and flash stuff. What would your customizable phone be like?

Batman Arkham Knight

This winter and autumn a lot of games are coming out, but one of the most anticipated games is Batman   Arkham Knight. The fourth game in the series and probably the last one. This game is going to be set one year after the event of Batman Arkham City. One of the most iconic Batman bad guys is back an is crating a team. This bad guy is Scarecrow and has team up with The Penguin, Two Face and Harley Quinn since Joker Died in the game before this one we are not going to se him in this game. A final villain created by the developer of the game will appear the Arkham Knight. We know nothing about this villain. In this new game a bunch of new gadgets will appear and the best of all you will be able to ride the Bat-mobile in the free-roam city.

By: Jacques Cole

Panda Problem

        We all love pandas. By we I mean most people, and by love I mean think are cute, and by pandas I mean the nice cartoon ones that aren't a complete waste of space. When someone says they love pandas they are, more often than not, referring to the nice cute cuddly ones that the media gives us.
       
       Because of this love of "pandas", it seems as though everyone is overly concerned with their wellbeing. Every new panda born in captivity receives exuberant adoration and fanfare. Pandas are the symbol for the WWF (World Wildlife Foundation), and billions are dollars are spent keeping them alive each year. Everybody wants to save the pandas.
     
      Herein lies the problem. Pandas are idiots. They have no natural predators in the wild, the have an abundance of food (bamboo), and they're still going extinct. The issue with pandas isn't that we're destroying their habitat or killing them rampantly. No. They just won't mate. The intimate problems of a panda's love life should not be our wallet's concern. The global economy is going down the toilet, aided by the heaps of cash we're burning attempting to save a species that does not deserve to be saved.

The pandas do not deserve our money, nor our time. It is not our fault that they're numbers are dwindling. Honestly, it sounds like a personal problem.

Die pandas.

-Gabriella Loosle

Vietnamese Cinderella- The Story of Tam and Cam

I actually really like fairy tales. They are really cool, gory and tell a lot about the cultures they come from. Have you guys ever read the original sleeping beauty? How about Bluebeard? Both are so dark and awesome! My favorite story is one that I was told in Vietnam, back when I was a cute little kid. Its the vietnamese version of cinderella, the story of Tam and Cam. So sit back and get ready for story time.

Once upon a time there was a peasant girl named Tam. She lived happily with her widowed father in a small house in the countryside. One day her father remarried and had another child called Cam. The wicked stepmother was jealous of Tams beauty and, through lies about Tam convinced her husband that Tam should be sent to the kitchen and made a servant. As fathers tend to do, Tams father died leaving everything to his wife and Cam. One day the the two sisters were sent to go fishing. While Cam was busy sleeping Tam spent the entire day catching fish and getting dirty. Right as the girls were going home Cam tricked Tam, telling her to go wash the mud off her to keep her stepmother from getting angry. While Tam did that, Cam stole all of the fish and ran back to her mother, crying and talking about how lazy Tam had made Cam do all the work. When Tam realized this she started crying, knowing that her mother would punish her fiercely tonight. As she started crying the clouds parted and down came the Goddess of Mercy. Tam told her of her plight, and the Goddess gave her a large red and gold fish. The Goddess told her to keep the fish in a well and feed it three times a day, with what little food she could. For several months Tam would go to the well and feed the fish, who would show itself to her but nobody else. The mother grew curious about Tams behavior, and one day sent her to the village. The mother put on Tams clothes, called the fish, caught it, and used it for dinner. When Tam went back to the well, she saw the surface was covered in blood and no matter how hard and long she called the fish never came back. The Mercy Goddess came back and told her what happened, and that Tam had to find the fishes bones and keep them under her pillow. She did that, and the next several months were uneventful. Then one day there was a festival for the kingdom, Tam was allowed to go and her fish magicked a beautiful dress on her. The prince fell in love with her, and they were married.

It gets better later, but i’m already 200 words over the limit and I don't want to tax you guys by making you read too much in one day. The second part is even better, and I don't want to spoil it but two of the characters become murders. What do you guys think of this story? Like Frozen it is about two sisters, but this story is more.....my type.

Kelly C.S

spoiler alert

A link to the story if you want to read more

Tam and Cam

Cha-Ching

Girls around the world claim to like boys for what they are, and not what they have or what they look like. Unfortunately, this isn't always true. Many girls choose who they like based on their financial background. Some people like to call these women "gold diggers". Sadly, this is also the cause of many unstable relationships. Long-term relationships are always between two people who believe that they have found the right person for them. Short-term relationships are usually between people who just found someone to spend some time with to have fun, which is why they are short and aren't very strong. Many of these relationships could eventually lead to depression, and in serious cases, suicide. This is why boys also have to be careful on who they chose as a partner, because they could eventually end up being hurt because of they're financial insecurities. I keep mentioning relationships, and by relationships I am talking about adults. I mean, let's be honest, its not like we're going to marry the person that we date in high school. Well at least, there isn't a big possibility for it to happen. So my recommendation for now is that if you want to date, fine go ahead, however, be cautious. There are plenty of fish in the sea.


Enjoy these amazing pranks done by Vitaly.

-Nicholas Mainsbridge 8th

X-Men Days of the Future Past

Another awesome superhero movie is coming this year! X-Men Days of the Future Past is a comic book adaptation film. This movie will bring the firs three movie cast and the First Class cast together. Obviously the movie will not be the exactly like the comic but is going to be based on it. This movie is going to be some years after X-Men the last stand. The sentinels (giant robots powerful enough to kill mutants created by Bolivar Trask which is played by Peter Dinklage) rule the world capturing and killing mutants. The X-Men that are left send Wolverines mind to the past to take control of his younger self.  Wolverine has to try to stop this mutant genocide by teaming up with the young X-Men and stop the tragedy ever happens.Sound cool ehh? Well we are going to see new X-Men like Blink and Warpath. The main cast of the movie is: Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Michael Fassbender as young Magneto, James McAvoy as young Professor X, Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Ian McKellen as old Magneto, Patrick Stewart as old Professor X, Anna Paquin as Rouge, Halley Berry as Storm, Shawn Ashmore as Iceman, Fan Bingbing as Blink, Booboo Stewart as Warpath, Daniel Cudmore as Colossus and Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask.

By: Jacques Cole

"Stop playing and go outside!"

I bet that we have all heard a command similar to this one in various occasions. While we might get mad at our mom (or whoever said that to us), they are right. We need sunlight as much as we need food. Sunlight, as said in this video, helps our bones grow by giving us Vitamin D. The more time we spend outside, even if we don't do anything and just stay there, the healthier our bones will be. Now, you might think that by just being next to the window while texting, your bones will be benefited by sun rays, but no. While inside our house, we are normally sitting down and probably not doing anything active. Like the video says, sitting down can affect your body more than what you normally think. Sitting down can lead to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, not to mention higher mortality rate. So stand up and go walk your dog. Go out in the country and smell the fresh air. Connect with nature more and let the sun and all it's wonderful effects benefit you!

By: Arielle Garcia

The Ghost Town Kijong-Dong

Lets be honest, at one point in time or another we have tried to show off. Odds are it failed pretty badly.  We might pretend to be older or use bigger words to look smart. I remember one time I skated over a guy, but you don't want to hear that boring story. My real purpose is to show you one of the greatest examples of showing off ever, the North Korean ghost town of  Kijong-dong.  Kijong-dong (also known as peace village) was built in the demilitarized Zone in North Korea in the 1950s. This lovely farming Village can house two hundred people, and has everything A person could ask for, a daycare center, a hospital, and primary and secondary schools, this village even has electricity! However, the only people who visit this town are paid actors, who have to pretend that they live there! The houses aren't even properly built, according to pictures and people with telescopes, the houses are hollow shells and the windows are don't even have glass. This town is supposed to showcase the amazing, Farmville type life that all North Koreans lead. Apparently the North Korean leaders hope that seeing this will convince South Koreans to come over to North Korea. There is no word on how successful they were, but  at least they are dreamers, and if Disney has taught us anything it's that if you dream hard enough anything can happen. By the way I loathe Frozen and Divergent with a burning passion, and even the names make me die a little inside....just kidding, happy late April fools!
Kelly C.S

Brain Teasers

Brain teasers are one of the most interesting things that can play with your mind, besides mazes, that I find incredibly entertaining. Although they can sometimes be pretty confusing, they are not impossible to soIve. I guess you must practice completing brainteasers for you to become better, for to be an expert in something everyone needs practice. I found these brain teasers in Youtube (again through my random video clicking, it is a quite good technique) and thought they were pretty easy.

You might not think the same thing though. But don´t worry, believe me I was also fooled by one of them, but the rest are ok. I believe everyone can complete these five brain teasers, so go ahead. Watch the video, try to answer them and then tell me how many you were able to answer? Were you fooled by any of them? After seeing what the answer was, did you laugh at its obviousness? Because that is exactly what I do when those brain teasers fool me, I laugh at how obvious the answer was and how they fooled me. 

Ps: Don´t take the ¨How smart are you¨ part too serious. I mean if you don´t answer them correctly, or can´t find the answer, it doesn´t mean that you are dumb or anything, just that you were fooled by the questions.

-Carlota Carrillo

Amazing Facts

I actually had no idea of what to write but as I browsed through Youtube, and clicked random videos, I actually found this video. I thought it sounded interesting and then as I watched it, I was actually amazed by some of the facts. Some of the facts explained I had heard before but then there were others that I had no idea about. For example, the facts that every ten years all the human body cells have been replaced. I did not know that before. These facts were extremely interesting and piqued my curiosity and the more I watched the video the more I wanted to know about certain things. Also the guys who talks and explains those facts, does an amazing job because even though he speaks kind of fast, you are capable of understanding everything.  This I believe is pretty incredible. He also did great making the video short and concise, something that´s rare to see now a days. Going back to the facts, What do you think of all these facts? Where they actually interesting? Did you know all of them or where you left speechless by some of them?

ps: If you´re interested there are two more videos from the same guy, that give you more facts!

-Carlota Carrillo

Mmm... Dolphin?

        In Taiwan dolphin meat has been illegal since 1989, yet, in some areas, it remains a staple of the Taiwanese diet. What was the purpose then, of banning the sale of dolphin meat? International pressure. Dolphin has been a part of their culture for centuries, making it difficult to abolish the practice. The Taiwanese government has the law in order to keep up appearances, but it is difficult to tear people from their roots. Taiwanese fisherman don't even feel sorry when they kill dolphins because the dolphins follow their boats around and eat their fish.

       Dolphins are such jerks. For a multitude of reasons actually. They kill baby porpoises for fun, using echolocation to find their vital organs so that the maximum amount of damage is inflicted.They also kill their own babies, infanticide is quite common among the dolphin species. Most terrifyingly of all though, dolphins don't sleep. They can stay awake for 5 days straight. This means that they could murder baby porpoises for 120 hours straight.

For these reasons I say we pressure the Taiwanese government to abolish the law forbidding the sale of dolphin meat. Heck, we should all start eating dolphin meat. Let's make a pact to cleanse the sea of those filthy varmint. Die dolphins.

-Gabriella Loosle

TIME TRAVELING, REAL?

Time traveling is a topic widely talked about. Many people have tried to find out if it is possible to time travel. Books have been written which have tried to explain how it is possible. People say that it is possible, but that the US government doesn't want to share it. Others say that it is completely impossible because it hasn't been done. There is, however, proof that some people have time traveled. This guy claims he traveled to the future and met with his 70 year-old future self. Since time traveling isn't widely accepted, knowing that a lot of people like to fake pictures or make up stories, he thought no one would believe him. So he took a video of himself and his future self.

Something else that seems odd is a woman talking on a cellphone in a 1928 Charlie Chaplin movie.

Another man claims that he traveled to the future and he filmed the white house.

I'm not saying that this videos are all real and reliable, but there might be some truth in them. I do believe that time traveling is possible. It might have happened already and we may never know for sure, but it's not bad to think, or rather wish, for something to be true. What do you think? Is time traveling possible? Do you believe this videos are real and not faked? Is this just speculation? 

By: Arielle 9th