Contradiction Conversation

For the past two days in my English, we've been having class debates. Not just any debates, though. The first day, one half of the classroom had to defend its side that the government should not have any control of the media, such as books, television, and video games. The other side was given the argument that government should have control. The next day, the pro-control group had to become anti-control, and vice versa. It was interesting seeing my classmates contradict themselves from the day before, however, it did teach me a lesson. I actually discovered that the people that were on the opposite side of their actual beliefs defended themselves better than if they were on the side they actually supported. For instance, for my pro-control side, I came up with better arguments than if I were on the anti-control side, because I wasn't biased. I used sensible ideas, because I'm not so attached to having control over media. This, quite honestly, was my favorite lesson I've learned this year, because it was so much fun, yet it was extremely educational.

iPad Apps

"Speak It" is great for changing text into speech, to help read back notes:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/speak-it-text-to-speech/id308629295?mt=8

"Note Taker" takes advanced notes by providing charts and shapes as well:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/note-taker-hd/id366572045?mt=8

"IM+" combines Twitter, Facebook, AIM, Skype, Yahoo, Google Talk, and more into one app:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/im/id296246130?mt=8

"Shakespeare Pro" provides numerous sonnets, plays, poems into one:

http://www.playshakespeare.com/news/4783-shakespeare-pro-now-available-for-the-iphone

"TAO" translates over 20 languages, beneficial for any foreign language class:

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tao/id297842740?mt=8

School Tour in Pictures

Picture Tour Ideas

• my caf table
• my homeroom
• photo room
• main lobby
• parking lot
• people walking down the hall
• school clock
• outside of school (the whole building)
• my senior rock
• my favorite teachers
• my favorite class

Media's Take on History

Growing up with semi-old parents who were alive and remembered having JFK as a president, they rant and rave about their favorite president all the time. Because I've been exposed to his life ever since I was little - watching shows about the 1960's, frequently visiting the JFK library, and watching an immense amount of documentaries and films about the Kennedy family - I've grown my own admiration for the former Boston president. Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear that ReelzChannel was broadcasting its new miniseries "The Kennedys".
I never got the chance to see the show. And I don't think I will, either. After reading numerous articles about the factual inaccuracies, the phony accents, and the horrible acting, I became furious. The Kennedy family rejected the idea of a movie being made about their family, and then this miniseries was made. Which is probably more of a disgrace than the movie could have been.
I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I hate how truly good people get bashed by media in an inaccurate way. Sure, you can make fun of Britney Spears's "shaving head scandal" or Charlie Sheen's obvious continuous drug use, but those are pretty factual. This miniseries is ReelzChannel's biased view of the Kennedy family. I was just disappointed to know that people are watching a show that is hurtful, mean, and just not true.

School Changes

For the past 2 weeks in my psychology class, we have been creating our own high schools, in relation to brain development studies and our own personal experiences as high school students. As I worked with 2 other people, my group and I decided that school should begin at 8:30 and end at 3. Though an hour may seem minimal, it is effective. Speaking on behalf of my fellow students and myself, I know that an hour longer to sleep would wake me up greatly for my 1st period class. In addition, ending at 3 doesn't drastically affect sports, jobs, and other extracurricular activies and obligations. Especially with the workload juniors and seniors face, realistically, we're not all asleep by 10pm. Sorry, but there just aren't enough hours in the day. On a good day, I am in my bed by 11. If I have this "good day" every day, going to bed at 11 each night, and wake up at 7:15 in the morning, I get more than 8 hours of sleep, which is much more than I currently get now. I think this is the first change that needs to be made, because it's not like students want to fall asleep in their classes - we don't learn anything and it's embarrassing. If we were given just one more hour to sleep, that would make all the difference.

Swiftly Winning

I love all types of music. I can tolerate pretty much anything, however, I'm notorious among my friends for being the "country music hater". I don't know what it is, but I just can't seem to find any interest towards it. However, among my group of friends, I am also known as "Taylor Swift's biggest fan". I love everything about her, especially her attitude towards love and life, though her past relationships have been famously known for ending badly. Last night was the Academy of Country Music awards, and my girl Taytay won Entertainer of the Year. It's such an achievement because this award is completely voted by fans. No one else. Around 600,000 people voted for her. That is something to be proud of. So, as the "country music hater", I actually did watch a country music awards show. And to my idol and favorite musician Taylor Swift, congratulations.