P= Eight People to Emulate

1. Picasso- His creativity may never be repeated, but I like to use him as a guide when I have to do my creative thinking.
2. Peyton Manning- His work ethic and good attitude make him one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.
3. Patton Oswalt- cheering yourself up along with others is an important thing to do, and his acting and comedy does exactly that for many people.
4. Phil Mickelson- overcoming something like arthritis to continue his career as a golfer is something I use as inspiration to overcome my own obstacles.
5. Paul Pierce- Along with playing in the NBA, he also has his own charity and visits underprivileged children. He is a very generous person.
6. Jason Pierre Paul- his story of growing up in Haiti, and discovering football, which he now plays professionally, very late in high school, shows that opportunity can strike at any time, and I will try to be like him, and seize the opportunity when it comes.
7. Scottie Pippen-  he never drew more attention to himself than was needed, and as Michael Jordan's teammate, he received little credit for the many championships that he won, but he didn't brag and complain, he just kept doing what he was supposed to do.
8.  Public Enemy- they completely changed the culture with their hip hop music. They wanted to represent themselves, and what they stood for in a positive way, and that is exactly what they did.

TU Tuesday- Culture

Article:  http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Gaza-Strip-fuel-shortage-forces-power-shutdown-3333104.php
Poem: http://poetry4palestine.blogspot.com/

The article I read was about blackouts in the Gaza Strip. " ...fuel shortages have forced them to shut down the Gaza Strip's lone power plant, causing blackouts in the already impoverished territory." The nation has no way to get oil, and now have to live in poor conditions. "Gaza's energy authority has until recently relied on fuel smuggled from Egypt to circumvent an Israeli blockade. But shortages in Egypt have halted the smuggling."
This article connects to the poem, " Landscape of Tragedy, Language of Sad Rhymes". " all victimized, all suffered hard times". These both describe the hard living conditions that people have in Palestine. The live on poor housing conditions, and are uncertain what their lives will be the next day.

Valentine's Day

Prompt 5: Should schools allow children to celebrate Valentine's Day in the classroom?


I think schools should allow kids to celebrate Valentine's Day in the classroom. It is a time for kids to feel special, and feel more loved than a normal day. It is a day specifically designed to appreciate each other, and everyone should feel appreciated. There is nothing bad about celebrating Valentine's Day in the classroom, because everyone feels better about themselves, no one feels left out, and everyone knows that they are appreciated in class. That is why children should be allowed to celebrate Valentine's Day in the classroom.

The alarm clock cannot defend itself

The Dreamer 

The alarm clock cannot defend itself
but the dreamer is angry
the alarm clock has forced him
to come back to reality.

Another dream crushed,
but the dreamer will keep dreaming,
hoping the dream comes to life,
and he can escape his depressing reality.

Comic Connection

    I chose this comic because I believe it relates a lot to what is going on in America, and even what is going on in Albany. This situation is very similar to the "occupy" protests. People expect other people to help them, because they do not want to work hard to get what they need, and get what they want. This also happens a lot in school also. Kids who didn't do their homework, either because they were too lazy, or found something else to do, ask other kids to copy theirs. It is unfair to people that work hard and put their talents to good use, to have to help out others that are lazy and rely on others to help them out. 

Dust off and get up.

I think this most applies to my life, and how I work at baseball. Whenever I have a bad game, I use the next week to work on whatever I did wrong, whether it was pitching, fielding or hitting. I don't let the bad game get in my head and wreck my confidence, I just work to get better. I think that sometimes, these bad games are good, because they let me see what my weaknesses are. My father helps out a lot with this, and is always encouraging. I use the " Dust off and get up." mentality for baseball, and use the bad games as a guide for getting better as a player.

TU Tuesday

http://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/This-Super-Bowl-rematch-anything-but-trashy-2864784.php

" the Super Bowl became the big stage for the biggest mouths"- metaphor: A thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else.

" The Giants did a little trash dressing when they played the then-undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl four years ago, arriving in Arizona in black suits to show they were serious about ending New England's bid for a perfect season... the 'Men In Black' look."- imagery: giving the reader a clear image in their mind.

" 'We just said we wanted to kill a dynasty' "- hyperbole: Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

" This Super Bowl rematch anything but trashy" is an article by Joe Kay about the upcoming Super Bowl on Sunday. He talks about the lack of trash talking leading up to the Super Bowl, because of the coaches' philosophies, " Zip it. Tight", meaning to keep your talking to a minimum. The figurative language really makes a difference in this piece, because it gives the reader a different perspective than just the facts. When he is describing the Giants' suits in 2007, he refers to it as the " Men in Black" look. This gives the reader a very clear picture of what the suits looked like, and gives us a greater understanding of the situation. When he refers to the Super Bowl as, " the big stage for the biggest mouths", it gives people, even those not familiar with sports, how broadcast these comments before the Super Bowl become. It lets the reader know everything that is going on, and that is something that can only be done through figurative language.