Q= Quiznos

My restaurant is Quiznos subs, which is located in 20 Mall on Western Ave. Quiznos is similar to most sub shops, it has a counter to order subs, and some tables to sit down if you choose to eat in the restaurant instead of taking the food home. Quiznos offers a wide variety of sub selections, as well as soup and bread bowl meals. They also offer chips, cookies, and other snacks to go with your meal. Their drink selections include normal soft drinks and very good pink lemonade. The service is very good at Quiznos, because they let you take off or put on anything you want on their subs. The food comes out very quickly, even if they toast your sub. The prices are normal for a sub shop. All together, Quiznos is a very good restaurant, with its quick service, and its delicious food. I would highly recommend Quiznos to anyone who likes sub sandwiches.

Bucket List

1. Volunteer in a poor country- my cousin went to help in Rwanda a couple years ago, and said it was a great experience to help those people who had so little. I want to make a difference like that. 
2. Visit Italy- my Italian heritage is very important to me, so I would want to see all the art, and the cities with Italian culture. It would help me learn a lot about Italian culture.
3. Throw the first pitch at a major league baseball game- baseball is one of my favorite things, and since I won't be a professional athlete, throwing the first pitch would be the next best thing.
4. Go skydiving- this is not something I would normally do, but for a bucket list, you have to pack a lot of excitement into a short period of time, and I think that it would be an exciting experience.
5.  Go to the Superbowl- seeing the biggest game of the year should be on any sports fan's bucket list. It doesn't have to have my favorite team in it, because the atmosphere of the game is enough to make it a great experience.
6. Run a marathon- training and running in a marathon puts you in the best shape possible. The experience would really teach me how to take care of my body.
7. Swim with dolphins- I have no idea how this experience would feel. It is such a different activity than anything routine, so it would be fun to try.
8. See an Egyptian pyramid- everyone has seen pictures, but seeing it in person would be incredible. 
9. Go to a music festival- obviously it would have to be music that I like, but the atmosphere at a concert is so exciting, and a festival is doubles that experience.
10. Make a difference in someone's life- knowing that I left a mark on the world, even just one person, would be the best feeling to have.

The Language of Song

Song Used: The Rosehip by Silvio Rodriguez 
Lyrics: http://lyricstranslate.com/en/el-escaramujo-skirmish.html

He had been raised to not question anything, but that wasn't who he was anymore. He needed to know the reasons behind everything. He needed to know why something was right before he could believe in it, he had a scientific mind. He had begun to question religion, something that his family had believed strongly in since he was born. His parents had grown angry with him, and told him to sit in his room. His need for information had brought him and his family apart. His need for knowledge went from a blessing to a curse. The medicine sat on his nightstand, the medicine that would make him think more simply. His decision was between acceptance and brilliance. He reached for the medicine, and the acceptance from the community that came with it. 

Lucky Blog

When I used to play little league baseball, I would wear my lucky wristband to every game. My lucky wristband was an Under Armor white wristband that I wore on my right arm for every game. After playing well for a couple games after I started wearing it, it became my lucky wristband, and I made sure to wear it to every game of the season. I'm sure the wristband had no effect on the way I played, but it gave me an odd kind of confidence when I wore it when I was a kid. After a while, the wristband started to get worn away, so I stopped wearing it, but it was important to me when I was little.

TU Tuesday- CRIME

My Question:  Do celebrities get special consideration when they go to court?

http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Bears-WR-Marshall-accused-of-punching-woman-in-NYC-3405320.php

http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-201_162-593585.html

https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/%28S%28myhtoimek3qnv445vssf5xb0%29%29/22532_displayArticle.aspx

The Times Union article I read was about pro wide receiver Brandon Marshall, and a dispute in a New York night club. " a woman has accused NFL star receiver Brandon Marshall of punching her in the face at a nightclub." Brandon Marshall has constantly been in the news for this type of reckless, dangerous behavior, but he has served very little time for his crimes. While he has also been a victim of a few crimes, like being stabbed in a domestic dispute, I still wonder if he gets a lighter punishment because he is a celebrity. While this may be somewhat of an opinion question, it is still very relevant in the world we live in. " Some 60 percent of people surveyed said celebrities get treated better by the judicial system because they have a lot of money, while 12 percent think they are singled out for prosecution because they are high-profile." Many people think that celebrities get better treatment in court than regular citizens. It is very hard to argue against that, because last summer, Aquib Talib of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was charged with battery on a taxi driver, and was back in time for football season. "This nicer-jail-stay-for-pay scheme not only allows the rich and famous – as well as the more modestly affluent – to avoid the brutality, squalor, abysmal medical care and other unpleasant conditions typical in public jail systems. It also highlights the inequities of a two-track system of justice in the United States in which the wealthy enjoy privileges and perks behind bars while the poor are resigned to less comfortable and more dangerous conditions of confinement." Most of the research I have done shows that many people believe that celebrities get special consideration in court, because they are famous and rich.

Creative Contest II Blog

" He lost his head trying to be creative."

Scruples

2. In a heated tennis match, your opponent returns a ball that looks out, but you’re not sure. If you win the point, you win the match. Do you call the ball out?

I would call the ball out. This may not be the ethically correct thing to do in this situation, but I have a very competitive spirit, especially when it comes to athletics. In this situation, the ball is obviously close enough to be called either way, but it looks like it is out. There is no way to make both sides happy on a borderline call, because there are no do-overs. If the ball looks out to me, I am going to call it out, because that is how I saw it, and it is the only fair way to call it. I know that, with my competitive attitude, and the uncertainty that comes with the situation, I would call the ball out.

My Blog Idea

Blog: Describe a book that changed the way you thought about the subject. It doesn't necessarily have to be your favorite book, but it should have changed your thoughts about the subject.

Example: A book that changed the way I thought about something was Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. I used to think that people just overcame obstacles by only will and luck, but after reading this book, I realized that every person that overcame obstacles had a specific reason for accomplishing what they accomplished. For some, it was opportunity, like Bill Joy having a computer lab to work in. For others, like the plane crashes, it was just a result of many malfunctions occurring all at once. This book helped me to understand that there are specific reasons for almost anything that happens against the odds.

Revisions

Original Poems:

Test

My eyes focus on the paper
the paper full of questions
questions without answers
answers I have to find
finding time to study
studying will help me succeed
succeed is what I want to do.

Classroom

Silence
stressed students
a big test
hits every person's desk.
A long list of questions
seeing what you know
what you studied
if you
tried.

 Revision Advice:  Mike - I like the form you chose in "Test" - using the last word in one line as the first word in the next line.  It's a good exercise in staying focused line by line.  That paired with the second poem, "Classroom," helps the reader to know more about you because both poems are related - I call them companion poems - and work well together.

I can't help feel there's more you want to say on this subject, and suggest a 5-10 free write just to see what other images pop up for you.

Mimi Moriarty

Revised Poems: 

Test

 My eyes focus on the paper

the paper full of questions

questions without answers

answers I should know

know that i can pass the test

test myself on what I studied

studied all that I could the night before

before now, I felt confidence

confidence is slowly leaving 

leaving the room after the test

the test that I worked hard on.

Classroom

Silence

working students

 an important test

scary to so many

like a monster to children

everyone's grade lingering on one assignment

an irrational fear of what might happen

an indicator of things to come

if the students work hard

they can all succeed 

if they don't

they can

not.

Reflection: I can clearly see that the new, revised poems are better. Mimi Moriarty gave me some great advice, which was to free write, and say more of what I thought in my poems. This helped me develop a clearer message in both poems, and use more poetic devices, like figurative language. I can use this for future poems also, by remembering to say more of what I think, and give the reader a better message.