Check it Out, E.C. 4: Facebook Revealed

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/facebook-spam-scam-secret-revealed.html

I've heard many stories about Facebook some being rumors and some being true. Whenever I log onto Facebook, I see numerous pictures of 'Like this or you will die' 'click like if you hate cancer'. I'm not surprised because these statements actually seem believeable. The truth behind it is that hackers and scammers actually make profit off of this. They get many likes and then sell it to companies for thousands of dollars to make it appear like they have lots of likes. It's pretty sick and it sucks that they're making money off of the souls of regular people who go onto Facebook to talk to their friends.

Check it Out, E.C. 3: The Lorax

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1482459/

The topic is not just a movie, it's somthing more. When I went to see it, I went with my littler sister because I promised her that I would see it with her (even though it's a cartoon). In the middle of the movie, it's a story about a boy cutting all the trees to make a profit out of it. When the storyteller tells a boy of his story, he goes back to his world where everything is plastic. No nature, no sun, no grass,  barley any life. What the point is, is that I feel like the directors and producers of this movie were going after something deeper. They related it to what's going on today in reality. How everything is about business and how much money one makes. It's something both for kids for the humor and adults for the lessons and understanding.

Check it Out, E.C. 2: Halloween Candy

http://shopping.yahoo.com/news/grossest-halloween-candies-of-all-time.html?page=all

Since it's already October 25 and Halloween is coming soon, this is a very relatable topic. When trick-or-treating, most kids know what Halloween candy is their favorite to recieve and what to pick out of the pumpkin tray. What most people don't know, is that there is candy that people can be sometime frightened at the sight. Dracula Drool, Vampire Hair, Eyeballs, Pick n' Lick, Toxic Waste, snakes, worms, fingernails, and potions is on the top 10 list for grossest Halloween Candy. I know that even though that is food and is safe to eat; wouldn't trust it enough to consume...

Check it Out, E.C. 1: Why People Fail

http://smallbusiness.yahoo.com/advisor/5-reasons-people-fail----what-to-do-instead--10231289.html

I was looking over some news on the famous webpage Yahoo!. One of the headlines of a journal entry was "Top 5 Reason Why People Fail". This seemed very interseting to me since I am a person who sets a lot of goals for herself and being an anthlete, is critical. The reasons are as follows: Uninspiring Goals, Fear of Failure, Fear of Success, An Unrealistic Timeable, and worrying about "Dry Spots".When I read this article, I felt like my eyes sort of opened and got wider. I wasn't shocked, but it was basically the same feelings I have felt before while setting goals and trying to achieve success. It's a very interesting entry to read and it can also be some what inspirtaional.

Check it Out, #7: Time Elapsing Video

I found this video while searching popular news on Yahoo! that were trending right now. It is a video that a father made and put up on YouTube showing over 7,500 pictures from ages at birth to twenty-one years old of his son.  Cory's life, shown in the time elapsing video, has now been witnessed by more than 800,000 people around the world, and received 300,000 hits on one day alone in Japan. It took six minutes to complete and did it as tribute to his son. I think it's really cool and creative to see how his son grew and it could become a great memory for the family. This is worth checking out because obviously it wouldn't have gotten that many views if it was interesting. For girls, it sometimes even has it's aw! moments. The video could also be inspiring to other parents to do the same for their children. 

Mash-Up 2 Assignment: Who is your Hero?

Who is your Hero?

It all started when I finally understood what it meant to be an older sister. It meant to set a good example and be the best role model for the youngsters as you can. That required to have many beneficial characteristics as the person being looked up to. 

I was never any good at volleyball. Actually, I hated the sport. It was freshman year of high school that I tried out for the team and, surprisingly, made it. It was then when I needed to work really hard to the best of my ability and stay on the team as a leader. I did this because I wanted to. I didn’t know somebody was watching. 

        My little sister, Karolina, was definitely a major spectator. 

Sisterhood is one of the best relationships that two related girls can have. It’s the ability to have someone by your side, to have someone you can count on, someone that doesn’t judge you, and have the motivation to do better than you already are. Something that should be cherished greatly because the bond can be lost easily if not worked towards.

Karolina was watching silently to how I react to criticism and strict coaching to become a better player on the court. Since I succeeded, she has been striving to do the exact same. To have the amount of courage it takes to do something you love and work at it. When you do that, it seems like you haven’t worked a day in your life.

Knowing how hard it is to work at something you weren’t good at in the first place, reminds me of the movie “Karate Kid”. Never would that boy think that he would win championships around the world coming from Detroit to China and mastering the art of kung fu. It’s about knowing and believing in what you can do. It sets a good example for other people like him like older siblings and show to their younger sisters and brothers. 

       Being a good role model is to be the definition of having a positive outlook. What could be better it to be able to use those good aspects and to give off a good vibe for others to do the same. Confidence is one of the most important things an older sister can teach a younger sister because that is what will make some things that seem impossible, possible.

Check it Out, #5: Stolen Idea

This blog is based on this idea

After reading Taylor Fuderer's blog, I really got touched by how movint not just the blog entry was, but what was in the blog. It was about a four year old boy who was diagnosed with cancer. Many people raised funds for him to pay for his treatment and other hospital bills. It really thought me how people can be supportive and also how the boy went through so much and still be happy and smiling. I agree with what Taylor said because it's the truth. If the community comes together for something, or for some benefit, it will work out. And in this case, has helped out this little boy named Ricky Mock. He's also a member of Taylor's family which makes it even more heart breaking. It's good to know that supportive people like that exist and that Ricky is doing much better.

A Sister Considers Confidence

A Sister Considers Confidence 

1
A man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition.

2

3
Here is the test of wisdom; Wisdom is not finally tested in schools.

4
What do you do when everybody is against you and you’re stranded alone?

5
The mass, of course, can never become few, but certain individual members of the mass can make the transformation.

6
I am larger, better than I thought; I did not know I held so much goodness.

7

8
A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages.

9
Once upon a time, each Amercican's objective was to become an invidivdual.

10
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.

11
Yet such as these even are commonly esteemed good citizens.

----------
1 Ralph Waldo Emerson, "The Foul Reign of Emerson"
3 Walt Whitman, "Song of the Open Road"
5 Louis Rene Beres, "The Few, The Proud, The Individuals"
6 Walt Whitman, "Song of the Open Road"
8 Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance"
9 Louis Rene Beres, "The Few, The Proud, The Individuals"
10 Walt Whitman, "Song of the Open Road"
11 Henry David Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience"

Check it Out, #4: Nike Commercial

Something I find really inspiring:

This video is a simple Nike sports commercial. With volleyball games going on with tournaments and practices, I looked at this video and actually felt inspired. It's about how there's always an underdog that comes out on top beyond the stronger team/player. The commercial is composed of different sports which consist of total dedication and determination from its players. I could always watch this video before a certain game or match. I feel like if any athlete sees this post and watches the video, they will feel how I'm feeling right now.

Check it Out, #3: Gangham Style

GANGHAM STYLE



 

 

This video has been trending in the media for many days now. It's of a Korean rap singer who basically invented his own dance by the title of "Gangham Style". Nobody understands 75% of the words or phrases he is saying because it's in a different language, but it has a really memorable beat to it. Some people even say he is the Korean Justin Bieber. I also listened to this song because it makes me laugh and it's a really good song to listen to. I suggest you check it out because the media and the news pretty much already have.

America Based on Ideas

“Walt Whitman, an American, one of the roughs, a kosmos, disorderly, fleshly, and sensual, no sentimentalist, no stander above men or women or apart from them, no more modest than immodest” (Song of Myself). He has been one of the most criticized writers in nineteenth century. Walt Whitman was born in 1819 with the mind of an adventurist. His ideas have been most incorporated in history and in modern day America.

Whitman’s point of view is the idea of diversity amongst people and how it unites certain people together. In most of his poems, he brings the topic of equality, individuality, community, and unity frequently. In his poem “Leaves of Grass”, he incorporates the USA and how it is made up of many people and nationalities. The broad spectrum of the United States is what included every type of person into that poem. It's what makes us better and more experienced human beings. From his poem, he is saying that it doesn’t matter whether you’re a prostitute or the bride, the President or a drunk man at a bar – we are still all the same at a different level. What makes it even more interesting is that these types of people are contrasts to each other. A bride who has found someone to be happy with and start a family is the total opposite of a drugged woman on the street making money off of her body. The President, who is highly educated and has the power of the country, is a different standard then a drunken man at a bar. He did this on purpose to show that the USA is made up of different kinds of people

It’s his perspective that made him such a memorable author.

Walt Whitman doesn’t only write about being unique and accepting another’s differences, he actually writes in his own style of writing. It doesn’t have to rhyme, make sense to all the critics there were out there, or have the same outline as other writers. He does this to prove his point and not ‘flow with the crowd’. It’s a sense of rebelling against tradition, taking risks, and challenging conventions. No wonder that some people might find it offensive if it’s his opinion about not going with the original framework.

His idea was to be a unique individual with your own sense of mind. Something that is actually in contrast with that is today’s Presidential election. Instead of having your own say, every American has to vote for the new President while searching for the same things. Whether it be lower taxes, more jobs, less school hours, or more pay. It’s something that Whitman himself would be mad at about what’s happening today.

Check it Out, #2: Memory of September 11

Wake Me Up When September Ends

For my second check it out post, I decided to share the song "Wake Me Up When September Ends" by Green Day. I chose this exact song because today is the eleventh anniversary of 9/11. The music video has in itself different problems between a couple, but the message is, is that it's in September. I feel this is how the families and victims of 9/11 felt in 2001. It also affects me in a way because even though I was only five years old when that happened, I still remember the day my parents spent in shock, calling everybody, and watching the news over and over in disbelief. It's also a good song as well and should be listened to and appreciated.

How America Shapes People (Most Important Stories)

Izzy Rapacz

English 363

27 August 2012

Glass

How America Shapes People

            My idea of America is the raising of the flag at the Olympics, by the national anthem sung at my volleyball games, by the pledge of allegiance I hear every morning, by any honorable ceremonies, by the monuments and statues I see every time I visit downtown Chicago, the July fourth parade and fireworks honoring our independence, and by the country I represent when I go to other countries.

          The America I love has taught me all about the American community and how it joins people together. You never sing the national anthem or the pledge of allegiance alone or fun or honorable ceremonies aren’t spent sharing the feelings of only one person. It’s more of something you do not alone, but all together to create something better. These stories have taught me what it means to be an American – that you’re never really alone. You always have at least one person who is going through the same situation or feelings that you are going through. How the ceremonies or honorable statues make others feel.  America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Check it Out, #1: The National Anthem

Since this post can be about anything, I decided to bring the National Anthem sung in the beginning of all my volleyball games and my tournaments.

"Leadership cannot really be taught. It can only be learned."

I feel like leadership is definitley a quality that is showed when we sing that song. It represents what we do on the court, where we live, and how we reprsent our country. It's also symbolism that you bring to the song. I agree with the quote that leadership can't be taught, but only learned. You need role models and good examples to get you started so you can something to look up to. I feel that is what we do to the younger levels or girls volleyball. It's very important that we sing this historic song because it also brings us together and has a big impact on how we play and who we are playing for. Also, it's not just the players, but the audience in the stands. All the men take their hats/caps off and everybody stands and sing with us. It's a symbol of saying that we are proud to represent our country, the U.S.A. It also connects to what we are talking about in class and American Literature. The National Anthem is a historic event that took place, stood with us, and is present with everything nationally done.