Hey guys! I saw this on Yahoo News, and it caught my eye:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081227/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_palestinians
It's about a bombing that Israel made on the Palestinians, and I though that this added a whole new level to what we talked about in class about the Isreali/Palestinian conflict. Israel bombed the Gaza Strip and killed over 200 people and wounded over 400. For my proposal, I suggested the two-state solution, but now I don't know what to think.
I just wanna hear your opinion on this!
-composer_for_the_class
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
uhm guys...
does anybody understand Mr. Chavoya's homework?
does he seriously want us to do that for every problem?
Did we not learn that in seventh grade?
-Emmi :/
Friday, August 29, 2008
Grade Requests Update-Mr. Nic
Hi all, I just wanted to let you know that I have read all of your columns and will be emailing you tomorrow with your grades. It has taken me longer than anticipated to read and assess all of your columns, but I can say that on the whole they have been wonderful and I think that most of you will be happy with the grade that you receive. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading them, all 110 columns! In the future, so that we can continue to do these assignments with some regularity and so that you can share your writing with your classmates and in turn read their work, but so that I can continue to maintain some semblance of a life outside of school (yes, teachers have a life too!) I will read and comment on the columns, but will not assess them. You will get the full points for writing them, as you did with your first writing assignment about your essence. You will still get assessed on your unit papers as well as the occasional in class essays that we will do, now that you have tables to write on. This way we can continue to write on our blogs and you can do so without worrying about your grade, you can write for the pleasure of writing and sharing your incredibly insightful and mature opinions with me and with each other.
Mr. Nic
Mr. Nic
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Shared Experiences of the Silver Screen
Shared experiences of the silver screen
By Nate Nichols
Every child of my generation has seen Bambi, but to this day I have never seen the movie because my mother hated the fact that it starts with the mother getting shot. It’s ironic because I’ve seen just about every other movie that’s been released since I was born. My grandfather, a very sarcastic law librarian, was addicted to movies, and took me to see anything that was G-rated, even though he hated “kiddie” movies. He started going to movies when he was a boy and his uncle owned a theater in San Francisco. He would take the streetcar on his own and go see movies like Tarzan. He spent one summer living in a treehouse, wearing only a loincloth tied around his waist with a rope. Later in life, he turned to movies when his first wife was dying of cancer. It was his only escape from his grief.
We would go to the movies every weekend, sometimes twice. He would always buy Goobers (chocolate covered peanuts) and Hershey’s Almond candy bars. I got popcorn, and we both drank Cokes.
We saw Finding Nemo, Toy Story and Rugrats. But afterward he would complain about how awful they were for days. I would always say, “I didn’t think it was that bad,” and he would groan and say, “It was awful.” He was particularly vicious about Nemo, savaging the little fish with words I can’t use in a school assignment. Still we kept going to movies.
He even took me to see Never Been Thawed, an independent film my guitar teacher was in. It played at the Valley Art Theater. The movie featured a Christian rock group with a lead singer who collected frozen dinners. I thought it was pretty funny, but he hated it.
My parents love movies, too, and we go frequently. We sample everything from documentaries to comedies to foreign films to action. I like almost everything.
But now that I’m older, I’ve put my foot down about seeing “chick flicks” with my mother. I’ll never go see Sex in the City.
Movies have brought my whole family together because it’s something we all enjoy doing. They’re a window into other worlds and you can see things from someone else’s perspective, like reading a book by a foreign author.
My grandfather died last year, and I miss him a lot, but I think about him every time I buy a movie ticket.
By Nate Nichols
Every child of my generation has seen Bambi, but to this day I have never seen the movie because my mother hated the fact that it starts with the mother getting shot. It’s ironic because I’ve seen just about every other movie that’s been released since I was born. My grandfather, a very sarcastic law librarian, was addicted to movies, and took me to see anything that was G-rated, even though he hated “kiddie” movies. He started going to movies when he was a boy and his uncle owned a theater in San Francisco. He would take the streetcar on his own and go see movies like Tarzan. He spent one summer living in a treehouse, wearing only a loincloth tied around his waist with a rope. Later in life, he turned to movies when his first wife was dying of cancer. It was his only escape from his grief.
We would go to the movies every weekend, sometimes twice. He would always buy Goobers (chocolate covered peanuts) and Hershey’s Almond candy bars. I got popcorn, and we both drank Cokes.
We saw Finding Nemo, Toy Story and Rugrats. But afterward he would complain about how awful they were for days. I would always say, “I didn’t think it was that bad,” and he would groan and say, “It was awful.” He was particularly vicious about Nemo, savaging the little fish with words I can’t use in a school assignment. Still we kept going to movies.
He even took me to see Never Been Thawed, an independent film my guitar teacher was in. It played at the Valley Art Theater. The movie featured a Christian rock group with a lead singer who collected frozen dinners. I thought it was pretty funny, but he hated it.
My parents love movies, too, and we go frequently. We sample everything from documentaries to comedies to foreign films to action. I like almost everything.
But now that I’m older, I’ve put my foot down about seeing “chick flicks” with my mother. I’ll never go see Sex in the City.
Movies have brought my whole family together because it’s something we all enjoy doing. They’re a window into other worlds and you can see things from someone else’s perspective, like reading a book by a foreign author.
My grandfather died last year, and I miss him a lot, but I think about him every time I buy a movie ticket.
My Life
Ballet has played a key role in making me the person I am today. From my first ballet recital when I was just two and a half, to now, at age fourteen, ballet is my life. It gives me a way to express myself both physically and emotionally, and gives me something to work on each and every day of my life. Whether I’m physically taking a ballet class or if I’m just sitting in front of the television, I know that there is always something that I can be thinking about in order to improve my technique.
Outside of my Corps Intensive class at ASA, I take classes as often as I can, and I love finding ways to further develop my technique with every class. I am constantly striving to be like my heroes, the ballerinas who not only have been lucky enough to have a successful career in ballet, but they have also been able to inspire a new generation of dancers, including myself, who’s greatest dream would be to be able to dance with the same artistry and technique that they bring to the stage.
Over the course of the past hundred or so years, ballet has changed radically. The expectations continue to get higher and higher with more and more being asked of every dancer. Even the typical “ballet body” has changed, in past years; a ballerina could look almost like a normal, very slender person. However, as times change, the ideal ballet body continues to get skinnier, and natural flexibility and turn out become more crucial. For instance, if you were to watch a video of the Ballet de Monte Carlo, which was considered one of the best companies in the world fifty or so years ago, today, compared to a video of New York City Ballet (NYCB), you would notice that not only has the level of technique and difficulty level risen considerably, but the dancers in NYCB would also look considerably more slender.
One of the reasons that ballet has evolved so much is simply because of the level of competition. For me, that level of competition is what drives me to improve and push through the pain each day. Because ballet is my life, I love it. It’s just that simple.
Outside of my Corps Intensive class at ASA, I take classes as often as I can, and I love finding ways to further develop my technique with every class. I am constantly striving to be like my heroes, the ballerinas who not only have been lucky enough to have a successful career in ballet, but they have also been able to inspire a new generation of dancers, including myself, who’s greatest dream would be to be able to dance with the same artistry and technique that they bring to the stage.
Over the course of the past hundred or so years, ballet has changed radically. The expectations continue to get higher and higher with more and more being asked of every dancer. Even the typical “ballet body” has changed, in past years; a ballerina could look almost like a normal, very slender person. However, as times change, the ideal ballet body continues to get skinnier, and natural flexibility and turn out become more crucial. For instance, if you were to watch a video of the Ballet de Monte Carlo, which was considered one of the best companies in the world fifty or so years ago, today, compared to a video of New York City Ballet (NYCB), you would notice that not only has the level of technique and difficulty level risen considerably, but the dancers in NYCB would also look considerably more slender.
One of the reasons that ballet has evolved so much is simply because of the level of competition. For me, that level of competition is what drives me to improve and push through the pain each day. Because ballet is my life, I love it. It’s just that simple.
Religion (Essay Number Two) - Sara
Okay, there were some really cool religion essays out there, and I already wrote my essay, but religion is really a big part of my life (sort of) and I had a lot of thoughts on the subject, so I wrote this. Enjoy.
In the world we live in today, many people grow up under the same roof (for at least part of their lives) with two different religions, or one religion and one anti-religion. The person will usually pick one faith (or lack thereof) and the other parent will get used to it.
Religion equalizes itself. It’s not easy, but we learn to cope and we live our lives. Many people in our class have written incredibly thoughtful essays on that process.
My process was a little bit different.
My parents have been separated for as long as I can remember. I cannot recall ever living under the same roof with both my mother and father together.
My mother is Catholic, while my father is steadfastly anti-organized religion. As they never lived together with me, the comfortable equilibrium most households reach never occurred. Certainly, my Jewish stepmother practices her religion, but a stepmother doesn’t have any hold on your beliefs. And besides, she is hardly devout and only celebrates the most major holidays. So on one side, you have Catholicism, and on the other, Agnosticism. There is no in-between.
As most people do, I eventually picked one. I ended up going with being agnostic. But my mother’s household is still undiluted Catholic. Now, don’t get me wrong, I adore my mother. I see my dad on weekends, but it isn’t the same. My mom is the more central parent. But I do not believe that there is an old man in the sky giving us blessings when we pray. However, my mom still takes her Catholic (maybe all Christians, I don’t know) responsibility to raise her children as Catholics. My siblings are believers. I argue with my mom a lot about religion, more that anything else. She still believes I need a “spiritual life”, even it isn’t a Catholic one. We’ll see. With my dad, it never comes up unless we’re talking about my mother. Instead of two indistinct worlds that are really one, I have two, distinct worlds that will never meet.
Sometimes I accidentally overhear my mom discussing my religion on the phone with her friends. She says that when she asks me about my religion, I start spouting my dad’s words. I don’t think this is true, but it will never be resolved either way.
My parents will never reach a compromise, quite simply because they very rarely have the chance for a conversation. They’re polar opposites, really, that won’t meet in the middle. Jumping from two different religious worlds is hard, but I wonder if it might be harder to have to live with one in the same house while choosing the other. I’ll never know.
In the world we live in today, many people grow up under the same roof (for at least part of their lives) with two different religions, or one religion and one anti-religion. The person will usually pick one faith (or lack thereof) and the other parent will get used to it.
Religion equalizes itself. It’s not easy, but we learn to cope and we live our lives. Many people in our class have written incredibly thoughtful essays on that process.
My process was a little bit different.
My parents have been separated for as long as I can remember. I cannot recall ever living under the same roof with both my mother and father together.
My mother is Catholic, while my father is steadfastly anti-organized religion. As they never lived together with me, the comfortable equilibrium most households reach never occurred. Certainly, my Jewish stepmother practices her religion, but a stepmother doesn’t have any hold on your beliefs. And besides, she is hardly devout and only celebrates the most major holidays. So on one side, you have Catholicism, and on the other, Agnosticism. There is no in-between.
As most people do, I eventually picked one. I ended up going with being agnostic. But my mother’s household is still undiluted Catholic. Now, don’t get me wrong, I adore my mother. I see my dad on weekends, but it isn’t the same. My mom is the more central parent. But I do not believe that there is an old man in the sky giving us blessings when we pray. However, my mom still takes her Catholic (maybe all Christians, I don’t know) responsibility to raise her children as Catholics. My siblings are believers. I argue with my mom a lot about religion, more that anything else. She still believes I need a “spiritual life”, even it isn’t a Catholic one. We’ll see. With my dad, it never comes up unless we’re talking about my mother. Instead of two indistinct worlds that are really one, I have two, distinct worlds that will never meet.
Sometimes I accidentally overhear my mom discussing my religion on the phone with her friends. She says that when she asks me about my religion, I start spouting my dad’s words. I don’t think this is true, but it will never be resolved either way.
My parents will never reach a compromise, quite simply because they very rarely have the chance for a conversation. They’re polar opposites, really, that won’t meet in the middle. Jumping from two different religious worlds is hard, but I wonder if it might be harder to have to live with one in the same house while choosing the other. I’ll never know.
music by campbell
I love music. Something about it is just so great. It’s just so easy to express and tell what emotions are trying to be portrayed through music. Music can say a statement without any words attached. It can be as simple, or as complex as the composer wishes. Its one of the greatest ways someone could express themselves. I enjoy music because its fun, a great way to express yourself, and it gives me something to do for hours.
It took me a while to get into music. I could recognize popular songs at the time and that was pretty much it. Eventually, I started listening to the Beatles and my interest skyrocketed. Now I listen and like a wide range of music from jazz, classic rock, Latin jazz, Ska, Latin, punk, blues, and techno. Pretty much anything that is not Country music. After I got into the Beatles, I took up the electric bass and eventually learned to play trumpet, piano, upright bass, synthesizer, and (by force) sing. My interests in music lead me to Arizona School for the Arts for my 8th and 9th grade year. ASA was clearly a good choice because I’m already a better musician and it has a great academic program. The current arts classes I take are Concert Strings, Piano, and Jazz Band. Jazz band is my favorite arts class. Jazz is such a free, expressive genre. More so then any other genre that I know of. This is why I love jazz. Most music is very scripted and preplanned. However, jazz is full of improvisation, emotion, and life.
I’m currently in two bands outside of school. One is called “Universal Spunk” in which I play the bass. You probably have heard of us if you have been at ASA a while. I think the best way to describe us is psychedelic/rock/funk. I haven’t been in it too long, probably six months. “Universal Spunk” affects my life by giving me an outlet outside of school to express myself. The second band I’m in is called “Graceful Giraffe” where I play bass, the synthesizer, pretty much anything the song requires. It’s a techno band I recently started. “Graceful Giraffe” affects my life because it gives me a chance to combine music and friends in one activity.
Right now music is my life. Its valuable to me because it teaches me skills I need for the real such as patience, practice, working with others, solving problems, and countless more. Music impacts my life by giving me something to do. If I did not have music I would probably not do anything all day. Music has given me experiences that I would have never had if I didn’t take up an instrument. Music is a part of culture that has affected me in countless positive ways along with millions of other people, which is why music is a part of culture that should be continued throughout the rest of history.
It took me a while to get into music. I could recognize popular songs at the time and that was pretty much it. Eventually, I started listening to the Beatles and my interest skyrocketed. Now I listen and like a wide range of music from jazz, classic rock, Latin jazz, Ska, Latin, punk, blues, and techno. Pretty much anything that is not Country music. After I got into the Beatles, I took up the electric bass and eventually learned to play trumpet, piano, upright bass, synthesizer, and (by force) sing. My interests in music lead me to Arizona School for the Arts for my 8th and 9th grade year. ASA was clearly a good choice because I’m already a better musician and it has a great academic program. The current arts classes I take are Concert Strings, Piano, and Jazz Band. Jazz band is my favorite arts class. Jazz is such a free, expressive genre. More so then any other genre that I know of. This is why I love jazz. Most music is very scripted and preplanned. However, jazz is full of improvisation, emotion, and life.
I’m currently in two bands outside of school. One is called “Universal Spunk” in which I play the bass. You probably have heard of us if you have been at ASA a while. I think the best way to describe us is psychedelic/rock/funk. I haven’t been in it too long, probably six months. “Universal Spunk” affects my life by giving me an outlet outside of school to express myself. The second band I’m in is called “Graceful Giraffe” where I play bass, the synthesizer, pretty much anything the song requires. It’s a techno band I recently started. “Graceful Giraffe” affects my life because it gives me a chance to combine music and friends in one activity.
Right now music is my life. Its valuable to me because it teaches me skills I need for the real such as patience, practice, working with others, solving problems, and countless more. Music impacts my life by giving me something to do. If I did not have music I would probably not do anything all day. Music has given me experiences that I would have never had if I didn’t take up an instrument. Music is a part of culture that has affected me in countless positive ways along with millions of other people, which is why music is a part of culture that should be continued throughout the rest of history.
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