George W. Bush Sewage Plant

I'm all for it.

Check this article out: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/25/america/bush.php

It's "an appropriate honor for a truly unique president."

Only kidding.

I found all the old posts and returning people have posted. :]

Mustang Daily

Hello everyone!!!!! Well, it looks like I'm the first returning member to post a blog...or maybe I just don't know how to work this dang sight. Anyway, I'm Amber Diller and I am your DESIGN EDITOR this coming year...YES IM VERY EXCITED!!!!! :] :] Hahah. But really, I'm so excited to be with everyone this year and do exactly what I love.

Well I was waiting for something interesting to happen before I posted a blog. I have spent this past week on a COLLEGE ROAD TRIP. My favorite stop has been Cal Poly...and I'm almost 100% sure that I will be applying for early admission this fall. I will be majoring in Journalism with an emphasis in Graphic Communications and minoring in Child Development.

The interesting part of this is Cal Poly's Journalism department...the Mustang Daily is the newspaper there. My dad picked up a copy for me and I'll bring it in at the beginning of the year. Basically, the newspaper staff does every aspect of it. Reporting, writing, designing, editing, printing, and distributing. It is more current event based...the upcoming election, things happening in San Luis Obispo. It's very-well put together. It was really amazing to see how a college newspaper is run after three years of The Flash. I know that I have lots of good ideas for this year...and I can't wait to be back.

Meanwhile, I'm reading my Style 101 book that Mr. Nichols so kindly gave me....NOT. Haha, but I really am reading it. ;] Well, hopefully something else exciting will happen this summer. Happy 4th of July!!!!!!! :] :] :] Bye all! <3

Freedom of the Press

Here's an interesting link about HS Journalism.

http://www.newsreview.com/chico/Content?oid=681616

Seems Shasta High lost its paper over a controversial story on flag-burning. I'd like at least three of you to read this and comment.

Another interesting topic on personal freedoms has been the Supreme Court's decision on gun control in DC. Today's Bee had a very interesting Op Ed piece... kind of challenged my thinking.

I'm back

This is Mr. Nichols... and I'm back in town. What a relief.

We left to teach two workshops (GA and FL) and take a vacation in Aruba the Monday after school got out. We were in15 airports in 18 days. Crazy.

But, it was a good trip and no doubt I'll tell plenty of stories. It started off with a typical flying nightmare... our outbound to Dallas couldn't land because of a "maintenance" issue... meaning it couldn't fly in the rain. Now that makes sense (in case you didn't know, it rains often in Dallas in summer). So, we missed our connection, and the last flight to Birmingham was cancelled.

As a result, we detoured to Atlanta and had dinner in an I-Hop at midnight... our baggage caught up with us in the mountains two days later. Carson did much better with the craziness then Mom and Dad. The only highlight was seeing the original Chic Filet in Atlanta.

I'll share more later... but the funniest thing was on the way home. We were walking through Dallas again and ran into Breanna Torok and Maegan Carpenter. Seems most of the RHS French group was on our flight returning from Europe. Hayley almost had a heart attack I think. It is indeed a small world.

I'll be in touch, but on the whole I love this idea and getting to know each other better. I haven't finished reading them all yet because we're still in catch-up mode.

Mr. N

Freedom!

Hi, This is Heather again. The reason why i titled this post freedom is because what is more free then to be able to jump in a car and go anywhere without your parents having to tag along. For the people who haven't guessed what this is about already, I got my license!!!

The morning really didn't start out that great. I had to get up super early to make my 8:15 appointment at the Auburn DMV. I took my driving test in Auburn because it was the closest date i could find. My bed was really comfortable and made it incredibly hard to get up. I remember driving to the DMV and I continually had to force my eyes open. I think I drove the whole way up there with my eyes half closed.

When i got out of the car to go into the DMV my heart was practically in my throat. There was another girl about ready to take her driving test too. I was really happy to talk to her because we both calmed each other down. She went first and she ended up passing, which gave my a little confidence.

The lady that I took the test with was really calm and nice. I was so nervous that i didnt even start the car right. I had put it in reverse because I was backing out of the parking lot. I was wondering why the car wasnt moving. I went to turn the key more but it wasn't working. The lady said, "You have to put the car in park first." I just laughed and said I was really nervous. She then jokingly said, "Just breathe Heather just breathe."

The rest of the test I made some pretty stupid mistakes because I was nervous. Luckily, I didn't do anything that put anyone in harms way. When the test was finally done we pulled into the DMV parking lot and immediately she said, "You barely passed." I was happy because i really thought i had failed. I didn't really care that I had barely passed because i had my license now and thats all that mattered.

Yesterday, I went on my first solo drive. Thankfully, nothing drastic happened and I made it home without causing any accidents.

Hello

Hi, I'm Lauren Sotir and this is my first year doing journalism. I am an upcoming juinor and even though I didn't take Journalism 1, it seemed like a really creative and fun class that where I could develop more writing skills in. My summer so far has been pretty laid back, but since I am taking a few advanced classes next year there is so much homework I will have to do! Recently, I saw the movie "Jumper" and it was really awesome! If you haven't seen it, you should go rent it! It is about a boy who finds out he can teleport wherever he wants around the world, but he finds out he's not the only one who can. Anyway, I'm really excited for next year and hope you guys are all having fun!

Breakaway!

Hey everyone! I'm Karin (it's pronounced like car in the garage), and I signed up for Journalism II after Mr. Nichols talked about it in my English class. I love writing and I love people, so it sounds like a great class!

The reason I've taken this long to post something is because as soon as school got out, I was in Breakaway mode. Breakaway is the name of the kids day camp at my church.  Almost 2,300 kids signed up this year, so there was lots of prep to be done!  And that's what I did every day for my first week of vacation.  Then last week was the week of Breakaway.  I led a group of 10 first graders with my friend, Brittany, and another girl whom I quickly became friends with.  

This is what a day at Breakaway looks like: After the kids are all signed in, we head to Opening Rally.  Rally is where grades 1st through 6th gather in the main building for songs and a skit. Then 1st grade groups go to story time, where Miss Donna does an amazing job of telling the kids stories from the Bible as well as her own life. Then we're off to Rec., which is full of crazy games like bounce houses, water slides, a zip line, a dunk tank, and many things that I don't even think have names.  It is super fun, and most kids and many leaders (including me) are soaking wet by the end of it. Then we get a snack to eat on the way back to our tent. (It's pretty entertaining how 1st graders have so much trouble walking at the same time as eating.) Once we return to our tent, either Brittany or I lead a discussion about the lesson from story time, give an object lesson, and help our group memorize a Bible verse. Then we go to arts and crafts where they have lots of unique activities and every t-shirt is in jeopardy of getting splattered with paint or some other concoction. After that, we go to Closing Rally, where the skit continues from where we left off the rally before.

My six-year-old cousin visited last week and was in my Breakaway group. So once I was done with Breakaway for the day, I would go home and continue to play with and take care of a first grader. Okay, I wanna give a shout out to all moms because I got a little taste of it last week! But it was so worth it. Both the kids and I had an amazing time! I got to be a part of a great week for my ten 1st graders, and I got to watch as many of them began and they all grew in their relationships with God. Even though it was tiring, it was awesome watching God use me to love on those kids and impact their lives for eternity!

Kung Fu Panda!!!

I didn't recognize a lot of names so I wanted to start out by introducing myself. Hi, I'm Heather Smith. I'm now a Junior, and I'm looking forward to writing for the Flash in journalism 2 when school starts again.

A couple of weeks ago, I was hanging out with my friends. We couldn't find anything else to do, so we decided to go see Kung Fu Panda. I expected it to be lame but it actually turned out to be pretty funny, and I left the movie threatre laughing. Kung Fu Panda has many stars in it, excuding Jack Black, who i enjoy watching for the same reason everyone else does, he's hilarious. Kung Fu Panda was no exception. We spent the entire movie laughing with the audiance full of little kids and their families. I guess everyone is a little kid at heart because it made 118 million and was at the top of the box office and still is in second place. I hope you all enjoyed the movie too and I'm looking forward to go see it in IMAX. Hope you all are having an awesome summer!

-Heather

Hola

Hello everyone, I hope you've been having an enjoyable summer.
For those of you who don't know me, I'm Justin Brooks and I'm actually new to the program. An offer went out to some of the Sophomore English classes in order to attract new members into the Journalism 2 class. I've always liked politics and current events and all those sorts of things, so I took it up. It sounded like a lot of fun, I like to read the newspaper whenever possible, so an opportunity to actually write in one will be exciting.
But for now, I'm working on getting all of community service hours out of the way in one shot. I get to go to the Placer Nature Center up near Auburn every day for a week and be what is essentially a camp counselor. It's actually a lot of fun, we get a ton of kids who all come to be taught about nature. I enjoy it a ton, the kids are all energetic and eager, their passion for this stuff really spreads and I'm having a blast. It's a pretty small place, just a few trails, but it's enough to get outside and really appreciate nature. We get to do arts and crafts, hikes, and all sorts of other fun things. Just today, I got to put on a puppet show, I like to think I was pretty good, but the audiance(6-8 years old) was pretty forgiving. So through things like puppet shows, we let the kids interact with nature, allowing them to really get into the experience. In all honesty, I'm probably learning just as much about nature as them. The camp goes into a lot of details about mammals, producers, consumers, birds, insects, and everything else about nature. So I get to enjoy working with the outdoors and I get to learn all sorts of new things about my own environment. Overall, I just think it's good to educate the children and it's healthy to get out of my room and away from my computer for a while over the summer, so it's good for everyone. It's also very refreshing to talk to these kids who have no problem with letting their opinion be known. Unlike adults, who are often afraid of offending someone or causing problems, children will say whatever crosses their minds. A lot of them cannot believe that humans trash their world without a second thought. They want to treat the world right, and they are in no way afraid to say how. I just find it to be nice, especially since this is such a big issue and a lot of people are afraid to truly speak their mind. In a lot of ways, I wish everyone was just like them. If you have an idea, just blurt it out. And if you believe something, then say it, and don't try to tiptoe around the issue, just in case someone disagrees.
So, I know I'm having fun and I hope you're all having a great time, I look forward to talking to you all soon.

Really Now, Hollywood?

Hey Everyone!
So, I'm in the Bay Area right now (specifically somewhere in between Milpitas, Palo Alto, and San Jose.. the lines are very blurred in the Bay). I just got back from seeing "You Don't Mess With the Zohan", the new Adam Sandler movie. It is currently #2 in box office (second only to Kung Fu Panda) and has grossed $38.5 million. I am personally an avid reader of movie reviews and like to get different perspectives. "Zohan" has received consistently mediocre ratings from a variety of critics. However, my family and I were curious about it especially because we are all than too familiar with Israeli humor and stereotypes and Arab/Israeli animosity. We thought we would be in for a good laugh.
However, I was beyond disappointed with the quality of the humor of "Zohan". In this day and age, it has become clear that sex sells. The running joke of the film is that Zohan, a former Israeli counter-terrorist who moves to New York to make hair "silky smooth", attracts old ladies to the hair salon by sexually washing and cutting their hair and then sleeping with them in a room in the back. There are far too many references to his package and ability to bed all women. Now I know I sound a little uptight right now, but I can only take so many scenes where Adam Sandler cuts an eighty year old woman's hair while repeatedly thrusting his pelvis and thrusting his exaggerated package in her face.
But it's not just Sandler's characters Other Israeli characters are defined by this overt sexuality and many of the other characters lack real depth. What you see is what you get. Israelis and Palestinians.
At the end (naturally), they join together (including Zohan's nemesis, Phantom) to defeat the commercial conglomerate trying to wipe out their cultural enclave (AP U.S. History, anyone?). It didn't really help the situation that the film was riddled with random celebrity appearances.
While it is admirable that Sandler tried to take such a controversial issue to the masses, I do not think he did so in an effective manner. It may have been entertaining to most (see current gross in box office), but Hollywood can do better. But it seems useless to say so because as long as they are getting the high results they seek, why change?

-Michelle

P.S. Hopefully that wasn't too long. Also, my dad told me about this article he read about the difficulty in picking a weekend to release a film. There are approximately 10 high budget Hollywood movies released per weekend. So if they want to make a splash, PR people must work their behinds off to get us, the masses, intrigued enough to see THEIR movie opening weekend. It's becoming a tough business.

Here you go, Mallo.

Well, due to my ridiculously early curfew I've got some spare time on my hands and decided to make Mallory Valenzuela happy! Here are a few fun stories from the workplace.

So, for those of you I don't know, I'm a lifeguard at Sunsplash. I guess I wasn't fully prepared for all the different kinds of people I would encounter when I took this job, but the stories I come home with are amazing. For example, yesterday I was working on the top of Stealth (the big white one), and I totally saw this girl with a third nipple! I was completely in shock and immediatly texted all my friends to tell them about it. This may seem cruel, but you can't see something like that and just keep quiet. For those of you who are offended, I'm sorry, but c'mon, a third nipple?!
The other day I also made friends with some Brazilian people. They didn't speak any english, but it's amazing how much you can say with just a smile.
People also really seem to like to hit on you right after you push them down the giant slide. I can't tell you how many young boys have yelled with cracking voices "WHAT'S YOUR NUMBER?" while going down the slide. Apparently, the harness/ bucket hat combo that i have to wear is super hot.
ANYWAY, that's all for now. PEACE, LOVE, BYE!

Why isn't anyone posting yet?!

I hope everyone is having an enjoyable summer! As for me, I remain busy...but in a wonderful way!

I ammmmmmm....

at the State Capitol EVERY WEEKDAY! My hours are from 11-5, and I hope to have my focus in the Senate and Assembly chambers in a couple weeks (remember the red and green rooms?). It's an amazing opportunity, especially since my passion lies with politics and government. I have met a wide range of individuals...and there's a person in each of the elevators who presses the buttons for you! Classy. There's also a delicious sandwich shop on the 6th floor, and today was my first day getting the mail at the resources building! My first official day was on Thursday, and the President of Chile was being greeted by Arnold when I was getting out of the car! That was unexpected, and it was very sad how I asked three different people and they each said different countries..."oh, it's the President from Venezuela" or "oh, it's the President from Peru" and then finally "oh, it's the President from Chile." It's a rare occurrence for the capitol to be visited by a dignitary, and it's especially odd when you see the swat team on top of the capitol. The volunteer coordinator is hopefully going to let me meet the Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus on Monday, so I look forward to that.

By the way, I'm a major nerd if you didn't know that.

I heard that gas prices would reach $5 sometime this summer. I am so disgusted, especially since I have to drive to L Street every week.

"Hope -- Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God’s greatest gift to us, the bedrock of this nation. A belief in things not seen.
A belief that there are better days ahead."

-Mallory

Questions

First off let me say that I like this blogging idea. I think it's a good/easy way to stay in contact over the summer. What exactly are our five posts supposed to be about?? and do they need to be written up in a journalistic format?

As I was editing the blog...

The first thing that came to mind was..."Oh, I should find a picture of Nichols!"

To my dismay I don't have any pictures of Mr. Nichols. So I googled him, and I laughed.

TEST

TEST

HELLO!

This is our very first blog post! How exciting!

Mallory