A microphone, the Dark Knight, twins, The King David, and some fish.

I really don't think I could take anyone seriously if they had their microphone upside down.

Thought I'd share some pictures from Yahoo!. They're very entertaining.

This couple had twins, but look closely:

Pedicure, anyone?

Isn't that cooooool?!

Barack Obama's note. He put this in the crack of the Western Wall:
"Lord - Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will."


The Dark Knight has definitely gone to this guy's head:


That's it for now! :]

Reading: It's As Simple As That

During my venture of summer reading assignments for class next year, I have, yet again, re-discovered my absolute love of reading. I have noticed more and more recently that I am left with less and less time each year to partake in my favorite passtime due to the heavy, for lack of a better word, load of homework I plow my way through. I have always been aware of the difference between myself and my other classmates when it comes to assigned reading. The difference being that I always end up taking a strong liking to them, while the majority of my classmates complain about how boring and complicated they are.
While I was reading my second of two assigned novels earlier today, Grapes of Wrath, I began to wonder how anyone could dislike such a great novel, so, I decided to conduct a little research on the reading levels and statistics of that sort of American teens and people, in general, in today's public.
This is an article that I found provided the information and results that I had suspected: http://www.nea.gov/news/news07/TRNR.html

The Hiding Place

Earlier this month, I read The Hiding Place, an autobiography by Corrie Ten Boom.  It is amazing!  Thanks to Mr. Hurrianko’s nonfiction AR program, my friend read this book and recommended it to me.  Came summer, I finally had time to start reading all those books on my long list of books to read.  Anyway, I found the first quarter of the book quite interesting, but not very suspenseful.  Then as the book progressed, it got harder and harder to put down.  It was difficult for me to stop reading on the 4^th of July to go see Wall-E with my family and watch fireworks with my court.  Of course, I’m glad I did, especially since no one stopped me from staying up early into the morning of July 5^th to read it.  

By now you’re probably thinking that it's about time for me to explain what this book is about.  But really, it would be best if you just read the book yourself.  Okay, fine.  I'll tell you a little...  

Corrie ten Boom grew up in Holland.  When she was about 50 years old, the Nazis occupied Holland, so Corrie began hiding Jews in her home.  She soon became the key leader of the Underground movement in Holland, but was eventually sent to a concentration camp.  This survivor’s account made me thankful for so many things that I usually take for granted and inspired and challenged me by the way in which she risked her life for others and withstood the horrifying realities of the Holocaust.

Foreign teens pay attention.

Sorry for the close proximity of both my blog posts, but now that I've started to look at all of them, the ideas have begun to flow.
As some of you know, I went on a short 3 day trip to Yosemite National Park with my family this past week. We do this every year, but this year was a bit different. We didn't get to stay in the campgrounds, we ended up in Camp Curry, which is just a collection of cabins for rent. It allows everyone to mingle more easily, and the temorary residents of this little village get to know each other pretty well over the course of their stay.
I came upon a family from Amsterdam, Holland. It was a father, Petur, with his two sons. One was 15, the other 11. While my parents talked to Petur, I made conversation with the older of the two sons, Sebastiaan. His English wasn't incredibly good, but as we mulled over what his life was like back home, I came upon a realization: he knew about as much or more about the world around him (just from public school) than most 19 or 20 year-old people in the US do.
He could just about relay to me political information about the world over.
From my observation, Holland's laws and educational system seem to revolve around giving young people adult resonsibilities early on, and they aren't given such a chance to be a "stupid teenager." Because of this mindset, they move on from general studies early in their high school careers, and begin training in a specific direction: their strengths. Students are separated into what they are good at doing. If they excel in reading and writing, they go to a school for those classes. Math and science have other particular schools, with different academic levels for each subject. The way it is broken down in his country seems to make so much more sense to me than what we do here. It helps all of the students gravitate towards their natural talents.
At 15 in Holland, he is studying Greek, Latin, and Aerospace technologies.
He can also drink beer in a year.
Funny, huh?
Instead of panicking about how we're a nation falling back academically, why doesn't the US start observing how Europe is doing things?
From what I've seen (not just from Sebastiaan, but talking to a variety of people from all over the world in Yosemite), foreign teens pay attention.

Taking advantage of death.

Hi staff-- the only family-like structure I've ever been involved in at RHS! Its Ashley Sorci, and here goes my first post of the summer... sorry it is so late, I've been mentally avoiding the thought of returning to RHS for yet another year. However, since this will be my last, I should take advantage of the positive aspects of this experience, and savor my Senior year in high school (or endure it, but that's on a more negative note).
I'll start off to talk about this movie that the US is huffing and puffing about.
The new Batman movie, the Dark Knight, has raked in record millions thus far. For those who've seen it, its easy to understand why: it is a well made film, an unbelievably popular comic book series that reminds us all of the innocent days of our youth.

The controversial aspect is the death that accompanies the film. All of you must know by now, because its old news, but Heath Ledger is dead, having overdosed on a fatal combination of sleeping pills.
The reason the young man had trouble sleeping in the first place is because, as he had explained before his death, the role of a sadistic, sociopathic clown was disturbing to his psyche. Since his method of acting (and why he was so damn GOOD at it) involved actually becoming the character, on the set and off, he had a very difficult time living with the role.
This is one of the explanations why the millions are flocking to see the film, lining up outside theatres even a week after the movie has premiered.
I would just like to ask, is it ok for the media to take full advantage of this publicity? Is seeing the film honoring the death of Ledger, or insulting his memory by paying tribute to the very role that can be blamed for ending his life?

Across the Pond

Hi everyone. For those of you who don't know me, I'm Tanya, an incoming junior, and I'm new to The Flash. I've been entertained reading about everyone's summers, so I'm going to write about what's going on in mine right now. As of july 17th, I'm in London, England! Which has been the highlight of my summer. I've seen all the amazing sights including Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and other sights I can't really remember right now. The amazing thing about this city, is no matter where you get lost on the Underground, you can always find your way back...thankfully I haven't gotten lost yet because it's VERY crowded.
NOTE: If any of you guys decide to visit this amazing city in the future watch out at pedestrian crossings! I've been almost run over a million times and it's very scary. First of all, they drive on the other side of the road which is still confusing, AND they are really reckless when they want to be.
Yesterday, the Dark Knight had it's European Premiere in Leicester Square, which was where I happened to be...but since we didn't get there five hours early, there was no place to see the red carpet close up since they blocked off a lot of it. So I watched Michael Cain, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhal, and Christian Bale from this huge screen and took a million pictures. BUT on the bright side, I got a fantastic close up shot of the Batmobile which they had there to get people excited. I'll post pictures up once I've uploaded them.
As for now, I'm going to go, but I look forward to reading all of your posts.

The power of the media

Hello everyone! I'm interested in your thoughts about the recent magazine cover from The New Yorker:

Personally, I think they missed this part:

Note that McCain is on the bottom left, saying, "If only I could get the New Yorker to do this cover...hmmm."

Do you agree with the following statement from the Wired Blog Network?
"Most people who see this cover are just going to see the image of Obama in a turban. It reinforces a critical piece of misinformation that right wing propagandists have advanced in order to poison the political climate in this country and make it that much more difficult for a person of color to be elected president. Most people who see this cover are just going to see the image of Obama in a turban. It reinforces a critical piece of misinformation that right wing propagandists have advanced in order to poison the political climate in this country and make it that much more difficult for a person of color to be elected president. "

Family

Hey everyone! It's Victoria here again. I hope that all of your summers are going well. I am staying extremely busy. It feels like summer is passing by so quickly!

The morning after I got home from Fiji (so after about 10 hours at home) I left again for another adventure. This time it was to Oregon for a family camping trip. I don't know about you, but after twenty-six and a half hours of travel to get home from Fiji I wasn't exactly in the mood for an eight hour drive. Including myself, there were eighteen of us attending this trip that was in honor of my grandparent's 50th wedding aniversary. It was pretty cold there actually, well at least when compared to Fiji. Even though it's winter in Fiji, it was definitely a lot warmer than where we were in Oregon.

We were staying at Turtle Rock Resort (? I think that's the name of it) along Gold Coast. The first day I was there (thre rest of the family had been there about 4 nights ahead of me due to my Fiji trip) we went salmon fishing. That was definitely an experience. We fished for six hours and out of three boats of six people aboard each only one person, my uncle, caught a fish. It had to be released because it was wild. The next day (Thursday) we went on a jet boat tour of the Rouge River. On Friday, the fourth of July, we went to the beach, had a cook out, and went to town to watch the fire works. On Saturday we drove home; it took ten hours and fifteen minutes!

There are two things I discovered on this trip. The first thing is that Oregon is a beautiful place, but it's no Fiji. The second thing is the importance of your family and spending time with them. In this day and age it seems fairly normal for teenagers to spend most of their time away from family. Believe me, I know that they can get on your nerves and drive you completely crazy, but seriously, take time for your family. You never know how much more time you may have.

First One!

Hello everyone, I’m Paige and this is my first blog and it seems as though everyone else is just writing about their summers so far, so I think I’ll do the same!

Summer of ’08 can easily be classified as my busiest summer yet, but don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining one bit. It is much prefered to be on-the-go, and making fun memories, than anything else. My grandparents were able to come visit and they arrived just in time to see my brother, Vincent, graduate this year. In addition, I have also returned to my summer job working at the RHS Aquatics Center, aiding swimming lessons, which reminds me, if any of you are looking for easy community service hours, RHS Aquatics is perfect, and we’re still accepting volunteers!

However, aside from all the usual teenage Summer activities of friends and fun, I’ve also been aware, as I’m sure all of you are too, of the spiraling gas prices. The once previously ecstatic about getting her license in mid-August sixteen year old that I am, has now progressed into another stressed and highly annoyed member of society. Walking is such a simple task, yet such a high percentage of our nation chooses not to partake. It’s great exercise, and can only yield good things. I personally find it a perfect outlet to listen to my iPod and make a fool of myself dancing down the street on my way to work or to Bel Air or nearly anywhere for that matter. Besides, it provides ridiculous entertainment for those driving by. Anyways, before I only frustrate myself more on the subject, I’ll just change it. How about…The fourth? A few friends and myself had the great pleasure of holding our fireworks display not too far down the street from Mr. O’Donnell’s house, who was having a teacher extravaganza, which involved many fireworks that put our meager supply to shame. What with the mobile explosives attached to the beds of remote control trucks and all, not to mention the lovely display of pressurized foam spilling into the air, created from the chemical reaction of Mentos and Pepsi. Thanks, Mr. O. It was nice to see all of our favorite teachers enjoying their free time with their own family.

Well that is all I have time for today, and it won’t be long before I post a new one.

Are We Part of a Dunce Cap Generation?

Hello again. I realized that I didn't officially introduce myself in my first post so I'm fixing that now. I'm Michelle Ahronovitz and I'm going to be a senior this year and will be enjoying my second year with the Flash. Anyways, onto my post!

I came across the article highlighting the recently published book by Mark Bauerlein explaining how our current generation (essentially anyone below the age of 25-30) is the dumbest generation to date. The link isn't an official article, but rather a slideshow that presents eight reasons why we are supposedly a very dumb generation. I talked with my dad about this after seeing it because naturally, I don't consider myself "dumb" in the slightest.

One of the points Bauerlein has is that because teenagers today are so caught up in the technology we have as our disposal (i.e. texting, instant messaging, facebook) that we have apparently lost all disregard for spelling and correct grammar. But assuming that someone somewhere would present the argument that academia simply isn't the same today when it comes to teaching grammar to English students (I'm sure our foreign language teachers would agree), Bauerlein is prepared. Reason number seven suggests that teachers and parents are getting easier when it comes to pushing teenagers to more difficult levels of thinking and learning.

I feel slightly offended that I am grouped into this so-called "dumb generation" and also saddened by the fact that statistics are now proving that as a generation we are "dumbing down". It actually ties in somewhat to an article from our last 07-08 issue of the Flash (I believe Mallory wrote it) about how the U.S. is falling behind academically compared to the rest of the world in all aspects: mathematics, reading, and writing. So no matter how upset and offended I can be, pushing myself to think that I am exempt from this epidemic there's simply no denying it. Our generation may not be the dumbest, but around the country there are students who are falling behind.

Blogging about this article, I felt a little bit better. I know that with this blog all of us are working to prove that theories like Bauerlein's are wrong. That we are not simply a generation of facebook and texting and that our teachers and parents have not failed us. I'm very interested to hear what you all have to say in response to any of Bauerlein's 8 points that he presents and if you find any of them fair, what do you think that we, as members of this generation, can do to prevent it? Also, if you disagree with any of his points, why?

P.S.
There's clearly much more that can be said about this article, but I figured I should stop before I get to rambling. Let's discuss though!

Fiji!!!!!

Hey everyone. I hope that you are all having a great summer; I know that I am. I just wanted to share with you all a brief summary of my first big trip of the summer. Just a few hours ago I got back from Fijji, what I believe to be the most beautiful place on the face of this planet. Most people go there for a tropical vacation, but that was not the case for me. I went as a missionary with my church. This trip was really an eye opener for me, as an American, and I just thought I would share some of the things I learned and hopefully they will be helpful to you all either this summer or in your future.
1) Take advatage of all your oppertunities. You never know when you will get the chance to do something again. Don't let fear hold you back. Most of the time stepping out of your comfort zone pays off.
2) When life hands you lemons make lemon aide (sp?) Sometimes it is our nature to hide from our problems and challenges instead of making the best of them. When you try your hardest to make the best of them you will end up feeling much more rewarded and happy along with those around you as well.
3) Be thankful for what you have and have a good attitude about it. Most of the world has more than us, and overall they seem to enjoy a much more sincere level of life satisfaction.
4) Travel. It's facinating and it brings learning to life.
5) Treat others well. If there is one thing I learned from the Fijians, it's that you should always treat humans with kindness. Even though most of them do not have a lot they were extremely kind and welcoming. They always give you they're best.

I hope this was helpful for you all,

Happy Summer :)