Response to Shannon's bolg Post about OAKLAND

I got this quote from Shannon Richardson's blog post about Oakland

I hear that there is some debate on whether or not Oakland is safe or not. Living in the hood for my whole life, I would say Oakland is fine. A lot of people call it a "kill-zone" and say its dangerous. From the parts I've lived in and from my experience its not really dangerous unless you're unlucky and shot as an innocent bystander or you're into some stuff. Most people in Oakland aren't even into stuff. Oakland has actually been very safe for me and lots of other people. There are parts that are very nice like Montclair and the Oakland Hills are all safe as can be.

I agree with Shannon that there are some naighboorhoods in Oakland that are are safe. But where i live its not safe at all. To be honest, i sometimes get scared as i walk through the streets of Oakland hopeing that i wont get shot or jumped. Shit like this happens in my neighborhood. the good thing i sthat im sorrounded by family. Thats one reason where i live. SHannon says that Living in Oakland is fine for her. Well thats because of where she live. Shoot, i wish in the nice neighboorhoods of Oakland.

I have friends that have been jumped and even worse, killed. They were all cool people and were not gang affiliated. I knew then very well as if they were my brothers. My gangs shoot to prove a statement. But for what? That doesnt help at all. Oaklnd is the city where i grew up and spent my child hood in. I really dont want to end up beign a drug dealer as a living. I beleive tha Oakland is what motivates me to succed in life. Thats because i dont wnat  to end up being a thug for the rest of my life. Oakland is what it is to me. a violent city.

A Long Way Gone Final Blog Post

Thursday was our groups final LCD about the book "A Long Way Gone." Toward the end of the book, we dicussed about the ending and we never found the answers to our questions. My question was "what is the point of this war?" As i read, i never found the answer. Basically, the whole point of the warwas to just kill and steel.This war was a civil war. Really, there was no meaning to fight that war.I brought up that question and my group agreed with what i said. That there is no meaning to that war.

Something that i noticed in this book was that ishmael voluntered to fight along side with the soldiers. He fought to kill the rebels. The rebels killed Ishmael's family. At that point, he was set to love violence. As i read the book, he was litterally brainwashed.to kill.He took over villages, murdered people, did drugs and killed some more. At that point killing and doing drugs were his hobbies. Now, he was doing what the rebels were doing.

Cameron brought up a very good point. He said " what if his familly maneged to escape? What if they lived in a village that ishmael attacked? What if his brother was recruted to the rebels who he might of killed?"

My answer was simple, " he had no choice but to kill." It was either his life or the vilage. At that point he was lost with violence. I thought "is this his new life style?" I shmael went through a brutal and viloent experience.

Ishmael was then sent to rehabilitation. There, he was cared for. At first he was very violent. During that time, he was addicted to marijuana and cocaine. He really needed help. Through time, he maneged to get help and recover himself/

The nusre, Esther was someone who really helped him a lot. Through out the last chapters, she was like a mother to him.Going outside of his enviorment also helped him recover. Going to the city helpped him realize the way life should be lived. Months passed and he finds his uncle and moves in with him. He goes to New York to talk about his life and what he experienced. I shmael changed alot.

A Long Way Gone LCD #2

As of now, the novel A Long Way Gone is really good. Not because of the violence that is happening throughout the book, but because of the events. As I was reading, at one point i almost cried because of something that happened. Ok Ishamel finds out that he will be able to see his family once again after a long way gone. As he was walking towards one of the villiage with one of the viligers carying baskets of bannas, he noticed that the villiage where his family were living in was attacked by the rebels. Before that, he talks about how he was so happey to see them and spend so much time with the. Ishamel had hope.But, whwen that village was burnned down and all of the people died. He was in shock and really, really sad. As i read this part, I actually almost cried, because it was a big turn over and a big twist. When this happened, the first thing that popped to my mind was that if Ishamel still had hope. I thought thAT he had lost it and which he said. Ishmael said that all he wanted was to see his family even if it meant dying next to him. I totally agreed with him because that was his goal all along. To see his family and die next to them. All of those people who died, were burnt or shot. I became sad when that was the way that everyone died. I was so mad when i read the part where the rebels who had burnt the villiage down where laughing  for what they had done.
i brough this to our LCD and i thought that so much was going to come out of it. One thing for sure, vic and stan did agree on it. I think that if Cameron was in the LCD, he would of probably said alot about it. The thing is that really shocks me is that all of this that happens in the book really happened in real life.  this book is not science fiction. everything that happened just shocks me. the brutal violence is just brutal thats all i can say.

Response to Billy Lau's blog post

This is part of Billy's blog post of why Chinese people like rice

 In general, Asians eat rice a lot. Thats one reason they like it...Rice is one of the most important food in Chinese's peoples diet...Rice to us Asians are like bread to Americans... Eating rice is part of the Chinese tradition.

I really like this post because i can compare to this. Im Mexican and just like Chinese people enjoy eating rice, us Mexicans love to eat tortillas. I know that in every Chinese dish, rice is always served. Just like Billy said, rice is part of the Chinese tradition. In every Mexican dish, most of the time we have torillas. In my opinion, if you dont have tortillas then you food is not complete. Tortillas are made out of korn which is another grain that is good for you. A nother thing is that When it comes to mexicans cooking food, they alway put pepers. In my opinion, if the food is not spicy, then its not good. My dad was a cheff. So basically, he knows how to cook many foods. Just like Asians, when they have a delicouse dish, they always have rice. Same with us, we always need tortillas. I enjoy eating rice. I really like white rice with vegetables and shrimp. When i eat this, i think about the chinese and how they eat rice in a daily basis. Overall rice is good, and i love tortillas.

My Bass.

   Last week, i went to Guitar Center at El Cerrito with my parents to buy me a bass guitar. I've always wanted to buy a bass, but never got the chance to buy one because their so expensive. But, it all depends on the brand you get it. Well, im going to talk about how i bought it. The day before Black Friday which was Thanksgiving, my dad told me what i wanted for christmas. I've always told him that i wanted to buy a bass guitar, but he never bout it for me because he thought that they were expensive I've told him that it depends on the brand you getit. Like always, he never really understood.

 when he told me what i wanted, i told him that i wanted to get an ipod touch. Ireally wanted to get an ipod touch because their so much better than an ipod nano, i mean the really old ones. I then thought bout it and i toldhim,"Hey dad, your going to pay around $250 dollars on that ipod. Instead, i want a bass guitar and your going to pay like the same amount of money or even less. Well i was worng about that. The next week, i we went to guitar center to get the bass that i wanted. I picked out a black and white Squire by Fender Bass. That bass was the one that i was recomended by a bass expert from Guitar center. Thats actually the bass that i went to get. The bass alone was $200. I also got the amp which costeed $100, the cable for the amp which was $10, the strap which was $5, and the bag which costed $40. In the end, my dad ended up paying $350. But thats not all, we also payed $50 for the 2 year enssurance, which is good because if my bass or amp breaks. I'll just go to Guitar Center and get a new one. So there, we have $400 plus tax $440. The good thing is that i got my bass on sale and ended up paying $415. In the end my dad ended up paying more than what he expected. When we went back to the truck my dad just lokked at me and started laughing. H laughed because of how much he paid. That told me that he was ok with it.

   As a begginer, its pretty hard to learn how to play bass by yourself. Even though its difficult, that didnt influenced me to stop trying. I'm goig to parctice and practice untill i fully understand how to play very well bass. This is something that i plan to do for the rest of my life learning how to play and playing bass has become a new hobby for me. I think that this is much better than a ipod. I'm really happy that i got my bass. It was then to stp dreaming and begin playing. Its AWESOME!!!

HIM

HIM is one of my favorite bands. HIM is a band from Finland but when they sing, they dont sound as if their from Finland. HIM actually stands for  His Infernal Majesty. HIM began in 1991 but was officialy a well known band in 1995. This band has 15 years in history and since they first began, their music so awesome. HIM falls in the category of Gothic Metal and Gothic Alternative Rock. Personally, I love their music because its not heavy metal or soft rock. Its really in between.

My friend actally introduced this band to me a couple of years back. He told me that their music fell in Gothic Metal and Gothic Alternative Rock. When he told me this, i thought that their music was going to be so creepy because it was Gothic music. On the contrary, I listen to one of thei songs which was

"Killing Loneliness" and I like their song. I then started to listen to more of their song and buy the time i knew it, i had heard like an album. I then started to write down the songs on a piece of paper and then began to download them in my ipod. Their music is so awesome. For the people who like to listen to rock music, i really recomend this band. HIM is awesome. i told David about this band and gave him a list of songs that he should check out. He then told me that HIM is awesome. Really they are.

My sister doesnt really like the music that i listen to because its a type of rock music that she would never listen too. She thinks that HIM is a Scream O band its actually. Shoot!! I dont even like to listen to Scream O music. Since I'm Mexican, I think that my family thinks that I should be listenig to my traditional Mexican music. I actually like Spanish music but its just not what i really like the most. Not even rap music. I mostly listen to many types of rock music. My mom like the bands that I listen too and she doesnt really judge me. On the other hand, my sister does.  Hands down. i like rock music especially the band HIM.

L.C.D.1 A Long Way Gone

   The book A long way gone is an awesome book. This book contains so many things that make it so good. Cameron and I say that this book is so intence because its so well writen. This book contains so much violence, bloodshed, gore scence and its such so violent. This book is so well written because as you are reading it, it's just as if your watching a movie. I'll say that if this book directed by a very good director. you will say that it is way worse than the movie RAMBO. This book is so brutal. I say this because it just contains very good imagry.

   Teenagers now in days enjoy watching violence. When I was watching the movie Rambo, my first impression was "wow, this movie si so freaking awesome. I think that movies do not show how violence is such a bad thing. On the other hand, books like A long Way Gone, does show that violence is such a bad thing. As i was reading the book. I actally caught myself making faces as i was reading Tgose faces showed my impression towards the book. My mom was watching me as i was reading and she automatically said, "that  book is brutal and sad, isn't it?" And yeas, it is.

   In our first LCD, Cameron, Stan, Vic and I had so many questions towards the events that are happening in the book. We discused about the violence that was happening. We all totally agreed that the events that happen in this book are so brutal, violent, and intense. Hands down. So much happens in this book that just makes you so depressed heartbreaking. When we were anotetating the book, there was not a problem at all because theeres so much that you can say in just one so paragraph. Thats a reason why our LCD went really well.
   So many things happen in this great novel. this novel is not science fiction. This book is based on a true story. Thats one reason why this book really impacts you. So much killing happens in this book that just makes it so depressing. Ishmael, one of the main charcters of this book, is always escaping death. If I was in his situation, I wouldnt of made it as far as he did while war is going on. Honestly, so much brutal sh*t happens . This book is so good not because of the violence. heck no!!! Its a good book because its so impacting

Resonse to Luis Alba's blog post

Luis lives in Oakland and so do I. He talks about his daily life in Oakland and how it’s a great place to live in. In some of his points I agree and in some I disagree.

Oakland is a great place to live at. If you may not know, I live in Oakland. Oakland is so much fun, so many things to do all day. You can go walking around, play sports, or just hang out with some friends. There are many places where you can go, the park, stores, or just outside. Many people out there say," Ohhhh... Oakland is dangerous, do not go outside or you will get shot." No, this hardly happens where I live, sometimes. Most danger is not during the day, it is during the night. What would you be doing at night all alone anyways. Overall, many stuff are to be done in Oakland and enjoyed, and it is my pleasure to be able to explore this amazing city.

In the area where Luis lives, people hardly get shot and killed. In contrast, I live in an area where there are many shootings and there’s a high chance that someone will get shot. Luis explains that most of the violence happens at night. Where I live, it doesn’t really mater. My dad drives through the streets of East Oakland. One day he told me that in midday, he saw a teenager chasing two kids and shooting at them. A couple of years ago, my cousin held a New Years Eve party at his house and there was a drive by. During that incident, my cousin’s friend got shot burly survived. I think that in Oakland, there’s always going to be violence. Oakland is ranked third in the most violent cities in the U.S. Luis says that Oakland is so much fun. That there are so many things you can do like walk around, play sports, or just hang out with your friends. These are some activities that I do. But, I don’t usually do this when I’m in Oakland. This may sound ridiculous but this is real talk. Luis says that he likes to do these activities. Well that’s because he says that were he lives is not that dangerous. Where I live, I think that it’s not too safe. I’m not going to lie; I’m even scared to walk through the streets. I just hope that I won’t get shot. These are the reasons why I disagree with Luis Alba. Well we have a different perspective toward Oakland.

The Kite Runner Review

Fermin Carrera

Mr. Sutherland P.2

11-23-10

                                                   The Kite Runner Review

The Kite Runner is now one of my favorite books. The Kite Runner is a book that I first thought it was boring. Then as I started to read it very carefully, I began to see how the there were changes in the characteristics of the main characters. The main characters of the novel are Amir, Hassan, Assef and Bubba. The character that best interested me was Amir. Everything that goes on in Amir’s life is because of conflicts that happen in the book. These conflicts changes Amir’s life in a good way. Even if the conflicts are very horrifying. As the book goes on, Amir starts to change.

As I read the book, I started to notice the characteristics of the characteristics. Reading the book and noticing Amir’s characteristics, I knew that it will affect him in the future. One of the characteristics of Amir is that he is a boy who is careless in a way, but he also cares. It may seem confusing, but I will explain why.

When Hassan got raped by Assef, the only thing that Amir did was watched and did not do anything to help Hassan when he was being raped. He did not even bother to say something about it. People may think that Amir is careless, but there was nothing that he could of done to help Hassan. Assef was much older, taller, and stronger than Amir and Hassan.

“Blocking Hassan’s way out of the ally where three boys…I left my body clench up, and something cold rippled up my spine…Hassan lay with his chest pinned to the ground. Kamal and Wali each gripped an arm…Assef knelt behind Hassan, put his hands on Hassan’s hips and lifted his bare buttocks …He unzipped his jeans, Dropped his underwear. He positioned himself behind Hassan. Hassan didn’t struggle. Didn’t even whimper. He moved his head slightly and I caught a glimpse of his face saw the resignation in it…it was the look of the lamb…I stopped watching turned away from the ally. Something warm was running down my wrist…I was weeping…I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could  step into that ally , stand up for Hassan –the way he’d stood up for me all those times in the past. Or I could run. In the end, I ran…I was a coward. I was afraid of Assef, and what he would do to me.”

This entire quote shows that Amir was not brave enough to help Hassan. In the past, Hassan has helped out Amir. But, why didn’t Amir help Hassan when he needed it the most? Amir was a coward. He even said it. Amir and Hassan will never forget what they both experienced. In the future, this horrible thing that happened to Hassan and Amir witnessing it with his eyes will not leave Amir from its side. This experience would soon help Amir redeem him one way or another.

Time passes and Amir is now a professional writer, has a great life with a loving wife Soraya who loves him. Amir gets a call from Rahim Kahn to go to Pakistan. Amir decides to go. As he’s in Pakistan, hares that Hassan was assassinated by the Taliban. At that point, Hassan was married and had a child. Hassan and his wife were killed and Sohrab was taken to an orphanage. Sohrab is Hassan’s son. Another thing is that Amir finds out is that Hassan is Amir’s brother. At that point, he was very disappointed and extremely angry. Amir decides to go and get Sohrab from the orphanage. When he gets there, He finds out that the kid was sold to a mysterious guy who knows for what. The orphanage was falling apart and money was needed desperately. Amir is now in a quest to get Sohrab, his nephew.

Amir is a person who is brave and willing to risk it all to save a life. He was now in a mission to save Sohrab from the Taliban. Amir goes to meet the mysterious guy. Amir was very scared but that wasn’t going to stop him from going and taking Sohrab with him. In the end, the guy reviled his identity. Well, that guy happened to be Assef! That’s when Amir got very frightened. That still wouldn’t stop him from completing his mission, saving Sohrab.

Amir and Assef began to have a discussion about the boy. Amir wanted to take Sohrab with him. He was willing to offer Assef money. Why money? Assef is a member of the Taliban; He has money, food, everything he needs. In the end, it came to a conclusion. Amir and Assef had some unfinished business to settle. That business is a battle to the death.

“Assef but down his prayer breeds. Reached in the breast pocket of his black pocket. What he fished out of that pocket did not surprise me one bit: stainless-steel brass knuckles…I don’t know if I gave Assef a good fight, I don’t think I did…His brass knuckles flashing in the afternoon light; how cold they felt with the first blows and how quickly they warmed with my blood. Getting thrown against the wall…Sohrab screaming…The knuckles shattering my jaw. Choking with my own teeth…blood from my split upper lip…The sound of my ribs snapping like the tree branches…getting kicked. Sohrab screaming…I started laughing…The harder I laughed, the harder he kicked me, punched me, scratched me. “WHATS SO FUNNY?”  Assef bellowed me. Another rib snapped…I laughed because I saw that in some hidden nook in a corner of my mind, I’d even been locking forward to this. (Sohrab hits Assef in the eye using his slingshot). Sohrab said pulling my hand. “Let’s go!”

This part of the book is the climax. IT is the climax because this conflict changes the story. First of all, this chapter (22) contains a lot of suspense. This is an important quote because it tells a lot of Amir’s character. This entire quote shows that Amir was brave. He was brave because he was risking his life to save Sohrab’s life. In the past, Amir was not brave enough to save Hassan’s life. As years passed, He developed that important skill. To be brave, especially when it comes to family. Amir could of died settling that business with Assef. But, he made it through alive. When Amir said “I’d even been looking forward to this.” This tells me that this was the way to release his guilt from not helping Hassan when he was being raped by Assef. Another thing is that in the end, Amir takes Sohrab with him to live in San Francisco with him and his wife, that’s like an apology to Hassan and a promise to him.

In conclusion, the characteristics of Amir affected the entire novel in different ways. One of them is causing conflicts. For example, Amir was a coward for not helping Hassan when he was be violated by Assef. And then, Amir becomes brave. He is brave when he goes to save Sohrab from Assef. He succeeds and takes Sohrab with him to San Francisco.   

The Kite Runner Final Book ReSPONSE

Now that i read the Kite Runner, I feel great. Reading this book, may be one of the best books that I had ever read. This is one of those books that just makes you want to read it and find out the resolutions for every problems. One thing for sure, this novel did contain many conflicts. All of these conflicts that happen in this book, are then solved. Not only that, these conflicts is what made the story really good. Thats why it made me want to keep on reading as I read every single page.

In chapter 22, A big climax in he book happens that changes many things. This chapter was my favorite chapter of the entire book. As I read this chapter i actually had an adrenalin punch because i was so eager to find out what will happen. As I read this book. It was like if i was in the scene. In this chapter. Amir goes to save Sohrab from the man who had bought him from the orphanage. That man was Assef. When I read that part, I was surprised because i said to myself that sooner or later,  Assef will come back. I had also predicted that, that guy was going to be Assef and I was right all along. You need to read this chapter again and see how it contains a big climax.

When I read the last chapter, It ends as how I thought it would end. I said that this novel will end in away that you least expected to end like. Through the entire book, You see mysteries being solved and how they will affect later on. In the end of this novel, It ends with Amir and Sohrab being together as a family. Not too many people liked the ending because it was somewhat boring in a way. Well thats the thing, some books contain many conflicts that shapes the mood  of the reader. In this situtaion,  my mood came to be excited to read the book and and be so in to it. and as i read yhe ending the first thing that came out of my mouth was, "oh wow." Over all, The Kite Runner is a VERY GOOD BOOK!!!

Drawing

   Something that I enjoy to do on my freetime is to draw. I love to draw! I only need a notebook, pencil, and an ipod to keep myself active not physically but mentally. Almost everyday, I draw for about half an hour. I started to draw when I was a little kid and as years passed, my drawing skills improved a lot. What motivated me to start drawing was when I saw many favorite cartoons. When I was a little kid, I loved to watch DragonBall Z and WWE. Those were my favorite TV shows. As I observed the characters very closely, I took out a piece of paper and a pencil. I then began to draw. At first, my drawings were not too good. Day after day, I practiced and by the time I looked at my past and present drawings, I noticed dramatic changes. I can't say that I'm an expert because I'm not. I'm just an amature.
  
   When I was in the secondgrade, I use alaways draw DragonBall Z characters. My friends thought that I was a very good drawer. Since they were so cool, other students even offered me like $2 to make them a DragonBall Z picture. When was seven, I looked at my drawings and said, "wow they are so cool." Not too long ago, I found one of those drwings and all I said was "damn, they are crap."

  Before I begin to draw, I always use my ipod. The music that I  have In my ipod is rock, and rap.
For example, If I listen to hardcore rock, then I will draw something that is hardcore. A couple of days ago, I drew a hardcore intimidating biker by just listening to a band named Distubed. I say that music is what makes my drawings.

  Since I love to draw, my dream career is to be an animation artist. I really love to draw and to work as an animation artist, then I love my job. My parents always tell me to be someone in life and be happy with what I like to do. I enjoy drawing and I like to make creative cartoons. I like the animation jobs, so basically, animation is my thing. As you can see, I love to draw and someday I hope to become an animation artist.

This is a quote that I got from Jessica Chen's blog post of Black Friday .

Black Friday is the day that provide excitements for everyone. Although a numerous of people would stay up all night just to receive things that are on sale, it is worth it. This year I am excited about Black Friday, I am definitely going to GO :D

I've never gone shopping on Black Friday. i really want to go this year but my parents would not go. If you really want to get the best of everything, you will need to wait outside of the stores for a real long time. I really want to get a Fender 4 string bass guitar. That's all I want for Christmas and nothing else. I want to go to Guitar Center and buy the bass that I really want. The guitar will be on sale.  Like Jessica said, its worth the wait to get something that you really like. As you wait, your also full of excitement. Once those doers open and the sign turns on saying open, you get adrenalin punch. I've never gone to Black Friday, but as i think of it, it just makes me want to go.

There are always things on sale in stores and the sale could be up to eighty-five percent off.

Wow! this is a great deal and very affordable. Like I said, I really want to get a bass guitar from the brand Fender. If those guitars are up to eighty-five percent, Then its just an amazing deal. i can just buy the guitar like nothing. I heard that Guitar Center will be on Black Friday and I would really want to go. A couple years years back, it was Black Friday and there was a huge commotion in Walmart. Many people fought over a single toy. There were fights outside and inside of the store. After my parents saw that, I think that convinced them enough to not go to the mall for Christmas shopping on Black Friday. Maybe thats it or maybe they just don't want to  wait a long period of time outside the mall. But hey, it will be worth the wait.

 

The Kite Runner 2nd Response Post

   At first I did not find The Kite Runner very intersting. All I did on my weekend was just read the Kite Runner. But, only this time, the book seemed very intersting. Everytime i finished a chapter, the curiosity of what happens next, made me want to read and find out what happens next. Reading to the first paper clip did not really give me the curiosity of wanting to find out what happens next. I began to annotate a lot more and keeping track of what happens in every chapter. This will really help me a lot when it comes to writing the next essay.   
   As I read,  I found many important events that happened that might later have an impact in the future. Theres the part when Baba dies and Amir is now alone exept for his wife. I think that if Baba would of died before Amir marys Soroya, then Amir would of not have a good life and be miserable. If that would of happened, I think that Amir might of gone back to look for Hassan because he would have no where to go. I tturns out that Amir publishes four book and earns enough mony to buy a house. Amir becaome a profesional book writer and succeeds in life.
   
  Amir and Soroya can not have children for some reason and the doctors can't find the answer why. Aleah agree that he cant get his wife pregnant and if he trys, then he will fail because of karma. Back then in the beginning of the book, Amir see Hassan getting raped by Assef and does not do anything to help Hassan. He just stands there and watches his brother get raped in front of him. As a result, later in the future, Amir cant have children. We say that it is karma.

  I'm satrting to really like this book a lot more now because I'm getting the hang of reading very closely and paying very good attension to what I'm reading. If I just read fast and skip around then I wont know what i had read. Sometimes I dont even bother to go back and reread. I dont do that any more. If i do that, then whats the point of reading. Overall, I like the book.

Death

 I'm not really scared to die. Sooner or later you will die and cant do anything about it. I live in East Oakland and to be honest, I sometime just dont feel safe walking through the streets. If I see a car that is going really fast and filled with guys wearing a common color, I say to my self, "these guys are gang members". If I see that, I just hope that i wont get shot and killed. But,  If that would ever to happen, it is what it is.

A guy that i knew, is no longer with us today. His name was Eric and he was shot and killed by nortno which is a dangerous gang in Oakland. Eric was a very cool, smart and atheletic teenage kid who enjoyed playing football and hang out with friends. He was not gang affileated. He was going to go to Chico State University because he was offered a chance to play in their football team. In March 28, 2010, he was shot and killed. He was celebrating his birthday when a drive by happened. Now, he is no longer with us today.

East Oakland is known to be a vioelnt city. About two days ago, it was late and i was doing my homework. Then all of a sudden, I heard a discussion between two guys. All I heard was, "Run b**ch  run"! Then came the gun shots. The next mornig, on of those guys ended up dead infront of my aut"s house. To me, this is something that did not surprised me at all. Shit like this always happens in OAKLAND!!! I'm just glad that wasn't me who got shot. But, like I said, If I were to ever get shot and killed, then it is what it is. I'm not scared to die.

Response Post to Kristine's Blog.

  This is a quote from Kristine Chin.

At this moment, there are thousands of people fighting for equal treatment. These people are being constantly put down by society and everyone around them. Their rights are constantly being shot down and anything they try to do to gain their rights back lead to even more suppression and pain. These people are those who have different sexual orientations than everyone else. Whether someone is gay, lesbian, bisexual or anything else, they are still human beings. Nothing can change that. America is supposedly the country in which anyone is accepted and anyone has the same rights as everyone else.

I like this quote because i agree 100 percent with what Kristine is trying to say. I have nothing against people who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual. They are all human beings and should always be respected. Something that i do not like about people is that when they call other kids that are actually gay "fagets". I really hate that word being used towards gay people.
Not too long ago went to the mall, I saw a guy being descriminated because he was gay. That guy was be insulted by another group of kids. It really shocked me because it's something I've never seen it with my own eyes. the poor guy was crying while the other group of kids were just laughing. I was disgusted.
The Declaration of Independece states "All men are created equal" in the modern day, this becoming to be false. Like Kristine said, "They are not getting the rights they deserve." Which they should because everyone has equal rights. Were not in the 18th and 19th century anymore. Back then, not everyone had equal rights. Now, were in the 21st century and every human being has equal right. The people who says that gays are not real men, are ignorant. To me, thats machismo. Like  I said, I dont have nothing against gays, lesbians, or bisexuals. They are all equal in the inside and should be respected like any other person should be. This is why I agree with Kristine's blog posts.

The Kite Runner 1st Response Post

So far in the book, The Kite Runner is intersteing. It is intersting because as you read, something big happens and you want to keep on reading some more. For example, when Hassan and Assef fight, one thing lead to another. Assef and Hassan start to fight. Assef says " give me your kite or give me your body." Hassan ends up getting but raped by Assef. As I read, I was surprised of what was happening. If this is someting that is very shocking to the students, then there must be more events that happen in the novel that can be twice as shocking and contains a lot of suspense that just motivates you to keep on reading. I know this Because Eric Lau read ahead the chapter that he could of stopped. He rad and read because the book was so interstng to him and motivated him to keep on reading. If his happened to Eric, then i can tell that as he read, he vizualized every scene.

If i read and vizualize the scenes that are happening, then i know that what I'm reading i understand. For me, this doesn't really happen often. As i read the book, there are sometimes where i dont know what i had read. At that point, i have to go back from the beging of the chapter and reread it all over again. One thing that Ihave to work on is to loose the habit of not wanting to read and being very lazy at reading. At the end, when we finish the book and it is time to write an essay based on what we read, i will have difficulties writing the essay because i wouldnt even know what i read. I have to reread and annotate as i read. One thing that i can do as iread is to write down a littile summary of what i read. That way i would go back and read what i wrote and understand what i had read. If i start to do that, then whwen it comes to write the essay, it would be very easy for me to write it. Over all, the book is good and i have to anotetate what i read for me to understand later on in the future what i had read.

reflective essay

Fermin Carrera \
Mr. Sutherland
English P.2
10-29-10    

  

                                              Reflective Essay

Since the first day I began using blogger, I wasn't too excited. well  that's because I thought that I was going to be assigned things to write about. I stand corrected . When Iwas told of how Blogger works, I felt a lot more comfortable. I then knew that in Blogger, I can write about anything that comes to my mind. I feel better writing about things that Ienjoy and not writing about things that I'm assigned. writing on my blog is know becoming one of my hobbies because in blogger, I just write about my days, feelings activities ect...

The writing that i do on my blog is different from writing i do in academic essays .When it comes to writing in Blogger, my writing is very unorganized and sometimes unprofessional . On the other hand, when I’m writing an academic essay, everything a is a lot more organized. In Blogger, I just type down anything that comes to my mind. I’ll try to organize it, but first i would have to brainstorm on the topic that i would write about. I will type about a topic but I wouldn't go to in debt about it which i should. For example, when I wrote about how i like to listen to rock music, I just explained the bands that i like to listen to and how I feel about that type of music. If I would of written an essay about rock music, then I would of gone more in debt about it. I would of written about how it began and how it had evolved over time. I could of wrote about that. To do that research would be needed. When it comes to writing an essay, I add good details. In essays, I take my time writing then and developing them.

When I’m writing something on Blogger, I don't really take my time developing my blogs and take time time writing them. On my last essay, wrote about the central conflict of the novella Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, before I even started to write the essay, I first gathered all of my ideas and wrote them on a piece of paper. From there I organized everything and then started to write down my essay. Those are the steps I take when I'm writing an essay. when I’m writing about something on Blogger, I just write nonstop until i feel that i have finished. maybe If i take the same steps as if I'm writing an essay, then maybe my writing on Blogger will be a lot more better. Although it will take time, a good result comes out. That result is a much better and improved writing piece. Here you can see how there is a big difference in writing on blogger and writing academic essays.  

What inspires me to write is constantly happening. If theres something really cool, funny or weired that happens in my eceyday life, then i will write about it on my blog.  For example when  I first started attending ASTI I wrote if how i feel about it.  I also wrote about a poem that i developed and how all of a sudden it impacted my life in way with noticing it at first.  As i wrote it, i didnt really thought of putting a messege in the poem. My poem is called Death or Meth. After reading a the poem over a couple of time i finally found a messege  which was not what i was really looking for. This was just a random thing that happened. Things like that makes me want to write  on my blog.  If theres something that happens in my life that seems really cool, then the first thing that i would do is write about in mu blog. As you can see, things that happen in my everyday life, inspires me to write.

As of now, I haven’t really seenany improvements in my writing. I think that writing on Blogger is just messing up my writing skills. Like I said before, in Blogger i dont organize my writing and dont really take my time developing what i write. I belive that  i should be taking my time writing  and not rush through. I feel that writing on Bloggr really messed me up.  I also want to see improvements in writing because writing is a big thing that i need to work on. Also, the quickwrites help me a lot because i just write nonstop about a topic. The point of this is to parctice of the  SAT essay that only gives me twenty-five minutes. Blogger doesnt work that way. To post good blogs posts you should tke your time. If you would to compare my blog to other student’s blog posts, you will see a big difference. That tells me that I need to make some improvements.

In conclusion, using Blogger has helped me and also weakind me. It has hepped me a lot because using Blogger is now one of my hobbies. Thing that happen in my everyday life, is what i  blog about. At the same time, using Blogger has affectped me in my writing skills. Thats something that shouldn’t happen at all. Also, i diddn’t really see any improvements on my writing skills using blogger. On the contrary, It has weakend my writing skills. I hope to see better improvements on my Blogg posts.

Reflective Essay

http://iblog-fermin.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-09-17T23%3A14%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7

Of Mice and Men Essay

Of Mice and Men Essay

In the novella, Of Mice and Men, written by John Steinbeck is about George Milton and Lennie Small. These two men are migrant workers struggling to survive in the agricultural valleys of California during the Great Depression. George and Lennie hope to achieve their dream of being land owners of a ranch filled with livestock. To achieve their dream goal, they need to start off small and work their way up. So then they work at a farm where many problems are to be dealt with because of Lennie lacking control. The central conflict of Of Mice and Men by: John Steinbeck is character vs. self. That’s because Lennie lacks control over himself which then causes the problems at the ranch. He not only causes problems for himself but also for George. The bad thing is that George has to solve Lennie’s problems one way or another.
A big mistake that Lennie makes was feeling Curly’s wife’s hair. For some reason, Lennie found a pleasure in touching her hair. This was going well, but then Lennie got too excited and from there, everything went down hill. This Quote here shows how Lennie lacks control and how a distraction causes big conflict. (91) “Lennie said “oh! That’s nice!”…and he stroked harder…”you stop it now, you’ll mess it all up…Lennie’s fingers closed on her hair and hung on. Let go she cried…Lennie was in a panic…Lennie’s other hand closed over her mouth and nose…she struggled violently under his hands…”Don’t you go yellin” he said and he shook her; and her body flopped like a fish. And then she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck…he lifted her arm and let it drop…he whispered in fright, “I done a bad thing. I done another bad thing. This quote also shows that Lennie admits that he has done a bad thing. He understands that what he has done is wrong and expects George to give him hell.
Now, because of what Lennie had done, Curly is now infuriated with him. Curly will not just give him a beating of his life, but he will kill Lennie. Curly won’t just shoot Lennie where he won’t fell pain at all; he will shoot him in the gut where Lennie would feel all the pain. This is a quote that shows how Curly feels about Lennie now that he has killed Curly’s wife. (96) Curly came suddenly to life... “I know who done it” he cried “that big son-of-a-bitch done it…he worked himself into a fury, I’m gonna get him. I’m going for my shot gun. I’ll kill that big son-of-a-bitch myself. I’ll shoot him in the guts. As you can see, because of Lennie’s mistake of killing Curly’s wife by accident Curly will now kill Lennie for what he has done. But, wait, Curly’s wife told Lennie to feel her hair. Lennie has a history of not having control over himself. For example, there was one time when Lennie had seen a woman’s red dress and then started to fell it. He got to excited and lost control over himself. The lady panicked and reported that she was raped by Lennie. This is almost the same of what had happened between Curly’s wife and Lennie, except that Lennie killed Curly’s wife. It seems that Curly’s wife was never told that Lennie is a dangerous man when he is provoked.
If there was someone that had to kill Lennie for what he has done, that person shouldn’t be Curly, but it should be George, his best friend. (105) George began. He reached in his side pocket and brought out Carlson’s Luger. He snapped off the safety, and the hand and the gun lay on the ground behind Lennie’s back. He looked at the back of Lennie’s head; at the place where the spine and the skill were joined…”Go on” said Lennie…”said Lennie. “How’s it gonna be. We gonna get that little place” Lennie giggled with happiness… (George has his last conversation with Lennie...) Lennie begged “les do it now”. And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head…He pulled the trigger…Lennie jarred and then settled slowly forward to the sand…Lennie never expected this from George. He thought that George would only yell at him, but not kill him. When George shot Lennie, he shot him in the head where he Lennie wouldn’t fell a thing and die instantly. Lennie never new what George was going to say next.

In conclusion, the central conflict of Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck is Character vs. self. Through out the story, many problems where encountered. The problems where developed by Lennie. But, remember that Lennie had mental issues. That is also why he lacked

Reasponse to David's Song

Puddle of tears
And we look back to those years
When your words were so clear
It’s a new type of fear
You say it’s meant to be
Don’t say that you’re like me
You say he needed him
But I say we need him more
Hurricane God
Caused so much destruction




You got to open your eyes
And wait for sunrise
As the bird flies
Don’t believe in your lies
Just feed it goodbyes
And everything that passes on will be alright
With one last hug and a kiss goodnight




Don’t make me laugh
On behalf of the day
When I drove faith away
And it’s better now this way
You say it’s meant to be
Don’t say that you’re like me
You say he needed him
But I say we need him more
Hurricane God
Caused so much destruction


You got to open your eyes
And wait for sunrise
As the bird flies
Don’t need no baptize
Just accept with goodbyes
And everything that passes on will be alright
With one last hug and a kiss goodnight
One last hug and a kiss goodnight

This is a song I wrote when one of my relatives past away not so long ago.

I like how David wrote a song that is very important to him. This tells me that its so easy to write a song of any dominant impression when you can relate to it. That song came from his feelings inside, and i respect that. i have done something similar like what he did. i didnt write a song but poems. At one one point, not to long ago, i wrote a poem of my life. When i wrote this poem, it was when i was going through a really tough time in school. i was doing really bad in school because i didnt understand anything. so i wrote a poemand from that poem, i found a messege, that messege taught to keep on trying my best at school. Look at me know, Im at ASTI and going well. If i read the Davids song again i can find a messege in it. David might fing the messege of his song without even knowing. People die, but life keeps going on. Never let someones death bring you down. Even if its someone close to you. Always move foward in life. I know because my grandfather past away a couple of years ago. Yes i cried, but wasnt going to stop the pain inside. I moved on and so did my family. Like i said, i respect David alot for what he did. He wrote a song that relate to his feeling among his uncle.

Word i Don't Know.

legislation
potential
conduct
commision
acqusition
component
consraint
criteria
reliance
mechanism
attribute
consulation
liberal
facilitate
discretion
sector

Q Essay

Q is one of those creatures that doesn't really care about what others say about him. but when it comes to a certain point, Q will stand up for himself. When Q was still a dinosaur, all the other dinosaurs became extinct. He then wondered off and encountered new species. When Zahn, one of the new ones, started to act suspicious when he saw Q. Zahn started to question why Q was with the others. Zahn did not accept Q as a member of the village because he was different, but some did like Q. Zahn accidentally provokes him into a physical fight. Zahn did not expect Q to stand up for himself:

“I’d like to see him battle, with that little lizards mouth of his....Zahn went on contemptuously goading him. I went over to him...nose to nose...”you can see me right now, If you don't run away....There was nothing for us to do but fight....A physical fight goes on. (102)

This shows that Q will stand up for himself once it comes to a limit. When Zahn took the discussion too far Q fight him. He beats up Zahn and then gets respect from Zahn and the others.

Q walked to the shore of the river...the new ones glanced at him and stopped their work. They looked at him, then at each other in silence as if questioning one another. Seeing how strong he was, they wanted to ask him if he would stay with them and work transporting wood. They gave him a nickname: The Ugly One, because I was different from them, for no other reason .(99) Despite the big difference between Q and the new ones Q is still respected a little because of his ability of being strong, but at the same time, he’s being called the ugly one because he is different This doesn’t really puts him down because he is different but the same from the inside.

In the story of the Aquatic Uncle, Q is a creature that can go underwater and be on dry land. Q is engaged with a same creature like him, but when he introduced his girlfriend to his great great uncle, everything lost control. Q’s girlfriend just started to keep on going with Q’s uncle. Because of that, Q was being ignored.

Q says “And what do you think You’ll do all alone with an old fish? Marry him. And still bring more fish into the world. Good-by....It was a hard blow for me . But, after all, what could I do about it.(81)

This shows that Q will not take crap from anyone. this quote showed that he stand up for himself and said what he needed to say. He cared for her, but she disrespected him. As you can see, Q is a creature that wont be picked on physicllay or mentally.

Deat or Meth Poem

Death or Meth

I go into a drak deserted hotel
Alone no one with me
Scared out of my mind,
Sending chills down my spine

I feel a cold breeze,
As if a ghost was next to me
Negative energy,
From my head down to my knees.
My legs are trembaling,
Thinking of death,

Is this real?
Or am I just on crystal meath?




When i wrote this poem, i first wrte many words that fall in the category of ghosts. Then i started to write down my poem. I then see that the poem was now turning into a drug poem which is meth. i thinks thats very cool how onw single category of words will create a poem. That is always the first step when writing a poem.
When i finally finished my poem, i really liked it. in my opinion it is simple but it is a masterpiece. i started to read my poem many times constintly. This was day after day. Well then when i readed it for the last time, i had sppoted the messege in the poem. With out knowing it, i had found the messege of the poem without even thinking of putting one
If you read this poem, then you might of seen the messege. the messege of the poem is that if you do drugs, then then you dont know whether if u are in the real world of in your fantacy world. For example, the second stanza is a good example of the messege.
"I feel a cold breeze,
As if a ghost was next to me
Negative energy,
From my head down to my knees.
My legs are trembaling,
Thinking of death,

Is this real?
Or am I just on crystal meath?"

Do you now see the messege in the poem. :)

Mistreating your Girlfriend

For all the guys that have a girlfriend, you should always treat her right. If you have a girlfriend, be with her only if you care about her, trust her and love her. Mistreating your girlfriend is a very stupid thing to do. Only because you you’re the guy in the relationship doesn’t give you the right to boss her around. That is so unfair. Advice for the girl, leave the damn guy! You shouldn’t be taking the crap that he throws at you. If any young girl is going through all that but still love him she should open your eyes, understand what you’ve got your self in and forget about him.

Another thing that guys do when they are in a relationship is that they try to pressure their girlfriend to have sex. Guys have nothing to lose. If anything, a guy’s reputation is improved by having sex, at least in the eyes of his friends. For example, something that they would say is "kool man you finally hit that. So are you going to dump the chick?" On the other hand, girls have many more consequences to face if something goes wrong. They can get STDs so as the guy and get pregnant. And a girl’s reputation is much more at stake if she has sex and people find out about it. rumors will be spread and she will be called a hoe, or a slut. She will not only get sex but also might be dumped,. If she gets pregnant, she might abort the baby which is wrong to do.

OVERALL, WHAT I'm trying to say is that the guys should treat their girlfriend good.

graffiti

By: Luis Alba
Writers are in risk of many things. They could be arrested, jumped, robbed, or killed, but they still pursue to do what they like to do, paint. I think that is pretty determined to do what they do. Most people also say, “ Oh, what about gangs and violence in graffiti.” In my opinion, urban art has nothing to do with gangs and violence. Gangs and violence should not even be under the category of urban art. As I said before, this is what gives urban art a bad name. For example, have you ever seen a mural with a gang sign or name on it drawn by the original writer, I don’t think so. Murals are about politics, comedy, nature, and so on, not about gangs or encouraging violence.

This quote or paragraph comes from luis. I've known luis since the beging of the school year. And what i seen of his graffiti work, to be honest, he really is a talented kid. I even wish i had those skills of doing graffiti. Ithink that graffiti is not a crime i think that its is one of the many forms of expressing your self. I totally agree with Luis that graffiti is not a form of violence. i agree that tagging is violence because its vadalizing the community. For example, Oakland is a city that is fully vandalixed by tagging. Most of the taggs are about gangs. Now that even show a lot more violence. In my opinion, graffiti is a very cool form of art. My cousin is actally a graffiti artist and he is not gang affileated. Well he does have his own crew, but it mostly involves in graffiti. His friends and him teach other younger kids graffiti skill. He is not doing nothing bad but he is helping the other kids. i actally think tha Luis should do something like that or join a graffiti club, that way he can teach graffiti. I would want to learn some graffiti skills but my parents are against it. They dont even like my cousin's skills but i do. I picked that paragraph because i think the same way as Luis.

Now that I will be attending my high school years at ASTI, I’m actually a little scared and worried about many things. For me, it is a big adjustment coming from a big middle school to a small high school. But ASTI is not an ordinary high school. ASTI is all about hard work and getting prepared for college. I really want to succeed in life, but many things go through my mind. I sometimes think that college will be so difficult for me that at one point, I will drop out from a big opportunity and when I have those thoughts, I feel like a frailer. I really need to abolish those thoughts from my mind. I need to have very good and beneficial ideas.

My big goal in life is to become an engineer. And to become an engineer, I really need to be good at math. Math is my least favorite subject in school, and I always do try my best. That is another reason why I think that college will be difficult for me.

I hear that to past college classes, you really need to do well on the exams and essays. To be honest, I’m not really a good test taker. I will u8nderstand the subject, but when it comes to tests, it is just so difficult for me. Hear at ASTI, if you are running an A and then take a test, that single test can throw you off big time. This has all ready happened to me in my geometry class. As of now, I’m running a low grade because of my test taking skills. Hear at ASTI, I can’t go of track. If I do then I won’t be ready for college classes. ASTI is the big deal.      

Rock Music

Rock music is my favorite type of music that I listen more too. I listen to many types of rock; I listen to alternative rock, punk rock, metal, 80’s rock, Spanish rock, and much more but for sure not heavy metal. My sister sometimes criticizes me for listening to rock music. Me as a Mexican, she thinks I should listen to a lot more too Spanish music. I do but it is Spanish rock. But her opinion doesn’t put me down and stop listening to rock. Sometimes, I just listen to some rock to calm me down. I enjoy hearing rock so bad, that I don’t, and I will go crazy. There are sometimes when I’m hearing rock music, I feel so passionate that I visualize my self playing with the bands that I listen to. There are many bands that I listen to, but I’m only going to name a couple; I listen to Linkin Park, Breaking Benjamin, Sick Puppies, Scorpions, Guns N Roses, Green Day, Nirvana, Weezer, KIZZ, HIM, The 69 Eyes, and much more.

revenge

Bassam wrote:

Back in seventh grade always used to hurt peoples feelings because i was always the easy target in 6th grade. So pretty much i was getting even with everyone that hurt me. In the 6th grade i had people tripping me and calling me names and even beating me up, until i hit a huge growing spree. Then i was the one getting the satisfaction of hitting some one. I was on a roll but not in a good way i hurt people even more then they hurt me.

This quote shows the opposite of building mutual trust and respect. beating someone really bad is a total disrespect. I also understand how it feels to be on the side where ecery kid is insulted or has been beat up. That can be for any stupid reason. It can be for how they talk, how they look, or because of their afnisity. I'm not going to lie. I've my self have gone through all that. I also did the same thing as what Bassam did, Igot even with the people who bullied me. I actally started to grow more and started to work out. i got stronger, and realized that i have knockout power behind my fists. i took adventege of it.
And finally, this is the opposite of  resolving conflict peacfully. This is resolving your problems with violence which is not the right thing to do.

Ganging Up

Ganging Up




There was one time where I was with my friends. One of them was hit in the face by another kid who was considered a bully in school. So then me and the others went to the kid and faced him for what he did. He was being so unreasonable that my friend was so tired of it that he told me to hit him really hard in the face. That bully was so small that he was scared of us because we were much taller than him. I did hit him, but was not proud of it. First of all, it wasn’t even my business. So then I left.

My options were, do it and stand up for him. But this is not the best way to do it. Second, is that if I didn’t do it, I would be called a punk. I did the first one, which I should have never done. Many people bully others to get attention, which is not right. Or maybe, people bully others to show that they are tuff. Sometimes even because of the way that other people’s appearances even though they don’t know them very well. I will never bully.