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.