Brooklyn Bulldogs vs. Huskies

It was 3:35 pm when I leaped into my car. My mom asked me how my day was and gave me her phone. I took the phone and looked at the screen. It was an email from the Brooklyn Bulldogs Travel Baseball Organization. They wanted me to come and join their team . I would have to make the decision of leaving the SFX Huskies, a team I had been on since I was 8 years old.
          I couldn’t believe the Bulldogs wanted me. A few years ago, my dad told me that other teams are going to start looking at my skills and watching me play and are going to want me on their teams. The time had finally come.
         After I read the email, I looked at my mom indecisively. 
       “What should I do?” asked her. 
       “I can’t make that decision. It’s your life.” She responded. 
         Later on, when told my dad that I was thinking about joining the Bulldog his eyes were wide open and his jaw dropped to his knees. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard.  After about 20 minutes of thinking he  told me that I had to make my own decision.  
          The next day, as I was walking to school, I saw all of my friends wearing Brooklyn Bulldogs hoodies. I felt like I was the only Husky, in a park full of Bulldogs. I felt like I had to be a Bulldog like everyone else. Would the Bulldogs help me get into a good high school?
          As I thought about my decision. I started to remember all the great times I had with my current team, the SFX huskies. The players, the coaches and the even the parents. The Huskies were my family.
        It was now between the Huskies and the Bulldogs.. In the e-mail, it said that the coaches from the Bulldogs had connections with Poly Prep, Xaverian, Midwood, Berkley Carroll all have great high schools baseball teams that would like to play for. I don’t know if staying with the Huskies will help me get into these great high schools.
       I’ve made the decision to go the Brooklyn Bulldogs. Even though the Huskies are my family, I have to pick the team that will help me get into a good high school. When I made this decision, I knew I wan’t a kid anymore.

Watching You

                      "Watching You" by Patricia Smith is about how much the government surveillance should Americans accept to keep the nation safe from any terrorists attacks. I think that the government should surveillance but not too much. Americans should be able to have some type of privacy. It call prevent many terrorists attacks.
                       In the article, it says, "The internet surveillance program, called Prism, started the following year; it involves eavesdropping on e-mails and online chats of foreigners overseas." This is way too much surveillance. Americans should be able to socialize and chat with one another without having to think about the government spying on them. 
                      In the article, it also says, "Information gathered under Prism has helped foil about 50 terrorist plots, according to NSA director Keith Alexander. In 2008, an intercepted e-mail led authorities to arrest an Al Qaeda operative in the U.S who was plotting backpack bombings on the New York City subway." Even though government surveillance is overpowering, it still saved thousands of lives.
                     The article also says, 'Within hours of the Boston bombings... authorities began sifting through a mountain of video footage... By the end of the week, the suspects had been identified and captured before they could harm anyone else." This means that surveillance is helping catch terrorists before they cause more problems.   
                     This made me think deeper about humanity because shows how protective the government is. It also shows that us Americans need more privacy!

Literary Device- Meaningful Dialogue

                Middle School: How I Survived, Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill by James Patterson is about a boy named Rafe Katchadorian who is a younger sister named Georgia. He tries to a way to survive his 8 week sleep away  camp. Its not just an old summer camp where u learn how to make a camp fire and swim in lakes. It's a summer school camp.  I think Rafe loves georgia but sometimes he can't stand her.
                 One thing that Rafe says in the story is, "Okay, one more more little bit of truth here. It was true that i couldn't wait to get away from Georgia, even if we would just be on two sides of  the same camp. But now that Mom and Grandma were about to take off, some,teeny, tiny part of me was glad that Georgia would be around. I don't know why. I was just." This means the Rafe feels  certain way knowing that even though he'll be away from his mom he'll still have Georgia.
                Another thing that Rafe says is, "The good news was that we had a whole lake between, the boys' side and the girl side. If I was lucky, I'd hardly see Georgia at all for the whole eight weeks. It almost made the summer-school thing worth it." This means that even he loves Georgia, he can't stand her.
               Another quote that Rafe says is "Georgia had packed about eight weeks in advance, checked her list 40 times, and then made a copy of the list to make sure she wouldn't lose it,,, and double checked that too. Ny sister may be smart but she's also nuttier that squirrel's nest on the first day of winter." For a person who dislikes his sister, really talks a lot about her.
               This claim connects to me personally because i have a younger sibling like Rafe. I know how it feels to be annoyed at my younger sibling. Even though  my younger brother is annoying, I still love him.

Literary Devices- Meaningful Lines

          Football Genius by, Tim Green is about a boy named Troy White who has the ability to predict football plays befrore they happen. He is the defensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons yet he can not figure out a way to make the starting lineup for his football team, the Tigers.I think meaningful lines help craft a better understanding of the book. Meaningful lines help make a part of the story more descriptive and makes the reader think. Meaningful lines turn little things into a big part of the story. Meaningful lines can also show what a characters feeling or actions.
          One meaningful line(s) in my story is, "Mr. Langan said 'You're fired.' Krocks mouth dropped. He looked at Seth, then the owner, before stabbing his finger at Troy." This meaningful line(s) shows that Krock one of the meanest and fiercest people in the Atlanta Falcons organization and defensive coordinator was furious. the way he look at Seth and Troy shows that he knew that they were the cause of him getting fired. Another meaningful line(s) is, "Krock clenched his fists and took a step toward Troy... 'Don't even think about it'... 'I'll tear your eyes out' His mother stepped between him and the coach, her chin up high. Another meaningful line(s) is, "Krock stormed out of the bench area. A reporter came up to him with a microphone. Krock grabbed the man by his shirt and shoved him back into his cameraman, knocking him to the turf." This tells me that Krock is not afraid to be physical.
           This made me think deeper about books and how meaningful lines can affect how a scene is read. Meaningful lines show a characters reactions, and how they deal with certain occasions. Meaningful lines can affect a story in a big way. Meaningful lines describe a moment in a very descriptive way. It can also show how a character feels.
          

          

The End of Our Car Culture?

        In the article, "The End of Our Car Culture?" by Alessandra Potenza Thilo Koslowski says, " The iPhone is the Ford Mustang of today." This means that the love affairs with cars are coming to an end. This century is more about technology. More people are riding bikes everywhere they go. They don't even bother to get a license  agree because Americans are now riding bikes wherever they go.
        In the article it says,"Researchers say that the economic recession that began in 2007- though definitely a contributor." Americans today are buying cars less due to economic recession in 2007. The author also quotes, "Today, the resurgence of cities where shops and activities are within walking or biking distance." Today, everything is close together and either in walking distance or biking distance. The article also said,"Instead of driving to meet friends, young people use the Web [any mobile device] to feel more connected, while stricter teen driving laws in many states discourage teenagers from getting licenses." Teenagers refuse to drive because there are more stricter driving laws which puts more pressure on them and they are more connected with each other by using their phones.
         This connects to teenagers because it show how much of a technological era. This shows that teens are more comfortable being to connect to each other through internet and cellphones. America's car culture is dying down. Its time for a new culture-TECHNOLOGY.

       

Where Your CellPhone Goes to Die

            The article, "Where Your  Cellphone Goes to Die," is about what happens to your old phones when they are trashed. The article also talks about the cons of waisting cellphones when they can easily be recycled. I think the government should make it illegal to to export or traffic in toxic e-waste. The toxic e-waste of the cellphones can be very dangerous to humans.
            In the article, it says "places in Ghana, India, and China, children into mountains and burn it so they can extract metals-cppoer wires, gold, and silver threads.Children inhale the smoke from burned phone casings as they identify separate different kinds of plastics for recyclers." This means that children have exposure to all these dangerous chemicals from extract metals and burned phone cases. This can lead to lung cancer and other serious health risks. The article also said, " The World Health Organization (W. H. O) reports that even a low level of exposure to lead, cadmium, and mercury-all of which can be found in old phones- can cause irreversible neurological damage and threaten the development of a child." This means that children can be dangerously affected by being exposed to hazardous chemicals such as lead, cadmium and mercury. This can lead the spread of sickness through out the whole country.
                 The US government also needs to take a stand to this dangerous toxic e-waste system.  In the article it said,"The United States, for example, could ratify the Basel Convention, an international treaty that makes it illegal to export or traffic in toxic e-waste. The US is the only industrialized nation that hasn't signed the treaty." I think the US government needs to take this a lot more seriously because it is a very dangerous process that poses serious health risks to children. The article says, : If governments or manufactures don't take action, consumers can still help. We could recycle the ones we no longer use through certified recycling services like e-Stewards, a nonprofit organization that runs certification programs for e-waste recyclers, ensuring that goods are not improperly exported." I don't think we should have to replace our new devices. Why can't we just repair them?
                  This made think deeper about humanity because it makes think about all of the poor countries in the world like Ghana, India, and China that burn piles and piles of e-waste just to get extract metals to sells to merchants for a low price. This are at many serious health risks by doing this dangerous procedures. Is it really worth it?

Author's Craft- Literary Devices

       Football Genius by Tom Green is about a boy named Troy White who is a football player with a special talent. He has the ability to predict which plays any football team will run before the play is played. Since his Mom works for the Atlanta Falcons (NFL football team) Troy gets all access to the players and staff of his favorite team. He tries to help the team by using his predictive play calling talents to lead his team to a victorious season.
       Literary devices help craft a better understanding of what's happening in my story. For example, one literary device that author uses is a simile. A simile is a comparison using the words like or as; "their watches sparkles with hundreds of diamonds, as did the pendants hanging from their necks like Olympic medals, and their rings looked like Christmas tree ornaments." This simile means that the jewelry of the NFL players were very shiny, big and expensive. It also tells you that the football players are very rich.