Current Connections 3

This past week our nation was hit hard with a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. The gunman forced his way into the school and shot and killed 20 first grade students and six adults before taking his own life. This will cause the nation to crack down on the security at all schools, which I believe should have been done a long time ago.

This terrible event will spark a uprising of security measures that should have been done at schools already. It is as if in our country we have to experience the worst before we prepare for it. Even today while I sit here and type this paper the door to the room I am currently in is locked for the first time all year. Why now? Why after it has already happened? Since this happening, kids will be afraid to attend school and will not be able to have a normal day without going through security checks because of the one mental guy who decided to shoot up a school.

Newtown shooting will also cause another huge debate in the US, gun control. People start to point fingers at the NRA or any other handgun association saying that they man should not have had the gun in the first place. In my opinion, the gun did not shoot itself a human hand had to pull the trigger. The gun did not march up in Sandy Hook Elementary and kill those innocent first graders and staff on its own.

The whole situation hurts me because I remember being a first grader and having no care in the world. I never had a thought about guns at all back then. I could not imagine how the families of the victims feel at this time. Mass shootings normally bother me, but this shooting with these kids hit me harder.

I hope that our nation can find a way to prevent these things long before they begin to happen. Such as stopping to shooters disease before it ever comes to the point of thinking about shooting 20 first graders. If not, we have a long way ahead of us.

current connection

The fatal shooting of a 17 year old high school student at a gas station in Atlanta, has sparked another uprising in the Trayvon Martin and the gun control crisis.The author is exposing this information about this two murders to the public so they will understand the importance of gun control and who needs to be able to have possession of firearms.

The author states in this passage that "law enforcement should be the only ones carrying guns of the street, that is what is killing our kids." The author believes that guns should not be owned by the common person but by the law enforcement and military. They believe that with making this come in affect that the murders will stop.

Also stated by the author is "The law came under harsh criticism after Martin was shot in February by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who believed the teenager was acting suspicious. Martin and Zimmerman got into a fight and Zimmerman said he thought Martin was reaching for his gun. Authorities didn't arrest Zimmerman for more than a month after the shooting, adding to the furor."
Zimmerman and Dunn both allegedly say that they were both threatened. Both of these individuals went out looking for trouble and using the fact that the two boys murdered were black they acted prejudice thinking they would be harmed.

I can connect this to myself in many ways, the shooting we had here committed by three high school students. Two of the students have been two of my life long friends that I have known since I was a baby. Knowing what Zimmerman and Dunn's family feel like, makes me able to connect with this very easily. Another way I can connect is that my best friends great grandfather was gun downed while trying to protect his families gas station in Cord. This makes me understand that certain people should not be able to own guns and that the people that do buy them should be studied carefully making sure that they are capable of owning a firearm.

current connection

As Martin Fletcher mentions in his article Army must Invade "as rockets flew over Israell Monday morning, a land rover filled with camping gear stopped and watched from the outskirts of a neighboring village." I believe that the author was trying to inform the reader about the war that is starting in Israel and the danger that the the civilians are in.

The people that live in Israell are in constant danger, Palestinians are launching rockets by the hour which puts the lives of these civilians in harms way. To help ease the tension and help protect the civilians, the Israels have invented a drone system that intercepts the rockets and destroys them before they can detonate. This has helped ease the tension, and helps some citizens feel somewhat protected.

The drone that they created is a missile battery that works with sensors to detect and intercept short and mid-range threats such as rockets. It was created and put into use in 2007, when they received thousands of missile attacks, mostly in the northern region. These drones do not stop all of the missiles but they do stop up to eigthy percent of them, this has helped save countless lives.

Although these missiles save lives, they are not cheap. Each missile that is launched cost approximately $40,000. To us this may sound like a large amount of money, especially since they have shot over four hundred of these rockets. To the people that these missiles are protecting, they are priceless.

In the video that was presented, it mentions that the kids and some of the adults are being placed in bomb shelters, where they have been for six straight days. The adults have to keep the children entertained to help keep their minds off the missiles being fired.

While reading this passage and watching the video, it has really made me appreciate the luxuries we have. Being able to go to school or to work and not having to worry about when the next missile will be launched and if we will have to go to the bomb shelter or not today.

Current Connection 2 Mystery Kidney Disease

I believe that this authors purpose is to tell the world about the widely spreading kidney disease in Nicaragua. In the past ten years almost 60,000 people, mostly male sugarcane workers, have been killed by Chronic Kidney Disease. This tragedy has allowed this area to gain the nickname "the island of widows", not a very delightful name.

The author states many examples of people who have died from this horrific disease, he also talks about how the family has suffered due to the loss of their family members and loved ones. He also talks about how more than 20 million people in the United States have been diagnosed with this disease. The outbreak of this "mystery" disease is spreading rapidly across South America and on up to the United States. This has killed over 60,000 people and South American and have been diagnosed in 20 thousand Americans. This has worried many people in South America, it makes them worry about going out and working in the sugarcane fields and that's something they have to do to maintain a steady income for their family's.

This disease is going to keep spreading rapidly from country to country unless there is something that we can do about it. But until then, people working in the sugarcane fields will have to face this deadly disease in order to keep a decent livelihood for them and their family's.

Current Connection 1

The rhino slaughter in South Africa is on a gradual incline. Last year poachers killed 448 Rhinos all year as of just septemeber of this year, the poachers have killed 455 rhinos and that number is still growing. I believe that the authors purpose of this article is to expose this issue to the public and let them know how serious this problem really is.

This problem started out in 2007 when just 13 rhinos were killed due to poaching. In 2008 this number jumped to 83 and now in 2012 that number has risen to 455. With the price of ivory being so high, not only are hunters the only ones participating, veterinarians andhelicopter pilots are also killing these rhinos. Scientist believe that although the number of rhinos being born exceeds the number of rhinos being killed, they believe that they may go into decline and start needing controvational support. I believe that the author wants to give out information to the public regarding this event. If the number of rhinos keeps declining and try start needing conservational support, I believe that this will be very bad on the rhinos part. Although we give them support they could still suffer great losses due to this poaching problem.

The price of ivory is increasing daily; I believe that even with the growing help of humanist and wildlife management the number will continue to decrease unless we as a nation and with the help of other nations help out a stop to this.

Book Review - Calico Joe

Calico Joe is a very interesting book that catches the eye of many sports fan and John Grisham book lovers. Calico Joe was an upcoming baseball phenon, that had broken a numerous amount of records within months of his debut. But when stepping into the box agianst Warren Tracey, the Mets known head hunter, he probably never thought it would be the last time he ever did so.

There could be many themes to this book, but the one that really stood out to me was that you should never take things for granted because the moment you do it could be taken away within the blink of an eye. This impacted Joe because when he became the biggest mlb player in the league, it was all taken away from him due from one "well" placed fastball. This affected me while reading this book, it made me really think about how I take playing baseball for granted. I could take one fastball to the head, or throw one breaking ball too many and tear my ucl and never be able to throw a ball again. This really makes the reader think about all the things they take for granted. When John Grisham talked about Calico Joe in this book it showed him as being very humble. One thing mentioned in the book was when they were talking about his hitting streak and Joe /replied" they will get me out sooner or later." If he was arrogant he would have talked about how much longer the streak was going to last, but he didn't. The setting in this book was very easy to figure out. It went between Calico Rock Arkansas, Chicago and New York. Most of the book was placed on a baseball field.This setting affected the conflict because it is where Joe got hit in the head. This was the main conflict in the story. It really related to me, being a highschool baseball player I was really able to connect with this book. It made it very easy to read and kept me very attatched to this book, I didnt want to put it down.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loved sports. It was very easy to follow and if you are a baseball player it really made you connect with Joe. It would be great for any athelete to send the message of playing each game or each play like it was your last.

Remembering 9-11

The terroristic attack of 9-11 is a day we will always remember. The rebuilding of the twin towers show other nations that no matter how hard we get knocked down we will always get back up. The height of the new tower, 1,776 ft, is the year of our independce showing our patiortism.

Landon's Reading Bucket List

1. Calico Joe- by John Grisham:  Although I am not a big reader, sport books always catch my attention, so when Mrs. Gillmore recommended this to me I knew I could really relate to it. I have read a couple of John Grisham's books in the past and they all held my attention, and this one being about baseball I figured that it couldn't be a bad choice. It is also short so it won't take long to read and I will be able to go to my next book.

2. 13 Reasons Why- by Jay Asher: This book is about a girl commiting suicide, around Batesville the past year we have had a couple teen deaths due to suicide. I think reading this book would help me get a better perspective on bullying and the harm it does to some kids. I have heard that it truely changes you from the inside.

3. Slim and Howdy- by Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn: The two authors of this book are country music stars, a duet called Brooks and Dunn, after listening to their music for several years there is really no telling what this book is actually about. You know that it involes two people trying to make it big in Nashville. I have always been interested in what it takes to leave everything behind to chase your career and this book tells about two guys adventure doing just that.

4. Heat- by Mike Lupica: I have played baseball since I was four years old, Im eighteen now so thats fourteen years of my life that has been revolved around the sport. This book is about a kid just like me, he is playing for a little league team and talks about all of his games he played in and about the team he is trying out for. I can relate to this because when I was eight I tried out for the Batesville all-star team and from there on I was an "all star" something all kids want to be just like this kid from the book.

5. Opening Day- by Jonathan Eig: Like most of my other books this is another baseball book. Its about Jackie Robinson coming up and playing in the majors. This really interested me because i have always wondered about the segregation in the majors and all of the pain and suffering he went through trying to become a profesional ball player.

6. Dark Summit- by Nick Heil: I am a very outdoorsy guy, and with those book being about a group trying to be like very few and conquer Mount Everest, I felt like it would be a good book for me. I have always been facinated with climbers, although I am scared of heights, I would like to read this and learn about their way of life up on the mountain and how they accomplish this task.

7. The Innocent Man- by John Grisham: This book involves both baseball and the criminal justice system, two things that I am very intersted about. Criminal justice has always caught my attention, i love watching shows about mystery and crimes so with this book being about that and baseball i figured it would keep my attention very well.

8.The Things They Carried- by Tim O'Brien: My great grandfather faught in world war two and war has always been very interesting to me. This book talks about battles they had, supplies they needed, and what stuck with them after the war. PTSD is a big deal in the United States and I think this book will help me understand the symptoms and everything that is involved with it.

Surviving the Holocaust

The chances of survival for someone in the concentration camps were almost slim to none. Only one percent of everyone in the camps actually made it out of these camps alive, and the ones who did make it out hardly looked human when they left.  To survive the holocaust you would need to be in good physical shape, get a job, and have good strength mental and physically. 

                Imagine being brutally beaten, and only fed a tiny bowl of water they called soup and then suffering through work in order to survive. This is what survivors of the holocaust went through and believe it or not work saved their lives. Many people were selected to work outside doing objectives for the army like moving steel beams. In the article “What the camps were like, told through the eyes of people who suffered through them” Judith Jagermann states this “fifteen or twenty men were carrying each side of the beam, then eventually we were told to set them down.”  If they were not able to work when they entered the camp they were immediately sent to the gas chambers to be executed. In the article “the holocaust” it says “we entered the camp, and a guard was deciding our fate. The thumbs up meant you were good to work the thumbs down and you went left to the gas chambers.”  If you looked at getting a job like it was a long strenuous act well you are right, but when you look at it from the eyes from a holocaust survivor they will say if they were unable to work they wouldn’t still be here today. Some of the most unusual things may be a way of survival when you get into these types of situations where you are fighting to survive.

                The prisoners of the holocaust were brutally beaten and tortured; being strong was a tremendous part in surviving this terrible situation. When they first got to the camps they were asked to hand over all of their valuables, wedding rings, lockets even their clothes. Those who were not willing to give up their possessions were beaten immediately.  They were hardly given any food. This was mentioned in the article “the holocaust” it says “in the morning they gave us one piece of bread mixed with sawdust and coffee. Later in the evening after work we were given soup. If we were lucky we would find a piece of meat but most of the time it was just water and a few potatoes.”  Having strength was important in many ways; having to take the load of working on such a small amount of food was a large part of being strong. Many were killed from starving to death.  In the book “ call of the wild” if talks about how  Buck was cut short on his food rationing because of over feeding, they have to pull the sleds many miles a day on short rest and a small amount of food. He showed a large amount of strength by never giving up no matter what kind of health his body was in.  Both examples I have given support the fact that you need strength to survive.

                Another way to survive the harsh concentration camps is to be physically fit and mentally tough. People were hardly given food like I mentioned earlier. People who were not killed as soon as they entered were forced to work inside making cabinets or outside moving steel beams.  Stated in the article “the holocaust” it says “working in fifteen degrees below zero moving steel beams, when they finally told you to sit them down  your hands were frozen to them and when you pulled them off your skin peeled off.”  This shows how the weather was brumal during the winter months and how terrible the working conditions could be. They were given a t-shirt and a thin gown, and that was if they were most of the time they were just given one or the other.


Six Word Slant:
The struggle of surviving the holocaust.

Claim:
Surviving the holocaust was a great struggle. Only the ones who were strong and could catch a break survived.

Anthropomorphism

Buck was a judge's dog In his palace there were logs One day Buck wanted to go to the lake He went to find his best friend Jake Jake was stuck under a rock So Buck jumped off the dock Buck pulled the rock off of Jake Then they went home to eat cake

The Extent to Survive

If I were put in a situation to survive with only the clothes I had on and my own instincts I believe I could make it. I'm a outdoorsy person, so I believe getting food and hunting would be no problem. I have read articles about people cutting off their own arm, or eating a fallen companion in order to survive, I do not think I could go to that extent, but I do believe that I could push through excruciating pain or go hungry in order to survive.

The Cost of Life

People do not realize some of the responsibilities that they have, one of the big ones is life.  The zeal to survive is often a major factor.

Take the titanic for example. Peoples will to survive was different, yet it was their responsibility.  The captain had complete control over the situation, he ignored the multiple warnings he was given.  He had total responsibility for the numerous lives he had on board but yet that did not effect his decision on to head back or slow down.  Once the ship hit the iceberg, people had their life as their own responsibility whether to jump and face the frigid water or to stay on and hope for the best. The families who lost a loved one were very lugudriosly.

Frankenstein

If I was given the power to create life such as Frankenstein did I would choose not to.  I think that a human being should not be able to create a new life.

God is the creator of everything, man should not be able to create life such as Frankenstein did. It is God's prerogative duty to determine ones life.That is against what god has already done and what he has planned out for the future.  If someone did have the power it should be used to help the world, not to destroy it and its people. 

Man should not be able to create life, let alone use it as an ferine experiment.

Thoughts Prior to Frankenstein

Frankenstein has always been the story you hear about on Halloween, but it is also a classic.  The man made monster was made to be immortal, when people hear of this story they have a fear of a green monster coming to eat them. 

Being 19 now means going to college and getting when the effects of the real world finally hits you.  The author to Frankenstein was only 19 when she wrote this story, not a typical story that a 19 year old girl would write about.  This contains a lot of evil and immortality which shows the creativeness of Mary Shelley.

2012 Theme Word

I chose the word successful because it is a word that I can apply to my everyday life.  In my first two years of high school baseball we have won one conference title, some people may say that it was a successful two years but not us.  this year we have the chance to not only win a conference title but a state title as well.  That is what we call success.

 I also want apply it in my life in an educational way.  I have always been an A and B student but this year I want to try and make straight A's and raise my GPA, with the hopes of receiving an academic scholarship.

I would also like to be successful money wise.  I would like to earn more money this year and learn how to manage it better. Some people may believe that this is superfluous, but starting to save now would help me when I am in college and moving on to start a successful life.