The 30th Annual Christmas in Washington

    The 30th Annual Christmas in Washington Program was on T.V Friday. I had never heard of it before but when I turned on the T.V TNT was showing it. They had amazing artists including Victoria Justice, Justin Bieber, and The Band Perry. They also had a wonderful host, Conan. At the end of the program The President came on stage with his family to give the annual presidential speech. It was a great speech but right behind him was his daughter Malia. To my surprise, during a serious moment in the speech, She makes her eyes get real big and then she starts to smile trying to keep herself from laughing. When she finally calms herself down she makes a funny face that makes her look like a monkey. The camera is immediately turned to keep from looking at her. I thought this was funny enough that you should know about it. All in all it was a marvelous program with a view laughs and a lot of surprises.

Against All Odds

     I am not a fan of football. It is confusing to me unlike baseball which is easy to understand. You are more likely to get hurt in football than you would in baseball or any other sport. This year is different. I got into the vicious game of football as our Palmetto High School Tigers went against all odds. This year I have paid attention to the close calls, the fumbles, and the interceptions. Football is more interesting when it is a close tie or an important game. This next game is very important. It is our last game before State. We play Norland Miami on Friday. If we beat them we get to go to State. Everyone is scared because they are undefeated, very strong, and fast. There are a few people who have hope for Palmetto and I am one of them. I believe that they know how difficult it is and will work harder than ever so they can make it to State. State would be an amazing game. If we make it to State we will most likely get out of school so that we can all go. It would make this year an awesome year and a year against all odds.

Twirling to Your Football Games

     Palmetto High School varsity football games are full of different styles of entertainment. The styles range from the dancing Dazzlers and the cheery cheerleaders to the Palmetto High School Marching Band and the color guard-flag team.

     The Marching Band has new stand tunes this year. Stand tunes are the songs played by the band in the stands during the game. This year they are from famous artists like the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga. The band also has a new show this year based on countries around the world. They perform “Kung Fu Fighting,” “New York New York” and “Brazil” as if they were in China, New York, and Rio.

     The color guard has more than doubled in size. They gained four new members including the girl that has caught the attention of fans and bands in Manatee County, baton twirler Samantha Grutzner.

     Nathaniel Miller, sophomore from PHS says, “The baton twirler is a strong addition to the half time show. She adds an extra flare. The color guard is fun to watch, but they are all doing the same thing. The baton twirler is by herself performing amazing tricks.”

     Samantha is a senior at Palmetto High. She was at Manatee School for the Arts, but she switched schools because she wanted opportunities that she did not have at MSA.

     “It was tough moving schools in my senior year,” says Samantha. “I wanted to get involved in PHS activities that I did not have before.”

     She has been going to Bradenton Twirling Academy for 10 years. The academy participates in local, state and national events. Many competition twirlers and some competition teams travel out of state to compete in Drum Majorettes of America National Finals. The twirlers win trophies and medals in these competitions.

     Samantha says, “I started baton when I was seven. I started because I went to my neighbor’s baton rehearsal and thought it was the coolest thing ever.”

     Samantha has participated in many competitions including individual and team competitions. She has won many competitions including the National Strut Competition which she won for seven years in a row. Strut is one of the three individual routines in baton twirling. Samantha is also Majorette Princess of America for 2011. The thing that has pushed her to succeed is the feeling of accomplishment.

     Samantha says, “I enjoy the challenge and pride in accomplishing things. It feels good to catch the simplest thing. I’m like ‘Look what I caught.’ My biggest achievement was getting over the fear of hitting myself in the face.”

     Samantha changed many things for PHS this year. She worked with flaming batons which created a fun atmosphere for the football games. Also in the MPA’s, Music Performance Assessment, she helped the Color Guard come home with an “excellent” compared to the “good” they were given last year.

     This baton twirler has changed the way fans watch and enjoy the varsity football games. She enjoys what she does and appreciates your support.

http://www.bradenton.com/2011/11/14/3648591/journalism-next-palmetto-high.html

The Wicked Stage

     What is happening with the children in this society. They are completely different from how I was raised. The television is changing how they picture things. At Palmetto Charter School a first grade class was creating glue mats. These glue mats would be the thing they would see everyday as they glue their peculiar but parent loving art. They got to color their mats however they wanted to. When the mats were handed in the teacher saw the beautiful flowers the wonderful family pictures and then two strange pictures. One kid drew a helicopter with a guy firing down on the people below which were all dead. What has he been watching. In first grade I didn't know guns existed. All I knew was that girls are cooler than guys and it is fun to sing songs. Another kid drew a scene in an alley where they were having a gangster fight. What has he been learning I understand that maybe the other kid's dad might have been in the war but why gangsters. Some parents do not even care about what their kids watch. They turn on their favorite show and do not realize their kids know what is happening. If you look back on your own past you don't remember the time your whole family loved each other you remember the drama and the anger. You need to make sure you keep your kids safe. Keep them from the drama and bloody things that scar some kids lives. I know people that are scared of clowns because in their childhood a clown scared them. Kids minds are fragile. Tread carefully.

The Dash

According to Shane’s World 151,650 people die a day.  How do you remember them? On a tomb stone they always have the name of the one that died, the inscription the family leaves behind like Beloved Son and Husband, the date of birth and the date of death, but between the dates there is a dash.  I think the dash is the most important part of the grave stone. The dash stands for all the years between birth and death. What will people think of when they see the dash on your grave? Will they think you were too obnoxious or will they remember you at all? The choices you make each and every day determine the outcome of the rest of your life.  Your choices determine how people see you and how they will remember you. I live by the term your choices determine your destiny.  It tells me to think before I act.  If everyone in the world thought before they acted we would have less suicides and criminals plus the world would be upside down. You would think more about the long term effects rather than what makes you feel best at the moment. Each choice determines the rest of your life.  Will you be known as the one who’s always drunk the one who’s never trustworthy or as the best friend and one that always makes you smile? It’s hard to live your life everyday trying to be perfect so don’t.

My favorite quote is from Stephen Manes in her book Be a Perfect Person in Just Three Days it says, “Congratulations!  You're not perfect!  It's ridiculous to want to be perfect anyway.  But then, everybody's ridiculous sometimes, except perfect people.  You know what perfect is?  Perfect is not eating or drinking or talking or moving a muscle or making even the teensiest mistake.  Perfect is never doing anything wrong - which means never doing anything at all.  Perfect is boring!  So you're not perfect!  Wonderful!  Have fun!  Eat things that give you bad breath!  Trip over your own shoelaces!  Laugh!  Let somebody else laugh at you!  Perfect people never do any of those things.  All they do is sit around and sip weak tea and think about how perfect they are.  But they're really not one-hundred-percent perfect anyway.  You should see them when they get the hiccups!  Phooey!  Who needs 'em?  You can drink pickle juice and imitate gorillas and do silly dances and sing stupid songs and wear funny hats and be as imperfect as you please and still be a good person.  Good people are hard to find nowadays.  And they're a lot more fun than perfect people any day of the week.”

It may be impossible to be perfect, but when you think your choices determine your destiny you tend to be not just a good person, but a great person. How will you be remembered? What will your dash say about you?

A Catalyst For Rowing

     The Rowing team at Palmetto High was the guinea pig last year for Manatee County School District.  They were the only Manatee County School that had a rowing team.  This year Southeast has joined in on the mission to spread rowing throughout the county.  On Sunday Palmetto will be competing in the Sarasota 5000 rowing regatta in Osprey.  Southeast is unable to attend because they are waiting for their boats to come in.  Manatee and Lakewood Ranch High Schools want to start a rowing team but with the economy being as bad as it is, it is impossible to buy boats and equipment.
      Manatee High School principal, Bob Gagnon said he is hopeful that his students who are interested in rowing could participate this year with a program at Palmetto or Southeast.
     I think it is amazing that Palmetto was able to start this trend.  It is definitely going to help encourage Palmetto by competing against friends that might go to a different school in the district.  It is crazy that little Palmetto was able to start a catalyst for other schools to join in. I am excited to see Southeast and other programs grow because of Palmetto.

 

I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream for Chocolate!

     Each year people eat chocolate. You never think someone is counting how much you spend on it.  There was a survey on USA Today about the top 5 chocolatiers of the world compared to USA in 2011.  The results may shock you.

     Freia is Norway's leading chocolate manufacturer.  Freia has been offering delicious chocolate treats since 1889.  By the 1900's Freia was the named the leading Norwegian brand in sweets. Freia is one reason that Norwegian chocolate leads the chocolate industry.  In Norway each person spends 209 dollars a year on chocolate.

     One of Ireland's most loved chocolatiers is Lily O'Brien.  Lily O'Brien is named after the founder’s daughter. Mary O'Brien discovered her love for chocolate after recovering from a severe illness. 

     Mary O'Brien made it her motto that "Each and every chocolate has been created from the passion and pleasure we all share - we hope you enjoy tasting them as much as we enjoy making them for you!" Annually, each person in Ireland pays 182 dollars for chocolate. 

     Auer chocolate is widely known in Switzerland.  They started their business in 1939. Their chocolate has continued on for 5 generations.  They are striving to better themselves each year.  Switzerland is said to be the major chocolatier of the world but in the count down they come in third.  Only 172 dollars is spent on chocolate by each person in Switzerland a year.

     Green and Black's are considered one of the UK's best chocolatiers. In 1944 they launched the world's first Fair-trade Mark product.  This chocolate is an organic chocolate. People in UK each buy 150 dollars worth of chocolate a year.

     Zotter Chocolate is the Austria's best chocolate brand.  Daily Telegraph says, "It has amazing flavors, with light and creamy fillings that include balsamic caramel or lime and honey." Josef Zotter the maker of Zotter chocolates says, "We are not just part "ORGANIC" but totally, we follow the "FAIR TRADE" principles not just in part but with full conviction, and we don't just pretend to produce chocolate but have the entire production process - from "BEAN-TO-BAR" - all under one roof."  In Austria each person spends an annual amount of 112 dollars on chocolate a year.

     Hershey is the USA's most popular brand.  Hershey started in 1894 after Milton Hershey decided to add a chocolate coating to his caramels.  In 1900 the first Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar was enjoyed by Americans.  USA is still lacking the chocolate lovers that Norway, Ireland, UK, and Austria have.  Sadly, Americans only eat 58 dollars worth of chocolate a year.  This is confusing since I always thought we were unhealthy people.  Perhaps we eat more candy than other countries around the world.

Safety over Security

            On Saturday, September 10th at around 12:30 in the morning there was a shooting at The Club Elite in Palmetto.  Twenty-two people were injured. Two people died including the bouncer and a twenty five year old.  Some believe it was a drive by where they shot everyone standing out front. The dead bodies were covering the ground to preserve evidence until about ten in the morning.  Some people believed they kept the bodies out just because they were African Americans.  When my dad got to work he said puddles of blood were surrounding the area.  This massacre has become big news in the area.  Now people in Palmetto do not feel save someone could drive by and shoot them down at any moment. 

            The case is still lacking the shooters identities but the streets have buzzed about who did it. Safety is the key issue behind finding the shooters.  People who know who did it are scared to tell officials.  They want to make sure they are safe and loved ones are safe.

            Rev. Cory Brinson of Spiritual House of Praise says, “The witnesses know that the criminals shot twenty-four people while trying to kill a few.  They would think nothing of shooting them, too.”

            I think that if I knew who it was it would be hard to stand up and say it.  I would fear for my safety.  You would have to trust the police force to protect you no matter what.  Hopefully someone will step up so that Palmetto can sleep at night.

Harmful or Harmless Homework?

         Homework is suppose to help you with your school work so that you can understand what you learned. Too much homework on the other hand is bad. If you are given too much homework you do not want to learn, you get frustrated, and it is hard to find time for other things. Teachers are suppose to allow only two hours of homework a day for high-schoolers. Some classes seem to think they are the only ones that assign homework and want to take both hours for their class. If a student goes beyond two hours of homework then their brain starts to shut down and they are not focused on the work which hinders the whole reason for homework. Many classes homework will last longer than two hours. If it hinders you to do more than two hours of homework then why do teachers want you to finish it in more than two hours.

         With the odd and even day schedule teachers are use to allowing four hours for homework instead of just two. They still need to allow time for other classes homework. It is harder for first period classes to maintain two hour homework when their other classes are given four hours. I experienced two hours of homework in only my first period class everyday for the first week of school. It was hard to keep up and now on the third week of school it is even harder to keep up.

Kung Fu Panda 2

    The lovable Po is back on a new action packed, comedic adventure.  Today I got to see Kung Fu Panda 2 and it was very funny. It had an action packed story line pulled together with some funny parts for an amazing movie the family would love. If you go to the theatre expecting a kids movie you will be disappointed it is amazing for all ages. It gave you an understanding on why Po is so different. It gives you the beginning of the story you never knew. I believe it really brought out the main characters and showed more from their past. It is a lovable sequel that will probably become a trilogy. It was definitely a success, but don't take my word for it check out what people said at http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1664708/kung-fu-panda-2-reviews.jhtml.

Oh My the Pirates got Problems!

    Today is Friday the 20th. Besides that today is the day that Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides comes out in 3D and IMAX. I know some people that are very excited to see it but before you see it you should know some problems they overcame while filming this movie.

    First of all, Keira Knightley and Orlando Bloom didn't want to be in Pirates 4 because they felt that their characters were exhausted with their adventures. The writers had to write the script without them causing the writers to create new characters like the first mate played by Penelope Cruz.  Another big problem is that Penelope Cruz became pregnant during the filming. They had to make a different corset for her that was made of elastic instead of the buttons it had originally. It became difficult to film. They would have to film her from different angles not showing her baby bump. They even used her sister in a few scenes.

    These problems have been solved and I am extremely excited to see how they fixed these problems. I especially want to see if I can tell the difference between Penelope Cruz and her sister. Hopefully this film goes beyond the others; giving the Pirates ending a nice bang.

O Mothers

Mothers Day is coming. It is a day for cards and kisses, chocolate and hugs. The hardest thing in the world is to get moms something for Mother’s Day. You feel bad just giving her a note but you are as broke as a hobo so you can’t but her something so you look through the house for something. Hopefully we can both learn something about what to do for Mother’s Day.

One thing you can do is make a "What’s Happening Now" list. It is a list you make of what happened this year so she can remember this mother’s day and not forget what has happened or what she has achieved. You can put either family events like uncle Ben turned 52 or you can say a news event like the royal wedding. It helps to look back at the past and remember the happiness.

If your mom likes flowers but you don’t have the money to buy a bouquet then you could simply make flowers. You need tissue paper that is preferably her favorite color. You also need a nice tissue paper that can be used to wrap around the flowers for the wrapper. You need to simply cut out squares of the colored tissue paper and roll them up so they look like buds. The tighter you roll them the more they look like buds. If you want to make flowers just don’t roll it tightly. Attach green rolled up paper as stems to the flowers and wrap the wrapper around it for the perfect bouquet.

            I know the bouquet works out rather nice. It is a creative way that always makes moms smile. Plus, they do not die so you can always remember them. I am excited to see how the list works out. It is a very nice way to remember the laughter and tears of the year. I hope these ideas help you give your mom a nice gift that she will always remember, even if you are broke like me.

Dizzy "I'll Be Back".

The Dizzy Peacock as you know it or Dizzy has been shut down. As you might not know it has a new sign on the side of the building that says Dizzy Burgers. In my opinion it is rather dumb that it can still be called Dizzy if it reopens. A tourist might ask "Where is Dizzy Burger?" but then a Palmetto native would say, "No but I know where Dizzy Peacock is." They would say that because they are the same thing according to people from Palmetto. I definitely think that if they want to reopen they should name it something different. I know a lot of Palmetto High School students went to dizzy after school to get a sandwich or a drink. They asked each other if they wanted to go to Dizzy not if they wanted to go to Dizzy Peacock. It is going to be the same thing. They will probably have the same financial problems as Dizzy Peacock had because people will treat it like Dizzy not like some new store called Dizzy Burgers.

The Death of a Bad Guy.

            Osama bin Laden is dead. If you have not heard about his death you live in a cave in Antarctica. It was yesterday afternoon that President Obama announced Osama had been shot in a firefight with the USA Navy. He was buried in the ocean because no country wanted to bury him. It was believed that Osama was hiding in a cave but it turns out that he was living in a mansion with tons of security next to the Pakistan military academy. The house also didn't have any phone lines or Internet which would make me wonder even more who was living there. 

Many people thank the president for killing him but I think the Navy Seals that were out there fighting and risking there lives. They deserve more thanks then President Obama does. Even CIA director Leon Panetta was more involved then President Obama. She was directly in charge of the military team during the operation. I think the USA should celebrate for know but remember there are still more bad guys out there that are really mad that Osama bin Laden is dead.

Suicide Kit

A clear plastic bag over the victims head, and a plastic tube running from the bag to an orange metal helium tank which was next to a white box, decorated with a butterfly, the box the plastic bag and tube had arrived in the mail with a book inside titled Final Exit these materials were found in 29-year old Nick Klonoski’s room. His lifeless body was on the ground after receiving a silly suicide kit. The kit came from a company that calls itself the Gladd Group. It turns out it is not a group at all but 91-year old women named Sharlotte Hydorn making the suicide kits by hand.

   The family of Nick Kliniski believes she should go to jail for helping him attempt suicide. I believe she should go to jail because she has helped more than 1,600 people commit suicide. She believes you should not die slowly but die by the ones you love which is why she made the kits in the beginning. She should try helping other people live instead of helping them end their life when it is their time to die.

Borrowing on the Kindle.

    Any book lover knows about the unique new e-books, specifically the nook and the kindle. E-book stands for electronic book. It is a screen with no pages to flip. Imagine book lovers that do not have to go to the library to borrow a book. Imagine not worrying about late fees. I am excited to tell Kindle owners that Amazon is starting a library for kindles that allow you to borrow a book for 3 weeks before it disappears from your screen. The technology will be powered by OverDrive, which currently offers services for iPad and iPhone owners. Kindle has not released an exact start date, nor is it known if all cities will receive the service on the same day.

    On Kindles you can take notes and highlight words in the book. Now it will not be illegal to highlight or make notes in a library book because it is electronic. After the 3 week period if the reader checks out the book again, or decides to buy the book, the notes will still be there. Other readers will not be able to see the notes at all. The only thing kindle owners have to do is be a part of a library that cooperates with Amazon and read the book before 3 weeks is up.

Easter Eggs for Dogs?

Last Saturday Tinley Park in Illinois had their fourth annual Easter Egg Hunt from 10:00am until 12:00pm. This Easter Egg Hunt was different though. This Easter egg hunt was for dogs only. The P.A.W.S Animal Shelter designed this special Easter Egg Hunt to raise money for the shelter. Each dog owner paid ten dollars per dog. Each egg was filled with a dog treat and the owners were suppose to just walk their dogs and wait until the dog got an egg.  After they were all done collecting the 3,000 Easter Eggs they could have their dogs take a picture with the Easter Bunny. This was a fun filled time for the folks from Illinois.

Booster Seats for the Old

           In 2005, more than 1,400 child occupants died in motor vehicle crashes and nearly half were unrestrained. The government wants to save children by making them sit in boosters seats.

More than 203,000 occupants under 14 years of age were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2005. The government wants kids twelve and under to sit in booster seats to keep them safe. The old booster seat law required kids older than 4 and younger than 8 or less than 80 pounds to sit in a booster seat. With this new law it will change to 12 years old or younger. I think it is a bad law because the kids may be taller than there mom but there mom doesn't have to sit in a booster seat. That would be crazy. They need to keep the same old law. Eight years and older can wear a seat belt.

http://www.safekids.org/
boosterseatlaw.pdf

End of World or New World?

On March 11 at around 2:46pm Japan was a witness of a massive 8.9/9.0 magnitude earthquake. It caused damage with blackouts, fire and tsunami. Nuclear Power Station and the cooling systems at three separate reactors are suffering problems. Officials have reported that a partial meltdown has likely occurred at the reactors, though the extent of the damage to the core is not yet clear. If the reactors melt then radiation poison will spread through Japan and neighboring countries. The soil will be unable to grow produce and Japan will have to buy produce from other countries like America. Some people believe that the end of the world is coming. If produce will become less susceptible then we will not have enough food and die. Some people believe that it may be good for America because if we improve our agriculture then Japan and neighboring countries will buy from us freeing us from debt. I believe it would be an awesome thing for America but Japan will have a lot of problems. Personally if I were a farmer in Japan I would move to America so that I could do what I do for a living and I could live in peace but it would be a whole new life. America is definitely different from Japans agriculture.

G-Murk Making His Voice Heard

            This article was very intresting. It talks about Calvin Bell, a student at PHS, and his life style of rapping.  I have never met Calvin. I believe he would be a nice person to get to know. I think it would be awesome to have a rap battle in the district to see if he really is the best rapper in the district. That would be a fun and awesome fundraiser idea.

Hosting the Oscars

Anne Hathaway and James Franco hosted the Oscars. They were a lovely couple portraying the young, newness of the era. With the hosts being young it brought a younger group of listeners. Anne Hathaway did an awesome job looking at the camera and acting comfortable. James Franco on the other hand did not seem comfortable on stage.  He did not look at the camera and kept getting distracted. Over all they did a good job playing it safe, not messing up.

The Razzies

The Razzies are the votes of worst movies of the year. This year at the top of the list is The Last Airbender. The Last Airbender received razzies for worst picture, worst director, worst screenplay, worst supporting actor, and an all new category worst eye-gouging misuse of 3-D. It was a lame movie but it was not made for adults. Since adults voted for it of course they did not like The Last Airbender. According to all the kids around seven-years-old the film was fantastic. It was probably the best movie they ever saw.

The King's Speech

The King's Speech was directed by Tom Hooper,  a director mentioned on this blog before. Apparently he is extremely awesome at what he does because he received the Oscars best director award and his movie received best picture and best original screenplay. It was a great movie and deserved the awards it received. It was very well planned and very luck to have had the opportunity to be produced because not a lot of producers would take the risk.



The King's Speech Crew Receiving The Best Picture Award.



                                       

Officer Shooting

http://theprowlnewspaper.blogspot.com/2011/02/gibbs-high-school-student-arrested-for.html   

1. I believe the parents could have done something more like being there for their child but, I have never met them so I do not know what they taught their six-teeen year old. 
2.     I think that the offficer could have been wearing a bullet proof vest but, that intirely depends on where he was because it is not like he woke up and thought today I'm going to get shot let me be prepared.
3.     I think it is crazy that so many officers have died. They did not even realize that it would be the last time they saw their family.

Tom Hooper's New Direction.

Tom Hooper after being nominated best director in the Oscars has received plenty of movie deals. One had been to direct Iron Man 3. Another was to direct the musical Les Miserables. He turned down Iron Man 3 but I believe it would have been smart to go with the newer thing.  He was smart although, in noticing that it is the third in the series. Series of movies usually are not as popular. The first movie is awesome but the rest go down hill from there. Les Miserables will be nice for the older folks and hopefully he will give it a new likeness that younger kids will enjoy it too if he chooses to direct it.

Somali Pirates

Two couples were taken hostage by Somali pirates and were mortally wounded February 15th by their captors. A little while later a U.S. special operations team boarded the hijacked vessel, killed two of the pirates, and captured the rest. This is not just happening to one yacht but it has happened to twenty-nine  ships. I think that it would be safer to remain on land but, if you are called to the water I cannot stop you. The last somali pirate attack was off East Africa but, you may never know where they will hit next.

Internet Service Cut From Libya

 Egyptian authorities cut Internet service for a few days during a revolt that succeeded last week in toppling Hosni Mubarak after 30 years in power. The online traffic in and out of Libya was shut down at 7:15 p.m. EST on Friday February 18th. Some protestors in Libya were killed in clashes with Libyan security forces in the eastern city of Benghazi on Saturday. In my personal opinion, it is not right for people to kill inside their own nation. On the other hand, It was wrong for the protestors to go against their nation agressively.