Moneyball or Sad Excuse?

            Last night I finally had the chance to watch the movie my sister and brother-in-law raved about. I was excited because if they think a movie is good, it must be good. As the beginning started I thought this better be good.

            Baseball is my favorite sport to watch because I understand it and it is my dad’s favorite sport, thus it is always on the T.V. There are a good amount of movies that talk about true sport stories. I found myself wondering if this movie would reach the bar of the movie The Blindside or Angles in the Outfield, but by the end of the movie I found myself wondering if that was it. There was no great climax, you could only find one memorable character (the best character was his daughter and all she did was sing a cute song), and you never picked the side you wanted to win. It left you not believing in the team or the movie. If you keep looking at the clock during a movie, you know it's bad. I kept wondering how long the movie could possibly be. If it is a bad movie an hour and twenty five minutes will suffice so you can rate it a "D" movie instead of an "F" movie. It didn't help that this movie was longer than two hours. If you cried in this movie it was because the popcorn smell was too strong. I think it is suffice to say don’t expect a great movie. Maybe if you expect a bad movie it will seem like a better.

The Mystery and the Action

      
        I recently watched Sherlock Holmes 2 and it was very interesting and completely different from the first. The theater was full of laughs and gasps. It was more of an action movie than the first because the first movie was focused on how it could have happened but the second movie was focused more on how it will happen. It was pressed more for the future than the first movie. The ending was so sad but crazy at the same time. You had a gut feeling inside of you which was true. The movie left you with a satisfied feeling at the end of the movie no matter how it was in its entirety; you left happy.

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?