Friday, October 30, 2009

My Favorite Halloween

"Hey Cody, want to come over to my house for Halloween", I ask him. "Yes I do," says Cody.

The whole goal of Cody coming over is to hang out and to scare little kids. Our first plan to scare little kids was to hide in a pile of leaves and the walk way to the front door of my house. I was the one that would hide in the pile of leaves. Cody would cough when kids got close to the pile of leaves where I was hiding. That didn't go so well because kids weren't getting scared of us.

Our second plan was to hide in a skeleton of scare crow costume and pretend we were dead. We were planning to put our hand through the bowl that would hold the Halloween candy. When kids would reach into the bowl of Halloween candy, we would come to life and scare the little kids really bad. We couldn't find any thing to disguise us as score crows of skeleton.

The next thing we would do was a success. My friend Cody brought over fake blood, a mask, and an arm. There is about twenty feet between my house and my neighbors house. The plan was that Cody would put on the mask. I would hold the fake arm so that it looked like it was actually an arm.

It was dark where the open space was between houses. I would lay on the ground with my belly on it. Cody would drag me into the darkness and pretend like he was ripping off my arm. I am screaming really loud and little kids start to notice. Cody puts the blood on the arm and runs out to where there is light. He sees a little kid, who is looking at him and says, "your next!" The little kid runs away scared and frightened.

Cody and I are laughing like crazy. We have accomplished our goal, which was to scare people, and we did. That was the best Halloween ever. Since I can't chew any candy because of my braces, I will sell it for a hefty profit, to my brother.

Top 3 favorite candy:

1. King size Nestle crunch bars- These are my favorite types of candy because of the "crunch" sound w hen you take a bite out of it. I like king-size crunch bars because they are really good and they last you a long time.

2. Twix bars- I like Twix bars because of the tasty caramel inside the Twix bars.

3: Snickers Bars- I like Snicker's bars because of the peanut butter and caramel inside the snickers bar.

Top 3 least favorite candy:

1. Pencils- I hate pencils because you can't even eat pencils. You could eat pencils, but they would taste awful. I hate pencils because the people giving them away want to save money. When they give out pencils, they are saying stay in school, get good grades.

2- Pretzels- I hate pretzels because they are not candy. Halloween is all about getting as much candy as you can and how hyped up you can get by eating it. Halloween is not about getting grams of proteins or carbohydrates. Plus the pretzels I get are salty.

3- Gum- I hate gum because that is the basic candy that everyone gets. Gum is boring! I want real candy! When people give out gum they are saying that they have no style or Halloween spirit.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

The “Great Debate,” with Capitalization Rules.

(A-1) It is the year 2030 and I have just invented a time machine. (A-2) I wanted to go back in time by myself, to the year 1940. My uncle, Mark, wanted to go too and (A-2) I said “why not.” I told (A-4) Uncle Mark that I wanted to see a debate between Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton.

(A-1) The argument took place between (A-7) East and (A-7) West Germany, which was (A-3) Berlin. They were debating that (A-5) Zeus was just a myth. When my uncle and I arrived in (A-3) Germany, (A-6) Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was there to ask us questions to see if we were (A-10) Jewish. Adolf Hitler was speaking (A-10) German, so my Uncle and I didn’t understand what Hitler was saying.

Luckily there was a translator there. I told the translator that we wanted to see a debate between Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton. The translator told Hitler and Hitler let us go. The debate was right after the period of the (A-14) Great Depression so tickets to the debate were only ten cents.

When (A-4) Uncle Mark and I got to the debate, we saw the court-like room. The room had two chairs. One chair for Einstein and one chair for Newton. There was a place where the audience would sit, which was where my uncle and I sat. Newton and Einstein both made their points and I thought Einstein was right about (A-5) Zeus was just a myth.

After the debate, Uncle Mark and I decided to see a soccer game between (A-13) Germany and the (A-13) United States. The season was (A-8) summer, so we were wearing shorts and a T-shirt. Uncle Mark and I both wanted the United States to win, but we thought that we would get beaten up, so we routed for Germany. The United States won the game three to two. The United States scored two goals in the last five minutes to give the Americans the lead. It was a pretty good soccer game.

After the soccer game, Uncle Mark and I called it a day and we went back to the year 2009. When we were traveling through time in the time machine, our surroundings were blurry. When we got back to 2009, the season was (A-8) summer, just like it was summer in (A-3) Germany. I was thankful that the U.S. was a Democracy and, that we had Barack Obama as (A-6) President of the United States and not an evil dictator like Hitler.

I tell Uncle Mark “thanks for coming,” as he was leaving to back to the (A-15) Ford headquarters, where he worked. I typed up my experience on (A-15) Microsoft Word for our interview with (A-16) NBC. We told (A-16) NBC all about our experience that we went back in time to see a debate between Newton and Einstein about Zeus was just a myth.

We also published a book called the (A-12) “Great Debate.” (A-12) “Great Debate” was a top-five seller in about a week. We also told our family about our experience back in time, that we saw a soccer game and a debate between the two most famous scientists of all-time. We also told our family that tickets were only ten cents because the soccer game and debate was just after the period of the (A-14) Great Depression.

I forgot to mention this in the interview with NBC and the “Great Debate,” that we remember Einstein saying the most famous quote of all-time (A-11) “E equals MC squared”. We didn’t put that in the book because we didn’t know what C was is (A-11) “E equals MC squared. But now we know that energy equals mass times the speed of light squared.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

President Obama and State Budgets

Two weeks ago President Barack Obama said that he wants school to be all year 'round. Yes, classmates that means summer too. Obama wants school to be all year 'round because he thinks that students forget everything we learned from the previous school year. President Obama is right. School should be all year 'round. Kids forget most of the material learned from the previous school years.

I remember last year at the beginning of 8th Grade we spent the whole first month of school reviewing for the MEAP. Imagine all the material we could have learned if we spent less time reviewing for the MEAP and we learned new material. If we have school all year 'round, then students have a better chance to remember the material.

Don't worry classmates, there are too many disadvantages for school being all year 'round. For example, if school is during summer, than popular vacation spots like Florida are going to get less revenue ( incoming money). Tourism is an important part of the Florida economy. If students are in school and not in Florida, then Florida will be losing money. Not only Florida would be losing money. Gas stations and airlines would be losing money also because how else would you get around?

Since Obama wants school all year 'round, then the states have to pay more for electricity, pay the bus drivers, the supplies and teachers. You can't have school all year 'round if your state is trying to cut spending. This is where the Michigan budget comes in. The school district is going to get less money so that means, layoffs and spending cuts. You can't make the school year longer and spend less money at the same time.

Obama mostly wants school all year 'round because the United States is competing with China and Japan to be the country with the highest graduation rate. Newsflash; how much money does Japan and China spend on defense and weapons? Ten times less then the United States. China and Japan spends most of the money on education. That is why Japan and China have a higher graduation rate then the United States.

The U.S. can't spend money on war/defense and an education system to be number one in the world. You just can't do it. If we get out of Iraq and Afghanistan we could use the money we could be saving and give a certain amount to each state's education system. We all know we can't leave Afghanistan and Iraq, so basically there is nothing we can do except to win within the next few weeks or surrender.Other than those two things, there is no way Obama can make school all year 'round or fix the state budget problems.

There are too many disadvantages for school being all year 'round so you shouldn't worry about it.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

Crisis in Darfur

Imagine that you are a kid in Africa and a military officer comes to your house(hut). The officer tells you that under the command of President Bashir, you have to participate in the genocide(killing thousands of people.) The military officer tells you that if you refuse to shoot your family, then they will cut off a body part.


I am really angry that someone like President Bashir, would do that to children. The people are between the ages of 7 and people that are too old to fight, so they are unable to fight back and defend themselves. President Obama says he is going to end the crisis in Darfur, but Obama isn't following up his words. If Obama won't do anything, then the citizens of America will have to take matters into their own hands, and that could be bloody. When America sends aid, Bashir is stealing it, so there is nothing we can do, except execute Bashir.

American troops should capture and execute President Bashir. Charge him with a bunch of crimes first and then hang him. I don’t care how he dies, I just want him to die. If we don’t stop him, I will. I would dress myself as an African-American boy, allow myself to be captured and then when the military officer gives me the gun, I would shoot President Bashir. After I shoot him I would run away and get rid of all evidence.


The genocide has killed 50,000 people and forced some 1.4 million out of their homes. Hundreds of women are being raped. The people are fleeing to refugee camps because they don’t feel safe. I know you may be sad right now, so am I, but it is the truth. Sometimes it is best that we know the truth. If you don’t listen to me, maybe you’ll listen to Zahara.


Zahara Abdulkarim heard the sound of warplanes circling overhead when she woke up one morning. She also heard the sound of bombs and gunshots. She ran outside to see what the noises were and when she got outside she was approached by two men in military uniforms. The military officers were members of the Janjaweed. They were carrying knives and whips. Their group had slaughtered tens of thousands of black Americans within the last 18 months. Another member of the Janjaweed was standing over her husband holding a rifle, he got shot.


They lit her house on fire and they took turns raping her. One of the Janjaweed members took a knife and slashed her thigh, which marked her as a slave. When the Janjaweed found out that Zahara was pregnant, they let her go. That is only one example of the thousands of people that are dying in the Sudan.


Please help me act against President Bashir and the Janjaweed.

The story is from"Time Magazine."

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,995247,00.html

Friday, October 2, 2009

Super Bowl

Americans should have the day after the Super Bowl off because the Super Bowl should be a National Holiday. Americans should not go to work or school on the Monday after the Super Bowl. Think about it, how often is it that you stay up late to watch the Number One Championship Game in all of pro sports in America. You probably have to stay up late every game. If we have the Monday off, you can stay up late and watch the whole game.

If someone you know is hosting a Super Bowl party, you want to stay for the whole game, not just the first half. You are having a good time and your parent’s ruin it by them saying, “time to go Brent, it is a school night.” Your whole night will be ruined.

Your parents also say they have to get home because they have to wake up really early to go to work. What the heck is the point of going to a Super Bowl party and staying until the end of the first half? There is no point. Half time is when all the good commercials are, so you are missing them. It is way worse if right before the end of the half you go because you might miss a ninety-Five yard fumble return for a touchdown from Harrison. What really got me mad was that my parents talking for an extra half hour by saying, “good bye” to everyone while I am waiting in the car.

The year before, you missed the catch that David Tyree made to set up the Giants to win Super Bowl XLLII. You also missed Eli Manning breaking five tackles to set up the catch form David Tyree. My point is that you can’t watch the game if it is a school night.

If Americans have the Monday off, they can sleep in. If you have to go to bed after the third quarter, you probably missed the end of the game. Missing one quarter could make you miss the whole game. For Example; you missed the touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger to Santonio Holmes with under a minute left with Pittsburgh being down three points. You missed the fourth quarter because you took a shower and you brushed your teeth. Oh yah, you forgot to do your homework before the game, so you have to do it when you get home. To make you feel worse, you missed a catch where Holmes barely tapped both feet in bounds. You have to stay up an extra half hour just to see the highlights of the last five minutes of the game. My point is that all school does is ruin the occasion and the Number One Championship event in all pro sports in the world and America.

If that happens to you and you missed the end of the fourth quarter and you stay up extra late to see highlights, you are tired the next day. Monday is when your Unit test is. You are too tired to take the test and you fail it. All school does on Monday is decrease your learning ability the next day. If you have Monday off, you can stay up to watch the whole game, and sleep in the next day. You can be at your best learning ability the next day which could be Tuesday.

If Americans have the Monday off, more kids can go to the game. The Super Bowl has mostly adults at the game. That’s lame. Plus, if we have Monday off, I bet more people will go to the game and sell out the game even more. Your city could probably increase the money it gets and the more money the school system gets,there will be better learning supplies.

If you are a teacher, you want to watch the whole game, but you have Final Exams to grade. If you have the Monday off, you can watch the game Sunday and check your grades the next day. We could probably have the Monday after the Super Bowl be part of the Mid Winter break. That is stupid to have the mid -winter break be the week after the Super Bowl, and not the week of.

If you try to find a disadvantage of having the Monday after the Super Bowl off. There is none, except for adding an extra day to the end of the school year. You don’t even have to add an extra day if we have the Mid-Winter break be the week of the Super Bowl.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Lunch

My first day of High School was like experiencing Cedar Point all over again. It is like being on a brand new roller coaster for the first time because you don’t know what to expect. It is like being on a roller coaster with one big bump and that one big bump is enough to make you hurl.

The sound of sporting news radio filled my ears with sports talk as I am hitting the off button on my alarm clock with my fist like I am in a boxing ring with Mohammed Ali. I stayed up until eleven- thirty at night thinking about how my friends would react to the braces I just got on September Fourth. Will their reaction be to laugh or will their reaction be to leave me alone because other kids have braces too? I thought about this all night as it is hard to get up.

My morning is like any other morning I had in middle school. I woke up, took a shower, ate breakfast, packed my backpack and brushed my teeth. Ohhhhh! Brushing my teeth is impossible and took me forever to do. Finally, I finish brushing my teeth and it is off to Stevenson High School.

My first day of High School was average, not too bad and not too good. This is when I get to the new ride part because I didn’t expect that my braces would break. I am in fourth hour and I can smell my turkey sandwich and peaches as I am eager to eat lunch because I am hungry. I can also taste the can of root beer so I can’t wait to go to lunch. As I am getting nearer, and nearer to lunch I am getting nearer to the bump in the roller coaster. I knew it would be all downhill from there.

As I am starting to eat my lunch, I hear my mom say, “Small bites, eat slow, don’t break your braces because they are expensive,” like she said when I went to school. I ignored her voice as I think nothing of it and I start to eat my lunch.
While I am eating my lunch a wire on my braces broke. The only problem is I didn’t know my braces broke. It wasn’t until after I was done eating my lunch that I realized my braces had broke.

I was careful about not letting anybody know. I was worried that when I would talk to my teacher’s and friends, there will be a hole where the broken brace was supposed to be. I had to keep my mouth shut the whole day because I didn’t want anybody to notice.
Worst of all I didn’t want my parents knowing so I was thinking about when and how I will tell them my braces broke instead of focusing on school. When I got home I realized that it was a wire in the back of my mouth that broke and it would be easy to fix so I got worried over nothing.

I decided that I would tell my mom after dinner because I can tell her my braces broke after dinner and she wouldn’t yell at me that much. I told my mom that my braces broke and we argued a little bit because if I told her sooner she could have taken me into the dentist the day my braces broke. She made an appointment on Thursday to get my braces fixed and that took all the stress off my shoulders.

I learned to expect the unexpected and if you have something bad happen to you, it should be in the middle of the day instead of the beginning because you have something good to look back to instead of starting off the day bad and be worried about that the whole day. The first day of High School was ending as the ride was coming to a stop. Other than my braces breaking, I had a pretty good first day of High School.