Over the break I got done most of what I planned to do. I had baseball practice a couple of times, and played a little basketball. I also achieved my goal of relaxing, and recooperating after a long, and strenuous basketball season. I hung out with my friends, and went out. Sleeping a lot was deffinetly a highlight. Summer vacation will still be what I look forward to most. Baseball will take up most of it, but I don't mind that at all, as long as we win, and I play well. I also am anxious to play basketball, and be outside working hard to improve. My goals are to get work done around my house, and keep the lawn in vintage form. I can't wait to hang out with my step brother Luke. The word baseball brings to mind the great summer nights. On these nights we practice a lot, and prepare for games and tournaments. Our team usually goes out to eat afterward. These are very good times, and I am excited to continue them this year. The word ocean brings to mind the beach. Going to the beach so many times in the past, and all of the good times with my big family. I am excited to go to the beach in North Carolina this August with my family. The break off certainly did not compare to the good times to come this summer. I am anxious to get the school year over with, and enjoy the summer.

-KG

The Break: Several Disconcerting Events

Some parts of the break was very interesting, but most of all despondantely boring. The first funny event happened on Sunday, when i went to my friend's Tyler Wagner's house. He was hosting an OM meeting, and a few other of my friends were there, too. Yes, i know that my various critics will say that going to somewhere besides my house and school is impossible, and that the sun turning out to be a large, buttery pancake would be more likely. However, i did indeed go, but when i was trying to get there, along the Alps Mountains, mind you, the sign for the appropriate turn-off disappeared. Mysterious. Deciding to turn anyway, seeing as though i had traveled 1.4 miles, as depicted by the map, two walkers assaulted us. Well, assault is kind of a harsh word. Jumping at the car in a drunken state seems more correct, and it was funny nevertheless. The road ended up being the correct one, with the missing sign half-buried in the middle of the road. Once i reached the house, we imeadiately started working on the scenery...blah blah blah...zach got transformed into a Smurf...blah blah blah...the castle was painted blue...and finally, we had airsoft. I wont give you the details, but it ended up with several double layered battlements of cardboard with holes in them and over damaged property. After that, the only interesting thing that happened was later on next Saturday was Peter Keller's birthday. It was quite fun with more airsoft for a few hours, several rounds of Mafia, and Poker. Fun times.

BREAK!!!!! (thank the lord!)

Overall I had a very fun break, But then again any thing is better than being at school...Well almost anything is better...Any way, I diid many things that I would call fun. I started out the break with a three day stay at the great escape indoor water park. My siblings and I deeply enjoyed it. It's always nice to get away from home once in a while, but then when you get back it's nice to home...That way you can take a vacation away from your other vacation...After this "adventure" I had a greater one, My cousins came over... My cousins are about the same age as my little sisster. They are also twins which makes it even harder to watch them. But some how I made it through watching Laurel and Noah( My cousins) Kaitlin (my sister) and My four year old brother. I still can't believe they went for the quite game. The quite game is something me and my friends made up to keep the little one(s) quite. The rules are farly simple...The one who can be quite the longest wins and the one who is loud looses, and since my family is very competive they hate to loose so I got away with about 6 minutes of quite. This was very awarding for me because its ussaully hard to keep them quite for 2 minutes let alone 6. After my cousins had left I did nothing very important besides watch a few movies and play my wii sytem.
I think that the work break dose not have the same mpact on a person as the word vacation and the word vacation does not have the same impact as when you put the word summer in front of it and it becomes summer vacation. Break is only about a week off from school but summer vacation is a whole bunch of months off of school. Plus summer is beter than any other month.

break

My break was ok. it was surely nothing to brag about thats for sure. I got to go to dance with sarah and see everyone cause i havent seen anyone in a while. we ran our dances and are getting them ready for our competitions coming upp!! =] im like soo exceited and nervious at the time. i mean were going to the palace theater and performing there twice, and then going to syracuse and performing there once. its scary but sounds like alot of fun. my brother got shipped away for a couple days to hos friends house so it was nice to have it quiet and not having him nag on me all day. yep everything else was pretty boring. oh wait i did go ut with my freidns friday night starting the break for my other friends birthday. yeah so i did do something else.


I like having breaks every once in a while. I mean after being in school for a long period of time you just need to like stop. I think generally for alot of people the begining of breaks are more fun because your just like laaaa but then after a while your like ok im bored. Its like that with eather the week breaks like we just had or like summer vacation. I mean everyone at one point is like ok im bored i miss seeing peple every day... unless your a hermit. Summer vacation is long and drawn out. yes you get to do alot of fun things during the summer but you also get ALOT of down time. i tend to loose contact with alot of people over the summer.. i dont know why i just seem to. i know im a loser but i seriously luive in the middle of abosule know where. i have no neighbors. im exactly 15- 20 minutes away from EVeRYTHING. its like retarded. But anyways.. vacations are good. its time were you can like veg out and like sort things out. the stress of being in school leaves for that amount of time and you can just be blahhhhhhhhh. =]

Break

Break was really fun. I went to las vegas with my cousin Taylor who is 13 and my grandparents. We stayed at a hotel called circus circus which was in the middle of everything fun to see. There was a indoor theme park we went to twice that was actually in our hotel. There were so many rides, there were roller coasters, water rides, ones that spun and went up high, some that hung upside down for a couple seconds and so many more. My cousin Taylor and I rode all the rides and went on alot since the lines weren't that long. It was fun how Taylor went on all the rides because she usually is afraid of rides like those but she isn't anymore. She went on every ride I did which made it more fun.But the plane ride was also pretty fun too. Taylor was never on a plane before and she used to hate roller coasters so she was nervous about it. We were going to leave on 2/16 at 3:00 and stop in ny city for a layover and then go to las vegas but our plane was delayed to leave albany to 4:41. So, when we got to ny city we had to rush to our plane and they had already started boarding. But while we flew to New York City I saw the statue of liberty. I was glad because I never saw it before even though it was hard to see from the plane. Taylor liked the plane ride so she wasn't nervous any more. Once we got on the plane again It felt like the plane had trouble moving and we heard a big bang. It ended up that the bar pulling the plane back broke and the wheel of the plane was stuck in a ditch which caused a longer delay. Once we left and arrived in las vegas it was 11:00 at night there and since there was a 3 hour time differance it was 2 in the morning here. So we checked in, put our stuff in our room and went to get dinner. In the morning we walked around and brought things and met my grandpas friend that moved down there a couple years ago. He showed us around and brought us at night to this street where there was something that looked like a roof over the street, and at night there were lights on it that made it look like it was a movie playing over it. It was really cool and it was huge. Then on monday morning we went to the theme park in the hotel in the morning and then my grandpas friend brought us to see the Hoover Dam. Then on tuesday we walked around again and we looked at the hotels. One called MGM there were lions in this glass thing where you could walk under it and see them through the glass above you it looked cool. Then this other hotel that had water in front of it that shot up in the air and moved with the music. Another show we saw was one in front of a hotel called treasure island and it was a show with boats and had fireworks too. Then we saw a majic show on friday and went to the theme park again. But also on thursday there was this this hotel called New York New York and it had a statue of liberty that they made to put in front of it and on the building was a roller coaster that flipped and had drops that me and Taylor rode. Also there were two other hotels we saw with rides. There was the stratosphere which was like 133 floors and on the top there were rides. One brought you up fast and dropped and it repeated. Then there were two other but they both hung off the building but I didn't go on those but they looked fun. Then the one hotel called the Sahara there was another roller coaster there. It also went backwards and i was going to go on it but we didn't get a chance. I am going to go on it next time we go there though. We left on saturday at 10:40 their time at night and stopped at philidelphia at 6:00 our time in the morning. Then got back on a plane at 9:30 and arrived in Albany at 11:15. But on the plane ride from philifdelphia to new york it was funny because my cousin was pressing the light button and accidently pressed the button for the lady to come that served the drinks and it made a loud noise and made the blue light go on above our seat and it was funny since we didn't know how to turn it off and we wondered if you pressed it again if it would make the noise again or if it would turn off. so, we just left it alone and it was still on when we got off in Albany. Then on sunday night I was so used to the time differance of 3 hours it was hard to fall asleep and adjust to the time but since I had a overnight plane ride that made it alittle easier. My grandma said we may go back again next february. I hope we do because it was so much fun. But it felt like it went by so fast.

I think there is a differance between summer vacation and winter break. I think of it how summer vacation is time to get ready for a new grade and relax for a whole 2 in a half months. But during winter break you know you will be going back to the same grade in a week so it isn't such a break from school as summer vacation. But during breaks you can sleep in like in vacation too but it if you wanted to you could use it to catch up on schoolwork too.

Winter Break

During winter break, I had a very exciting time. I looked forward to sleeping in until eight o'clock. I looked forward to staying up until twelve o'clock at night or midnight. I looked forward to playing my PlayStation and helping my mother with daily chores. During school weeks, I have to get up at five o'clock and after the whole week of getting up at eight o'clock I was exhausted yesterday.
When you use break as opposed to summer, there's a huge difference. Break means we still have to go back to school but summer means freedom. Breaks you cannot do as much as in summer. In the summer you can volunteer for a very long time, it's warm out, there's a refreshing breeze, and you can spend more time with family. But, break means still school, sometimes cold, rainy(occasionally), and not as much time with family. To me, the summer's better than any break but of course winter because Winter break has my birthday in it, which of course is an awesome day.
Over the break, I planned on sleeping, PlayStation, spending time with family, shopping(maybe), my birthday and SNOW !!!!! Well, sleeping, PlayStation, and spending time with family happened a lot. Shopping and snow happened very little. My birthday happened for only one day. But, that day was full of laughs. My older sister Nicole and I with my mom enjoyed a day of laughs jokes and of course fun!! The day ended with my sister Nicole making me a card that was really funny, funny meaning something that I think is funny. For example my sister falling out of a chair, before I go help her, I laugh for a very long time.
But, during summer, I volunteer at the hospital so I am not home when my older sister Nicole is(she's at work). But my mother and my other sister Heather is home. Summer means summer reading assignments which I love because I love reading and writing and during the summer. If there was no summer reading assignments, I probably wouldn't read or just free write about anything. Summer also means fun and exciting water fights which occur every week in our family. Summer means my dog jumping into the pool and me rescuing him. Summer means my dog getting baths in a kiddie pool because he's too big to fit in the bathtub(no offense). But my dog still feels like he is royalty just because he gets a bath. How ridiculous is that, when I take a shower I don't feel like royalty.
On the first Saturday, I did nothing and lounged around all day. On the first Sunday, I did the same. On Monday, I cleaned the whole house with my family(early spring cleaning). On Tuesday, I was out all day with my family enjoying myself. On Wednesday I played the PlayStation again all day long. On Thursday, I lounged around all day. On Friday, I watched one movie and played games. On the second Saturday I was out all day long with my family. On the second Sunday I typed an essay for social studies, did homework, and played on PlayStation. Yesterday was my birthday so I went out to eat and had fun all day long.
But overall I love summer way better(volunteering, dog, family):)

Break vs. Summer Vacation

Break was fabulous! It was very relaxing. I bowled with some friends, and then we went back to my house and had dinner and stuff. It was fun. We played Ghost in the Graveyard...good times.... I also watched Project Runway a lot. Thanks to my mom, we taped like...every episode.

When I hear summer vacation, I think sunshine, no homework, (except for those summer reading projects) and swimming. Also sleeping. But when I think of breaks, I think lounging around and doing homework that evil teachers assign us. I have to do chores normally, and I don't really get more chores when I have free time. I don't voulenteer. I babysit my sister and my neighbors sometimes which is fun. Summer vacation and breaks are two different things for me. Summer is longer of course, and you have more time to hang out with friends and just take a break from the craziness school is. Most of the pressures of school are lifted, and its a good time to relax.

Breaks are a smaller, less sunny version of summer, and I'm always thinking about school and homework, and what I need to get done. Summer vacation is a LOT more uplifting than breaks. But when you take a vacation away form home over breaks, like to Disney World or the beach, thats a WHOLE different story...

Winter Break

This winter break I was really just looking forward to relaxing. I really needed a break because I am so busy! I had fun, but it got kind of boring. When we go on breaks, I miss seeing everyone. I'll make plans with my close friends but there is people that I'm friends with that I only see at school so I miss hanging out with them. Even with my close friends I didnt really do anything over break. I did dye my hair though. I did that on monday, the beggining of break so then I was really excited to go back to school so people could see it.

I dont really like summer vacation that much. I think I like just one week breaks more. I do like to travel during summer vacation but for the same reasons I miss seeing my friends everyday. Also, over summer vacation my hand writing gets really bad. I know thats stupid but its annoying, there is always a change in my handwriting! I also think that I gain weight in the summer which I don't like at all. And, everyone gets all tan and I stay white. It is totally not fair how that works. I do like the relaxing aspect of it. You have nothing to do for two and a half months and its good to take away from the craziness of school.

Vacation and Breaks

This break I was really looking foward to my soccer tournament in Massachusets. Unfortunatley I wasn't able to make it because I was sick for a majority of the break. So since I was housebound for most of my break I was pretty much bored. I sat around and did nothing which is nice for a little while but not for the whole break. During my breaks I like to do stuff with friends which I didnt get to do at all. Break and summer vacation for me are the same....but different. Breaks are well a break from everything. Breaks let you have fun, relax and pull yourself together so you are able to go back to work or school. Summer vacation let you relax but then because its so long it gives you a chance to go out and do alot of different things. During my summer vacations I like to be active. In the beginning of summer vacation I like to relax and just sit at home but then after a week or so I like to go out and hang out with friends and go places. But come to think of it I like to go places any time of the year. I love visiting different stated or different cities. Its alot of fun. This summer I most likely will still be working the job that I'm doing now which is fine. It gives me a chance to get out of the house and earn some money. Plus I like my job so its easier to go. I just love summer vacation because I love the warmth and the sun and the water. Its just so amazing.

I think breaks are good and I think summer vacation is so much fun. Breaks are good for taking time out of your work to let loose have fun and reorganize yourself. Summe vacation is good for doing that and then exploring. Both are just really enjoyable and I love them both so much!!!

Break it down now y'all

The break: Oft-praised and ever so anticipated. "Spring: The time when a young man's fancy turns to love"? Well, perhaps; if the fancy in question is the prospect of a vacation from school and the accompaning stress and responsibilities.

But as for myself -- I do not share the common adoration of the break. In fact, I was downright saddened by the prospect of the Februrary break this month. It appears to me that often, things start getting really good right before a recess from that thing. My enjoyment of school saw a grand crescendo leading up to that second week of February, and although I was not sad to have a break from homework and my less-liked classes, I missed the social aspect of school.

However, I look forward to summer vacation significantly more than the common recess. I think this is because summer vacation is an entity of its own, a new period of the year, while school breaks are merely a halt in the nine-month school process. While most breaks are only about a week or a little more, summer vacation is long enough to really do stuff.

This past February break, my family and I vacationed in Florida, the unfortunately and seemingly permenant home of my maternal grandparents. While I missed my friends greatly, and very much enjoyed seeing my grandparents. Now that they have moved to Florida full-time (sniff), I can only see them around three time a year, which, to use a common phrase, stinks. Familial reunions aside, Florida is really fun -- my grandparents' apartment complex has two heated pools, a ping-pong table, and a fitness room at our disposal; in addition, it is literally two minutes away from the public beach and the broadwalk.

Although I don't have any contact with my friends, save for some instant messaging, I love vacationing in Florida because I rarely get bored, whereas this is a huge and frightening danger if I were to stay home. But I still get to sleep late (!!!). Which is, of course, fundamental to enjoying vacation, as anyone will testify. I very much enjoy having no shortage of activities as if I simply loaf around all day or all break, I feel lazy and therefore inadequate as well as bored. Florida is the perfect mix: swimming, beaching, walking, biking, exercising, or tanning (just kidding)for more defined activities, and then I can read, write, talk to my grandparents, IM, or break out the ol' drum practice pad back in the apartment.

All in all -- breaks are generally good, summer vacation is better (if there's enough to do), and Florida is good but only if you're not there for too long because then it gets irritating. (Every time we go down, there are more and more high-rise condominiums destroying the beautiful beachline!)

Oh, and the highlight of the Florida trip? Two magical rides in my dad's friend's MUSTANG CONVERTIBLE. Yeah.

Hmmmm.. This break went realllyy reallly fast and i didn't even do anything fun! that doesn't seem right!

anyways i had to feed my neighbors cat while they were in friggin Aruba but it all turned out well because i just fed wee little yankee everyday anf cleaned his nastyy poopayyy . I earned forty dollars for the little that i did and they also baught me bootie shorts with aruba printed on them.. veryy cuttteeeee

also i babysat these other kids on tuesday named angelina and anthony and then on wednesday i babysat other kids named evan and tori.that paid pretty well and im a loaded.. well actually not really

Fui a el centro commercial con mi madre y Yo compromuchas ropas! La ropas son muy bonita.
have fun reading that sucker mrs. gabouryyy..haha i kill myslef[ laughing that is] muah ahaha

ok back to normal ... well it was a pretty unproductive [ besides babysitting] vacation but i loved it !!

Ohh i also most forgott! i just found out that i am going to nyc with highschoolers from my church and were going to see the POPE!!! =) wohhhoooo i loveeeee goodddd ahaha


- peace out a town down [ aka melissa]

Break

I really looked forward to break just because I got to sleep more. At first I didn't have any plans, except to go to Alison's house on Saturday, then just sit around and hang out. But I ended up doing something almost every day. I went out to lunch with my sister and my grandpa for my sister's birthday. We were there for, like, 3 hours. I did something in the morning one day but I can't remember what and that afternoon I went to Amy's house. I stayed there for 3 or 4 hours and we were on the computer the whole time. It was fun to just hang out, not having to worry about school or homework or anything. I also went bowling then to Madeline's house. It was so much fun, we played ghost in the graveyard outside in the snow and her porch and driveway were so icy so everyone kept falling. And Sarah almost froze her feet off because she was stupid and was wearing ballet flats in the snow. Oh yeah, in the beginning of the week my family and I (minus my brother) went to see Alyssa's prom dress and then we went to Target for a little while. On Saturday Emily and my mom went to the movies and saw Step Up 2, then on Sunday we went shopping. Overall my break was pretty relaxing and fun.

Break and summer vacation to me mean different things. Break is what it says, a break from school. I like to just relax during breaks and do more vacationy stuff during the summer. Break also still has the anticipation of school, while summer you can just forget about it (until you remember that you have summer reading projects or something like that). I like breaks and summer a lot, but eventually I get very bored and need school back (mostly just to see my friends).

Break?

Breaks from school are always a jovial occurrence. Although, the used to better when I did social things, but nonetheless, this was a particularly good one. It started out when we drove to Cleveland on Saturday. We arrived that night and had an awesome dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe where I saw the first musical instrument that effectively frightened me. The next day my parents and I went to the Rock and Roll hall of fame where I laid my eyes on Rock artifacts, including John Lennon's Sgt. Pepper Jacket, Elvis's guitar, and instruments from all my favorite bands. The next day we drove home. Monday through Thursday were veg out day's, and I truly did nothing. On Friday, I went bowling with my friends, and at night successfully became invisible for about 10 minutes. The next day, I had some people over to my house for a birthday/airsoft party, which was a blast. And to end the week was my 15th birthday, on which I got several Cd's, got stuck in Downtown Albany, and translated several passages from Spanish to English. All in all, it was a nice break from real life. Oh yea! I also successfully enriched uranium on Wednesday. That was cool.
-Peter the purple panda.

MMYYYYY VACATION!!

I'm so excited to write this because my vacation was AMAZING. I mean, usually I use vacations to relax but I was all over the place.

From Friday (heh heh heh, you guys were in school!) to Sunday, I was on Long Island with my whole entire mom's side of the family. It was a lot of fun because I got to meet my uncle's new(ish) girlfriend and we got to catch up a lot.

I went to the mall with Lauren to visit Julie at the mall, because she works at this hair care place next to Journey's. We "snuck" in (because we wanted to surprise her... when I told my mom that she was like, "Why wouldn't you be allowed into the store?") and I stuck my head out from the shelf and she was talking with her mom and a girl she works with, saw me, and was all, "YOU'RE A LIFESAVER!" She asked her mom for a five minute break and was gone for twenty minutes.

Then on Wednesday, Lauren and I went to Jeepers with her little brother (but we totally had a lot more fun than he did) and then we had to go to Miller's. Nick (Lauren's little brother) was told he had to stay with us, but he was really bothering us that day so we ran around, hid, and played secret agents.

Friday was Lauren's "party", which wasn't really a party because everyone bailed out. It turned out just being Julie, Lauren, Christine, Tricia and I sitting in Lauren's basement, listening to music, questioning each other's beliefs and leaving voice mails on Jake Fisch's phone, who decided he wasn't going to pick up. ("Hello? ...Yeah? Oh, what's up? ...Hey, that's cool man. Listen, I gotta go though so... bye. Oh. LEAVE A MESSAAAGEEE!") Julie and I slept over at Lauren's and we were trying to watch Moulin Rouge on the DVD player in the basement, but it's kind of crappy and picked up on the scratches. So we just kind of talked until three in the morning and fell asleep on the pull out couch.

SUNDAY WAS THE BEST NIGHT EVER!!! On December 15th; Brand New, Thrice and MeWithoutYou were supposed to be at the Washington Ave. Armory for a show. The show got canceled because a snowdrift sort of... collapsed onto the roof (or, as Jesse Lacey said at the show, "So we were supposed to be here... but the sky decided it was going to fall or something).

The show was rescheduled for last night and please understand--Brand New has been in my top favorite bands for the past three years and they never come around here, even though they're from Long Island. Thrice and MeWithoutYou couldn't come because Thrice is doing a headlining tour with Circa Survive (Gabs: haha, you probably have no idea who these bands are) and I'm pretty sure MeWithoutYou is touring with Say Anything(?).

So... Sybris and Men Women and Children decided to follow along for the one night "tour". Sybris kind of sucked. They were like Paramore but everything sounded the same, the singer was terrible, and the only thing somewhat decent about the band was their drummer.

Men Women and Children own a (somewhat small because I only have so much to go around) piece of my heart. They were setting up and they kept sticking neon lights on the edge of their stuff. One of the drum's had one, the singer/synth man (there were two, but one of them didn't sing) had a pink one on his synthesizer... but the singer's was the best of all. His mic stand had a neon green light plastered on it. They started in with a song and I found out yesterday they changed the chorus from "A-E-I-O-U Nothing" to "A-E-I-O-U... swearwordIwon'ttypeouthere YOU!" They had so much energy and were so good live. Their music was like synthy hard rock with catchy lyrics and dancy tunes. The crowd was moving and they even added in a little, "Hey. So guys, everyone has to move. Because we need to make this a frickin' party before Brand New comes out."

Brand New had the coolest stage presence ever. Jesse Lacey (he's my hero and the lead singer) was a bit weird in the begining because everyone else in the band were all over the place and we was just kind of stalking around, low to the ground. He warmed up a bit after the fifth song and half the time, I wanted to cry because it was so beautiful (I know, I know... Brand New and beautiful in the same description) because I've wanted to see them for so long and their lyrics kind of saved my life from some pretty scary things. I really connect to them so somtimes singing "Jesus Christ", "Play Crack The Sky", "Okay, I Believe You But My Tommy Gun Sure Don't" and "Deggrasur" with 5,000 other people can really get you emotional, especially when you can connect with his devilish lyrics and perfect interludes.

Their encore started with the guitarist just on stage, playing a three minute, perfect solo and then everyone else came on, Jesse and he traded guitars and they wound up having three guys with guitar sticks on there by the end (there were eight people on stage). One of them was their actual drummer, the other drummer just had two congos, two cymbals and a snare and there was a guys standing next to him who would play the cymbals with him and hit his sticks together to make a clapping sort of sound. The one who would do the clapping sound, at the very end, sprinted across the stage and into the drummer's kit--knocking him over. The drummer had a small amount of time to crack up, pick himself off the ground and finish his drums.

I loved every second of it and would love to do it over again... even with the raping of the vocal cords.

lalala

So this break was fun.Boring in its own aspects..but it was fun. I basically was home alone for the first few days because my parents work.Wednesday I spent the day with Rebecca at the studio.Of course we all know that the studio is Isabelle's School of Dance.So we hung around there with the competition team for what seemed like forever, only running three of our four dances in the six hour period.But hanging out with the girls and guys there is totally awesome because we only see them on Wednesday and Saturdays.That day was fun.No doubt.Then the rest of break was kind of a bore. Except Friday when I almost froze my feet off and laughed hysterically with my friends.Welcome to bowling with freaks that we are.We were idolizing a stuffed carrot.Yeah.Exactly.The whole bunch of us did fairly well [ James !].Well some of us did well. After the wonderful bowling the whole gang went back to the wonderful Maddie's house and did our favorite thing..eat.haha.And some of us [not myself of course] played Dungeons and Dragons.mhm.The most fun was ghost in the graveyard outside.Now Maddie didn't inform me to bring boots or anything so I wore ballet flats.At least I had socks.Which is a rarity.And ballet flats and ice and snow and falling = frozen feet.Luckily I went inside [BY MYSELF !] and sat by the fire and commandeered Maddie's cat.Of course Amy*, Stephanie and I attempt to make people fall on the ice, being the humanitarians that we are.Then I had dance...again.Which was fun..again.haha.So break was good for me.Fun really.

Break and summer vacation are like two different worlds.Well..to me at least.In summer I can do whatever. I can go for a walk down to my neighbors barefoot, play some football, take a million bazillion pictures.In summer I don't have a care in the world.In summer I have my brother.We are WILD in the summer. Playing our games that we made up in the backyard and prefecting our "swings" [dont ask]. In summer there's Summerfest too. I love Summerfest. And in break...not Summerfest.I can't wait for summer even though I WILL not doubt miss my friends whom I don't se eon a regular basis.

Well sorry for the length.Isn'y usually this long.
But whatever.

Sarah !

Vacation/break/whatever...

My vacation was really good. It was relaxing and gave me a chance to re-coup after a pretty hectic couple of weeks. It was fun to do nothing. ya know?

On Friday, I went to Morgan Kunz's house and we went to Youth Group at her church. (I'm not really a church person, but it was really fun none the less.) And then we went back to her place and watched "White Noise 2" (which was good, but weird). The next day we went to this thing for 4H and helped little kids do crafts and stuff, that was a lot of fun...

Then I went babysat that night. That was awesome cause i love those kids like they are my own. They are 3 and 4 years old, a boy and a girl. They were really good for me, so it made my life easier. Then i went to my grandma's house and talked on the phone till like... 2 in the morning. then i had to get up for church at 7, so that was fun. Then out of nowhere, i was asked to babysit for the entire day on Monday. so, i did. (made $120 in less then 2 days, so i wasn't exactly complaining...) so by that point, i was beyond tired. it was ridiculous how tired i was.

Then I went to my dad's house and did NOTHING. it was fantastic to do NOTHING. But then Morgan Kunz came over and we played Wii for like.... ever. that was a lot of fun. she went home 2 days later... and um.... didn't do anything after that. We went shopping on Saturday... And we saw "The Spiderwick Chronicles", (WHICH WAS GOOD FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WERE DOUBTING IT WAS... Sarah... cough cough)

That was my vacation. After thinking about it, it was not a uneventful as i thought it was. But it was good because it was not a stressful as a vacation would have been at my mom's house... but anyways...

~Victoria

The break was a very nice and relaxing well.......break......from school. I didn't do much, but since I am a total video game junkie I spent a lot of time playing Team Fortress 2, Half Life 2: Episode 2, Audiosurf (really cool, look it up), and Sins of a Solar Empire. Lately my head has been a mess, and the break was a very nice to time to just kind of sort everything out. I feel revitalized and ready to move forward with both academic and social activities. The rest of the break was speant either talking to friends online for hours, or hanging out with them at my house. Oh yeah, and I stayed up fairly late and slept a lot. That was probably one of my favorite parts. The only other thing I can think of is that I watched a lot of movies and since I'm bored, I'll list them; Die Hard 2: Die Harder, Breach, The Davinci Code, Jumper, and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.

Compared to summer this break was nothing in terms of relaxation or the ability to forget about school. Unfortunately, the weather was also not quite as nice, and my skin probably needs to see more sun.

Breaks

Pretty much all I think when I hear 'break' or 'summer vacation' is sleep. I don't get enough of that. Well, other things too. I never have time anymore to read long books, or play video games, or make experimental cookies.
Both my parents work full time, so I have to babysit my sister every weekday, and we never have plans because of that. If any of my friends make plans, I can't go unless we can get cover for her (or if it's on the weekend). And no one ever makes plans anyway. I'm not always able to have people at my house. Basically, breaks all stink - we still have homework during them. I don't do many chores, I don't have a job and I don't volunteer. I forget to eat meals and I never have anything to do.
Summer vacation is fun at first, but I still end up nearly suffocating from boredom after a week or two.

Breaks stink.
--Ali

Break is an awsome word to hear after months of school. When I know that break is coming up my mood gets happier and more relaxed. I have to say that the breaks throughout the school year are great but nothing is like summer. I love break for one main reason. Sleep. I tend to only get about 5-6 hours of sleep on a average basis and I'm usually tired. When break comes i can sleep in and "Catch up" on sleep. I put "Catch up" in quotations because it's mainly an excause because its impossible to catch up on sleep when you missed sleep 6 days ago. The only problem with break is everyone is busy or gone on vacation. I dont go anywhere because we just built our new house and were still working on it.
This vacation was ok. I got alot of sleep but some of my friends were out in Florida and I wasn't. I spent most of my time hanging out at home with some friends and drawing. My plans were to hang out with our group of friends consisting of about 20 people but it ended up only about 10. One of the best moments of the vacation was being able to see one of my best friends come back from college.
The only problem wth break right now is that my dad thinks "Hey the kids are home! Make them work!!" So its about 7:30 and my dad comes in and starts to wrestle me and sit on top of me telling me to get up. sanding the drive way, fixing the hot tub, doing the dishes are just some of the many chores that i have to do. As for summer I'm basically home free. I usually spend about half my summer at friends houses and at camps. What I really want to do is go somewhere next break. I have never been to disney, orlando, or anyother country. I feel as if I'm missing out on some things.
I still love break and summer break is usually a blast!

Break and summer vacations brings different thoughts to mind because summer vacation is more fun and longer lasting and you have time to do what ever when ever. But break is fun but you have to make sure you do whatever it is you want to do in a certain amount of time. I enjoy both though because they both give you NO SCHOOL!!!

This break I was looking foward to playing baseball all day, and that is just what I did. I palyed from 7am to 2pm almost everyday. I also looked foward to and did dump pickin in rich neigborhoods. They throughout some good stuff. this year my big find was a mechanics chest with about $1000 worth of tool.

I did some beach doin in florida(thats were i went) i chilled on the beach and spent time with the family.. I was suposed to meet a freind down there but I did not have enough time to go see him.

In the summer i do alot of work. I dont mind it though cause its easy work for good pay. I dont have alot of responsiblity in the summer after work besides a couple chores. But for the most part I do baseball, Fourwheelin, Paintballin, good old fashion chillin.

this summer i am planning on reading "libral facism" i think it is going to be an awsome book.

Vacation :]]]

Vacations are always fun. We need vacations to just take some time off. They're really nice and after a while a while you just need a chance to relax. Before break I wanted to paint my room cool aloe [a pretty spring-y green color], spend time with my friends and see my sister when she comes home from college.
I spent three days of vacation with two of my friends: Nina and Cait, which was amazingly fun. I chilled with my brother, Eric and sisters, Grace and Anna, for a while too. We celebrated two birthdays. One for Grace because her birthday was in December and one for Doug, my half brother whom just turned the big 3-0. I did paint my room and it turned out great. It was a lot of worth but it's worth it. It brightened the room up quite a bit. Now my room isn't a chalky purple color. Yay!
My room still isn't put back together yet, so I had to sleep on the couch. But I'm going to finish today and sleep in my own bed in the green room. I'm excited :]
So, break was very fun and it was a nice relaxing week. I hope you had fun too!

Vacation

During break I went to Arizona to visit my grandparents. I went from Saturday to Thursday. The weather was pretty nice. When I came back I pretty much sat around my house and didn't do anything. My vacation was pretty relaxing. I looked forward to doing nothing over break. I think that summer break is totally different than February vacation. First of all, the weather in the summer is way better, and second of all, you don't have as many chores and you aren't like ughh in three days I have to go back to school. No your like yay I have three whole months till i have to go back to school. Also during this vacation I don't have any sports and I am kind of bored. But in summer I get to look foward and practice for tennis, and when I am not doing that I go to alot of different camps, and I just hang out and swim and my parents want me to get a job. So yeahh that's pretty much it.

-Katie Schultz

Summer Vacation vs. Spring Break

Homework, tests, essays, they can be overwhelming. Without breaks, I would be a sleep-deprived, mindless zombie. Weekends are nice and all, but I usually spend them trying to recover from the schoolweek and get some rest. This is why breaks, every-other month or so are ESSENTIAL, to the mind and body. They are a big-warm hug for your spirit. They give you a time to really relax, and forget about the multiple tests and reports due when you come back. However, as the week passes and you count down the days till you get back to school you realize you have a lot work to do, and so you're back to procrastination, putting things off to the sunday before school.
Summer breaks are different, instead of a big warm hug they're like a shot of expresso. Of courrse the first week might be relaxing enjoying your lack of responsibilities, but after that there are so many fun things to do; sang out with friends, summer camps. Going to the beach has always been my favorite summer activity. I love everything about the beach, building sandcastles, doing handstands in the water (a feat I could never accomplish without the decreased gravitational pull), or just floating around. However, this coming summer may be different, before, I've never been able to or wanted to get a job. This summer I want to get some kind of job, even if it's bagging groceries or scooping ice cream. I'll miss the days of lounging around during the summer, but I'm always up for a new experience, and if I can make money doing it, thats just an added bonus.

No School You Say?

ahhhhhh, break. how i love you so. breaks i think are essential to getting through school without blowing your brains out. personally i get really stressed out during school so when we get a week or so off it really is important and allows me to recover from school and get back on track. with a break you just get a chance to do nothing, which is great! you can just chill, hang out with your friends a bit and then you are ready to go back to the evil institution of school. this break i got to go bowling with some friends. there i mastered the potty shot. for those of you who don't know the potty shot is when you go up to the lane, spread your legs and use both hands to swing the ball through your legs. doing this i got three spares and two strikes. so that was great. the only other stuff i did during vacation was massive practice for an audition which was on Sunday for a theatre summer program.

vacation it very different. you don't really have the feeling that school is right there. you actually have time to do stuff with your life. you can go somewhere, get a job, go to a camp, or whatever. there is so much time to really concentrate on something you enjoy and school doesn't get in your way. it also gives you a chance to make the transition into the next year.

so a break is relaxing, but vacation is exciting. they have very different feelings to them but they are both very important to getting through school. without them i would probably go insane, like more so then usual, which is bad, very very bad.

Nothing Doing

I have to say I greatly prefer summer vacation to breaks in school like the one we just had. During summer vacation I know that I have a multi week break and don't have to worry about schollwork that I am putting off. WhenI have single week breaks, like last week, I never plan anything, and just, pretty much, do nothing, desppite this, I am always feeling like I shopuld be working on schoolwork and not procrastinate. On summer break, I plan things so that I can have fun instead of just laze around and gain weight.

Breaks and Vacations

Unfortunately my break was not as fun as I hoped it would be this year. I knew that my break wouldn't be very good because I was getting my wisdom teeth out the wednesday we had off, but it turned out to be worse than I thought. Before the appointment though, my break was going fine. Over the weekend I went to Syracuse to see the basketball game Syracuse vs. Georgetown. Also, that Monday I had track sectionals where I ran the half mile pretty well and didn't do as good as I could in the 2 mile. That Monday I also started taking penicillin as an anti-biotic for the surgery. Tuesday I went shopping at crossgates and saw Juno, which was rreally good. Wednesday and Thursday I did absolutely nothing but sit on the couch and eat pudding and ice cream. Friday I went to my grandma's house to visit my aunt who came from North Carolina. They set up my trip down to visit her over April break. i'm going to be flying down there and back by myself for the first time. The rest of break I just stayed home. There is a big difference between breaks and summer vacation is that breaks are just a relief where summer vacation is more exciting. Also, summer is a time to get everything you put off done and go on big vacations where during breaks everything is down-sized.

BREAK!

So February break...

It was an enjoyable time. My plans consisted of hanging out with friends, spending time with my mom, and just sleeping in till noon. I went bowling (I got a stike!), went to the movies, learned how to make chicken parmesion, and watched Lifetime movies when I woke up in the afternoon (each time reaching for the tissuebox).

But break is far different from summer vacation. Summer vacation is exciting and amazing and you can do so much but yet it still goes by in the blink of an eye. Break is just a sigh of relief and a relaxing time...

So overall break was good...but now I'm sick and I don't have a voice, and there are only 3 weeks left of musical practice...and "AHHHHHHHHH"! Back to school, back to chaos, and back to reality...

breakkkk

During break i was at a friends house everyday. It was fun. i went skiing and saw Hannah Montanna 3D.I went to peoples houses and just hung out. I love sleeeping in but i also love my friends. I fainted at my friends house that was bad and i had to go to the doctors. Now i have to eat healthy uhhh. Break and summer vacation are different because during break you might have homework and over summer you dont. during summer you can just relax. i dont have to do anything over summmer or break. I ususally go on vacation during breaks or summer not during school because you miss so much work and i dont want to make it all up.

kristin

Block 6&7 --- What do you anticipate most for breaks as opposed to summer vacations?

Hi guys and gals.

Today I want you to consider . . . break. And summer vacation. Each word or phrase brings about a different set of emotions and thoughts. Why?

What did you looking forward to the most this break? What did you miss? What were plans? Did you even make plans or do you just enjoy the idea of . . .nothing. Sleeping late. Lounging in your PJs.

How does the feeling of 'break' compare to 'summer vacation'? Are there responsibilies? Chores? Jobs? Volunteering? Certain books you have put off to read for the summer? Places you want to visit you have put off?

Enjoy!
Mrs. Gaboury

Happy 2nd Semester. 5 months to go! And now--your thoughts on Censorship. And by the way--Blogs are not optional!!!

Hello all.

Censorship. Is it ever right to censor someone? Are there certain things that should be censored? Music? Videos? Games? Books? Ideas? Politics? Religion? Why? When? From who? Why not?

Enjoy!
Mrs. Gaboury

Bye Sorry i will miss you but i still have 4-5 months near you

I will miss all of my friends and i know that they will miss me. I am looking forward to the long days home and not having to go to the school in the mornings. I can't wait until i move to Florida with my grandmother and that i will not be coming back for a year and i am going to make new friends but i will miss my old ones. I want to have a break from my family and also my sister is going to college and i will miss her alot. I know that my mom and dad will miss me but it's my choice and i think it would be a great experience and a great oppurtunity. I realy want to experience being a new guy in the school and have a good and fresh start. And when i leave florida its going to be sad but i'll have something to look forward when i visit my grandmother. For now i can't work because Hannaford Doesn't let people work there until you 16 or older. So I can't make any money over the summer but owell. I doen't feel like reading over the summer but i will try.

Vacation & Break

When I thnk of break I think that it's cool to get a bunch of days off to do whatever you want but then you have to go back to school and your like "sfkdhfkdgdfghfdkgd" so it's good and bad. Vacation is kind of just like a larger version of a break really. You still have to go back but it's much longer. This break I'm going to get juggled between my mom and dad so they have an equal share of..me. That sounded really stupid but it's true. I hate going back and forth it's annoying. I like going to my moms house though, because her computer works and my grandma lives there too. I get along better with my mom and can relate more. My dad and I have different personalities because I take after my mom so much. Apparently we 'look alike' but I really dont see it. Anyways I'll pretty much hang out in my room if I'm at my dads house because he has to work, and hang out with my mom and gram if I'm at my moms house. We plan on going to the movies. Thats about it.

Feburary Break

I am sooo excited for break. It is nice to take a week off from the drama of highschool and to just unwind and not have to worry about projects and homework. I usually don't make plans until the day before. So all Im doign this break is staying home (whitch can be fun but usually is boring). Breaks bring a different mindset then summer vacation. When your on break you know you have to go to school soon and that it is only for a week. Summer vacation is exactly that its a summer vacation. Its different than break because you don't have to go to school for like 3 months. Usually during summer vacation people usually go to places and travel for weeks at a time. On breaks people don't travel as much becuase they know that they have to be back for school. I will miss seeing some of my friends that I usually see everyday but I won't get to see them because they might be going away. During break there aren't alot of responsiblities or chores. During summer vacation I have a ton. My family deffinelty puts trips off until the summer becuase certain places are soo much nicer in the summer. I deffinelty put books off it they are really boring until the summer because If I have nothing to do I can read. I am soooo excited for break.

Vacations, ya there cool

I think that summer vacation is alot more awesome than break because your off longer and its summer so its sweet. The thing i like about break is that you know how we all get tired in school and need a break and so theres that but the bad thing is the monday we come back everyone is dead and i dont like being dead because when your a ZOMBIE slayer like me its hard to go crazy and do flips and slash them up when your dead like a zombie. The reason i like summer vacation better is because its longer and its warmer so i can go outside and do more stuff like hang out on near creek or make fires at night, but really i like it better because i can go outside and just hang out. So really breaks are nice but summer vacations just like picks it up and throws it while doing a frontflip shooting a m-16 at it so ya thats cool.

break what a bummer

Breaks, how there boaring unless your going somewhere, which can still be boaring. What i'm looking forward this break is going down to New York City for the day and going to the Museum there, haha. I'll miss my friends, im not sure what my plans are actually but i just hope out of the week 99% my plans are good. my family doesnt make plans but i dont like the idea of not having plans, i dont like staying home knowing all my friends are on these cool vacations and im home doing nothing. the feeling of break compaired to summer vacation is that when your on break you know that you have a week and then you have to go back to school, but for a summer vacation you know you dont have school for 2 months so you feel more free and plus most of the time summer vacation is warmer then breaks so in the summer you can go swimming and actually do things other then getting fat. i dont really have any responsibilities for break or at all haha. There are many things i have put off but i dont think a break or a summer vacations going to matter. but i do know is that this summer vacations going to be the best because ill be 16 and driving! im so excited and soo cannot wait! people watch out for me!!

Summer Vacations and Breaks

Im looking forward to going to a Florida over break. I leave on Sunday and I am going to Universal Studios, and a few other places. I can't wait for it. I don't really know what I'm going to miss the most over this break, but its definetaly not school. I dont usually make plans over break, usually someone calls or I call them. The feeling of break is nice, but Summer Vacation is way better, although some teachers do assign "Summer Reading" which I put off until the last 2 or 3 days, or even sometimes the last day. I have a procrastination problem. My family and I usually go to atleast one place over the summer, but sometimes we don't, like last year. I think breaks are cool because, even if you like school, you still need some time off. (Longer than weekends).

censorship

I think that it is never right to censor someone. It's not right to just block someone out. Even though someone might have done something bad its never bad enough to censor them. I think its alright to censor someone when thier music has bad language in it because some people could like the music but not like the language they use. I also think that censoring a certain type of religion is okay if its on a radio because people have different religions and they may not believe in what is being preached. I don't think its okay to censor books because people have the right to read what they want. If those people choose to read a bad or "different" book thats their choice and I don't think other people should be telling them what to do. I also think its okay for the goverentment to censor things. For example the witness protection progam it's a way to keep people safe and if the govt. didn't have that then there would be chaos.I don't think that politics should be censored because people need to know what they are going to vote for. They shouldn't just tell you one side of the story they should tell you both sides of the story. I think that videos should be censored if you want them to be. For example they have the clean film and the dirty film if you have kids you dont want them to be exposed to the dirty film bencause it teaches them that that type of behavior is okay. I don't think games should be censored because if your not old enough for the game dont buy it. The company should be able to have this game and have it rated. Ideas shouldn't be censored because no one can tell you what you can and cannot think.
-kristin

Censorship

It is hard to say that censorship is either good or bad because their are so many different types of censorship. Some can be useful and others can lead to debates.
Censorship can be very useful when used in music or TV because I do not especially like hearing swear words. Also the gory parts in movies should be censored because I do not want to see that!! However, other people have different opinions about this. They may feel that lfe shold be portrayed in movies as it would be in real life, so these things should not be censored. So, it is hard to please everyone. Maybe there should be a censored version and an uncensored version.
With books, none should be censored. People should decide what they want to read. There should be warning, but people should have the right to read anything they wish.
The swear words are not as big of a topic as religion or politics. In my opinion, people should be allowed to hear as much as they want to hear, within reason (obviously if there is a confidential political issue, the public should not know about it until they are ready). Politics should be posted on television, and if people wish to watch and hear about the issues that is there choice. Religion should be optional too. I think that when someone is in a place where everyone has similar beliefs things should not be censored(church), but when a person is in a place where everyone has different beliefs, things should be censored(school).
Censorship should be decided from a person who likes censorship and someone who doesn't. In other words, two different kinds of people should comprimise on what should be allowed and what shouldn't.
Overall, I think that people should be allowed to decide what they want to see or hear. Everyone should have the right hear all opinions an make their own opinions.

Censorship

In t.v., I think that some censorship is okay. Other media, like games and movies, shouldn't be censored, just given a system to rate their content, then allow people to make their own choices about going to see them, or letting their kids see them. Same with books, you make your choice about reading it. I don't believe in censoring or banning these things because that means a few people rejected something, and are preventing other people from making their own choices.

Censorship

censorship is very hard to find nowadays. With the internet and the daily media, nothing is secret. Before the internet, youth was shielded by nudity and unwholesome things. Now that the internet is here, all you need to know is how to spell "porn" and an 6 year old can look it up. Should that be censored? Is it good to have censorship? In some ways yea and in some ways no. Anyone can say anything now and people will be able to listen, watch and comprehend things that could be bad to peoples morals.
With the uprising popularity of Rap and Hip-hop, the subgect of some of those songs could be considered mature but it isnt censored. Sure some of the swear words are taken out on the radio but should a 10 year old be singing a song about a suicidal man who takes pills and dies. Although the 10 year old might not understand, he should still be censored from things that could effect how he thinks and his morals could be effected. With the idea of video games i can say that I used to play a mature video game that was suggested for people above 17. Im 15. Some people claim that games like "Grand Theft Auto" and "Halo"will make children end up shooting people. This is a far cry from reality but is it really?
Schools around the world are trying to ban books so childrens minds wont be infected with bad ideas. but with daily media theres no protection, theres no censorship. The problem with censorship is that someone could think that something is bad but someone else could think that it could be used as a lesson to be learned. Thats a big problem in polotics and religions.
In religion, kids arnt allowed to pray in public schools. Should this censorship exist? I presonally think that it shouldnt because if I pray in school and im not bothering anyone then why should i be stopped? Some people would say that they dont want their children to get into religion because of something that happened to them but its not their choice to mold their childrens minds. The most hippocritical thing about it is that they want to protect their children from religion but they let their children to listen to rap and go on any websites they want (such as myspace).
I believe that censorship is biased on what the person believes is right. If someone is pro abortion then they want to get their idea out. While at the same time someone who is radically against abortion might try to silence or censor the other person so that no one can hear their ideas. Alexis, Kelly and Emily argue with Frank and I about polotics and ideas all the time. I believe that what we talk about shouldnt be censored. We all have ideas and we have the right to get them out. Although at some points I feel like taping Kellys mouth shut,she has her own ideas (although stupid) and she shouldnt be censored.
There's things in life that I feel should be censored for certin people but someone could have their ideas and they could be different then mine. Everyone has a voice and theres really no way to determine what should be censored and what shouldnt be. Although the goverment try's to censor what the majority thinks is right, theres no censorship and there will always be this conflict till the end of time. Thats life and theres really nothing you can do about it accept it and move on.

Censorship

Censorship is a touchy subject, and why? Because it deals with touchy subjects in itself, things that are objectable are censored many times, and this can be wrong, but also some censorship has good intension and good reasoning.

Personally I think music shouldn't be censored. But that is coming from a fifteen year old girl that is around swearing kids all day at school. A mother knows her youngest son wants to listen to the rap that her older teenage son listens to, but she doesn't want to expose him of the f-word. That's understandable. I mean, it's not like by censoring some of the music, the people that want to hear the "authentic lyrics" in their entirety can't buy the real stuff.

As for videos or movies...this effects me. I can't go see an R rated movie without a parent or guardian...and that aggrivates me. I think parents can either allow their kid to see a movie, or say no...and that is their personal choice, so there shouldn't be regulations for everyone.

Now, the censorship of games...it's not a concern of mine. I hardly ever played video games, and when I did it was Crash Bandicoot and Spyro, the purple dragon. I think that the violence in games is disgusting personally, and I don't know how people find joy in killing others on screen. What is the message? What is the point? I can understand censorship here.


Books should NOT be censored!!! You read what you want, and if a vulgar language, or a topic in the book is offending to you, stop reading. Everyone has the right to think the way they want to, and that includes authors. It is wrong when books are censored. A lot of the time, the banned books may have bad words or a horrible character but the theme of that book is to not be like that character or not say those things. For instance, Huckleberry Finn was banned in many schools. It does say the n-word, and to me, having 2 half black cousins, that word offends me. But, one of the themes of that book was how Jim, the black slave was like a father to Huck, was so intelligent and caring despite his skin color and social status. You have to read between the lines, and some people are just too ignorant to realize that.


Now, for politics and relgion... Everyone has their own view and everyone has their own beliefs. In public schools, teachers should have the right to state their opinions, but let the students have theirs. Teachers shouldn't force their ideas on students and intimidate them. With pollitics, we should debate, but never should there we a "right" and "wrong" side, it is all up to the individual.


Censorhsip can be bad, censorship can be good. It depends on the place, and the people involved. But the thing that should never ever EVER be censored is ideas and thoughts. No one can tell you how to think, and no one should shield you from all knowledge. You have to know everything about a subject to have a fair and just opinion about it. Freedom of thought is the only thing that is saving our country and the world. United we stand? No, all the same thoughts for all people, that would cause us to fall---divided we stand.

---Kelly Moak

Censoring

Censoring somethign doesn't mean that it is kept form the whole world because f.y.i. there are some weird people out there who earn a living off little kids and they thing nothing about it. Personalliy I think that censoring isn't very useful any more with all the technology out there, nothing is safe.

On the other hand censoring of people opinions can hurt an entier nation if they don't know what is going on. Some censoring is vey harmful because that person is gonna tell some one and if the right person doesn't hear it due to censoring, the wrong person will.

As for video games and movies, that's what the ratings are for and if a parent can't conrtol the movies adn video games that their kids have than they have other issues to deal with. I do not agree with the banning and censoring of books. This is so because when you pick up a book you are reading some one else's perspective and not your own and if you don't like it then don't read it!

Again polticis and religion is your opinion, how you take and understand it is different for each person. You could agree of disagree (like Em, Nate, Kelly, & Alexis)

So each person is different some so be put in jail and some are just trying to voice their opinion.

Censorship, it should die a slow and painful death

I've never been a fan of censorship, it is so very annoying. I hate it when one is listening to a song on a radio, and every now and then there is just a little section of no noise, or even worse those little beeps. They get on my nerves, and if people don't want to hear what all the lyrics of a song are, then maybe they just shouldn't listen to the song. I do think it is sometimes, somewhat inappropriate for little kids to watch or listen to some movies and music, but that doesn't mean that other people that have already been exposed to most of the things in the songs and movies shouldn't be able to listen to or watch them. If a parent doesn't want their child to watch or listen to certain things, then it is the parent's choice, and responsibility to monitor and possibly block what the child is exposed to. However, that doesn't mean that these parents should have the power to block certain things from other people or their children. i think it is ridiculous that a fourteen or fifteen year old needs not only the approval, but the presence of an adult, to watch an R rated movie. My parents do not monitor what I watch, however, I've been prevented from watching some movies in the theaters because my parents don't want to see the movie with me (not because they don't want me to watch the movie, just don't have the time). It is ridiculous that someone else (in some cases) has more power than my parents to tell me what I can be exposed to.
Though censorship of movies and music annoys me, censorship of books is just unacceptable. Everyone has the right to read what they want, to take that away would be to take away their ability to learn. If one person doesn't like the topic (because it is vulgar) or ideas (because they oppose that person's ideas), then it is that person's choice to not read it. Everyone should have the option to read and interperet books in their own way, one person should not be able to take away another person's right to have an opinion.
The censorship of religion and politics is a little more comlex. I believe everyone has a right to have an opinion, and part of that opinion includes their religious and political views. So, a person should be able to state their opinion anywhere, anytime. However, a person, such as a teacher, should not be able to teach their students that their way is the right way and the only way. In a way it is similar to my opinion on the censorship of books, a person can have their own opinion, but should not force other people to conform to their views.
Censorship, though it can be helpful on an individual level, is never acceptable on wide spread level (country, state, etc.). No, one person should have the ability to tell or imply(by censoring or banning a certain work) another person that their thoughts or ideas are not worth listening to or reading. Everyone has the right to their own opinion, and the right to have their opinion respected.

censorship

When it come to censorship there are many other factors that need to be considered. For example, around young peole censorship might be necessary so they dont feel uncomfortabtle and excluded when talking about a certain topic like religion. On the other hand adults would probably know enough to do something like change to conversation or say what they believe in, so censorship would not be needed. Other than conversations around children, i dont really believe things should be censored. For example, if someone doesnt like what a book or movie is about than they just shouldnt watch it. Although it may seem simple to just ignore something you dont like many people just cant do it which ,i think, makes censorship a bigger issue than it actually is.

Cencorship is lame. :]

Censorship is an insanily dumb thing, I must say. Why censor things? I honestly don't even understand the reason. Everyone knows what the real word or phrase is, and they've previously heard it several times. It isn't protecting anyone. Just the other day I was watching the movie The Breakfast Club which is my personal favorite. But when someone swears in it, they edit it out, and instead they censor it with things that make it sound worse than swearing because it's so unbelievably obvious that it was censored. In the movie they censored "that's shit" with "that's bologna" or they use the word "spit" instead. Seriously, that is so lame. We all definantly know what word goes in it's place, so it's not doing any good in the first place.

When people censor things they think it wil protect somebody, but it doesn't. There are topics that everyone needs to be knowledgable about and censoring these things are helping no one. Take banning books, for example. When a book is banned, the world is being kept from the knowledge and experiance that they would have recieved if they had read it. It just isn't right.

And why censor music? Music is just poems put into song. Of course, some modern artists are putting many inappropriate things such as sex and violence in their songs, but most music like that is rap. And rap isn't real music. Music can effect the way someone feels at any moment, and that's a wonderful thing. When people are feeling sad, they usually listen to music that they can relate to, or that can cheer them up. If people are feeling blissful, they'll listen to music that is happy so that they can keep the high that they have off of life. If someone is angry, they'll listen to music that sets that mood. Along with this, if someone is upset because their boyfriend broke up with them, they call their friends. It's likely that the friend they talk to will call the ex-boyfriend a vulgar term. People will be introduced to swearing, sex, violence and such even without having it in movies and music. So why should it matter if it's in movies and music? People can relate to it in those things. They're are beautiful stories that people should be able to hear about without censorship.

As Allen Jenkins said, "Censorship in any form is the enemy of creativity, since it cuts off the life and blood of creativity: ideas."

Titles are for silly people - or I just can't think of one

Well, I think *beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep*
Censorship, like communism, is one of those things that works in theory - but not in real life. Still - I do agree with some forms of it. If you don't want your 3-year-old watching TV shows in which people stab each other repeatedly with knives and say f*%# every other word, then go ahead - turn on the parental controls. But sooner or later, someone is going to walk by on the street swearing their head off, or one of the kid's friend's older brothers is going to be playing Grand Theft Auto while he or she is over at their house. You can hide it from them when they're young, but you can't protect anyone forever.

We wouldn't need censorship if people were smart enough to make their own decisions - in most cases, anyway. It's up to YOU whether or not you read or even flip through that book which appears to be about gang wars and squabbling prostitutes. In my opinion, books don't need to be censored, because they are physical things that you pick up out of your own free will. Same thing with stuff like video games, because it's YOU who plugs in that console - no one is making you do anything (unless of course you happen to accidentally walk by while someone is playing, in which case - blame them and don't buy the game.). Stuff like music and TV, though should be censored when it's on the radio or on public channels, just in case someone happens to be flipping through the stations and sees (or hears) something they shouldn't. But THAT wouldn't apply if we didn't have those inappropriate songs and programs. It's all just for entertainment anyway - we don't really need them. If you WANT to watch the unrated version, then buy the DVD.

I don't follow politics, and nor do I follow a religion, so I can't really give an opinion of their censorship if I don't even know what's happening. How do you censor religion anyway? Is it the sort of feeding-Christians-to-the-lions thing? I honestly have no clue.

Well anyway,
Ali

Censorshipdizzle

Censorship is wrong sometimes!!!! Even though I do not really know what it is. When I hear censorship I think of a bleep on a song in a T.V show or when people are not allowed to talked about whatever they want to they are told what to talk about and what they cannot say. I do think it is wrong in some cases but is right in others. It is right on the radio and TV because little kids watch those shows and listen to that music and shouldn't be hearing that kind of language. But it is wrong because we have freedom of speech and should be able to say whatever we want when ever. Religion should not be censored because many people have different beliefs and should be allowed to believe what they believe. Books shouldn't be censored either because you have a choice to read that book or not so if you choose that book do not complain about it because you picked it out not anyone else.

Censorship, F$#% That!

Censorship, it is one of the most annoying things EVER. Everyone has watched a comidian or something like that and you totaly loose what there saying because they bleep out half of the words. Or when you are watching a movie that you know well and there is a curse word and they replace it with the most ridiculous thing imaginable (my personal favorite is when watching The Matrix and the line "holy shit" was turned into "jeepers creepers"). I don't think that censorship is right. Not just bleeping out words, fogging up the middle finger, or inserting a line that obviously does not belong. Many schools are censoring by banning books, like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and most of the time it is for the most obserd reasons, so obserd that it is obvious that the people banning the books have never even read them giving them no right to decide how appropriate they are. Huck Finn was banned for using racialy charged terms like "Nigger" but if anyone had read the book they would relize that the book is very anti racism and slavery, also that was how people of that area and time period spoke, you cannot change the past to better suit your preasent.

My opinion about censorship is very similar to that of Clare Booth Luce who said, "Censorship, like charity, should begin at the home; but unlike charity, it should end there." (thats right Gabs I read your walls). Parents should decide what is appropriate for their kids to read or watch, no one else, because what is appropriate for one person is not nesisarraly appropreate for another. Parents have the ability to know what their kids are reading and can act upon it in a way they believe necisary, and with new TVs and computers with blocks and parental controls they can do the same with those mediums.

For games I don't think there should not be any censorship. What they have now just lableing what it is rated and why is good enough. Then a parent can decide if it is appropriate.

ideas should never be censored. no one should ever be affraid to express an idea because they might be persicuted. If we never did things like that durring the middle ages and the spanish inquisition our technology might be a lot further along.

So that is my long rant of CENSORSHIP (lightnigh in background) take it, digest it, think about it, and do with it as you will.

Censorhip

I feel very strongly about the issue of censorship. Yes, it can apply when dealing with very dangerous sercurity issues or weapons. However, when applied to everyday items such as entertainment media, it is never okay. People have very different point of views and what is appropriate for some to see may not be for others, but that is the only wat we can grow. If people are shielded from the world their whole lives they will only sink into a supremely bad state of being as the world opens up before them and all this mess becomes apparent. People need to experience these things and become aware of them as they grow, coming to accept each as a way of life if they truely want to mature. Nobody should be able to force their opinion of what is and isnt okay for poeple to see upon anyone else. These products are made with a specific audience in mind and it is not fair that someone can stick their head in and get an uninformed glimpse into that culture, then decide it is wrong and alienate all the people living within there. All censorship is caused because of ignorance of an issue. Some examples of this include the burning of many books and people for witchcraft, the persecution of jews, hatred towards swear words, as they are only words and can do no more harm to someone than what you are reading right now($#@!), and the more recent bannings of movies and games such as a video game called Mass Effect, which has a deep story to it and contains fairly tame homosexual sex scenes to advance relationships of the characters. Controversies and ignorance spring out at the mere notion of something that is considered a taboo by certain people and it really needs to stop. We have more important issues at hand, (like that war or something where people are being brutally killed everyday), fretting over things like this is a time waster and people need to get off their high horse and see where other people are coming from. People may say that some things people should be protected from, and that is fine, but it is up to the parents of children, not any kind of political or religious institution, to decide that. Life is not pleasant, so why are people trying to keep an illusion of a perfvect world? It is because they are scared, they want to ignore things like poverty and starvation so they can live in peace. All I have to say is "Wake up, you can never silence people and their ideas, as long as free will remains."

censorship

I dont really think about censorship much but I do think that there are some things in the world that should be censored. For example, some songs should maybe be censored for people that prefer not to hear bad things. However, I think that people should be able to express how they feel anyway they want without people telling them otherwise. If there are some people that do not care to hear or read bad things than there should be a way for them not to. Some things should be censored though. If you are saying things that people dont want to hear in a way that is harmfull or done out of entertainment than I think they should be censored. But if you are saying something to get your point across our are expressing you feelings rationaly then that should be okay. I think most of the things that are censored should be for the purpose of younger children. This way they dont have to be exposed to things they shouldnt be hearing at a young age. If you are going to censor something however, I dont think it should be someones ideas about something. Sure the lyrics to songs are a persons ideas but there are other ways of expressing yourself than saying bad things through a song. If a person is not doing anything wrong and someone is censoring them than I dont think that that is right. Material things should be censored for the fear of exposing it to other people that dont need to see it. If someone is saying something, they dont need to be ignored for it. Those are my ideas about censorship

Really, really late blog on switching places...

Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry this is so late. Life just kinda got in the way, ya know? But anyways... I think if I had to switch places with someone, it would have to be with... hmm... probably someone from another country that is less fortunate then people in this country. Like, someone from Pakistan, maybe. And I say this because I am doing a current event project for social studies on Pakistan, and what is happening there right now is totally out of control. I think it would be interesting to see how people get by over there with a government that is falling ever faster toward Anarchy. Being able to understand what these people have to deal with on a regular basis.

It would also be pretty cool to see how their culture is different from ours. I mean, there are big differences, such a religious prefrences, but little things, like what they talk about at dinner, or what is important to them. I think that Americans tend to be more materialistic and technlogically based then people in other countries. I mean, we look at countries like... lets say... Ecuador, (i dont know, first country to come to mind...) who do not have the advancements in technology like we have, and they seem to be getting along alright without them. I don't know, I just think it would be kinda cool to see what it is like not to be like we are here.

But I have to be honest and say that I could only spend about a day there, because their government makes me soo angry that I think I would either end up assassinated, like Benazir Bhutto, or exiled from the country. no joke.

Anyway, that's my shpeil on switching places... not the best thing i have ever written, but it's there.

censorship

Censorship can be good when it comes something inappropriate and vulgarity, but when people are being censored for a idea that's just not cool. Like I believe God and if was telling people about that and someone ran over to me punched me in the face, knocked me down, curb stomped me nine times and then tazed me, that would be a example of bad censorship because I'm telling people my beliefs. Censoring Girls gone wild is a good thing for some people, and censoring a American with his beliefs is just not cool and that's not American, because i may not like the ideas of some people, but that gives me no right to shut them.

I totally forgot!

Wow! I totally forgot about this Mrs. G! And if its too late, I understand, but Ill still do it. Soundtrack! This is gonna be tough.
1) New Years! I'm gonna go with "We are the Champions". I had an awesome time new years, and I felt that I had overcome some goals that I had set the previous year, so I felt like a conqueror. I was really proud and myself, and just felt good.
2)January-March. During this time period, I was getting back on track, pulling out of a school slump, and fixing some friendships that were long over due. I think the chorus from Free's "All Right Now" works, because, it was all right, and it had the same kick butt feel as I had.
3) Nifty Fifties. I'm gonna chose "Rock Around The Block" from the show, not only because it's from it, but because the song is about having fun. And that's exactly what happened during the show. I got to hang out with some of my best friends, act, sing, wear a sparkly jump suit and a Hugh Hefner Esq robe. We also had a lot of awesome jokes! ("You're straight as a whistle" -that's to my dearest Matt McFadden and Kelly Moak).
4) March-June "Eye of the Tiger" This was the homestretch for Middle School, and I was plowing right through. My different friend groups seemed to bond, and we were a team. We were on the ball, getting good grades, and having a lot of fun.
5) Graduation "I've Loved These Days" by Billy Joel, because I really did love being at Algonquin, and I don't think my peers give it enough credit. We all know we had a blast there, and that it shaped us to be the "responsible, mature" people we are now. Anyway, I've always looked back at those days fondly.
6) Summer "Revolution 9" Not so much the lyrics or the concept of the song. But the feel. Long. Monotonous. Boring. Kind of like Moby Dick. I honestly am having trouble remembering more than three exciting things. Which brings me to August.
7) Steven goes Bye Bye "The Long and Winding Road" This was the most sad I had been in a while. Steve and I had really gotten close lately, and he was going away. The song is about to me is about looking back at what you've been through with a person, which I was doing a lot of, and mostly, I was proud of it.
8) Coping with no Big Brother home "A Quick One While He's Away" I enveloped myself with this Who song. It made me really happy during a time when I was having a lot of no brother, friendshipy problems. It still gets me through a lot.
9)Sometime in September "Superman" by Lazlo Bane During this time, I had someone that I wasn't too close to, come to me with a huge problem, and it put a ton of stress on my shoulders. The song is about only being able to do so much. I eventually worked it out.
10) October-New Years "More Than A Feeling" Well, the years over! And around this time I became obsessed with this Boston gem. Its just very spiritual for me. I don't know whether it's the lyrics, or the feel, but I just feel the song now a days. If that makes sense. I promise I'm not tripping. I'm not into Drugs.
Well there was my extremely uneventful year. But this blog made me appreciate the first half of the year. And dislike the second half. Oh well! -Peter
PS Im gonna add Summertime Blues to the Summer portion of this, because summer seemed rather unfair to me, and I didnt get my fair share O' fun.

More Extremely Extremely Vast Lateness - This Time About '07

Oh, dear. Silly me. Blowing off my blogs, again. Well, anyway - events of 'o7.

Numero Uno: I!!!! WENT!!! TO!!!! JAPAN!!!!!!
I could write an entire post on this one. Seriously, I could. But I'll just sum it up for now. It was my first time out of the country, my first time out of the time zone, and for goodness' sakes it's a TRIP! It was absolutely amazing, I loved it, I did so many awesome things. Anyone (and I mean ANYONE) who wants to learn s'more about it should feel free to talk to me any time! I'd love to share my stories!

Song: *scratching head* ummm.....I dunno.....Japan and its vast wonderfulness is too hard to figure out with my limited knowledge of songs. I suppose I shall choose a Japanese song (gee, I wonder why?). I'll go with Hikari E (To The Light) by The Babystars, because the lyrics (when translated) are about going on a journey, and searching for your dreams, so I feel like it kinda fits.

The Second One: I'm not sure if my long-term memory is entirely correct, but it seems as if '07 was the first year that I really experienced death. Approximately half of the dogs (and one cat) that I knew died this year (but not my adorable poochie, thank goodness), whether from accidents or just from old age and sickness. Also, the husband of a close friend of my mother's from Long Island (that's where I used to live), who had been fighting a brain tumor for about a year, passed away. Of course, I found that out on the same day that I found out that I hadn't made Anything Goes, so needless to say that day sucked.

Song: I'm baffled......again....do I even know any songs about death? I would say "Angel", by Eurythmics, except for the fact that I hate and despise that song. I guess "Everybody Wants To Rule the World" by Tears for Fears, just because it's kind of a desperate and sad song about humankind (but I still love it).

3/San/Tres: High school, man. Just moving up 1 year in school can make such a difference. High school is bigger, (mostly) better, and has great classes. It's also a big step in a person's life, to move up a grade and suddenly be in this different place. It feels like I've grown up a lot just by leaving Algonquin.

Song: Can't think of one. The transition is pretty much indescribable, and I'm not enough of a music guru to know a song for it. Sorry!

The Number Formerly Known as Four: This isn't strictly limited to 2007, but I love my friends!!!! They rock. In '07, they helped me to actually (gasp!) have fun at the Hollyball in December, and I was actually able to cut loose and dance for once. They help me, and I try to help them. They are indescribably awesome. I looooooooove all you guys soooo much!

Song: You're My Best Friend, by Queen : self-explanatory :P

1000/25=40 40*2=80 80/16=5 : Humm....trying to think of something else....what if 2007 wasn't really a year of consequence for us? Besides Japan and the other things mentioned here, not many exceptional things happened to me last year. Though I did start reading the Hungry City Chronicles, which, now that I have finished them, have become my favorite books ever. I read a lot of other good things this year, like Harry Potter 7 (I almost typed Harry Potty) and the Twilight trilogy. I suppose, though, that my 5th event will just be living. All of the seemingly unimportant things gradually add up, and I'll see what they become later in '08. But I'm grateful for '07, just because I got the chance to live in it and experience the good things and the bad.

Song: The Prophet's Song ~Queen Because it's my favorite song.


Love and happy (late) New Year,

~~~--Ali