Lately in class we have been reading a series of short plays called "The Kentucky Cycle". Im going to be honest and say at first I did not think very highly of this book but as soon as I starting reading it I just became hooked on it. First of all I find it very interesting to read about how life was like early on in our country's history. The way to white people thought of the Native Americans and how they treated them was intriguing. I could not even imagine coming to a new country to find other people that didnt speak the same language as I do and try to make treaties with them. Additionally, I enjoy the book because the details are very good and the scenes are usually pretty eventful and even sometime unusual for current day standards. Actions like wanting to get married at age 16 and killing your father are not the most common things anymore. All in all this book is a good read and takes the reader through history in an interesting way.

Recently there has been a lot of talk in newspapers and online about the New Trier student who hacked the system in order to find out his class rank. After being caught he has been suspended for the rest of the year, is not allowed to walk at graduation, and has lost acceptance to MIT, the college he enrolled in prior to the hacking. In the paper it said the student could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Honestly in my opinion this is way too big of a punishment. The kid just wanted to know his class rank because New Trier doesnt provide it to their students. I'm not saying that he shouldnt be punished but jail time for trying to find out how well he ranks among others in his class? Thats ridiculous. It was not meant to hurt anyone, he didnt purposely go through peers' scores to know what they got on standardized tests, he just wanted to know where he stood gradewise in relation to his classmates. I think he has learned his lesson by being suspended but hopefully the authorities rethink all their punishments and ask themselves is what he did really worth all of this?

Recently I read a very disturbing article that talked about how a senior in high school was arrested because he was planning on bombing his school. His plan was only discovered when his parents found 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate delievered to their door. Then his diary was found with all his plans to carry out the violent act. After reading this I tried to put myself in one of his classmate's shoes. Knowing that my own school was maybe just days before it was to be blown up with me inside of it would be terrifying. School is set to continue on monday but I dont know if they should allow it to. I would feel threatened and I'm sure most of the other students would feel that way too. I dont think its right for a school to do that to the kids. They probably need time off before going back to a school that was set to explode. The school should address the issue and possible hold an assembly to calm kids down.

Official News Report: junior theme is difficult. But it is managable which is the good part. There are so many great articles out there found on the databases and so many books relevant to one's topic but it is hard finding what you want. Also, forming the perfect "why" question is somewhat difficult. Making it thought provoking but not too intense to be investigated has given me some trouble. Currently I'm reading the book "Flags of our Fathers". It is a great book written by one of the sons of one of the famous flagraises on Iwo Jima. It gives a recap on the flagraisers lives and what America was doing at the time. It is 330 pages so finishing it should not be too difficult. Hopefully things get easier as I move forward on this tumoltuous paper.

This week my favorite college basketball player, Eric Gordon, will announce his decision to turn pro and skip the rest of his collegiate career. Basketball analysts rave about his talent and ability and say hes a lock to be a lottery pick and get a huge multi-million dollar contract. But is it really ok that a 19 year old boy can skip three years of school and jump into the NBA without even a hint of a college degree? What if the NBA doesnt work out for him, or the other teens that are entering the draft early, can he get a job with his little amount of college education? Unlikely. These talented college stars should realize what the consequences are of declaring early for the draft. I know the hear about how much money is out there and honestly its real tempting but players should stay a little longer, possibly get a degree, and refine their skills even more so when they get to the pros they have a better chance of excelling and even if they dont produce the way they should they can always get a good job because they finished college and have a degree.

Over break I went with the lacrosse team to Dallas, Texas to play a few games down there. Little did i know that we as a team would also visit one of the most famous streets with one of the biggest controversies in history. We stood on the grass lining the street were President John F. Kennedy was assasinated. Whether it was Lee Harvey Oswald that shot him or someone else it happened right there. While standing there I tried to picture myself there when the shots had been fired. What was the crowd's reaction? Why did people think it was Lee Harvey Oswald? How could this have happened to one of the greatest presidents in history? Thoughts flooded my head. Things in our country were going so well then and then one shot and everything turns for the worst. Whether this incident could have been prevented who knows, but we do know it has changed the country forever.

This week marked the beginning of the infamous junior theme:the treacherous, time consuming research paper that fills one fourth of your junior year in high school. When told to start thinking about topics I didnt even know where to begin. What would interest me for one full quarter? I came up with some basic ideas but none seemed to get the "ok" from my teachers. It is hard to try to focus in on something so brief but if everyone can I guess I can too. One of my ideas was civil rights in America but that is too broad and I am currently trying to break it down. Eventually I will be able to create a "perfect topic" and be on my way for the hardest paper I have ever written.

Regarding the elections, the campaigns between Obama and Clinton have gotten progressively "dirtier". Both have let go of some of their top campaign aids and supporters because there has been an exchange of racial comments. One of Clinton's advisors even went as far to say that Obama has only gotten this far because he is black. Honestly this is quite ridiculous that possibly the future president of the United States has people saying these things. People are now saying that because of these comments going back and forth the Democratic party is separating instead of becoming more united. Would our country's founding fathers want this? Should our country watch as campaigns go back and forth insulting other candidates? Over the years this si what elections have fallen to and in the future they will probably only get worse and more violent.

This past week all the media has covered is the New York governor, Eliot Spitzer, who was caught cheating on his wife with a prositute. This is one of the worst scandals involving a political leader ever and it doesnt give politics a positive connotation at all right now. I'm sure kids younger than us have seen the story and wonder what this means. Our country's leaders are making horrible mistakes and what are kids going to think about this? This really portrays the U.S. poorly and other countrys will see that our leaders are making big mistakes. Other nations might not take us as seriously now because of that one incident which made our country look bad as a whole.

After watching the movie on friday it really got me thinking; why do women always seem to be put down or "downgraded" in advertisements? The picture to the left is titled "How A Real Man Uses A Post It Note" and it shows a man and a women in bed and the woman has a note on her forehead that has "Jane" written on it. This portrays men as people that get many women and it also shows that women are simply just objects. It will be tough to stop this discrimination but making movies like that lady did can only help.

Today on the main screen for yahoo there was a video about UFOs. The video talks about how an increasing number of them have been emerging. Then it goes on to say that some of them have been revealed by their makers as fake and special effects. I personally think UFOs are just myths. It seems that there is always only one person that sees them and catches them on tape. No one else ever sees them and there is usually no evidence supporting it. Whoever keeps pulling off these flying pranks is quite good but I dont think people should continue to think that aliens are present.

During this past weekend I have been watching a lot of of war shows and movies such as Band of Brothers, We Were Soldiers, and Saving Private Ryan. If I wasnt in AIS and hadnt discussed censorship and white washing I would have thought of them more realistic and accurate. While watching I felt the main message was to portray our soldiers as heroes rather than telling the complete honest truth. During one battle scene in Saving Private Ryan an American soldier stops to pick up and eat apples. Who in their right mind would eat while being shot at? Sure these movies give you a "feel good" feeling but dont you want to know the truth about what happened during war times? Dont get me wrong I love watching these kinds of things, they are quite entertaining but I just feel that directors and producers shouldnt white wash some of the most important events in our country's history.

After reading a bit of Huck Finn I found the language and the story in general pretty easy. I thought to myself if the "N" word wasnt used would kids younger than me read it in school. I would think younger kids could relate to the book more because they do activities similar to Huck Finn like when he wants to be a robber or sneek out with friends at night and get their clothes dirty but they cant because of the language. I enjoyed reading Tom Sawyer in 7th grade because I could relate to him and there wasnt much foul language. Overall, I'm just seeing if you think that if the "N" word was not present would younger kids read it or do you think it would still have to many complicated connotaions and hidden meanings that only juniors in high school would understand.

Lately in class the phrase "women and children" has been brought up frequently. Well what exactly does it mean and what is it refering to? It could be compared to when the Titanic was sinking and the women and children in the middle and lower classes got to go on the rescue boats before the men did. Would you consider these circumstances to still be in play nowadays? I can think of very few instances where they are. An example is that sometimes while boarding planes, mothers accompanied by their children get to go on the plane first before the others. Besides that it seems that everyone is treated the same based on their gender. In restaurants, movie theaters, or public transportation women and children dont get priority seating or special privledges. I think over the years the phrase "women and children" has slowly faded and it will continue to in the upcoming years.