High Tech High School

Yesterday in class Mr. John told us about his venture to High Tech High. He gave a brief overview such as this.. At High Tech High the students are allowed to wear whatever they would like, they call their teachers by their first names, eat and drink while in class, "hang out" all around the campus during free time, and classes aren't structured persay. At this highschool one can choose which classes he or she would like to take. I believe this is a good environment for learning. By having food and drinks in class students are constantly reenergizing themselves. Also, by not sitting in desks and listening to lectures all day the students are actually DOING the things they are learning which 9 out of 10 times is more easily remembered. Something like this is coming to Baton Rouge in 2010. I am not saying I would leave Saint Joseph's Academy, because this place has been my dream since I was a child and I love it. But I am excited to see how this type of school evolves over time.

Bullying Causes Death

STOP BULLYING. END OF DISCUSSION.

Can bullying be the most reason cause of children suicide? Yes. In a recent article on CNN, a young boy from Georgia hung himself. His mother states that on the day of his death, Jaheem came home from school and handed his mother his report card. He looked very happy because he made all A's and B's. As his mother prepared dinner, he went to his room. When dinner was ready his mother called for him, but there was no response so she and her daughter went up to his room where they found him hanging by a belt in his closet. He had hung himself.

Alligations were made that it was caused by the extreme bullying and tantalizing the child was recieving at school. He was constantly being called gay and virgin, and it got to the point to where he could not take it anymore. This is completely awful, to go through life with no one able to help you end the bullying. Finally you just give up and figure death would be easier.

Fashion by Technology

One of the newest designers for surf and skate label RVCA doesn't have a design degree, many fashion internships on her resume or even a wealth of sewing experience. What she does have is a little unconventional: a Web site, featuring pictures of her daily outfits, that happens to draw more than a million hits a month. A year and change later, she gets 35,000 hits a day and hundreds of comments per post. As the Internet took notice of her blog, designers and industry heavyweights did, too. Neely was invited for a private tour of the American Apparel factory, then to New York Fashion Week in fall 2008 to see Alexander Wang's show and model Erin Wasson's line for RVCA. She is now going to Paris for a show.

This is an example of how technology can also help entrepreneurs. By starting a website and a blog about her fashion, this girl has been discovered as one of the next big designers.

Facebook Addiction?

ALERT! ALERT!ALERT!

Today in class I read an article on CNN about a woman who was clearly addicted to the social networking site known as Facebook. She spends over 20 hours a week on Facebook, which could add up to one whole day a week. She wanted her name to remain anoymous. Her child would ask her for help with her homework, but she would decline just because she did not want to leave her "happy" world known as Facebook. A therapist and marriage counselor in North Caroline says that some of her patients also get so wrapped up in Facebook that it ruins their marriages. One client of hers 'friended' an old boyfriend on Facebook and began flirting with him and explaining how unhappy she was in her marriage. By saying this her younger cousin saw the wall posts and told her parents which then told the husband. They are now in the middle of a rough divorce.

The physciatrist says you know you are obsessed when:

1. you lose sleep over facebook
2. you spend more than one hour a day devoting time to nothing but facebook
3. you become obsessed with old loves
4. you ignore work in favor of facebook
5. the thought of getting off facebook leaves you in a cold sweat

Pile has her own quick test: "Try going a day without Facebook. If you find it causes you a lot of stress and anxiety, you really need to get some help."

Sing Along

Do you ever hear a song on the radio that you know every single word to, yet you can't remember when the last time you heard it was? I surely do. This past week I put my iTunes on Party Shuffle and was amazed at the songs I had from years ago that I still to this day love. I wanted to share some of the songs from my playlist with you.

Do you remember....

Aaron Carter's "Saturday Night" and "Aaron's Party"
Backstreet Boy's "Larger Than Life"
98 Degrees' "Buenos Noche"
Nsync's "Space Cowboy"
No Doubt's "Hey Baby" and "It's My Life"
Britney Spears' "Oops I Did it Again"
Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca"
Rihanna's "Unfaithful"
Usher's "Yeah"

It is amazing to watch the style of music change over time. I remember loving Christina Aguilara's "Genie in a Bottle", and now she has songs out such as "Keeps Getting Better". I think it is very cool to watch artists grow up and mature their sound. Just like Britney Spears used to be an innocent pop singer, and she now has more edge to her sound and is more upbeat. Music is a big part of my life, and it is the main source of technology that I feel as though I could not live without.

Blogging this year has made me realize how much I take for granted. Like being able to listen to any song I want to with the click of a button, whether on the computer, or in the car.

Disney Channel Original Movies

Flash from the past. Don't you remember as kids how movies such as Halloweentown would frighten us so much we had to sleep with the lights on, or how we all wanted to be an artist after we saw the movie Quints. I sure remember I do. Here are a list of movie that I remember distinctly that are Disney Channel Original Movies.

1. Brink
2. Halloweentown
   
3. Zenon
4. The Thirteenth Year
5. Smart House
6. Don't Look Under the Bed
7. Up, Up, and Away
8. Miracle in Lane 2
9. Phantom of the Megaplex
10. Motorcrossed
11. The Luck of the Irish
12. Double Teamed
13. Cadet Kelly
14. Gotta Kick it Up
15. Get a Clue
16. Eddie's Million Dollar Cookoff

ETC ETC ETC

Technology can be helpful in many ways. It can help you contact friends and family in the blink of an eye, or find the definition to a word you do no understand, or, in this case, it can help teach you valuable life lessons.

By watching these, plus many more, DCOMs (Disney Channel Original Movies) I learned at an early age how all people are different and it is not a bad thing. In the movie "The Color of Friendship" a white, proper young lady comes to live with an African American family while on foreign exchange. They battle their differences and end up realizing that it does not matter what color you are. A person could be black, white, purple, blue, or even green. What matters is that person's personality and their actions towards others.


Another lesson I have learned by watching these movies came from "Brink". Andy "Brink" Brinker and his friends love to skateboard for fun, while another group of skaters, that call themselves Team X-Bladz, skate for the money. Team X-Bladz is made up of bullies and rude teenagers, once Brink joins that team his friends do not take the time to question him about his decision, instead they exclude him. At the end his friends realize he was only joining the team to get money to help his parents in their financial issues. From this movie I have realized that no matter how tough life gets my friends will always be there for me, so I should be there for them. I should also give people the benefit of the doubt instead of instantly judging them.

Seventeen Again.. Again??

Remake better or worse?


Zac Efron stars in a remake of a classic story. In the movie he is an older man who while in highschool got the love of his life pregnant, so he throws away his college scholarship to marry her. He ends up getting visited by the Ghost Spirit and is turned seventeen again. Throughout the movie he leanrs more about his own children by attending school with them masked as a student. He also learns just how much he cares about his wife and does not with to get a divorce from her. Once he makes this realization the Ghost Spirit turns him back to himself and he is able to save his marriage and to better understand his children's lives.

Although this is a new twist to the story, I personally liked the Disney Channel's version better. It is also called Seventeen Again.

This Disney Channel Original Movie, Seventeen Again, starts Tia Mowry, Tamera Mowry, and Taj Mowry. This story is about a grandmother and a grandfather who have lost all contact with their grandchildren and their marriage is falling apart. One morning they wake up to find themselves seventeen..again. Just like their granddaughter. While the grandparents are attending highschool and learning more about their granddaughter and helping her with daily obstacles, their grandson is trying to figure out a way to get them back to normal. In the end the grandparents decide to renew their wedding vows and have had more personal experiences with their grandchildren.

How Not to be Hated on Facebook

There is a website link that I found on CNN that amused me today. It sent me to a web page that had guidelines of the proper etiquette one should use while they are on Facebook, or any social networking site for that matter. Here are a few of the rules they say you should follow while on Facebook:

1. Stop taking quizzes
2. Do not add people you do not know
3. Do not invite people to events if they do not like anywhere near the area, it gets frustrating
4. Do not put up statuses about your mental state of mind (it makes you seem depressed and lonely)

These rules are all things we have heard before but not necessarily put into a "rule" per say. I believe they left out the most important rule. To Be Safe! And to not give out any personal information about your whereabouts and such.

Mobile Monitoring

Teenagers in the modern world are constantly using their cell phones and are recieving cell phones at younger ages with each generation. Text messages can become vulgar and sexual. Because of these types of messages more and more teenagers are getting arrested for child pornography and are having to be registered as sex offenders. This offense will be on their record permanently and will follow them where ever they go in the near future. Sending nude pictures to one's girlfriend/boyfriend is also considered child pornography and is a federal offense. More programs such as My Mobile Watchdog and My Mobile Spy are developing and becoming more active in today's society. Parents are taking the innitiative to keep an eye on their child's use of his/her cell phone. They want to be aware of how their children are acting towards others and how others are treating their children.

This whole sex offender, child pornography case is getting way out of hand for me. I do not understand while people my own age are using their privaledge of technology to harm themselves by sending nude pictures of themselves out to the entire world. I just am dumbfounded by this. I do not understand why someone would want to expose themselves in that way and ruin their reputation and their self respect. Maybe it's just me, but my morals are far from that. I surely do not want to be registered as a sex offender and have that on my record for the rest of my life. I would rather play it safe and stick to my beliefs in life. This kind of thing brings out more harm than necessary. This is because a child takes a nude picture of theirself, sends to their current boyfriend/girlfriend, who then shows his/her friends to act cool. Then everyone ends up seeing the picture and ridicules the child who sent it in the first place. That child is then pained with grief and could do harmful things such as commit suicide. This crime is getting way out of hand and needs to be stopped now.

New iPhone

Rumors are flying that a new iPhone is coming out soon. It is said to be an "iPhone Nano". Personally, I do not like this idea. I think Apple is getting "too big for their britches". They are on top of the computer and phone sales, but they won't settle for that. This "nano" iPhone looks as if it would be too small for people to hold and talk on the phone. Also why would people want to buy the apps from Apple if the phone is too small to even play the games or read the words on it. I just think it is too itty bitty. They have had great success with the regular iPhone and the iPhone 3G and I think they should just be happy with that. It looks as if it would be easy to get lost everywhere, I know I am the person to stick my phone in my back pocket when I go places, and with the new one going to be that small and that thin, I know I would probably forget it was there and either sit on it and crack it, or accidentally wash it without knowing it was still in my back pocket, Also, there is supposably a new phone coming out that will "kill" the iPhone because the monthly cost will be so much cheaper.

Demi Moore "Tweets"

Actress Demi Moore's frequent postings on Twitter put her in the middle of a life-and-death drama Friday when a woman sent her an online message threatening suicide. Moore replied back saying, "Hope you are joking". Twitter followers tracked the message to a home in San Jose, California. There they found a 48 year old woman, which the police took in to custody for a physchological evaluation. Two hours after all of this took place Demi Moore "tweeted". She said, "Thanks everyone for reaching out to the San Jose PD i am told they are aware and no need to call anymore. I do not know this woman".

iPod for the Queen

Barack Obama and his wife Michelle went to London to visit the Queen. It is only formal that they trade gifts. Obama knew the Queen liked classical musicals so he got her an autographed book of the musicals. Also, to go with this gift he bought the Queen an iPod and filled it with the songs from the musicals she enjoyed most. This goes to prove that technology travels overseas as well. The Queen of England is now up to speed with technological advances. She on the other hand gave the Obamas a picture of her and her husband that she gratefully signed. To me this is not a fair trade off, but I mean, who doesn't want a picture of the Queen of England to hang in their homes?

iLounge

iLounge is a great way to keep up with the updates for one's iPhone or iPod. I actually liked the website and read a few of the articles about the new apps that will be coming out for the iPhone and iPod soon. Also, I really like the fact that you ca rearrange their homepage to meet your personal preference. For example you can move each box up or down, therefore if you do not care to read the articles, move them further down the page.

APRIL FOOL'S

Google's Latest Prank..

Google introduced CADIE this morning, April 1st of 2009. It is portrayed as a Cognitive Autoheuristic Distributed-Intelligence Entity. For several years now a small research group has been working on some challenging problems in the areas of neural networking, natural language and autonomous problem-solving. Last fall this group achieved a significant breakthrough: a powerful new technique for solving reinforcement learning problems, resulting in the first functional global-scale neuro-evolutionary learning cluster.

When you click on its link intriguing homepage, it takes you to a site with panda bears on it. This is supposably Google's new sophisticated program. It has turned out to be their latest prank.

Hats off to CADIE..