Finals Current Event!

1.    The issue between the Labay family and the Old West Austin Neighborhood Association is that the retail landmark in West Austin is tied up in what could be the endgame of a 16-year fight over an eyesore of a vacant old house a few blocks south of the store. Because of my love for, the pass, i have to agree with the neighborhood association, i think that the historic landmark should be left there and untouched. The compromise being proposed it to subdivide the lot to preserve the home while allowing development on the other portion. I think this will work, however the real problem is the money, and the compromise is allowing OWANA to get the historic presence of the house while the Labay family gets to have some land to do whatever they want. I think it will more likely please both sides morally, but the wallet doesn't seem like it will be very happy. 
2.    This article is about UT and A&M joining together! The University of Texas System and the Texas A&M University System announced Tuesday that it will compete for the contract to operate one of the nation’s nuclear weapons labs, along with the University of New Mexico, the Boeing Co. and the Battelle Memorial Institute. This partnership plans to bid in order to run Sandia National, which is owned by the federal government, has a $2.9 billion annual budget and more than 10,000 employees. By reading the article i have to agree with the UT system Chancellor, i think the collaboration is a great fit, and that leveraging the power of stellar universities along with other would remark the coming out and development of Sandia National Laboratories. However, the idea of it being an overall good fit as the universities collided, I personally think its good to show relationships between universities, football fans may not like it as much. However, the idea that the administrators are working together gives a good sense of leadership for students.
3.    The latest news in the Bill Cosby saga is that prosecutors on Tuesday crossed their final hurdle to bring Bill Cosby on trial on charges that he drugged and sexually assaulted a woman whom he once mentored, with a judge ruling that enough evidence existed for the case to move forward. I completely agree with the judges, if their is enough evidence to prove someone guilty, then we cant just go against fact. Cosby's lawyers said that that the former district attorney promised never to prosecute Cosby as a way to induce him to testify in the civil suit brought by Con-stand, which was ultimately settled, until February, a trial court judge dismissed the defense’s challenges.Reading through the arguments, I don't think that they have any merit. It seems like they just are doing anything possible to limit the amount of information that comes out. All of it seems a bit sketchy. I think that putting the story on the front page deals with the idea of news values. For the reason, that the story needs to come out quick and seen soon, before nobody cares, and it wont get that many responses if it was on a different page because they would more likely think that its just the same news, the front page just makes it seem more important. 
4.    The final decision that was made was to rename Lee Elementary, decided on Monday night by an 8-1 vote. This is the first time AISD changes the name of a school because of its ties to the confederacy. It was changed to Russell Lee, for the reasons that he was a critically acclaimed photographer and founder of the UT photography department. He also lived in the neighborhood.  Another decision made was that some people wanted Bettie Mann to be the school name, since she was the first African-American teacher, which resulted in the school's kindergarten gall after her in the same vote. I think it was kind of awkward that Mann, went to the voting to see if her name would be picked and it wasn't so... I do like the change and i think that what was mentioned in the article, about it being not necessary about re-writing history but about shaping AISD into the world. 
5.  According to the news report one likely outcome of the Football sexual assault scandal at Baylor University is that an independent law firm about how the school handled multiple sexual assault allegations would be done. The nature of the scandal grew in speculation, however knowing that Baylor is a Christian school, i feel like the school should be a little more careful with that and possibly enforce it more.

Mr. Susman Feature Profile

     
  Micah Susman, has been apart of the McCallum High School Staff for 10 years now. He has been teaching the subject of English Language Arts, to several grades and generations throughout his years, currently working with 9th graders today, he also is involved with teaching other classes, however he is mostly known as a an English teacher. From being a rookie to being an expert, he now has learned how to balance his job and his life at home, including handling situations with parents, behavioral issues and all the little things.  Mr. Susman has found the way to enjoy his life a bit more throughout his entire teaching experience.
        Even though teaching the same topics and lessons every year might get a bit exhausting, Mr. Susman finds that students are his motivation to keep him going, "...I like meeting new people, I like sharing new ideas, I like learning from them and all of their backgrounds as well." Throughout the course of the year, freshmen learn many topics, and do many readings to help them comprehend these topics. Mr. Susman shares with us that his favorite subject to teach students about is, existentialism and the absurd with the connection to The Stranger, written by Albert Camus. Yet he wishes that his students also, "...enjoy The Alchemist, and some of the ideas that things do matter as well."
        Teaching for such a long period of time, a memorable year Mr. Susman connects to is, "...when I was teaching seniors and we lost a couple of students that year." It's very tough to deal with a loss of a fellow student, but yet Mr. Susman kept going. However, Mr. Susman does have plans for his near future career, "...I am considering taking some time off, to raise my daughter...until she goes to kindergarten and then I would go back and maybe work full time..." He also included that he felt, like he works too much for the amount he gets paid, and its not worth to loose time with his loved ones. Considering, the fact of living in South Austin, and the growth of Austin as a city, has caused a long car ride from home and work a week, which he much rather be spending with family.

Many future generations will lose the teaching of Mr.Susman, throughout their high school years here at McCallum. Accomplishing his goal by allowing himself to, "sharing new philosophical ideas, and… introducing ways of thinking almost more than skills", with the students, Mr.Susman sees that its more important to extend a students mind farther beyond improvement in just reading and writing skills, overall showing the loss of a teacher McCallum is going to have a hard time to replace. Mr.Susman concludes that he thinks that teaching English is his skill and he will always teach it in some way, even though it will not be in a classroom. He recently is letting his classes know about his decision to resign at McCallum, hoping that his current and formal students here it from him and know that he is leaving for the right reasons. Mr.Susman, does not want this to be a sad farewell, instead he jokes with his classes about the fact, that if they ever see him in the street to at least be kind and throw in some cash.

VOCAB

Teaser- found on the front of the shield, leads the reader to a story
Flag- name of the newspaper, and where it's located
Folios- a line showing the page number, date, paper, and name
Bylines- the lines that say who wrote the article
Jumps- tells the reader where a story is continued
Story Dividers- any graphic element that brakes the story into parts
Screens- a light color over an entire article, can be grey or colored
Infographics- images that give information, (pie charts, bar graphs)
masthead/staff box- same as flag
bastard measure- Type set in a different width than the standard column measure
Raw wrap- when a story or headline might be bumped into, so they cut it short
Reefer- reference...basically.
Wild Art- the picture is good enough to go on the front..story not so much. Picture has caption to lead you to the story.
Pull Quote-key phrase, quotation, or excerpt that has been pulled from an article and used as a graphic element
Ears-Space at the top of the front page on each side of the newspaper's nameplate
Banner-headline extending across the width of a newspaper page, usually across the top of the front page
Kicker Headline-small headline just above the main one
Wicket Headline-headline design that consists of two or more lines of a secondary headline above one or more lines of a primary headline
Tripod Headline- headline style with a primary headline on the left covering two lines, next to lines of secondary headline
Hammer Headline- headline style that features one or more lines of primary headline above one or more lines of a secondary headline
Modular Design-style of design where all graphic elements are rectangular in shape and fit together cleanly and concisely.
Text Wrap-enables you to surround a picture or diagram with text
L-shape text flow- words go around the picture, when it is placed in a corner, creating an L
U-shape text flow- words go around the picture when it is placed in the center, creating an U

Other high school newspapers

1. I actually enjoyed the newspapers that had the entire front page with a picture and the major headline upfront, so one that really caught my eye was "NW Passage" and "Odyssey" just because I like the pictures and how they seem very realistic, and what you could vision high school like.
2. The "Odyssey" grabbed my attention immediately, because I like to watch basketball games a lot and I loved how the picture captured that a lot and how it was very true to the sport.  
3. My favorite headline was from the "NW Passage" and it said "The Homework Headache", I was really interested in it because as a high schooler myself I can relate to it very much
4. I am going to say that my favorite was "NW Passage" even though I have two favorites, but it only had about 3 stories on the front page, but it showed where you can find them like a table of context instead of actually having the stories on them, which I thought was pretty neat. It was a news magazine.
5. Most newspapers have a large photo with a big headline on the front, yet they are all unique in their different ways.
6. Some of the photos are drawn, others are taken, and some are cartoons. Other magazines actually look more like city news papers with the stories on the front page. All of the headlines were bold but had some cool twist to them, some had cool fonts and others had little doodles coming out of the letters. Very neat!
7. Actually they are pretty similar as the ones we see around the world yet they seem more interactive and artsy, which I guess was done to make the newspaper more appealing and eye catching to the teenage eye,

BROADSHEET
https://issuu.com/shsverve/docs/verve_vol_xv_iss_2_nov_2014
https://issuu.com/theview/docs/february_2014_issue
https://issuu.com/ruskin_high_school/docs/ee_issue3_feb2012_master
TABLOID
https://issuu.com/susannewell/docs/the_northridge_reporter_may_2014
https://issuu.com/themicrochip/docs/sept.2013
https://issuu.com/slhsspotlight/docs/february2014_final
NEWSMAGAZINE
https://issuu.com/megmortiz/docs/2014_feb_schs
https://issuu.com/smnw/docs/issue03combined
https://issuu.com/smeharbinger/docs/issu6

Front Pages of the World

1.  I like the ones in Asia, specifically in Tokyo, Japan the one named, Asahi Shimbun. It seems completely different from all of the other ones. It seems to be horizontally formatted and it has a lot  less pictures on the front page and a ton of information, even though i thought it would have had a ton of adds and color since japan seems like such a lit up country.
2.    I liked the ones in India, even though i cannot understand it just seems really cool, the text and the type of writing they have is very neat and complex that it attracts my eye. It kind of awesome on how they might see it as boring and when they see an American news paper its the coolest thing.
3.   I am not sure how many stories it has because it is in a different language but by counting bold phrases and boxed information i am going to say about 5-7 stories.
4.    What they have similar is the bold headlines and usually a main picture.
5.    Difference placement of articles next to the pictures.

Column Assigment

On April 21, the Houston Rockets defeated the Golden State Warriors 97-96, on Game 3 of Round 1 in The Playoffs.

The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Stephen Curry, star of Golden Gate, out for an ankle injury, the Warriors suffered a one point loss.

"It was what we planned" said head coach of the Rockets, "we were playing with a purpose", after tonight's home game. Even though they lost the last 2 games of the 7 game series, the Rockets pushed through, to only give the ball to James Harden. "I missed a lot of easy shots.." Harden said at a press conference after game 3, with an outstanding 35 point game Harden still gives credits to his team saying, "...total team effort."

"It wasn't enough, we had too many mistakes throughout the course of the game.." said Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors. With having a lot of outstanding individual performances, the loss of not having Curry on the court with the team was evident. "We have to play better as a team whether Steph is here or not..." continued Kerr, "...we should perform at a high level." Since missing their right hand man, the Warriors did not have a very great night, including lots of turn overs, shot missed, and basketballs dropped.

"We've got to eliminate some of the mistakes we made." says Kerr as his finishing statement. The Rockets walked of the court with a win under the belt, as the Warriors went on to practice. It has been predicted that Steph Curry should return for game 4, if pain is completely gone. 

Current Events 6.1

1.    Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Wednesday announced the most sweeping and historically symbolic makeover of the US currency in a century, proposing to replace the salveholding Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill with Harriet Tubman, the former slave and abolitionist, this will change the currency by adding not just presidents on money but also other important historical figures. Using a Broadway rap musical about the first Treasury secretary, might delight a fan base instead of upsetting them, this will more likely make others support this idea to change the currency in order to see the musical. The idea of having women on the $5 and $10 bills seems really exciting to me because they are the most used therefore we can see them more, however exciting does not mean i support it. I think they should pay women the same amount of money as men then add them on money to show that men and women have equal rights. The fact of having Harriet Tubman on the 20, i support. The idea of having people who changed our country for the good should have the spot on the currency.

2.    The first criminal charges stemming from the Flint, Michigan, water crisis were filed Wednesday, as two state officials and a city employee were accused of offenses including covering up evidence of lead contamination. Neil Rockind, said that this news was rare because it is very had to find a casee where the people who are being charges for just being personally bad at their job, without there being some sort of corrupt intent involved. The mayor plans to fill a few jugs with filtered Flint tap water this week and pledge to drink the water for 30 days to show it is safe. I don't think this will really work, if they had a bigger "celebrity" do it, it might infulece more people but really i do not think it will actually have an affect.

3.   Clinton and Trump campaigns are invigorated by the big wins on Tuesday in New York. Clinton now has 81% of the delegates she needs to clinch the Democratic nomination that eluded her 8 years ago. Trump strengthened his lead in the Republican race, but he is still far from in the clear. On Tuesday the round of primaries in Pennsylvania. A familiar argument that Trump made was on Wednesday, he said that the statewide winner gets 17 delegates outright and the rest are up for grabs. Clinton's win in New York, a state she represented in the Senate for 8 years, halted Sanders' recent string of victories and put her in a stronger position heading into the next contests.

4.   A Texas teachers union sued the head of the state education agency Wednesday over a new evaluation system that ties teachers' scores to students performance on standardized tests. The lawsuit form the TSTA seeks to block the Texas Education Agency from implementing the system, which bases at least 20 percent of teachers' marks on "student growth measures" and is scheduled to take effect on July 1. AISD is adopting its own system that uses standardized test results in a more limited fashion. 10% of the teacher's evaluation will be based on campus wide test results, not the scores of each teacher's students. The union is concerned that the new standards will encourage school districts across TX to evaluate teachers based on statistical analyses known as value-added models, which attempt to measure teacher effectiveness by tracking the improvement of individual students' test scores over time.

5.   Volkswagen makes a deal to pay US customers. The US government and private lawyers have reached a deal for the automaker to spend just over $1 billion to compensate owners about 600,000 diesel-powered cars that cheat on emissions tests, according to a person on the briefed matter. Others might receive more money than others form the German automaker because if the Clean Air Act violations. They still have to make payment because they need to help Volkswagen pay their debt from the violations. It is the tip of the iceberg because it is a lot of money they have to pay and they will more likely only get a few bucks back.

6.   Memphis has the Blues       Top of C1

    This story is about Round 1 of the seven game series to see who moves up the playoffs, Spurs or Grizzlies. The writer concludes at the fact that the Spurs might have a slight slip that can lead the grizzlies into the playoffs. It was saying that the Spurs are getting really easy games to the playoffs that subs have only really played 5 minutes less than there starting line. Spurs are resting to have more energy for bigger games. I kinda have to disagree with some of this article being such a good Spurs fan;) However this is perfect, I loved the way the article included both sides of the teams points of view, and how there was not much opinionated stuff on it. It had good timeliness and proximity. This article was VERY IMPORTANT to add in this quiz because it is about the SPURS!!!!

Best Day in Sports

      August 21, 2015

As everyone was on the edge of their seat, others on both feet and kids standing on chairs, history had been made.

Waking up, behind the passengers seat of a 3 hour drive from Austin to Houston, we were offered to go and see the astros Game against the LA dodgers with my grandparents, whom i haven't seen in months. A great event on a gloomy and rainy day, thought anxious me. Waiting outside the west gate for my grandparents to arrive, my family and I  stood under the balck tarp to prevent getting wet from the rain. Chewing gum while waiting , evidently ran out of the strong mint flavor, as I  walked at a fast pace to the nearest trash can I could see to spit it out. When  walking back, a nice couple who seemed a bit upset for missing some of the game, decided to turn and give me a pair of tickets, because their friends didn't show up soon enough. As I ran to show my mom, I noticed the seats where close up to the field and freaked out. I could not wait to see my grandpa, considering i had a pair of two tickets in the box seats to see his favorite team play.  I was extremely happy to find out that my family encouraged the idea of me sitting with my grandpa up front in the box seats, once he arrived, we all hugged and ran inside the stadium since the game had already started. I never told my grandpa about the tickets until he thought we were actually going to see the game from the very far spot. Once he sat down, my mom revealed the news. The man that walks the slowest in the family, stood up and ran down the stairs as if the titanic was occurring all over again and then i led him to the seats. Once i showed him the box seats we received, the biggest smile appeared on his face. He had mentioned that it was the closest seat he has ever gotten to the field, including the times he sat right in front of the TV. We watched the game for a while and around the 6th inning when the dodgers were batting my grandpa and i went to get concessions. As we were walking around my grandpa was a bit surprised that the stadium was still a bit full, "Usually people start leaving because the game is predictable", it was obvious that the astros were going to win but we did not know why people were staying. Until we noticed that once the we came back the dodgers were up to bat again, we had only been gone for about 10-15minutes and my grandad then saw the board and pointed out, that the pitcher has a possibility of hitting a "no hitter". As a soccer player, i did not understand and until my grandpa explained everything to me. Watching pitch by pitch go by slowly everyone was on the edge of their seats, others on two feet and kids standing on chairs. Until, the pitcher needed the last strike out to complete a pitchers dream, i remember the stadium being dead silent and everything went slow motion. As everyone saw and realized the ball in a glove, the crowd jumped up and down and everyone was celebrating along with the team. I had just witnessed the first  "no hitter" in 22 years in the minute maid park, and i watched it history occur with a very special man in my life. Once  we finished watching the game and taking pictures we found our way back up the far seats where my parents, grandmother and brother were sitting. As soccer fans my grandpa also had to explain what had just occurred, my parents laughed and realized that they were extremely late to understand what just happened in front of their eyes. As everyone left the field we stayed to watch the fireworks and enjoyed the scene from the far seats. Twas' the best day in sports.

Mike Wise//Column Assignment

Model:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/wizards/marcin-gortat-is-the-smiling-soul-of-the-washington-wizards/2014/12/11/3f615b10-817d-11e4-9f38-95a187e4c1f7_story.html

I feel like this represents  Mike Wise because....

• the use of quotes in his writing is either story based or hardly any, and this one is story based
• lost of description 
• he tends to use the game as the example of the players skill instead of the skill being what makes the player
• he tends to give a lot of physical description 

Current Event Quiz 5.2

1.    Today the recent news was that the student killed on campus appears to have been sexually assaulted and was the victim of strangulation, based on the preliminary evidence gathered by detectives. This is all according to several law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation, they are more likely left unnamed for safety reasons. I think that they provided this information to maybe hint the idea that she was not just shot for no apparent reason but that maybe she was aware that she was in danger but did not let anyone know. Many news values play apart in this including, timeliness; because if someone were to talk about this until everything was resolved and done no one would really care since it happened a long time ago, proximity; the idea that we live in Austin were the incident happened makes not just UT students more aware but everyone this also ties with impact. This is also really rare, to have a murder case happen on UT campus, making it one of the reasons many people freak out which also ties with emotion and human interest.

2.    Technology employers are frequently offering women lower salaries than men for the same jobs at the same company, according to a new gender wage gap analysis done by this jobs site. Hired.com helps connect tech employers with job seekers through a process that involves reviewing and accepting job offers, the company has an insider advantage point to study the gender wage gap. They are able to do this because this site has access to not only salary offers being extended to job candidates, but it know the "salary expectations" that the job seekers get. The causes of this inequity through this article is the idea that these jobs are downgrading women and making them think that they aren't as capable as men are by giving them a less salary. It doesn't really change my view on technology companies that are making these hires because I am not really looking for a job, but by being a girl,  I do appreciate that these sites show that we get payed less.  They did seem to promote the site a lot, I agree with you. The site's name seems to pop up a little too many times, I feel like the author could have taken the article through a different route and focused on other different sources rather than just Hired.com.

3.   North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory, whose state has been the subject of withering criticism since its Legislature passed a law limiting bathroom use by transgender people and eliminating anti-discrimination protections for gay and transgender people, on Tuesday retreaded from this full-throated defense of the measure. ACLU responding by basically saying that the McCrory's actions were poor in effort and attacking the LGBT community. Because of the gov. actions, PayPal, said that it would abandon plans for a global operations center in the state, the NBA suggested that it could move its 2017 all star game to Charlotte, and Deutsche Bank said it was putting on hold a project that would have brought 250 jobs to the state, even Bruce Springsteen canceled a show in NC because of the actions that the gov. took. They might explain the gov. executive order as stupid and not showing that the US is a free country for those who just want to be themselves.

4.   The number of child suicide bombers used by the Islamic extremists of Boko Haram has increased from four to 44 in a year with devastating consequences in communities that now see children as threats. Because of this 75 percent of children have been girls, and they say that children are victims and not perpetrators. This is been a terrible because they are putting the future in danger. Terrorism experts call these suicide attacks and not bombings for the reason that since involving children has become a commonplace and communities are starting to see children as threats. Boko Haram has aligned itself with al-Qaida and together they want to create an Islamic caliphare in Nigeria which is Africa's biggest oil producer. According to Mercy Corps, the reason many people join it is because of the unemployment and financial motivation and to get the youth farther ahead economically.

5.     I decided to read the "Plenty of buzz about Connally's trip to state" on C1.
   I really liked this piece it did justice to the situation, its so exciting to see an Austin school make it to the finals, especially since i once got to play against the Connally girls soccer team. I liked how they included a lot about their standings however the title really focuses on them getting the same haircut, but the it only really talks about it in the first paragraph.

6.    By scrolling down through this  think i would shorten it and i would first cut number 8 because in my opinion it is kind of useless and a scrap since its has really nothing to do with the rest of the points, however a lot was written about current rankings and big wins, along with a few quotes to support his prediction. 

Sport Story// draft

      August 21, 2015

As everyone was on the edge of their seat, others on both feet and kids standing on chairs, history had been made.

Waking up, behind the passengers seat of a 3 hour drive from Austin to Houston, we were offered to go and see the astros Game against the LA dodgers with my grandparents whom i haven't seen in months. A great event on a gloomy day. Waiting outside the west gate for my grandparents to arrive we stood under the tarp to prevent getting wet from the rain. As i was chewing gum, which evidently ran out of the strong mint flavor, i walked at a fast pace to the nearest trash can i could see. When spitting my gum out, walking back, a nice couple who seemed a bit upset for missing some of the game, decided to turn and give me a pair of tickets, because their friends didn't show up soon enough. As i ran to show my mother, i noticed the seats where close up to the field and freaked out. I could not wait to see my grandpa, considering i had a pair of two tickets in the box seats to see his favorite team play.  I was extremely happy to find out that my family encouraged the idea of me sitting with my grandpa up front, once he arrived, we all hugged and ran inside the stadium since the game had already started. I never told my grandpa about the tickets until he thought we were actually going to see the game from the very far spot. Once he sat down, my mom revealed the news. The man that walks the slowest in the family, stood up and ran down the stairs and i led him to the seats. Once i showed him the seat the biggest smile appeared on his face. He had mentioned that it was the closest seat he has ever gotten to the field after watching baseball for a long time. We watched the game for a while and around the 6th inning when the dodgers were batting my grandpa and i went to get concessions. As we were walking around my grandpa was a bit surprised that the stadium was still a bit full, "Usually people start leaving because the game is predictable", it was obvious that the astros were going to win but we did not know why people were staying. Until we noticed that once the we came back the dodgers were up to bat again, we had only been gone for about 10-15minutes and my grandad then saw the board and pointed out, that the pitcher has a possibility of hitting a no hitter. As a soccer player, i did not understand and until my grandpa explained everything to me. Watching pitch by pitch go by slowly everyone was on the edge of their seats, others on two feet and kids standing on chairs. Until, the pitcher needed the last strike out to complete a pitchers dream, i remember the stadium being dead silent and everything went slow motion. As everyone saw and realized the ball in a glove, the crowd jumped up and down and everyone was celebrating along with the team. I had just witnessed the first no hitter in 22 years in the minute maid park, and i watched it history occur with a very special man in my life. We finished watching the game and taking pictures we found our way back up the far seats where my parents, grandmother and brother were sitting. As soccer fans my grandpa also had to explain what had just occurred, my parents laughed and realized that they were extremely late. As everyone left the field we stayed to watch the fireworks and enjoyed the scene from the far seats. Twas' the best day in sports.

NFL Story Response

I feel like this situation has many factors. However, it was very close between both the article and the NFLs passage explaining themselves. What seems the most "sketchy" to me was the fact that they had former NFL participant move to working with a tabbaco company. To then later find out that the only other reason they contacted him was because of someone in Washington DC. Even thought it had been a couple years since that worker left. Why would they contact them just once after several years. In my opinion there is a lot of loop holes, however I think used that argument to make my decision to let the Times keep it. You can never go wrong with records that the times more likely used.

Game Story Notes

Game Story Notes

 

Elements:

•Storyline – the narrative thread that runs through most of the game story, something that addresses the significance of the event, of a strategy, of a play, or of a player. The storyline keeps fans reading, even if they’ve already watched the game.

•Context – explains the news values and offers key details, such as the score and the participants. Sometimes, this information, referred to as the nut graph, is included in the lede paragraphs for stories that do not take a narrative approach.

•Quotes – comments from players and coaches reveal insights into key plays, approaches and performances. Writers need to speak with participants on both teams.

•Key plays – descriptions and references to key plays illustrate how a team or player performed during key moments.

•Key statistics – the most significant numbers, particularly those that help propel the main storyline or that clarify a main point.

 

STORYLINE

 Nearly 24 million people tuned in to Game 6 of the NBA Finals, many cheering for Dirk Nowitzki, who elevated his game in the second half and led Dallas to its first championship. A large percentage of the TV audience also jeered LeBron James, probably the NBA’s most hated player after departing his native Cleveland for Miami following his hyped “Decision” announcement last summer. James fizzled down the stretch, shooting infrequently and poorly, setting up a perfect foil for Nowitzki, the assiduous forward. Essentially, that was the storyline for most journalists, a comparison between James and Nowitzki.

 

One of the authors used the two different players to start his lead while the other author focused more of staring off the story with the outcome of how it ended, and the last author went for more of the reaction of a character in the story. We notice that there is many different ways to start a story.

 

CONTEXT

    Should address which teams played, where they played, when they played, who won, what the final score was, and, perhaps, a brief reference to how the game culminated.

 

Author techniques:

·         Insert most of the info in the second graph and add details about what Dallas earing NBA title by winning the first three games of the series.

·         Insert several reasons why Dallas won.

 

QUOTES

                Never interview local coaches and local teams because you will get two different stories. However you should always interview the opposing team to talk about how they saw the ball movement, to then see and understand how the game was played, without having too many opinionated thoughts.

 

KEY PLAYS

 Basketball is a game of scoring runs. The team that strings together the most runs usually wins. So you’ll need to keep detailed notes as you watch a basketball game, highlighting where a team outscores its opponent in runs like 8-0, 12-2, 14-4. You’ll also want to underline key plays and to determine how a team scored several unanswered points. Was it thanks to 3-point shooting? Strong rebounding? Transition points? Focus more on the runs that usually ended being buzzard beaters and different plays that defined the games and helped the team stay strong, as well as overall player scores and include timing.

 

KEY STATISTICS

 You do not need to recite every scoring leader in a game story. Less can certainly be more. Readers’ eyes will glaze if you offer too many statistics, especially if these numbers are packed together. Look for stats that might not emerge in a box score, such as a player’s shooting percentage in a quarter or half.

 

Who's who Sarafina

Visual Arts Major, member of the National Art Honor Society, National Honor Society, McCallum writing center, and Student Council are only a few of the organizations Sarafina Fabris-Green has been a part of. Even though she is so involved, Sarafina still has time to support her peers. Her sophomore year she joined the rest of McCallum when going to Alamo Dome to see the football team compete. “We all loaded up in carpools, people rented buses, we all went with friends and drove down to San Antonio and got to see the game… it felt surreal.”  Out of all the things she has done one of her favorite things was photography. “My time in the photography program… was one of the most beneficial experiences… because of all the connections McCallum has as a fine arts academy has led me to meet lots of very inspiring people…” Sarafina is looking to pursue a career in urban studies to become an Urban Planner. Accepted into UT, Sarafina still waits for responses from other colleges before deciding where to go. 

Damaris Benitez

Bailee Herbold

DRAFT

Current Events Quiz 5.1

1.   Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo confirmed Monday that investigators have completed an internal inquiry into the controversial shooting last month of an unarmed, naked teen. According to Acevedo, he made the announcement soon because he says that the shooting cases have taken a year to a year and a half and he does not want to wait, therefore the timing of this story should occur quick because if it does end up taking a year, who will really care about this story in a year? The police has three options which include to either schedule a disciplinary hearing for the shooter, request an additional investigation or they could exonerate him from any policy violations. The investigative findings will only go public if released only if he is suspended for at least a day for his actions related to the shooting.

2.    Villegas, along with her family and Latino community are rushing to become US citizens to vote against Donald Trump. This family will set a trend making the entire Latino community do their best to make sure Trump will not win. President Obama has tried to help the community by launching a national campaign to galvanize legal residents to take the step. If Trump were to respond to the comment, i honestly will not know what he would say. I am Hispanic, and personally that man is crazy and insane in my point of view. sometimes i feel like he will turn the US into a monarchy!

 3.    The Texas Railroad Commissions are currently struggling lately to get more money from the oil industry since, the slumping price of oil. The commission leaders are telling conservatives in the legislature if the agency will not get enough money so they can accomplish their goal.

4.    President Obama ordered all the flags to be half down on federal buildings to be flown at half-saff in Nancy Reagan's memory. Michelle Obama will attend her funeral on Friday. It is appropriate for Ms. Obama to attend her funeral because according to the comments, she was very welcoming when they first moved into the White House, and she showed respect to them and she wanted to show respect to her. Her legacy includes being the first lady, and was an active member of the board up to the time of her death. And for 15 years she has been guiding force of the Reagan Library.

5.    A jury awarded Erin Andrews $55 million on Monday in her lawsuit against a stalker who rented a hotel room to hers and secretly recorded a nude video, concluding that the separate companies that own and operated the hotel shared in the blame. Andrews' parents described for jurors the terror   they and their daughter felt after learning of the video, but now knowing who took it, where it was shot and if someone was still watching her. Michael David Barrett shot videos in hotels in Nashville and Columbus, Ohio and posted them online and he was found guilty. The money is going to be paid by the hotel owner, not necessarily the franchise of the Marriott but the owner of the actual hotel. After the verdict, they said they were disappointed and were not sure if they would appeal.

6.   The US supreme court in a victory for gay rights  ruled Monday that states must honor adoptions by same-sex parents who move across state lines. But Alabama supreme court said in September that the woman's adoption decree from Georgia was "void" and would not be honored.The court appealed to the lesbian, they skipped the legal judgements of states.     

Rolling Stones Article PART ONE AND TWO

It was extremely well written. The article kind of makes me more aware that college is very, dangerous I guess. And I would like to point out that it's not a sports story!!! However, it's so stupid how UVA cares a lot more about a reputation than the safety of their students. I'm pretty sure that everyone who trades this article will never want to go to UVA. I was really astonished with the evidence and details included in the article, it must have been a long interview for everyone involved,  especially for the girls re-telling their traumatizing story. I absolutely hate the dean of UVA, they were useless and just there not doing anything. I won't write a lot because then I feel like I would write forever, basically the article had great organization, setting, and evidence. I liked it a lot .

IT WAS FABRICATED!!!!!! It was actually kind of noticeable, it was very detailed and they also had so many details of a rape that I don't think someone would actually repeat after such a  traumatizing event. However I think  however I think it is  this was a mistake by the Rolling Stones this could cause for them to be sued by UVA for possibly leaving a bad print on them.

Jack Kelley

He was a USA today reporter, he was in the hot water because he lied and plagiarized, as well as faked major stories, he had the option to resign or get fired. Kelley decided to resign after having at least 8 stories like this. This relates to Stephen Glass, in the way that they both faked stories, yet Glass's stories didn't have any real quotes at all and Kelley's quotes were plagiarized. Similar but different.

The Shattered Glass: Option One

Well, in my opinion Stephen Glass looked guilty from the second I saw him on the screen. With all the points you have made in the assignment, just proves that he is 100% lying in all of his own stories. The bags under his eyes hinted the idea that he works very hard, maybe a little too hard. He seemed to be a bit more caught up in the idea of praise and credit for something good. He faked the stories to specifically please the crowd and the sources. The idea that Stephen Glass said that the editor should defend his writers no matter what, kind of throws editors under the bus. Because is something like this were to happen again, I think the editor has the right to stand aside and be upset with his writer. When Glass decided to go into law school, he seemed upset about it because he feels like he was forced to because of his parents. I feel like it would be tough on Glass as well with the fact that he won't get that much praise that he so much desires. Glass seemed to lie about everything all of his notes were scenes from his head and he never had real evidence to prove anything. He seemed to have always say "it's in my notes". Yet, are the notes real notes...

Feature Profile: The World Traveler

     McCallum High School teacher, full time mom, and part-time world traveler, Mrs. Carrasco does it all. Many may know her as the human geography teacher or the world geography teacher, but just like the world she has many layers. Mrs. Carrasco has now been a part of the Student Leaders Abroad, Educational Tours program for about 3 years now. She has traveled to the Dominican Republic twice and is preparing for this year's trip to Germany and the Netherlands. Mrs. Carrasco looks forward to these trips to see, "The amount of growth, that I see in the students in such a short period of time..". She is strongly convinced that being a geography teacher, as part of her professional job, is that she is called to learn about the world around us in person. Even though, the world is extremely fun and exciting to learn about Mrs. Carrasco can not help the fact that her children are at home. "I miss my kids...I miss them and they stay with my parents and that's hard...", Mrs. Carrasco shares. Her mind may be half way across the world, exploring the beauty of the world around us but she most definitely has her heart with her children. However, she may not be connecting and attending her own biological children at home but while staying at the Dominican Republic she helps the kids in need. "The first time was great because it was brand new...and we didn't really know what we were getting into, but then the second time was great because the Dominican students, that we met when we were there the first time, were so excited to see us come back." Carrasco shares, "They said they've never had a student group come back to their school twice, which was really exciting for us.".
Mrs. Carrasco has been an amazing influence to inspire her students to explore the world around them, she advices that "Sometimes travel seems like it's expensive but I think the kind of experiences you get out of it are worth it, that it seems like it is worth the investment, I think it changes people's attitudes when they decided what majors they want to do...". She has yet to explore the rest of the world with her family, students and her self.

The Mourning Anchor

I thought this piece was really well written and composed. If the author wanted us to hate this person after reading the article than he did an amazing job. Description was well done and so was the overall plot including organization. This article was pretty lengthy, which was a down side because I felt lost at certain points, so maybe if it was shorter it would be more affective and it would probably keep the readers attention a lot more, I can see why you like this article mr. winter, and I noticed it was about sports again! hahaha, however basically I thought the piece was really well composed and done. Maybe something a bit shorter next time.

Jake Scott Article Summary

    Well this article was actually pretty different from the past articles we have read. This author of this article actually included himself a lot in the story. I like how it was split up in sections giving us the time because we see more of the mood the interviewee might have at these points. This feature profile was basically about a football player who really never decided to take the credit he deserved and just escaped the world. Which I guess gives us an insight of a celebrity's life, which in mh option is very interesting. I know we always talk about how to exclude ourselves from the story, but the way this was written I think including the author in the story was great, he did it in a subtle way, he never included emotion which I think was great. He only had facts and facts only. I liked how it pictured the scene of Hawaii because he made me feel as a reader as if I were walking down the Main Street with them, you can really tell that the author wrote with passion and enjoyment in this piece. They followed the guidelines that we read last class really well!! Nice feature profile pick mr.winter. however I have noticed you have a soft spot for sport stories!!!!!

On Sports Summary

This article goes over how to write profile stories. It touches the subjects of conflics, news angles, settings, characters, voices and the idea of writing with an authority. The idea of adding conflicts in the story is supported by the author and to make the piece a bit more understandable the author suggests that you would need to find the main conflict in order to write the actual profile piece. In the  idea of the news angle the author challenges you to actually think about why you are actually writing the story and to make sure you are including your reason in your piece, you can't just write a story because that person is your favorites more like you wrote about them because of a recent success or maybe the reason could be death. The setting is pretty emphasized in this piece. The author makes sure that we need to set a physical place for the main character to be in so the story makes sense, we can't just say some thing like "she had fun", because we don't know what she is having fun with and where she is at the moment she could be at a water park or carnival or a friends house. Therefore making the reason of having a time an d place very important. The author then goes on to explain the idea of transmitting the character to the reader. The next idea explained was the idea of writing with an authority, which is to basically emerge yourself into the story and to tell the story as if you were to know that person one on one. The last theme was voice, voice was explained to give us the idea that we do have voices as writers yet sometimes in my opinion we always have to be careful because the voice should be calm so the reader doesn't seem like we are very opinionated and that we expect them to understand and agree with us. But we have got have a voice that lets them think yet still persuade them just a TINY bit to what we think but let the reader still have their on ideas and opinions.

Types of Lead

1. Quote Lead
http://classic.esquire.com/m-john-sack/?source=esquire/?tpcc=Nieman

2. Description (person)
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/04/12/loss-and-love/a19pcWz6WF5nNozPPItwYI/story.html

3. Narrative
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/07/08/sports/beyond-the-finish-line.html?hp&_r=0&referer=http://niemanstoryboard.org/stories/notable-narrative-beyond-the-finish-line-by-tim-rohan/#h%5BBhrTrh,2,TcaTwa,2,MhtMha,1%5D

4. Description (site)
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/06/08/magazine/world-cup-curse-of-maracana.html?_r=0

5. Anecdotal
http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2012/reports/juniper/

Features !!

(1)   Dies the Victim,  Dies the City

      I am going to be completely honest, i did not like it. The death at the beginning was really well written and kept my attention for a while but it lost me towards the end. It was too much information, and it was not really painting a picture in my head so i got bored and drained with too much information at the same time that it just lost everything into it. Detail was very good at the beginning as well, did not like the ending much, but i did love the ending sentence, just wish it was like that the entire story.

It's an Honor

      Since the beginning, i was hooked with the word gravediggers. This feature was a lot more detailed and had more of the movie feels. I like how it starts with waking up in the morning and eating breakfast, because it is something we can all mostly relate to. It also paints the picture of the how it must feel to be there. The story it's self was pretty interesting to me, but in my opinion nothing tops the cheerleader story. I challenge you to find something like the cheerleader story Mr. Winter, it was really well written.


(2)    1. Leads
        2. Descriptive
        3. Narrative
        4. Startling Statement
        5. Twist
        6. Direct Quote
        7. Transitions
        8.  Don't State the Obvious
        9. Tie Ending with Lead
       10.  Avoid adding yourself to the story

 I put them in this order just because, i felt like leads are the most important just for the reason that they need to capture the audiences attention.  Descriptive is important because it allows the reader to visualize what's going on in the story and isn't that the most important thing?  The narrative is what tells the story, wouldn't that be extremely important, with no narrative there is no story.  Starting  statement and twist go together they both add the drama and drama captures the readers attention.   Direct quotes allow the reader to know what the actual person was feeling at that moment.  Transitions,  make the story move smoothly without confusing the reader for  that it makes it as an important part in the future writing.  From number eight down, they are all statements we have talked about before. Just stating the obvious on the last ones.

Current Events Warm-Up

The winner of the democrat party was Hilary Clinton, and the winner for the republican party was Ted Cruz. However, both had two opponents trailing right behind them. My family and I never really follow the elections as much as others do, however, we do always point out that when it come to the people voting they say things that attract all people in some way, but yet they make it more democratic or republican. I like how one of the participants said that there was a "virtual tie", because honestly from here on out it is about pleasing the people and being careful with what you say. In my opinion the outcome could honestly be anything with seeing the score this close. I guess we will just have to wait and see.

Current Events Quiz 4.1

 Damaris Benitez

Period-6

1/27/2016

1.   The state Sen. Royce West asked the Comptroller Glenn Hager, "Is the sky falling in Texas?" He asked this question by realizing that the oil prices were going down, and how it might effect the state's budget.  Hager responded, by saying that the sky is not falling in the awesome state of Texas, but that it is something that has to be watched carefully, and that he would rather not be in any other state but TX. Hager, used lots of evidence to support his answer but mainly stated that yes, our gas prices are low. But, Texas does not depend on that type of industry as much as they did in 2014, therefore he doesn't think Texas will be affected as much. Severance Taxes are taxes on oil and gas producers, they will bring less money that expected because the 7.5 percent they get on market value for natural gas and 4.6 percent for oil, will decrease because of the low gas prices.

2.    Trump will be skipping the final debate, because he says that he does not want Fox News to play with him like a "toy", and that instead he will be hosting a charity event in the state to raise money for wounded warriors and veterans groups. This makes his decision a bit risky because he will be missing Thursday's presidential campaign, which is the last one before Monday's Iowa caucuses. I do not think it is a very smart move on Trump's part. He should go to the campaign, because if he want to be president, sometimes he would have to do things and attend things he more or less will not like, he isn't just not going to show up because he does not want to. The dilemma that the three candidates will be facing in Feb. 4, is a newly proposed debate, and just five days later the New Hampshire's debate. Regarding the event in Feb. 4,  I honestly think it will not take place unless the democratic party approves of it, because then Bernie Sanders will go then which will then come along with Clinton going. Which if it is not approved by the democratic party, its understandable if they do not go, maybe it will not do them any good in the race.

3.    Brazil is fighting against a mosquito blamed virus that is spreading and causing birth defects. To help the army will be going door-to- door to help in mosquito eradication efforts ahead of the country's Carnival celebrations. Zika, dengue, chikkungunya and yellow fever are what Aedes mosqutios transmit. The minister is not very reliable because of the lack of effort he has had to help fix these huge problems, when they were once small. Some huge events are heading that way and the government needs to watch out since they will be hosting the summer olympics.

4.   UT teachers are going to start to have guns in class. Two professors agree on, maybe having a meeting with the staff to make sure they will follow the law with the arms in class. Aug. 1 is when it is predicted to have the law enforced. An open carry law to place and is in affect since Jan. 1. Justin Wood said that people are still in concealed carrying and that he has not seen open carry in the street at all yet.

5.    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton objected Tuesday to the Obama administration's recent move to resettle Syrian refugees without giving state officials one-week notice. On Friday, the Justice Department moved the Syrian refugees to Houston TX. On Dec. 2, Paxton asked a federal judge to file a suit to block resettlement efforts. Which was later denied because of the concerns about terrorist acts.

6.   If Texas beats Kansas that means that the Lady Longhorns will hit a milestone by accomplishing 1000 all-time wins for a program that played in its first game in Nov. 1974. Right now the Longhorns season is going pretty well, with rated number 6 in the country and are18-1, and they are at no.2 for NCAA tournament. Right now the girls really need to work on turnovers and make them a bit cleaner to advance more in the games.

7.    Well both leads are really similar. However, the one that pays more respect is the one on the The Statement because it does not include the years that he had outlived unlike the New York Times obituary. The New York Times obituary just seemed like, it is ok that he is dead, because he lived 34 years over the regular person. Kind of saying like he lived a long life, move on. I like The Statement's obituary just for that small reason. 

Mitch Albom on Writing

1.   In the speech Mitch Albom spoke, he mainly talked about how to write a good story that would be featured on a news paper or just in general. He went into details with leads, middles, and endings. He eleborated a lot on how to keep the readers attention and not drowning them with information the entire article. Yet instead paint a picture to let the reader view the story and relate, with out them falling asleep. 

2.     In the leads, he said that you should include "how old somebody is, where they live, what they did, what they’re charged with", and have to make it sound a lot less, informational to keep the readers attention. Albom, also includes an alternative that is possible just in case you can't or don't seem to find a way without drowning the reader with information, and suggests that you paint a picture with words. He also gives the advice as making the lead as a movie trailer film, like giving the plot, yet not giving the ending and how. Albom, also said that if your story is pretty long and can't seem to be summarized in those ways to, "do it straight ahead with information, but if you’re going to do that, see if you can come up with some gimmick or some visual. Follow the path of a bullet that goes through this and goes through that. It’ll hold the reader’s attention that much longer". 

     In the next to sections, Albom didn't have much to say for middles and endings as much as he had to say for leads. However, in the middles he suggest just a couple of tips. One is to look and tell the story beyond of what you see in front of you, and to tell the story at different angle. Basically, move out of the 1st person point of view and look at the others who are also being affected, step out of the box. 

     In the endings, Albom states that you shouldn't have to feel like you should end with such a strong and huge and amazing ending but yet just summarize it. He suggests that you shouldn't tell the reader what is wrong with society and how they should fix it or what to do to fix it. But just paint a picture just like you did in the beginning.

3. 

"you can do it straight ahead with information, but if you’re going to do that, see if you can come up with some gimmick or some visual. Follow the path of a bullet that goes through this and goes through that. It’ll hold the reader’s attention that much longer"

This was on the topic of leads. I really like and agree with this quote and that's one of the reasons I choose it. But mainly because I struggle a lot with leads and this just makes it have more sense and reason on why I lead should be there. The paint a picture idea is genius and it's something I definitely have to try. 

"You’ve got to say how old somebody is, where they live, what they did, what they’re charged with, all the rest of it, it’s hard to put a lot of pizzazz"

Connects to the statement and my comment from the last quote, not only because it was from the leads but because this is exactly what my problem is, which made me relate and intrigued more into the reading. It's so hard to put some "pizzazz", I tend to state everything as if I were answering some questions, and this is why I choose this quote because k agree and relate to it a lot!! 

"what I did was like a movie preview. In one minute they give you all these scenes from all throughout the movie and you have a general pace of what’s coming up"

Probably another method I would have to try, it seems exiting to think about writing more in the movie way than in the stating information way. I love the way Albom uses this example that makes you want to visualize things in a way that you think is beautiful but put it into words. I so agree with this choice!!!  

"tell the story in a different point of view"

I have seen this been done before and has worked successfully every time I read an article like it because originally a reader doesn't really think about  different perspectives except for the main characters  because that's what were used to reading as kids.  This is kind of stating that you should step out of the box and see the big picture. Another thing I will definitely have to try.

 "Trust your readers, they’re pretty smart. They know how to read, they’re already ahead of most of the rest of the country"

 I've never thought of something like this before. We always seem to tell stories  as if you were talking to a five-year-old. Now what I write I will probably keep this in mind because I do need to understand that my readers are smart and will understand the context of the story without Meeks having to explain it. Something I definitely agree on with Albom. 

My Obiturary

          On the morning of January 24th, Damaris Benitez passed away peacefully in her night sleep, at the age of 80. Mostly well known for being a "youtube star", she had a fan base with over 20 million people watching as she grew and learned how to understand life by raising her kids, and dealing with the obstacles everyone faces everyday. It has been done that her fan base just got bigger from those joining in, even today. "She had always told me that all she wanted to do was to make more people smile." said Annie Lynch, her daughter. Damaris did not fail her task, and yet the one thing that she didn't want to happen was to make others sad. It does bring heartache to those who watched her videos, but the fans bring tremendous support for the remaining family. Even though she had not been posting for a couple of years, her kids did always keep the videos going and having her as a guest star and always mentioning as the lady who "started it all". She graduated from Stanford University with a bachelor degree on videos graphy, and was at the top 10% of her class in McCallum High School. Besides success, she fulfilled her desire to be a stay at home mom, with having her kids homeschooled, and in sports."We were all so close to her, she was not only our mom but she was also our best friend" said her son, Caleb Logan Lynch. Now she will join her husband, in peace and happiness as they rest. "I will miss her, but her love is never ending, so she is not really gone." said her daughter, Hailey Lynch had said. Damaris Lynch will certainly be missed by the joy and happiness she brought to this world and her family.

RIP January

1. I decided to read about Glenn Frey, David Bowie and Monte Irvin. However that was very interesting to me and that stood out the most was the obituary to Monte Irvin the New York baseball team player. The way that his life was written was very well, I felt like it did pay his respects. I personally think he was an important and symbol for the US, including the problems this man had to deal with because of the color of his skin, and for the joy and happiness he brought to families by bringing them together and watching baseball.
2. All of these obituaries actually have a lot in common. I have answered a question like this before and I always see the same pattern. In the obituaries we read, they all only focus on the good, the accomplishments, the peaks, and the happiness of the one who had past. They never mention anything about the downs, but they mention more success, to make their life appear fulfilling. However, another reason I really liked Monte Irvin's obituary was because they did mention at least one struggle, which was the problem with the color of his skin, but they still did make his life sound overall again, fulfilling. I get why people want to know and look at the good side of  that one's persons life just because you would want your memory of them to be positive. Which is why I think we see a consisting pattern, in all of the obituaries.

The Radical Write

1. Here I feel like Hawthorn, in that saying is basically stating that when writing you shouldn't make it sound like facts, and basically stating question and answer. But instead trying to take the information and putting them in chronological order to make it sound like a good story. Which I totally agree with. Just like Hawthorn said "write about specific people and their situation" not necessarily write about a standard q&a.

2. The way Hawthorn explains the perfect layout for a story is to go beyond the who, what, when, where, and how. And to take more of the dramatic route with the literary devices which include; character, setting, plot, conflict, dialogue, order, anticipation, climax and resolution.


*late because I was absent

Narrative Journalism -When Your Dreams Die

1. Well in the story that I read, I feel like the writer in order to make the story feel like more than just following one person around, did a good job of including family members, friends, and even coworkers. Since it was someone narrating the story, it gave the reader and advantage of not just seeing a story through someone's eyes, but seeing and feeling emotions among other people.

2. Well the author seems to be narrating the story, which does include him a lot in the story, voice wise. However opinionated wise and thoughtful wise, he did a great job of letting the story do its job and not trying to hint the reader the exact meaning of the story but letting the reader read and find out for themselves. Which the writing was excellent, and the meaning wasn't that hard to find.

3. In this story, there is well use of drama and order. Which were the two that really stood out. Drama, allowed the reader to see the story in obviously, a more dramatic view. We notice it at the moment when the author explains the hate phone calls the ref gets, the feelings that were explained on how the wife felt when she saw the empty pill bottles in the restroom, and one of the most dramatic scenes, was when he was writing the suicide letter along with how he started feeling when he was taking pills and how he knew it was a stupid thing to do. This then follows in with the order the story was out in, we notice that in the beginning the author decided to add the scene of the main subject walking with the suicide letter, to the shed, and the pocket full of pills he had in his pocket, after explaining that scene the author then moved on to the story, which was kind of a hook for the reader to want to keep reading more. This shows 2 literary devices hawthorn explained in his books.

4. The author seemed to use a lot of sources, from the subject himself, to coworkers, family, friends and maybe even enemies. Therefore I estimate that the author had about 12-15 people at least that he interviewed for this story. He wrote the story as someone narrating it so, he 100% had to ask the subject how he was feeling at every single scene and how others were feeling, plus what they said, did and thought. The author did a great job narrating, so effort was for sure evident in this story.

5.  "Melissa felt a pain in her stomach." - Here we notice that the author must have asked how this person felt at the moment they found out that her husband had taken a handful of pills and told his daughter that he was going for a "walk".

"..Gerdes slapped him, slapped him hard shook him." - Here we see that the author must have asked the person slapping him, why they decided to do that and how they felt in that moment. This quote I thought what strong because we see the anticipation and anxiousness from the character because we see that this person really wants the other to live.

"If it happens, it happens' Kenny says."- Here we see Kenny moving on. So more likely the author asked questions like how did he feel after everything that happen and how he moved on and maybe what his motto was afterwards.

Best of 2015

Damaris Benitez

Period-6

1/6/2016

credits to: Kimimasa Mayama-EPA

I like how this picture looks a lot like Austin. Which was the reason it stood out to me. It relates to things I have done in my own city. The picture seemed to capture a nice, relaxing moment. I think we may have found the, nicer and a lot cleaner version of the Zilker Park canoes. 

credits to: George Steinmetz 

I have actually seen this picture before. My pervious art teacher, had shown it to me early of 2015. Which is the reason why I picked it out. It reminded my of a moment in my life, and I had a special connection to it. It is also really unbelievable how all of the different colors are rows of tulips. 

credits to: Rex Hutterstock 

I would one day love to visit London. And seeing this picture just made me want to even more. It looks so cool and beautiful, the architecture is so old yet so modern makes me want to go visit London more. 

1st two pictures:   http://time.com/4124895/top-100-photos-of-2015/

3rd picture:  http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/03/world/gallery/year-in-pictures-2015/

Best Song of 2015: "Where Are U Now"

The reason I chose the song "Where Are U Now", by Jack U and Justin Bieber, is because when I went to my favorite band's concert, the opening act was a DJ and he played this song. Therefore this song takes me back and reminds me of the awesome time I had at the concert. Therefore, it was also a really good song, with a fun beat and very unique. In my opinion it deserves the best song of 2015.

Best Movie of 2015: "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2"

I waited for this movie to come out for about 366 days, as soon as the part one was released. As a fan of the books and movies, I really enjoyed watching every second of it. The action packed, love triangle and rebellion story, made this an awesome movie. However, as always the books are better, but they did a really good job of picking out the good scenes, even they screwed up some. It deserves the best movie of 2015.

Best News Story of 2015: Death by Police Officers 

In my opinion, I do not think we have heard a lot of deaths by police officers since we actually hit 2015. Making this have some oddity. Proximity and impact also allowed these news stories for the people around them. Some even causing rebellion. Allowing these stories to pop out, and catch lots of people attention. Therefore, these stories stood out and made a statement making them the best news stories of 2015, not because of what they have actually done in the stories, but what the impact was.

Most Important Person of 2015: Ellen Degeneres

I know Ellen was nominated for person of the year, but did not achieve the title. However I feel like she deserved it because who, else besides this woman can make you smile. She is generous, nice and sweet. What else can you ask for. She understand the meaning of happiness and tends to give it out. Therefore she deserves the title. 

Most Important Sport of 2015  



The Spurs, are my absolute favorite basketball team, they won the 2014 NBA championship, therefore 2015 should've been the year to honor them. Even though they did not do very well last season. I feel like they should be recognized for their hard work. However, basketball should be the sport of the year, just because it is awesome, and it is a great way for a family to get together, because honestly it is the most simplest game to understand and everyone could have a good time without having someone to ask what is going on in the game.

 

MY HOLIDAY:

 I do not celebrate christmas, but i did hang out with some family and ate dinner during christmas week. Also I went to my annual church winter retreat for the youth and I had a ton of fun. I had a great time and met lots of new people and of course saw similar faces.

My goal this year, is to have a better relationship with God. I want to be more healthy spiritually and so far I haven't been doing great but I plan on changing that. I want to also become more involved in my youth group because I want to become a youth leader when I grow up, as well as a teacher. And overall I want to become a better person myself and stay true to myself and stand up for what I believe in.

In 2016, I look forward for a new obstacle of adventures and hopefully lots of fun.