Advice when SOMEONE THROWS A BANANA WITH SOME RACISM...

I think with the Life Ban for that idiotic fan, should be charged with a bigger fine. The La Liga should have charged him of other things because of this assault. Yeah, it may not be a big assault of just throwing a banana, but a physical touch is a physical touch, no matter the circumstance. In the 1931 constitution of Spain said that if a person assaults a person, the person shall be fined and imprisonment for a couple of years. The La Liga is in Spain right? So, the government shall do what the constitution said, because this is Spain. He said something very RACIST just because Dani Alves scored a goal. The FIFA is trying to have soccer a world playing it as a UNITED WORLD, not a RACIST COMMUNITY. So, he pretty much did something against a rule in the FIFA, and he broke a U.N rule, which is not discriminating any race. Since he broke a couple of rules internationaly and domestically, he shoud be charged more with a prison sentence. Also, just because your team, Villarreal, no offense but they actually are terrible, is losing, doesn't mean you can throw a big tantrum, too, especially to the person who scored the goal (I'm actually fascinated that the banana got near Dani Alves). What do you think? Would you let this stuff go, and let it happen again? Would you charge him more or less after this?

Taking a bite out of Racism

I thought that the way Dani Alves handled the situation was pretty awesome. I mean he didn't fight back, which would just make the issue worse, and he didn't completely ignore it either. I think that someone should handle these things with a bit of humor as if to "I don't care what you think." I play soccer and if that had happened to me I have no idea what I would have done but it defiantly wouldn't have been that. On the Donald Sterling front I think they did the right thing by kicking him out. I mean he said some pretty terrible things about black people and that's just not right. I know he has freedom of religion but still that's really just wrong. I hope that in the future, people sill handle these sorts of things with though or else the issue will just keep coming back and just get worse what about you?

On the Subject of the Current NBA Matter

Since Donald Sterling surprisingly actually has a choice whether or not to sell his team, this means that if he refuses to, then the players can't be a part of the NBA either. This, I believe, is unfair, because the members of the team didn't do anything all that wrong (well, actually yeah, they did by fighting back but still, they shouldn't be banned for life for that). I just think everybody should chill out, and the players should calm down because there isn't really much of anything they can do to stop Sterling from getting banned. Sterling should also sell the team, so that his team can still be a part of the NBA, since it would be kind of a jerk move to not sell the team. I'm sure some others would protest at my ideas, so perhaps you could leave a comment to voice your opinion?

Racism

I think that racism is very bad and should be dealt with. It's kind of hard though. Harder than it seems.  There are many ways that a person could respond to something like this. You could respond with humor the way Dani Alves did when that person threw a banana at him, with humor, or you could get very angry and maybe even violent. I think you should simply speak up. I mean even though there are some people in this world who support racism, but there are a lot of people who don't right? I mean there is a saying "strength in numbers". I think that is totally true. If something like that happened to you you could tell people and maybe they could help you out with it. I mean it makes sense! Anyway I think that racism shouldn't just go unsaid. However you go about doing it you should make yourself heard! If someone was racist to you what would you do?

NBA

         I do think it's a good thing that they kicked Donald Sterling out, but at the same time, it was a little overboard with the 2.5 million fine. It bothered me when I hared about this, because I didn't really think that somebody would do that when they had a responsibility for the team. There are African Americans on the team that wore their shirts inside out because of this. Lets hope that the next leader is nice, and also not racist. I think that everybody thinks that he should make an honest apology to the team. Do you think Donald Sterling should be fined, and why?

The NBA did almost the right thing

Donald Sterling has been in the news lately for racial controversy. I think the LA Clippers players should opt out of their contract and apply for free agency. The Clippers employes should resign from working their unless Donald Sterling will leave the team or sell it. The video tapes of Sterling saying bad things to his girlfriend have leaked and sparked this. The fans of the team should boycott at least game 1 of the second round (if they make it) or just protest until Donald gives up ownership of the team. Adam Silver should immediately force Donald Sterling to sell the team. If I was a huge LA Clippers fan, I would not show up to games or have anything related to the organization until its fixed. Would you do the same thing? 

Wow! Racism really?

I think that they did the right thing by kicking Donald Sterling out... but they shouldn't have fined him 2.5 million dollars. Since there were African Americans people on the team...I  thought that it was crazy that he would say something like that. I think it was a good idea for the team to wear their shirts inside out. I hope that the new head leader is not racist and respects everybody no matter who they are! I was very disappointed when I heard about this... it was out of the blue for him to say this and he should apologize! I hope he has learned his lesson and won’t choose to say any of these things again Donald Sterling.

What the NBA should do.

I believe that even though Donald Sterling is the Owner of the team there is a catch. He is forbidden to do business with the League, in other words if he refuses to sell his team the Clippers can not be part of the NBA. I think this is exactly what NBA commissioner Silver should do. However, after being kicked out of the NBA, Sterling decides to sell, the Clippers should be allowed to become apart of the NBA once more. Involving things the players can do to protest well let me see- HE TOLD HIS GIRLFRIEND "NOT TO BRING BLACK PEOPLE TO GAMES ANYMORE" and well 12/14 PLAYERS ON THE CLIPPER'S TEAM ARE AFRICAN AMERICAN. So, if he doesn't want these people I guess the Clippers can just go into the playoffs with only two team members or less (I mean players should completely boycott games, forcing the Clippers to forfeit and leading to a dramatic loss of profit for Sterling. See any holes in my theory? please comment.

Blog Episode IX: How to Respond to a Pig

Do you know anything about the First Amendment? I hope so! It, of course, protects*  for American citizens five special freedoms. For this blog post, the important one at play is the freedom of speech. Sometimes this is hard to understand, but it protects your right to do and say just about anything, anywhere, anytime. There are restrictions of course for safety and security reasons, but that is for another time. Here is where it can sometimes be tough to fathom: it protects your right to be a racist. Being a racist is of course repugnant and ignorant...but you have that right. You have that right, and so does Donald Sterling. On Tuesday it was announced that he was banned for life from the NBA, on top of the $2.5 million fine he will be paying for violating the NBA rules for ownership which deal with ethics and morality. But for now anyway, he is still the owner of the team. It remains to be seen whether the league can force him to sell the team. His lifetime ban prevents him from doing things like attending practices or games, being involved in league issues, and being involved in any team issues like player trades or contracts...really it bans him from doing anything with the league. But it doesn’t (so far) prevent him from owning the team.

And then there was the idiot fan that showed his true colors by throwing a banana at Barcelona’s Dani Alves during a soccer match. Teammates, fans and even opposing players showed their solidarity, and the fan got what he deserved from the league.

My question to you then is this: What can/should fans, team and league employees, and of course the current Clippers and/or Barcelona players do in the face of this hideousness? The basketball players wore their warm-up shirts inside out as a protest the night of the first game after this embarrassing rant was publicized. Alves ate the banana and Villarreal issued a statement deploring the fan. Should they have done/do more? What about the fans...should they have boycotted the game? Should they now?

Please be sure to include a link or links as usual, and end your post with a question. Though I am not directing you specifically to work on transitions, or correct comma use, or any other specific “good writing” constructs, it is expected that you should display your best 7th grade blog writing skills. You will earn the grade that your writing reflects. Do your best!

*(It does not GIVE you rights: it merely protects what is already yours)

Rant of the Koreans

Well, first of all, Korea is ONE COUNTRY. It looks like two totally different countries at first, right? North is communist, while South is Democratic. But, do you know the real cause of the SPLIT UP? It's because of AMERICA. Americans deny it, but it's the truth. HARRY TRUMAN HAD TO STICK IN AND MAKE THE 38TH PARALLEL TO "STOP" WAR BETWEEN THESE TWO COUNTRIES. If he didn't cut off General MacArthur, South Korea would have won. China wouldn't be able to attack. But TRUMAN WAS AFRAID OF THE CHINESE, WHO BARELY HAD AN ARMY! Due to this fear, Truman got together with Stalin of the United Soviet States of Russia to make this stupid parallel. Or, he could have let MacArthur win it all, so it can sit still, relax, and watch the show, but he had to act heroic to be the hero, like most people *cough, cough*. But before that, even though after Japanese torture Korea was very poor, America didn't have to get the Korean peninsula. They wanted it to make a military base, and get more colonized land. Shouldn't they be happy enough when they've got Alaska and killed the LAST QUEEN OF HAWAII, WHEN THEY DIDN'T EVEN ASK? America also had Puerto Rico, Guam, and Midway Islands and already built a couple of bases here and there. Shouldn't they be happy? No, they wanted every where to have DEMOCRACY! Well, bad timing, 'cause it's in the middle of the Cold War. So, the Soviets followed the Americans to get every weak country COMMUNISM. Korea would have been one country, and be far more stronger than today. Plus, when you visit Korea, they wouldn't have hideous images of Kim Il-Sung and others on Korea on Baekdusan, or Mt. Paektu. You wouldn't have NUCLEAR THREATS from a country called North Korea. Americans wouldn't have needed to shed blood from innocent people. Okay, there was the Korean War, and we fly into present-day time. The US promised to stick up for Korea no matter what the circumstance was. But, why would they accept money from the Japanese, Korea's worst historical enemy other than China? For example, Dokdo Island. Originally Korea's since 688 A.D from Shilla's explorers to chart new lands. But, Japan claims it's theirs. How about the 1877 treaty between Korea and Japan. Japan said in that article that they will not do anything with Dokdo in the Future. But, after the discovery of Petroleum near the island, Japan craved for it, naming East Sea, "Sea of Japan". They lobbied it to America with money, and America graciously accepted. How unfair is that? Shouldn't have Koreans have the right to have a rant about this?

Halong Bay is definitely for me.

I would like to improve my word choice. For my place I chose Halong Bay, Vietnam. Its natural beauty was flabbergasting! I love nature and I explore outside every chance I get. To me it's all very refreshing and calming. The ocean was bay was amazing and the sea-stacks were so big and awe-striking. I think it would be amazing to live there. All in all Halong Bay has 1,969 islands of various sizes. 989 of those islands have been named. There are so many plant species that scientists have not even come up with a final number for the total amount. I wonder what new species will be discovered in Halong Bay. Would you like to live in Halong Bay? I know I sure would.

Foods In South Asia

South Asia's foods are combined with all types of chilies, peppers, herbs, and other strong herbs. They also use a lot of very common meats such as lamb,  goat, and chicken. Beef is not so popular in the western cuisines because lamb, and goat have a special place in Hinduism. Many of the foods go back as well about five thousand years ago. They usually cook outside because of there tradition. Why do they use tunes of spices in there foods?

Into Thin Air Review (extra credit)

As you know Mr.Hopper has been encouraging us to read Into Thin Air by John Krakauer. I had previously read the book and decided to reread it due to the extra credit option. The story is told from first person as Krakauer delivers an excellently told account of the horrific 1996 climbing season, the second deadliest to date. He details the South African Scandal. He also recounts the storm that turned the day deadly and why the team leaders took such risks, Want more? Read! 

The Temples at Bagan

One place I would visit in Southeast Asia would be the Temples at Bagan, Myanmar. This is because it is very beautiful and is a sacred spot in Asia. Bagan is an ancient city located in the Mandalay region of Burma. From the 9^th 13^th centuries, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan. Bagan rulers and their wealthy built over 10,000 religious monuments. Unfortunately, there has been many (over 400) earthquakes in Bagan. The earthquakes destroyed many temples. Now, only 2,229 temples and pagodas (a tiered tower) left. Would you like to visit this area?What other places in Southeast Asia would you like to visit?

Good Deal!

             In this blog post, I will work on the correct comma use. Out of the ten to choose from, I would choose Malaysia because it is “where food is the main attraction.” When I read that, I knew it would be my favorite place because I love trying new food! Malaysia is own for it’s spicy curries (I love spicy things) and soups. (Which I also like!) The best part is, the food is quite cheap aswell! So you eat awesome food for cheap prices, I don’t know about you but, now THAT sounds like a good deal to me! Would you come to Malaysia and eat awesome cheap food with me? (It will be my treat!)

Are there colors we can't see? (Extra Credit)

Scientist have proven there more colors hidden behind the shadows. Just imagine seeing a different colors around you , can you think of the variety of colors? The science behind this is called "electromagnetic spectrum"  A color that im talking is about a redish green i dont me red mixed with green im mean red and green at the same time. Would you want to see this whole diffeent perspective on earth?

Halong Bay

2000 or more islands rising from the Gulf of Tonkin and you have a vision of beauty. Halong translates as ‘where the dragon goes into the sea’, and legend claims the islands of Halong Bay were created by a great dragon from the mountains. Halong Bay attracts visitors year-round. Halong Bay has the number-one tourist attraction in the northeast. Halong Bay borders Cat Ba Island in the southwest, making a 120 km coastline. Halong Bay is made up of 775 islands, and forms a triangle with the island of Dau Go. Would you want to go and see the Halong Bay in person?

Bagan

There are a few sunsets in the world that compare to the marigold light of the fading day that settles on the patina of the thousands of temples on the plains Bagan. Unlike the temples at Angkor, Cambodia, the appeal of the Buddhist temples in Bagan is not in their individual majesty, but in the high density and endless array of similar structures going out of the plains. There are about 13,000 temples that used to stand in the city of Bagan, the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Pagan. Some 2,000 still remain, and it’s this spiritual plenitude that makes a trip to Bagan. What do you think of this spiritual culture. 

Bali, Indonesia

Bali is an island that is part of Indonesia. It is the smallest province located there. Bali is the largest tourist destination in Indonesia and many people go there at all times of the year. Modern & Traditional dance is what Bali is most known for. It is often called the "Island of Gods" or the "Island of Peace". The languages spoken there are Indonesian, Balinese, and English. I would love to visit Bali because of the popularity  of dance there. The beauty pageant, Miss World 2013, was also held there. I often struggle with use of commas in my writing.

Grand Cayman Island and US Airway Fails Us

On Friday we left around 6 pm to go spend the night in Detroit for our early flight. I woke up around 4:30 and David woke up around 4:45 am. We got to the terminal around 5 am and waited until around 7 am. I had to sit next to David the first flight and it was not fun, but all morning I was texting Mellany. We got on the second and last flight for the day around 9:15 am, that flight was four hours. I got to Grand Cayman Island around 3 pm. We had to walk to the store around 4 pm (it was around a half mile walk). Saturday night I was sitting on the beach with my dad. On Sunday I sat out on the beach, on my phone texting people, and also went snorkeling. That night I sat out by the pool and went for a late night swim. Monday we walked to lunch and back, which was like 3 miles, I also went out on the beach. Tuesday we went shopping in town all day. Is was really fun, but also was really hot.  Wednesday morning I played games with my mom. During the day we drive around the whole island which is I think 4 by 22 miles, I'm not a hundred percent sure about that though. On Friday I was out at the beach all day reading and got a little tan. Saturday we left around 3 pm and got to Charlotte, North Carolina and mist our 7:05 flight by a minute so we had to drive back to Michigan. We spent the in Charelton, West Virginia. We stoped in Columbus, Ohio for lunch. In the car I slept, texted people, and watched tv on my iPad. We got to the airport Sunday at 3:40 pm. We got home at 5:15 that day!!!!

Spring dogs.

My spring break was interesting... well, not really. My older sister Allysa and my Dad went to visit my grandma. My parents are divorced so I live at two houses. I have a dog at each house. Since my Dad was leaving for awhile, I had to take my Dad's dog and bring it over to my Mom's house and take care of both of the dogs. It wasn't that easy... especially when they both had to sleep in my bed. But, the weather helped a lot! When we went out for walks, I had a blast letting my hair flow in the wind. I love walking dogs. Another fun thing was my birthday! It was last Tuesday which happened on break. I had so much fun spending my birthday with my family and dogs.

Spring Break... Howdey

         This spring break my youth group ( Okemos Community Church) and I went to Cosby Tennessee right in the middle of the Smokey Mountains.  On sunday we drove about 12 hours and got to sunset gab which was the organizer were you sleep and gives you a family to help. We went straight to bed when we got there. We were really tired. On Monday we got home cooked breakfast made by Nona who is the wife of the owner of sunset gap. The food was to die for.  Then we drove to the worksite. the worksite was a family's house and we got Francis's house. She lived there with her two grand children. She lived in a small trailer but they could not go into or leave there house easily. So, our job was to destroy her old pouches and build new ones. On Monday we just took apart the back deck and then went back, it took a while. On Tuesday we built part of the back deck and I learned hot to use a power saw. Fun. On Wednesday we finished both porches and painted the roof. I was scared at first but then I worked it . Then on Thursday we said our goodbyes to Francis and her grand children. It was sad leaving them because Francis told us that she wouldn't let her grand kids play on the porch or she couldn't drink her coffee on the porch. It made us feel better on what we have done. After we said goodbye we helped around sunset gap. Cheyenne, Emilee, and I got to ride in the back of a pick up truck and we almost feel out because he went over a huge bump and didn't close the trunk. We are ok now. I hope. Then we drove home on Friday seeing many interesting things. I think it was interesting because   all the houses there were in bad shape and it was a huge eye opener. It really changes how you look at life and changing life.

Spring Break!

  The second night at spring break  Natalie and I went to one of my friends house to hangout and that was really fun! Then the next night one of best friends from potter vile came over from Saturday to Wednesday. Through out that time we just went to the park and played on our Ipods but she has an Ipad but whatever. And then my friend from pottervile went home and I went to go spend the night at my cousins (Wednesday) and then I got home the next day and Natalie spent the night at my cousins house on Thursday(also on Thursday I got the Ipod5 !! :D) Then Friday Natalie and I went to Frankenmuth with the same cousin we took turns spending the night at. Frakenmuth was really fun, we did the mirror raze, which was really fun! Then when we all got back from frakenmuth Natalie and I spent the night at my older sisters  town house which was the best? amazing experience ever! Then on Saturday Natalie and I went to Edrus with the girl that goes to pottervile and went there from 2-7 and after roller skating our friend came and spent the night at our house! We stayed up till five but then my parents made us go to bed and I ended up gettting 5 hours of sleep! (Which is enough for me). Then my friend from pottervile had to go home ): on Sunday and now I am just being lazy and writing what I did for spring break! ((:

Spring Break!!!

My spring break was very fun, although I didn't go anywhere.
 Saturday 5, 2014
This night is when my friend Bethany came over for four nights! (all the way through Wen.) We did many fun things. Everyday we went to the park with my brother Charlie and his friends were there too.  We played many games at the park like Man Overboard, Capture the Flag, and Zombie tag. All of these games are fun and get you very active. Almost every night Bethany, Abi, and I went to family dollar and bought junk food! The first night we watched a movie called "Safe Haven" . This movie was very good and intense. The second night we watched "This is how I Live Now" this movie was low bugdet and unfortunately not a very good movie.
Thursday 10, 2014
This day I spend the night at my cousin Olivia's house. We watched the movie "Wreck it Relf". I loved that movie! The next day my cousin, Abi, and I all went to Frakenmouth. We had dinner, ate Ice Cream, got fudge, and explored stores.
Saturday 12, 2014
Saturday I got to see my friend Bethany again and we went roller balding/roller skating at edrus from 1-7pm!

This was pretty much sums up how what I did over spring break! What would be your favorite thing to do out of things I did over spring break?

Temples at Began, Myanmar

The temples in Began are known as "gu" that were inspired by the rock caves of the Buddhist. The people would be able to worship the Gods in. The worshipping included richly frescoes corridor with sacred shrine and images.  These building's are squared and oblong structure to represents the Gods, and is also surrounded by thick walls to cover from the outside world. I think the large buildings are apart of there religion, and always had been.  What do you think of these buildings?

I often struggle with coma use.

Spring Break 2014!

This year during spring break, my family didn't go on any vacations. Instead, we went to North Carolina, on Monday, to visit colleges for my older sister! Thats always fun! ....... Actually, not really. We visited the University of North Carolina and North Carolina State. It was actually quite boring (for me, at least) because I still have like 5 or 6 more years until I graduate from high school. Anyways, after that, we just visited some family friends who lived there. On Thursday, we left NC and headed back home. Which took 12 hours by car! So, thats pretty much all I did over Spring Break. Although it was pretty boring, I did enjoy the warm weather!

Spring Break

My Spring Break was pretty good I went to Chicago which was the highlight of the week. But besides that I stayed home played GTA 5 online with Riak .I went to Canada to have a picnic and I met a new friend across the street from my uncles house and his name was Ahmed, it was great because he was interested in everything I like lacrosse,football,long boarding, and stringing lacrosse sticks! was And on the other days I went to sting up lacrosse sticks with by friend Rory. My Birthday is coming up so I got a brand new air soft gun which is pretty fun. Spring break is meant to be enjoyed so get outside and HAVE FUN!

Spring Break

My Spring Break was pretty boring, besides the fact that some relatives came over, nothing was really exciting. I just stayed home and did the same routine over and over again each day.

12:00 wake up

1:00 eat breakfast

3:00 Lunch 

6:00 dinner

7:00-12:00 whatever

I did that every day of spring break so it wasn't any different. It was taking a really long weekend off from school which was the good part, but it didn't feel any different.

Probably the only fun thing that happened was when I went outside to play football or just sitting home on the XBOX.

There is no 'me' in 'food'

Penang, Malaysia is known as the food capital of Malaysia, renowned for its delicious and varied food. It was recognized as having the best street food because the food was so great, but so cheap. Their cuisine reflects the unique Chinese, Nyonya, Malay, and Indian ethnic mix of Malaysia, and it also shows some influence of Thailand. Some great places to savor the food of Penang are Gurney Drive, Pulau Tikus, New Lane, New World Park, Penang Road, and Chulia Street. Penang's food is delicious to many people and has been voted one of the best places to eat by many. Would you want to eat there?
I sometimes have trouble with word choice.

So Close But Yet So Far Away.......

BEFORE: At this moment, I am writing about my spring break. Well, it's actually really exciting. I'm sitting on my chair typing this blog post. I am also thinking about the warmth in Florida where I'm going to be tommrow. Before I go there, we have a party to attend tonight. It's my grandparents anniversary! The party will be held in West Bloomfield, and after we will be staying there so we can catch our flight in the morning. This is just a glimpse at where I''m staying. Now you know where I will be tomorrow. Thanks for listening folks.

The city made of art

For this post, I am going to try to improve my word choice for adjectives.
Angkor Archaeological Park, is an old Roman-like city that is completley constructed of art. This place is full of gorgeous, magnificent ancient temples. This place is populated with many fresh, evergreen trees. On the bumpy sides of the enormously high walls of the temples, many unique masterpieces are carved into the stone. When you go near the center of the park, you could see a enormous amount of beautiful stone skyscrapers reaching for the sky. In the hallways, many ancient carvings are also carved into the walls,  making you feel like you are walking into a modern-time art museum. What would you enjoy most about this massive Archaeological Park?

Spring Break Extra Credit Option-My Spring Break

For me, bird watching is both a passion and a hobby. This spring break I was hoping to boost my eBird rankings-Both for Ingham county and the great state of Michigan. The photographs hyper linked to are not mine. I will post some photos of less-common birds from earlier in the year at the bottom. 

Thursday, April 3rd, 2014
      Well waiting at the bus stop I was happy to see an early migrant Ruby-Crowned Kinglet sitting in a small tree and a Ruddy Duck flying over, both FOYs [First of year] for me.
               After getting on the bus I noticed a robin-sized bird called a Brown Thrasher, a relative of Mockingbirds foraging with some robins on the schools front lawn, my third FOY of the day, how could this get better?
               Well here is how. After school my mother and I went over to Sycamore Creek Golf Course to look for the Cackling Goose [and before you say I've seen one of these in Michigan consider that Cackling Geese look like miniature Canada Geese slightly smaller than a mallard]-which I saw at that location on the 29th and Ross's Geese, which have been reported there for almost two weeks now. When there we easily tracked down a Cackling Goose, however the Ross's Goose was refusing to show it's face. Well looking at a blackbird. I noticed a Tufted Titmouse playing on a stump in the flood waters. After seeing the Titmouse-my personal favorite species of chickadee I started to scan the tall flooded grasses for any other elusive and odd passerines [the taxonomic order of perching birds]. I was rewarded by a Winter Wren, a FOY. After pretty much giving up on the Ross's Goose we started to head back and saw a pair of hooded mergansers [see pics below]. On the way out I heard the classic American Woodcock "peent" and found the secretive little sandpiper in a pile of brush. Then, far off on the other side of the floodplain I saw a flash of white and I pulled up my binoculars quicker than you can say Chen rossi. Sure enough far off was a Ross's Goose, making the trip a complete success.

Friday, April 4th, 2014
      During my daily [on weekends and breaks] hour-long front-yard bird count I saw a Barn Swallow and a rare Brewer's Blackbird. Both were FOYs for me 
               Right after I got up from Typing the first part of this a Cliff Swallow flew by. yet another FOY.

Saturday, April 5,2014
      Today nothing of note (unless you count the second year bald eagle) turned up during my morning bird count. 
             Around ten my family headed up to Sleepy Hollow State Park to geocache, and I of course wanted to see some new birds. I was hoping for an Eastern Towhee (which unfortunately I did not see). About half way there well passing a marsh our car flushed a Great Egret, my first FOY of the day. Once there I began to wander the marshes and brambles to see what I could find, nothing too interesting popped up until we got to the horse staging area, well we were looking for the nearby cache, I wandered down to a nearby bog, I took my binoculars and scanned the shoreline, I had nearly given up when I  looked into a flooded area away from the bog, standing in it were a Greater Yellowlegs and a Lesser Yellowlegs, both FOYs

Sunday, April 6,2014
       This morning after Wisconsin lost to Kentucky last night, in an attempt to lift our spirits, I skipped my mourning watch and headed over to Green Acres Turf Farm to see a flock of American Pipits, of which we only saw one. This afternoon my father and I went to the historical village. There we finaly tracked down an Eastern Towhee. On our way home we pulled into the Tom's Food Center Parking Lot, when we saw a large, light bird of prey overhead, it turned out to be an Osprey. later that night, we returned to the historical village to watch wood cock, was rather uneventful.


Monday, April 7,2014
Uneventful

Tuesday, April 8,2014
Today, my mother,sister and I went up to the MSU inland lakes state research area. I recorded my first Double-Crested Cormorant,  Bonaparte's Gull, Northern Rough-Winged Swallow, and Savannah Sparrow. 

Wendnesday, April 9,2014
Today my family and I began the car ride from here to Madison, WI. Despite the number of FOYs I picked up on the way I was extremely disappointed because I fell three species short of a centennial run (100 species in one day, would be my first outside of Florida). On our way down through Michigan I picked up my FOY  Black-Crowned Night-Heron, Pectoral Sandpiper and Glaucous Gull. In Indiana I saw my FOY Carolina Chickadee (very similar to our Black-Capped Chickadee, song being key difference needed to separate the two), Swainson's Thrush, Eared Grebe, and Least Sandpiper. On top of that I saw my LIFER Surf Scoter and Trumpeter Swan. In Illinois I saw my FOY American White Pelican, Snowy Egret, Thayer's Gull, Iceland Gull, Forster's Tern, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Western Meadowlark, and Yellow-Headed Blackbird. We stopped at the Lincoln Park Zoo well in chicago, here I came across the most surprising wild bird of the day, a Brown Creeper in front of the Gibbon exhibit. The chances of seen a Brown Creeper in an urban area-very low. Nothing new turned up in Wisconsin that day.

Thursday, April 10,2014
This morning I hit what most of you would consider an all time low- Bird watching at a waste water treatment plant. Hooray! Or rather the ponds where the waste water gets dumped(it claims to be a NATURAL AREA). Here I saw a Baird's Sandpiper (LIFER) and Bank Swallow, both FOYs. Later that afternoon we went to Vilas Park zoo and Vilas Park, about 80% of the zoo was under renovation-boring. Lake Wingra, in Vilas Park was a different story, there I saw my FOY Spotted Sandpiper (also the first Wisconsin record of the year) and Caspian Tern.

Friday, April 11, 2014
This morning my family went up to Indian Lake, to look for Whooping Cranes and to see the 200 year old monument to god that a man built after his family survived a diphtheria epidemic. Here I saw my FOY Virginia Rail, Blue-Gay Gnatcather, Purple Martin, Veery, and Wood Thrush. That afternoon I went with my family to the Midwest Horse Show, which was great but not really my cup of tea, I mean ya sure seeing Capuchin Monkeys riding Border Collies was neat. However, the biggest part of this for me was seeing the world's biggest horse. Well not necessarily that, but rather it filled me with sympathy to see someone try to clean up after it in the rain. After that, I couldn't resist the temptation of another visit to the "natural area". Nothing cool turned up this time. 

Saturday, April 12, 2014
Today, on the way back I didn't see anything because we where caught in a rain/hail storm the whole way back.

Not really (although we where stuck in a storm the whole way), I actually pulled of a centennial run, seeing my FOY Greater White-Fronted Goose, Common Tern, Dunlin, Smith's Longspur, Northern Mockingbird, Cattle Egret and Long-Billed Dowitcher. 

Sunday, April 13, 2014
Today my Dad and I went up to fish at the Waterloo State Recreation Area, we got skunked but I had perhaps my best birding moment over all of break-picking up an ABA (American Birder's Association) code three in the form of a European Goldfinch (most likely escapee).

Snowy Owl at Capitol Area International Airport-January 31

Northern Shrike in my front yard-February 17

White-Winged Scoter at Potter Park-February 23

Snowy Owl Flying-Early March

From left to right: Graylag Goose[escapee domestic], Canada Goose, Canada Goose-March 29th

A Secretive Vesper Sparrow at Sycamore Creek Golf  Course-March 29th

Common Loon at Frances Park-March 29th

Hooded Merganser at Sycamore Creek Golf Course-April 3rd

Luang Prabang , Laos

Luang Prabang is the capital the Luang Prabang province.  The population is about 50,000 per sq. mile. The weather is pretty warm and dry for instance Thursday it is at a high of 99 degrees. Luang Prabang is a very unique place.  It is filled with strange architecture, religion and culture heritage,  and rural and urban developments. Luang Prabang has tons of gorgeous waterfalls with bright blue waters, white sands, and beautiful rocks and ledges. Nam Khan is one of the more famous rivers in Laung Prabang. If you look of in the right direction you may just catch the perfect view of a mountain range off in the distance along with a lit up village along the side of the river.  Would you ever visit Laung Prabang, Laos? Why or why not?

Wonders of the Waterfall

Mr. Hopper wants us to improve our writing today with a specific goal. I think a really great goal that everyone can work toward is using richer word choice, whether you already have a big vocabulary, or just beginning to build. As one way to show it, I'm going to talk about the waterfalls in Laos. I'm not sure if you've ever hiked up a waterfall before, but if you have, you know that it's a really fun experience. The water always feels refreshing and cool, and you can get transported away to another world with smooth rocks, shady trees, and vast beyond that would take you hours to explore it all. There are mini-falls, pools, and even tiny caves to check out while you're at it. The waterfalls in Laos are some of the most impressive, due to their high rainfall and so called "extensive" river system. Waterfalls are actually a large part of Laos's ecotourism features, and as the name of ecotourism suggests, a popular tourist site. I find natural phenomena such as this fascinating and quite beautiful, do you?

Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park

From the 10 extraordinary places to choose from the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park in Indonesia was a definite choice for me. The park is made up of mountains formed by volcanic eruptions. The highest of these is Mount Semeru at a whopping height of 3,676 meters (12,060 feet). This area is inhibited by the Tengger people, one of the few Hindu groups on the island (Java). From the tropical rainforest to the lifeless peaks, there is no limit on the hiking that can be done. If you are up for a cultural experience, visit one of the many temples located throughout the mountains. What would be the first thing you would do here?



I need to work on comma placement.

National Parks Should be Named International Parks

I would love to visit the Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park in Indonesia because I like to hike in forests,  and it looks just like someone painted it. Also there are many volcanoes in the park. I have always wanted to look at a volcano in real life. At this National Park there is one main volcano with four volcanic peaks coming up from there.  The hikes take a while but it would be worth it. In the morning there is a magnificent sunrise. The pictures are breathtakingly, beautiful. The sea of sand is an astounding place to visit. In fact it is located in a volcanic crater, which makes me want to visit it even more! I need to work more on my word choice, so everything is not repetitive. Would you like to hike in a dormant volcano?

kuala lumpar

(I choose transitions as my weakness)

Kuala Lumpur is a city that has many airports and federal capitals. Also Kuala lemur’s biggest city is Malaysia. Malaysia covers 243 km Kuala Lumpur is a city in Malaysia. Is also Malaysia is an urban country with about 6.9 million people. Malaysia is also one of the fastest growing metropolitan regions in the country. Kuala Lumpur is a parliamentary seat of Malaysia. I also think it’s pretty cool Kuala lumpur is a parliament because I never knew a city could be a seat in the parliament. Kuala Lumpur sounds like a pretty cool city because of all the different things they have to do especially because they are a part of a parliament. Do you think its cool Kuala Lumpur is in the parliament?

Bali Paradise

Bali is one of the islands in Indonesia. Even though it is one of the many islands in Indonesia, it is very unique! Bali is not only a beautiful island, but it also has so many fun activities to do there ( such as surfing, visiting ancient temples, volcano trekking, and relaxing on a beach with black sand!) I want to visit this place mostly because of all the beaches there!! Did you know that there are over 30 beaches just on that little island?! There are beaches from the famous Kuta, to the Canggu, to the Lovina beach! What would you want to do if you ever went to Bali, Indonesia?

I sometimes struggle with where to put commas because sometimes, I’m not really sure if I should put it before or after the word, or if i shouldn’t put it there at all. Most of the time (I think) I do it right, but sometimes I’m just not sure.

Travel halfway across the world for food?

Penang, Malaysia offers a brilliant variety in cuisines influence by Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Malay and even more influences I can ramble on about. The type of cuisine is unique in it's own way, but before I can get to explaining that... I would like to improve my word choice a fragment in this blog post. I would love to sojourn to Penang! An intermission to Penang would be perfect and I would even be familiar with the food. Traditional Indian currries, lassis and laksas with a twist of the sorts. After your meal you can take a peregrination to Georgetown, the capital of Penang with over 600,000 inhabitants. You can visit places in George Town (the common spelling) like Little India (an Indian section of the city) and American Street (an old historic street right in the heart of the UNESCO heritage zone). Wouldn't it be amazing to take an expedition to Penang? Would you visit?

Sunset at the Temples

On the banks of the Ayeyarwady river lies the ancient Buddhist temples in Myanmar. This ancient place used to be the center of all life in the Kingdom of Pagan. This magnificent kingdom united what would be all of Myanmar with the Buddhist word. Over 10,000 temples were built there and the kingdom soon flourished with monks and religious scholars. People from as far as India came to the temples not only to learn of Buddha but to study grammar, astrology, alchemy, medicine, and law. In the late 13th century the Kingdom of Pagan was invaded by the Mongols, destroying many of the fascinating temples. Today only about 2,000 temples stand, but the scenery makes for one of the world's most amazing sunsets. Wouldn't you like to visit these temples in Myanmar? I would like to make my writing more vivid by adding different adjectives that give a clearer picture. I then used magnificent, amazing, and fascinating to describe the kingdom,temples, and the sunset.