bb-pawprint

On Friday July 20, 2012, James Holmes, a PHD student, started shooting in a Colorado movie theater during the new Dark Knight movie. Twelve people were left dead and about 58 were wounded. It was reported that four of the twelve who died were boyfriends trying to save their girlfriends lives. It was a tragic event.
Was there a motive? What exactly was Holmes’ reason for doing this? So many unanswered questions. Innocent people were killed with the intentions of just enjoying a nice Friday night seeing a new popular movie. This was a horrible event that shows us that there are evil and need to be stopped and put in jail. 
 
    

           Well, I have nothing to write about, so I decided to talk about my overnight trip in sixth grade. Our school went on a trip to Philly, where we stayed for three days and two nights. After a tiring first day of sitting on a coach bus for four hours and touring Gettysburg, we finally arrived in the hotel room at Holiday Inn. (Love that place.) Since four people had to share on hotel room, my friends decided to dorm together. Once we got into the room, two of my friends, Flora and Cindy, stormed into the bathroom and fought over those mini lotions and bottles of soap. While, they were fighting over the things, they knocked a bottle of lotion into the toilet bowl. Flora had to scoop it out with a paper cup.

            Later on, when we had to take showers, Flora was on of the first ones to go. I was right after her, which really annoyed me. The reason? When she got out of the bathroom, the floor was flooded. You can actually see her slipper floating on top of the water. We had to throw all the hotel towels to the floor in order to soak it up. Apparently, Flora did not know that the shower curtains were supposed to go inside the tub and not outside.

            When we drifted off into dreamland, Melanie and I were woken by a weird sound. It sounded like a snore. The source of this sound? Flora. Well, Melanie has a weird sleeping habit, too. She often scratches her head and slaps the blankets in her he sleep. Since there were two beds, each of us had to share it with another. Melanie’s sleeping habits imitated the behavior of someone who was awake, so I assumed that she was awake. In the end, I made a fool out of myself for talking to her when she was in dreamland. (Melanie says that I snore too, but I swear that I don’t.)

     Since this is my blog, and nobody is going read this, I’m just going blog about this rare incident that happened to the dog I’m dogsitting. So one day, I wake up from my nap, because my dog was licking my face, (I don’t know why she likes to lick me. When I come home, she licks me. When I sit down, she licks me. When I take a nap, she licks me. What I mean is that she slobbers all over my face, mouth, nose, glasses and cheeks. And she doesn’t lick anybody else either. When I do ask her for a “kiss” she just goes to sleep.) I asked her to get her “toy-toy” and as she walked away I noticed that her tail looked weird. She is a two-year-old black lab and her tail is supposed to be up in the air smacking things off the table (she knocked my cup off the table more than once). However, her tail was limp and didn’t move. I told my mom about it about it but she said that maybe the dog was tired.

     The next morning, my parents finally realized that there was something wrong with her because she was behaving sad and didn’t want to move or eat and couldn’t wag her tail. We did some research and found that she had “Cold Tail or Limber Tail” syndrome. The tail is held horizontally for 3-4 inches from the tail base and then drops down and clamps to the body and stays in this position even when the dog moves around. It is said that this happens when dogs go swimming or bathing in too cold or too warm water. And we took my dog out in the rain two days before.

     Limber tail is also associated with muscle damage in the tail. My family thinks the dog was too happy staying with us and wagged her tail too hard and too much and strained the muscles in her tail. At the same time, when we played tug-of-war with her, she fell on her butt. A lot.

     Complete recovery is usually seen by two weeks and well it’s only been five days and her tail is starting to look better.

     At the same time, sixteen percent of the dogs that get Limber Tail get a permanently altered tail.

So my advice is to not let your dog out in the rain.

Last year I worked as a counselor at a day camp with three and four year olds. I would watch them everyday and slowly grew very attached to the kids, especially the youngest girl in the group, Simone. She was two and a half at that time. I was her favorite counselor and she would always be attached to me. When she went swimming, she would cry if I would not go in the pool with her. I really loved her as if she was my sister and I would tell everyone about her. I would always take care of her and even had her mom’s number to text her during trips to let her know that Simone was okay. I cried last year on the last day of camp because I didn’t want to leave her. Her mom told me she would call me to come babysit but she never did. I was really excited to come back to camp and see her again this year. I was looking forward to it all year and was hoping she didn’t get big or forget me. I came to camp two Fridays ago and she wasn’t in camp, but two of my other older kids were in camp and they remembered me. They gave me a lot of hugs and kisses. Then I came back again last Friday and Simone was there. I saw her and she changed a little. She got bigger looking. I came up to her and she started playing with my hand and bracelet. She looked very upset. I asked her if she remembered me, and she said no. I was heartbroken. That day was the worst day ever.

The Colorado shooting that happened recently really hit me hard. When I first heard about it, I thought it was just a normal shooting that happens often but when I read about it more it became so haunting. The shooter was a smart college student. He wasn’t some crazy convict who escaped jail or something. His intentions of the shooting seem so unreal and schizophrenic. He thought he was the joker and wanted to play part of the movie. It’s scary because he took the lives of so many innocent people who went in to watch a movie. You would never think that going to a movie would turn in to such a nightmare. He massacred such young people who could have gone so many places in their lives and done so much more things. It makes you think that no one has forever to live. Not everyone have a million chances to make something out of our lives. It’s really bothersome and depressing. Three men died saving their girlfriends. These are the true heroes, forget Batman. I wish to meet heroes like that in my life. The whole situation makes you feel like you are so lucky to be alive and that you have another chance when others didn’t. It just messes with me because I feel so guilty. I live everyday saying “tomorrow this, tomorrow that.” I never really think that there might not be a tomorrow. Situations like these make you scared because it is an eye opener of the world we live in. A lot of times we feel safe, we really are not safe at all. A movie theater seems like a very safe and fun place to be and I always had this just fun, artistic image of it in my head, but that image has been gripped from my mind and replaced by a haunting, scary place where nightmares become reality. It will  be a long while till I even watch another movie again, and I will probably never set foot in a movie theater again. The scary part is you don’t know where else these things could happen. They happen where you never see it coming and I may never feel safe again.

Since I enjoy computer science, I’ll talk about some computer languages. Computer languages are used to create programs that will do what the user tells it to do. There are many computer languages, but I will focus on two: Racket and Netlogo.

Formerly known as Scheme, Racket allows users to create programs to a variety of things. One can make a program that allows the user to do quick calculations. This can be useful for solving math problems. In Racket, there are ways in which one can create a basic program. One must define a function, and then use primitives, built-in constructs, to continue the function. Racket is a basic program though, when compared to more popular languages such as Java or C++.

Another language is Netlogo. This language allows a user to create programs as well, but the user can also use these programs to create models. These models can range from pictures to games and sometimes portray the complex events in nature more simplistically. In Netlogo, the user tells agents what to do, and the collective work will result in some result.

This time next year, I’ll be preparing myself for a new future. This time next year, I’ll know what college I’ll be attending for the next four years of my life. This time next year, all decisions will be made.

Today though, I can still dream. I tend to day dream a lot as a matter of fact. Usually dreams once they’re over are elusive and distant. Just a few days ago however, I had such a vivid dream, which came as a surprise, because I’ve been able to capture it and hold on to it.

In my dream I was one of the most recognized women in the music industry, I was owner and founder of Scratch Productions. I ran a network of women related businesses. I owned Scratch Records, which signed girl bands that would never get any attention for being too “whiny”. I owned Scratch Radio, which had a woman as its host. Lastly I owned Scratch Inc. which was just a TV. channel that showed women sports.

            Everything I dreamt about for some reason gave me hope. I think it’s because I realized that at one point in my life I had dreamed of being in a band, a music producer, a radio host, or a famous soccer player. I had given up on those dreams though a long time ago. This is because every time I shared my dreams with someone, I’d be told it wasn’t possible.

            Now however I see that my dreams have come back to remind me that something’s are possible. Maybe I won’t be able to be all these things that I once hoped to be, but it could be possible that one day, I may be the one to help young girls keep dreaming. I want to be a role model for others; I want to show many young girls that dreams can come true. 

                â€œThe Autobiography of Malcolm X” as told to Alex Haley, is about the life of the world renowned and somewhat controversial civil rights activist Malcolm X. It was co-written by Alex Haley who got his information from various interviews with Malcolm X. The book received numerous accolades and was named one of ten “required reading” non-fiction books by Time magazine.

                Malcolm X was born on May 19, 1925 and was named Malcolm Little. He grew up in Lansing, Michigan and lived with his mother, father and 6 siblings. When he was very young, his father was killed by white supremacists and as a result, his mother had a hard time taking care of the family. Social workers were constantly in the Little home. His mother had a nervous breakdown and was admitted into a mental hospital and as a result the kids were all sent to various foster homes.

                Malcolm excelled in middle school but dropped out once one of his teachers told him that his dream of becoming a lawyer was unrealistic for a person of color and advised him to instead, become a carpenter.

                At age 15 he moved in with his half-sister in Roxbury, Massachusetts and then spent a short time in Flint, Michigan. He would then move to Harlem where he lived a life of crime and engaged in various illegal activities like gambling, drug dealing and robbery. It was there that he got the nickname “Detroit Red.”

                Malcolm returned to Roxbury where he was arrested for robbery and convicted to 10 years in prison.

                While in prison he gained a thirst for knowledge and would spend most of his time reading. It was also in prison where he first learned about the Nation of Islam when one of his brothers told him about it on one of his visits. At the time, it was a new religion that preached black empowerment and self-reliance.

                Upon his release from prison, he would go on to become a prominent figure for the Nation of Islam. Malcolm would also go on to change his last name from Little to X, as did everyone else who was part of the Nation of Islam. They felt that the X represented the names of their ancestors who’s names and history were erased by the slave owners when they were brought to America.  He also recruited lots of new people throughout America and became the primary voice for the Nation of Islam.

                Unlike many other civil rights leaders, he believed in separation, instead of integration. He also wanted the black people to not be so dependent on the white people and instead build up their own businesses, schools and communities. He also differed from many civil rights advocates at the time because he didn’t believe in “turning the other cheek.” Although he didn’t promote violence, he did believe in retaliation. This was very controversial among the civil rights leaders of the time and led many people to refer to him as a demagogue.

                After Malcolm’s controversial “chickens coming home to roost” comments on President Kennedy’s death, he no longer had a voice for the Nation of Islam as they banned him from public speaking for 90 days. This led Malcolm X to leave the Nation of Islam and embark on a pilgrimage to Mecca.

                It was there where he would begin to experience a change of heart. A large part of this was because of all the different kinds of people that he met. He met Muslims of all colors and walks of life interacting as equals which led him to believe more in the idea of integration and unity. It was also in Mecca where he discovered that he was not practicing real Islam because it was really a religion of peace, love and unity. Malcolm created his own organization to spread this new message called the Muslim Mosque, Inc.

                His relationship with the Nation of Islam had gotten worse and he began to receive numerous death threats. On February 21, 1965 as he gave a speech in the Audubon Ballroom, he was assassinated by several members of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X is remembered as one of the most influential and controversial leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.

                I really enjoyed reading this book. To me it was a story of self-redemption, determination and hard-work. Malcolm X went from being an uneducated criminal from Harlem to one of the most powerful and influential African Americans to ever live. It also showed how hard-work and determination can go a long way when one is determined to change their life for the good. Although, I don’t agree with all of his views on fixing the injustices that the African American community faced during the period of segregation, I admire his will to take a stance and fight for what he believed in. Just like he said “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.”

This is now going to be a theme blog! Following last week’s article about subway art, will be other cool things I spot in the subway. As I said before I live in the Bronx. Specifically I live near the 231st street stop on the No. 1 Train. While there isn’t a large amount of subway art at the station, there are two panels of faceted glass that depict the subway and surrounding area, with an artistic twist. The artwork is titled Magic Realism in Kingsbridge by Felipe Galindo. Installed in 2008, the artwork is meant to make subway riders appreciate and see daily things in a new light. One panel is located on the uptown side, the other on the downtown side. 231^st street is an above ground platform, which allows riders to enjoy the faceted glass creations no matter which way they’re going.