J3 - Favorite Band

There are many bands out there in the hopes of being seen and liked by people, but not many succeed. Most people these days are fans of big name bands that advertise themselves a lot, but that’s a different story for me. I prefer listening to the music that nobody else listens to, because then I know I’m not just like everybody else. My favorite band as of right now would have to be the Avett Brothers. Odds are you have never heard of them, but they are and up and coming band. There are getting more and more popular due to the recent deals with CMT and being named an Artist of the Year by them. I wouldn’t’ call them a country band, but they are more of a bluegrass and country mix. They don’t sound anything like Toby Keith or any of those well-known country singers. If you ever want to check out to see what they sound like, my most preferred songs by them are Laundry Room, Murder in the City, Paranoia in Bb Major, and Tear down the House. One band that they could be compared to to give you a better idea of what they sound like would be Mumford and Sons. They both have more of a country-ish sound, but they don’t overdo it. I have seen them in concert four times, making it five this upcoming April. It’s always a good show, which is another reason I like to see them. Most kids these days are big fans of rap, and rap concerts don’t even compare to artists that have true talent. They have something new to show to their audience every show, but for rappers it’s the same thing every time. If you’re looking for a good band to listen to with true talent, I highly advise giving them a listen.

J2 - Grade Teacher

I didn’t go to Alden from Kindergarten to 5th grade, so anybody reading this probably won’t be able to relate to it at all. On that note, I’d have to say my favorite grade teacher would have to be kindergarten teacher, Mr. Hehr. From what I can remember, he enjoyed me as a student, and every day past kindergarten I would wave and say hello to the guy. I haven’t seen him in over seven years now so he may not even remember me, but I have been thinking about going to a Cleve-Hill open house and visit all my old teachers. It would probably make them feel good knowing that past students remember them and enjoyed them enough to come back and see how they are doing. I’d say the main reason that I chose Mr. Hehr as my favorite grade teacher was because he was the man who started off my entire education career. He also has quite the interesting name. Also, all of my other teachers weren’t as memorable as Mr. Hehr, because they didn’t seem to be into their job and enjoy their students as much as he did. The other teacher that comes close to being my favorite grade teacher would be Ms. Pidanick, who taught the fifth grade. I remember her being a pretty cool teacher because she was chill, and she thought I was funny… or so I hope. I kind of wish I could go back to elementary school, because you seem to be able to get away with a lot more because you’re little and you are prone to make mistakes. Now that we are in high school, teachers seem to think that whatever we do wrong was intentional, which definitely isn’t the case. Teachers need to realize that students are only human, and making mistakes comes with being a person.

J1 - Hero

When you hear the word hero, odds are the first things you think of are fictional superheroes such as Superman and Spiderman. These are not true heroes. True heroes are the ones who save lives and go out of their way for the greater good. People such as doctors, nurses, fireman and occupations of that nature. A hero could also be perceived differently to different people. A teacher could help a student pass a class in order to graduate, and they would be considered a hero to that student. An average citizen could be brave and put himself in danger to save hundreds of other people, and he would be considered a hero. That being said, a hero could be almost anybody you want it to be, as long as he/she helped you in some way that you could not do yourself. It can’t be anything to simple though, like letting you borrow a pencil for a test. The situation would have to affect your life in some significant way, making it change its course completely. Everybody has a hero, whether it is a close friend, family member, celebrity, or even a complete stranger. One hero of mine would have to be my father, even if it seems kind of cliché. Being a father is a difficult task to achieve successfully, and I’d say he did so. My siblings and I have grown to be respectful kids. My parents have nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to their children, and I’m proud to say that. After all they have done for us, I see it as disrespectful to not try in life and blow everything off. Parents work to feed and teach their kids, and they don’t take it for granted. Parents are the true heroes of this generation, and they clearly are not being as recognized as they should be.

I4 - Choice (Mr. Currin)

For this week’s choice blog, I decided I would devote this one to my Online Publishing teacher, Mr. Currin. Mr. Currin is a pretty cool guy most of the time, but he has his moments. He’s always calling kids out in class and publicly embarrassing them, which who knows might lead to. He likes to pull pranks on the faculty staff thinking he’s the jokester, but little does he know it’s all going to catch up to him in the end. I can’t keep ranting about the man’s flaws though; because there is no doubt that he is always a happy man. He’s always got a smile on his face and looking to bring to a positive attitude to the people around him. About 15 minutes ago he came up to me and said that there was no way I was going to finish my last two blogs. But look, I’m almost done with the second one. Take that Mr. Currin. I definitely do not regret taking this class though, because nothing makes my mornings better then realizing I am going to have a class with Mr. Currin from 1:05 to 2:25 of that day. One hundred words left until I’m done… what to talk about? Mr. Currin drives a red jeep, and he used to pass my house every morning and we’d share a daily morning wave. Unfortunately, Zach Caito picks me up around 7:20 in the morning, and Mr. Currin passes my house before that. I have this class until the end of the year, and I think it will be the perfect way to end my high school career. Hopefully this will be the last class of the year, but there is a chance that it will be Sports and Entertainment Marketing. I guess the future will hold the answers to all of my questions. I wonder what Mr. Currin’s middle name is…

I3 - Winter Break Highlights

This winter break was just like any other break. Christmas, family, food, and other things of that nature. I’d have to say Christmas was the highlight of my break, because apparently it wasn’t to everybody else in this newsroom. This Christmas was a special one because I filled myself up with plenty of food, and I got a few of the things that I wanted. I got a microphone to record my guitar playing, and I also got the iPhone. I’ve wanted the iPhone for a while now, so that definitely satisfied my needs. My grandparents leave every Christmas to go to Alabama to avoid the bad weather, but it looks like they left at the wrong time this year. The weather has been great since Christmas, and it definitely hasn’t been a white one. Except for last night it snowed a couple inches and a few of the schools got off of school. Not Alden, though. Oh well. I’m kind of going off the topic of my Christmas break so maybe I should go back to it. Another present that I got for Christmas was a new hat, because my old white was getting way too dirty and it was getting extremely noticeable. I now have a darker blue Yankees hat, so if it were to get dirty, it wouldn’t be so noticeable. I’m really just rambling throughout this entire blog because Mr. Currin said there was no way I was going to get my last two blogs done before the end of class. One more thing that I have to say about my break was the New Year, and how it’s a whole new start to try something new. It reminded me that this was the last six months of my high school and I better start thinking about my future. I don’t really have much else to comment on about my winter break so I’m just going to end it here. Hopefully I have a more enjoyable one next year.

I2 - Bucket List

No matter who you are, there is always a list of things that you want to do whether you think you’re able to or not. Things such as climb Mt. Everest, drive a Lamborghini, or even meet the infamous Rob Currin. You can achieve the unachievable by looking at them in a way that they are achievable. You could do this by either doing them with another person, or getting the items that will make your task easier. There is a name for a list such as this- and it’s called a bucket list. If I were to choose three things to do before my own death, the first thing would be to take a weeklong vacation to England. I’m a big fan of the Beatles, so I thought it would be interesting to see how they are portrayed in the country that they originated from. Also, I think it would be cool to see the old buildings and how America is viewed being from England. The second thing that I would want to do before I die is see the Aurora Borealis in Alaska. The view of the night sky from Buffalo can be a pretty boring thing to look it, so I thought it would be a pretty cool experience to see what the sky really looks like without light pollution and other things of that nature. The Aurora Borealis is also known as the Northern Lights. The Northern Lights have a green effect on the sky that not everybody in the world gets to see. They are caused by electrical and magnetic forces and they can be best seen in Alaska. The third and final thing that would be on bucket list, it would have to be skydiving. This is probably on everybody’s list and it may seem a little cliché, but it would no doubt be one of the number things I would want to do before I died. I heard it isn’t that expensive so I’m going to fork over a couple bucks in the future and knock skydiving off the list.

New Year's Resolution

It’s the New Year, and with a New Year comes millions, if not billions of New Year’s resolutions. Most turn out as failures, and are just attempted again in the next year. But for the people who actually try to achieve their goals, a resolution can be seen as motivation. With that, one thing that I would like to achieve this year would be to get a decent paying job, and be able to pay for my own car and get my own weekly paycheck. I don’t want to have to rely on my parents like how I have been for the past 17 years of my life. Not only will this resolution make me feel good about myself, it will also take a lot of stress of my parent’s shoulders because they won’t have to constantly worry or expect me to ask them for 10 dollars to I can go Tim Hortons. I can actually go out with my friends at night and be able to pay for own stuff with having the thought in the back of my head that I am going to have to pay the money back in the future. Another reason why I want to get a decent paying job is because I feel me it will make me more mature and ready for the real world, whenever that time comes. I recently applied to the new Tim Hortons shop that opened up in Alden, but they have yet to call me. I went there yesterday and apparently they are still hiring, so I’m just hoping for the best. My Dad has been constantly nagging at me to get a job, so clearly he is getting sick of me constantly asking for money whenever I go out for the night. That’s his job though, right?

Meghan Snyder

Today I had the privilege to interview the one and only Meghan Snyder. This is seen as a once in a lifetime opportunity to most celebrities and athletes. I asked her eight questions that will sum up this entire blog, starting with “What is your favorite part about Online Publishing?” Her response? Listening to music and typing blogs. What a typical and cliché answer, but that’s all she said. I was expecting a lot more from such an interesting person, but I guess that’s all I have to say about that. She was born in Sister’s Hospital, which just so happens to be the same hospital that my mother works at. She does labor and delivery, so there is a slight chance that my own mother assisted in the birth of Meghan Snyder. When asked to name one of Mr. Currin’s flaws, she responded that he promises his advisement pizza parties, and then forgets so his advisement never ends up getting the pizza. Her favorite gift from the Christmas of 2011 was her cowgirl boots, and also a new red book bag. Her favorite hobbies are basketball, soccer, Twitter, watching Keeping up with the Kardashians, and taking her dogs on walks. Everybody knows about her curly hair, so I asked her if she would rather prefer her hair to be curly or straight. She responded with curly, because her grandmother has curly hair. Her favorite band/singer besides Justin Bieber is Taylor Swift, because she wishes she was her. I’m sure you were all expecting me to say Larrabe in the previous question, but she actually never had the chance to listen to them. To the people who don’t know Larrabe… you’re a disgrace to humanity. Her favorite color is purple, only because it is also Justin Bieber’s favorite color. It was a very poor reasoning, but she refused to speak after that last question. Unfortunately, I didn’t ask her anymore questions. So this is over. Bye.