Peru Trip
Going to Peru over break was a really cool experience. Seeing Machu Picchu was amazing and the Sacred Valley was great too. It was really cool seeing the structures the Inca’s built, and I would definitely go back.
Content
Teach In
The teach in went really well. The students were really interested and involved, and I think they learned a lot. We found out the activity had a couple mistakes, but we fixed them for the second group.
Social Justice
The Social Justice Project has recently become much more stressful. Thankfully my entire group is working hard and things are looking good. Our board game and slideshow are coming together, and we all know what we’re talking about. Hopefully all goes well.
Social Justice
Now in the Social Justice project, our group has been working on our slideshow. We’ve made a couple drafts, and it’s looking good. We’ve decided our activity will be a board game, so we have to start working on that as well. I hope everyone goes okay.
MLK Day
On Monday, I went to MLK day at LREI. I helped prepare packages for kids in need, and make signs for the Women’s March. I had lots of fun and the food was pretty great.
The Stars Beneath Our Feet Soundtrack
For the Social Justice Book Project, I’ve been making a soundtrack for the book The Stars Beneath Our Feet. I’ve been referring mostly to Logic, who has an album called Everybody, focused on equality for all. I’m continuing to look for other artists with songs that will fit the mood.
Twelfth Night
Twelfth Night is coming along very well. My sound cues are all ready and the lights are ready as well. The cast is almost there. There are a couple lines being dropped. I’m having a ton of fun when it’s only the kids in the booth. I’m super excited/scared for Friday.
Learning Values
I have been working on the Social Justice Project, on the topic of Educational Equity, and we’ve been making lots of progress in the past week. Our teamwork has been a little better than usual, so we’re starting to get fieldworks. This shows my teamwork learning value.
Photoshop Project
This is my photoshop project which is a Tie-Fighter chasing an X-Wing in France, with the Death Star overhead. My project has harmony because of how it brings a sense that it’s really there, because of all the little things like the shadow on the water. There’s movement because of how the spin and motion blur give the effect that it’s flying at you. There’s a ton of emphasis on the X-Wing due to the fact that it’s front in center. The proportion of the Death Star with Notre Dame shows how big the Death Star is. The X-Wing and Tie Fighter are bigger than everything else so you know that’s what you should look at.
Book Talk
NASA lied to us, but it wasn’t about the moon landing. In the book Armada, by Ernest Cline, published July 4, 2015, you will question if we are alone. In Armada, we meet high school senior, Zack Lightman. He lives with his mom in Oregon while they both get over the death of Zach’s father, Ulysses, who apparently died in a freak accident. Zack balances being a senior and working part time at a video game store called Star Base Ace. His boss/friend Ray has always been there and would go to the moon and back for Zack, and he has. Zach trusts Ray, which turns out to get him in a lot of trouble. Zach hates school, but he tries to focus in class, and not let his anger issues get the best of him. He wants to end high school on a strong note. He plays the universally loved video game, Armada, going by the player name IronBeagle. The game is a space simulator where people can play in missions to defeat fake aliens. He plays with his friends Diehl and Cruz, and with the help of Ray, is number six in the world. Zach has seen some weird things recently. He could have sworn he saw a UFO pass by the window at school. Just when he thinks he’s lost it, it happens: a spaceship arrives and takes him to space, where he finds good friends and his idol. If that wasn’t enough, Zach finds out aliens are real and NASA has been hiding it for years. He becomes a pilot for this space organization and takes off into battle. The world falls to pieces in front of his eyes. Zach has to go head first into battle, save the world, (what’s left of it) and make sure he lives to tell the tale, and you will feel as if you are flying one of the battle ships too. But regardless of what he does, the battle scenes are chaotic, violent, heartbreaking at times, and a little comedic.
‘ “Shit! Shit-shit-shit!” we heard Shin yell. “Here they come, Milo! Brace yourself!”
“Come get some!” I heard Milo shouting, his voice strangely gleeful. I could hear the sound of him rapidly firing his QComm’s wrist laser. “Who wants some? From hell’s heart I stab at thee, assholes! By Grabthar’s hammer, you shall-” Milo’s voice was drowned out by another series of massive explosions, followed by what sounded like a hailstorm of incoming enemy fire, and by the terrible hurricane-like howl of the Thunderdome being breached and depressurized, as its atmosphere-and everything else inside-was sucked up and out into the dark vacuum outside on the lunar surface. But the silence that followed was somehow even worse.’ Zach has to go into a war that takes some people years to prepare for, and Zach only has one day. Can you imagine if you were sent to go fight a war today? I would crack under the pressure. What would you do? Think about that. Ernest Cline normally has his characters under extreme pressure, and Armada is no exception. This quote shows all the emotions of the battle. The quote also reflects on the extreme chaos and rising action that motivates Zack to save the world. Can a teenage gamer with no preparation and only experience of war is in a video game step up and save the world?
This book is full of old references, and just saying, there is an album for the book. Name one other book that has an album. You can’t, which shows the pure awesomeness of the book. Ernest Cline’s books are oddly relatable. Even though you won’t find yourself fighting aliens in a spaceship one day, (I hope) the characters normal lives reflect on our lives, and how we perceive the world. I recommend this book to people who like action, emotion, and a little bit of romance. If you like the books, Ender’s Game, anything Star Wars related, the Leviathan series, Ready Player One, and The Martian Chronicles, then this thriller will keep you and the edge of your seat and will change your outlook on the “universe’s” biggest question: Are we alone?