The main topic of the article is about Miley Cyrus getting engaged to the "Hunger Games" actor, Liam Hemsworth yesterday. Miley is only 19 years old and Hemsworth is 22, and they have been dating for the past 3 years, so their eventual engagement seemed only natural. The article provided plenty of quotes from Miley Cyrus and other worthy quotables about the subject of her engagement as well as how Miley had met Liam back when she was 16, and starring in her first full-feature movie. The article also shared that Miley had recieved her first on-screen kiss with Liam Hemsworth, so he has been with her since she was teenager and now, as she's going into a young woman. Miley's parents are more than sympathetic about her engagement because they have known Hemsworth for the past three years and he has already grown to be a part of their family.
The article was fairly well written considering it is just an article about celebrity gossip. I did enjoy reading the article because I learned an interesting piece of news that I hadn't already known and the article had also provided an interview of Miley Cyrus on the subject of getting engaged, so the article seemed more legitimate.
Source: http://todayentertainment.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/06/12083269-miley-cyrus-is-engaged-to-liam-hemsworth?lite
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Ray Bradbury dies at age 91
Just today, I read an article about the death of an iconic science fiction writer by the name of Ray Bradbury. I had only heard of Bradbury as the writer of the novel Farenheit 451, which I read in the eigth grade and discovered that it was one of my favorite novels, despite its convoluted plot. Bradbury lived to the ripe age of 91 and passed away on Tuesday night in Los Angeles. He passed away due to natural causes.
The news took me by shock a little because I had not known that Bradbury lived until the age of 91. The article then went on to describe Bradbury's best known accomplishments, which made me want to read a couple of his books when I get a chance to. What was interesting enough to find out in this article was that Bradbury had a common theme among all of his books: they were a revelation on the future he had imagined for this world. Bradbury had always scorned the idea of using heavy technology.
I chose to read this article because its topic had caught my attention. It was a fairly well-written article (slightly biased; however, because the author of the article seems to be a fan of Ray Bradbury) which provided interesting and less-well known facts about the famous writer. I did enjoy the article because it provided information that I had not already known.
Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/47706156/ns/today-books/
The news took me by shock a little because I had not known that Bradbury lived until the age of 91. The article then went on to describe Bradbury's best known accomplishments, which made me want to read a couple of his books when I get a chance to. What was interesting enough to find out in this article was that Bradbury had a common theme among all of his books: they were a revelation on the future he had imagined for this world. Bradbury had always scorned the idea of using heavy technology.
I chose to read this article because its topic had caught my attention. It was a fairly well-written article (slightly biased; however, because the author of the article seems to be a fan of Ray Bradbury) which provided interesting and less-well known facts about the famous writer. I did enjoy the article because it provided information that I had not already known.
Source: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/47706156/ns/today-books/
Friday, June 1, 2012
Senior Reflection #3
I thought I would make this senior reflection a little more personal about graduation. Graduation is nearing (only 12 days to be precise). Graduation, for me, is not only going to be a difficult time with saying good bye to all of the friends I've made, but also good bye to 13 years of organized schooling. High school graduation is like a rite of passage, where we leave the childish/juvenile world and become independent adults. Graduating high school is something that I have been looking forward to for quite a while, not because I cannot wait to get out of school, but because I cannot wait to get out of this town and I cannot wait to meet new people, which is how life is going to be. People say that high school is the time of your life that you will truly remember forever. Though I do agree with that statement, I think that a person's life doesn't truly begin until they graduate from high school and enter college (to realize that they are in charge of their own decisions for once in their lives). I guess all I'm trying to say is that I cannot wait to graduate because I believe there is so much more to this world left for me to experience.
Senior Reflection #2
This past week has been both relaxing and stressful at the same time, since most of my classes are ending as we're preparing for final exams or working on final projects. I've gotten through three final exams: Matrix Algebra, Biology, and English in this past week. Finals week is going to be easy because I've gotten through much of my difficult classes. However, I have a pretty busy weekend ahead of me (with tons of final projects and last-minute homeworks to finish up before the quarter/school year ends) along with graduation parties, volunteering, and so much more. So, here's to hoping that I'll have all my stuff done before the weekend is over, so next week can be an awesome week before school ends! I cannot wait until next week actually because we'll be getting school yearbooks on Monday. I've already had a chance to look at the new yearbook; however, I cannot wait to get it signed by all of my friends before we all head our separate ways to different colleges/states.
Senior Reflection #1
I guess it has been quite a while since I've had a chance to post on this blog, but I thought I would begin with a senior reflection on how this year has been so far. I want to go back and talk about the past couple of weeks, which have been extremely hectic because of AP Exams. I had four straight days of AP Exams, which completely wore me out. However, my AP exams went pretty well, so I've finally gotten over the hump of the school year and I've had a chance to finally relax with just doing simple/fun projects for classes. As of right now, we only have 6 days of school left for this Senior year. I cannot wait until school ends, so I can have a fun and relaxing summer.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The Sacking of Bo Xilai
In the upcoming year, the world's strongest powers (USA and China) will be receieving new leadership. China's president, Xi Jinping, will become the Communist Party's head leader by taking Hu Jintao's leadership position.
On March 15th, the party chief of the southwestern region of Chongqing, Bo Xilai, was removed from office. His removal shows a certain sign of change for China. Bo Xilai seemed to be destined for leadership in the nine-member standing committee of the Politburo. Despite the fact that Bo Xilai's ideas while in office seemed rather extremist (with links to cracking down the Chinese "mafia" and following of Maoist beliefs), Bo Xilai's removal proves to show that there is something wrong with the Chinese political system. Bo Xilai focused on "red" and "anti-mafia" campaigns to discredit his opposition, Mr. Wang Yang, his predecessor in the Chongquing region. Yang has, however, come out on top in the competition with his somewhat liberal beliefs. Xilai's downfall does not come as a shock, as recently, Chongqing's corrupt affairs have been aired out for the Chinese public and the American consulate to see. His removal from office shows that China is moving toward less corruption and taking punishment on those who are firsthand in the corrupt affairs. According to the article, Chinese officials will still be able to get away with corruption, if it is brought out the correct way (without weapons).
The irony of the situation is that just a day prior to the sacking of Xilai, China's prime minister, Wen Jiabao, had said that without the upcoming reforms (removal of corrupt leaders), China may enter another "Cutural Revolution" phase.
Source: http://www.economist.com/node/21550309
On March 15th, the party chief of the southwestern region of Chongqing, Bo Xilai, was removed from office. His removal shows a certain sign of change for China. Bo Xilai seemed to be destined for leadership in the nine-member standing committee of the Politburo. Despite the fact that Bo Xilai's ideas while in office seemed rather extremist (with links to cracking down the Chinese "mafia" and following of Maoist beliefs), Bo Xilai's removal proves to show that there is something wrong with the Chinese political system. Bo Xilai focused on "red" and "anti-mafia" campaigns to discredit his opposition, Mr. Wang Yang, his predecessor in the Chongquing region. Yang has, however, come out on top in the competition with his somewhat liberal beliefs. Xilai's downfall does not come as a shock, as recently, Chongqing's corrupt affairs have been aired out for the Chinese public and the American consulate to see. His removal from office shows that China is moving toward less corruption and taking punishment on those who are firsthand in the corrupt affairs. According to the article, Chinese officials will still be able to get away with corruption, if it is brought out the correct way (without weapons).
The irony of the situation is that just a day prior to the sacking of Xilai, China's prime minister, Wen Jiabao, had said that without the upcoming reforms (removal of corrupt leaders), China may enter another "Cutural Revolution" phase.
Source: http://www.economist.com/node/21550309
Sunday, March 11, 2012
China's Prime Minister Bows Out
Wen Jiabao has entered his final year in the office of Prime Minister of China. As he recounts his past years in office, Jiabao warned in a two-hour speech to the National People's Congress of the new problems that China will be facing. He struggled to prove to the people of China that he had changed China for the better since the beginning of his term, so coming to terms with Jiabao's warnings will prove to be difficult for the Chinese people. Jiabao's position will be passed down to his deputy, Li Keqiang, and the presidential position will be passed to the current vice-president, Xi Jinping.
As Jiabao delivered his final state of the union address to the Chinese people and the NPC on March 5th, Jiabao took a moment to talk about the progress that his five-year term as a leading member of the Politburo has helped China. After his speech, the Chinese people discussed the progress that Jiabao and Jintao have made in China. Jintao has worked toward becoming an everyday man of the people. He has looked toward working for the Chinese people, by traveling all across China to gain a better understanding of the way the everyday Chinese man lives. In this effort, Jiabao has believed that building a "harmonious society" in China is the central goal. However, the Chinese people believe that Jiabao's pledge to create a harmonious China has actually not been working over the years. Though China's growth rates have been expanding by double digits compared to any other country in the world, only part of China's population is experiencing the wealth. The gap between the rich and the poor of Chinese society only continues to expand and unrest among the disadvantaged continues to grow. The article showed the number of dissenting people is slowing expanding in China, to a point where the people have become uneasy about their living standards and their economic statuses. They are concerned about the growing gap and this has led to less confidence in the government of China.
Source: http://www.economist.com/node/21549991
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