Reviews

1.Positive:http://www.seat42f.com/american-horror-story-freak-show-review.html

Negative:http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/american-horror-story-test-strength-212113

2. Both of these reviews are about American Horror Story, and it's new season Freak Show. One of the articles praises the show, while the other degrades it and speaks down on it. 

3. The positive interviewer sounds like an a fan of the show, as if they watch it and enjoy it, so their review might be biased. But, the negative reviewer was worse with including some of the bright side of things. He mostly pointed out the flaws of the show and not much light was shined on the good parts. 

4. (a) In the negative article, one fact was: Jimmy Darling and his friends remain on high alert, because the freak is an endangered species in 1950s America. And one opinion was: It’s sloppy, but that’s to be expected from an episode of American Horror Story that tosses seven or eight of its proverbial chainsaws into the air without any noticeable concern for juggling them.

And one fact from the positive article: AMERICAN HORROR STORY is back for a fourth season, subtitled FREAK SHOW, with “Monsters Among Us,” airing this week. And opinion: For the most part, I really like “Monsters Among Us,” a cool story that intrigues and entices, but there are a couple of strange choices made.

5. I agree with the positive reviewer. He didn't just state how much he hates the show. He included the reasons why he liked it and also backed it up with harmless critiques. He was being honest, but at the same time he was promoting the good side of the show. I watch American Horror Story, and I don't think the serial killer bit is going dry because they change the motives as well as the type of person the killer is. It makes it much more interesting. 

Editorial Blog (#7)

1. The written editorial and the cartoon are both about Jonathan Gruber. They both talk about his opinion on voters being stupid and their reaction. 

2. The written editorial explains the entire situation of Gruber and the things he has said about voters, and why he disagrees with most of their actions. The cartoon then depicts this with political figures in protective suits running from him as he speaks on his opinion. This makes it humours, but also gives an easier understanding for someone who does not know the situation. The editorial depicts him as seemingly rude, but with meaning. And the cartoon depicts as a new ebola, spreading and ruining lives. 

3. The written editorial and the cartoon are alike in the fact that they depict him as a sort of monster to the people of America as well as our politicians. But, the written editorial and softer and nicer than what the cartoon was depicting. 

4. The written editorial is more effective in proving his point. It may not be a point I agree with, but the author goes into depth about why he feels that way and certain facts that go along with that. The author was very well at supporting his statements, while the cartoon also showed how he makes people feel, but it doesn't very well prove that point. 

5. The drawing can depict a more dramatic scene on what is going on, while the editorial is just words and you have to depict it yourself with the information given. It also can be more interesting for some people. There are many people that would much rather like to look at a picture, rather than looking at a written editorial on the same topic. It is not a good thing in the fact that it doesn't necessarily explain details of the situation. And the written editorial does, so it would be the better pick in that fashion. 

Cartoon: 

Link to written editorial: http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/13/opinion/cupp-gruber-obamacare/index.html?c=opinion

Music trends

      Music is a very important part of people's lives in this generation. All people have genres they enjoy and songs they enjoy. But, all people are sometimes connected by genres and songs without even realizing it. 

     A poll was taken over a group of very diverse people and the results came to show that most of the people in the group were connected by one main genre. That genre was Hip Hop, which came in first place with 47 percent of the votes. Pop came close, but not close enough with 35 percent of the votes. Trailing behind greatly is one of the less acknowledged genres. It happens to be Alternative. 

     Only 18 percent of the group voted it as their favorite. Information was also gathered on what artist was mentioned the most. And though Hip Hop was the most voted genre, boyband One Direction stole the spotlight as most mentioned. Camryn Shirley, Sophomore, stated "I love One Direction because their music provides happiness and they're hot."

     Out of the less known Alternative group, people were asked the question of what they enjoyed of this specific genre. Jada Davis, Sophomore, brags about the genre with the statement "It makes me happy!" And LeighAnn Faulkner, also a Sophomore, states her reasoning to be "Because it is different than what you hear on the radio." Which is very true. 

     Due to Alternative being a less popular genre, it is not nearly noted on the radio as much as Hip Hop and Pop happen to be. One of our Seniors, Asha Holland, also loves Alternative music. Holland finds it "very relaxing."
     In the poll, Hip Hop might have gotten the majority of votes, but Pop is the genre that is taking on the world. In the rankings on the Billboard top 100, the first songs mentioned happened to be:

Shake It Off by Taylor Swift
All About That Bass by Meghan Trainor
Habits by Tove Lo
Animals by Maroon 5
Bang Bang by Jessie J ft Nicki Minaj

Most of these songs mentioned on www.billboard.com  happen to be Pop songs and it only supports the fact that Hip Hop may be the most listened to in the small group of people that were tested, but the majority of people in the world enjoy the sound of Pop.

Camryn Shirley gets emotional while listening to her favorite One Direction song. 

Article Types

Informational Articles:

• A smokers home can actually be just as polluted as some of the most polluted cities in the world. These particular people went into the homes of smokers and checked their PM2.5 levels. PM2.5 being the particles that are contained in air pollution. After testing home after home, results showed that most of the homes that were test had higher PM2.5 levels than those that were found in Beijing, which is heavily polluted.
  
  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/03/smokers-homes-air-polluted-cities_n_6095360.html?utm_hp_ref=health-news&ir=Health+News
  
• College students more about other illnesses more than Ebola. This article gives the five main illnesses that college students would have an easier chance of catching than Ebola. The first being Meningitis. Something you wouldn't expect, but also something people are known for getting in their first year in college. The other are Athlete's foot, Strep, Flu, and HPV. All of them already common known illnesses, but with more students clustered in classes, the contagious ones of the bunch are spread easily throughout an entire classroom.
  
  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/04/common-college-illnesses_n_6076998.html?utm_hp_ref=health-news&ir=Health+News
  

Trend Articles:

• A new, and a bit odd trend has started in Beijing. Their air pollution has increased quite a lot over the past week. So, oddly enough, smog masks have been included in recent fashion shows. And these are not just any old smog masks, most of them being very good quality, to go along with the high price clothing being shown off in the shows, They all vary in design to go with the different outfits, making smog masks look more fashionable than they truly are.
  
  http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/31/living/smog-mask-china-fashion-week/
  
• This is an article about the current trends in what teens are reading. Reading has been becoming more popular in teens now, due to more books being written for this specific age group. Also with more intriguing topics. There have been names created for what has been the most popular in teens now and also what could be coming up. These include, The 'John Green' effect, Sub-genres Shine, New Adult (stories with more adult themes in them), "Love. Bullying. And Friendship," and more diverse books; pertaining to mental health conditions, disabilities, and books including the LGBT community.
  
  http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/14/living/young-adult-trends-diversity/

Human Interest Articles:

• There were a series of car break-ins in a suburban neighborhood located in Baltimore. They have found that these break-ins may have lead to a 10th grade boy's planned school attack with a handgun and explosive devices. The boy was not found with these things, but showed them off to the officers and eventually confessed to his plan. He stated that he'd taken the handgun to school already on Friday, but made the decision to not execute his plan until Monday. He was taken into custody and is currently being held without bail.
  
  http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/03/us/baltimore-school-shooting-foiled/index.html?hpt=us_c2
  
• A police officer in Washington was recently attacked by a man with an ax. This attack was not provoked by the officer, or by any situation the officer was involved in. It was completely random and unexpected. But, it had not been the first incident pertaining to the police. NYPD had an incident with a man having a hatchet and attempting to harm four of their officers. People are becoming more violent towards the police for reasons they are yet to uncover, though there are many reasons it could be as well. The NYPD has been very concerned and requires their officers to remain together in groups, and to take their breaks in pairs.
  
  http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/31/us/ax-attack-dc-police-perez/

Family Vacation

The cabin Janaija, Troy, and Mary Beckham stayed in for the duration of their vacation with their family. A new experience with the forest and themselves. 

The family enjoyed a small trip to the local mall, making it more fun than it would be if they were to be in their mall back home. Where they would never enjoy the little things set up around. 

Later, the entire group went on a hike through the wilderness that was surrounding them, the landscape too beautiful to not capture. 

 

After walking so long, there was also a wildlife trail to see all the animals. Instead, Janaija and her parents took the car through, tired from the hike. 

After a long day of walking and being out of their usual habitat, the family went into town for a nice dinner at Mellow Mushroom. A fun time for all as a signal of the end of their day nearing. 

Heading back to the cabin also came with a shock. There were two black bears, roaming the streets of Tennessee as if they were stray dogs. A very rare sight to see back home in South Carolina. 

Cabin in the Woods

      Mary, Troy, and Janaija Beckham took a trip this summer that was very unusual for them. Family members suggested that they should do a combined trip, and they agreed, not yet knowing what the trip would be. It turns out, their family wanted to take a trip to the woods, and stay in a cabin. Shocked, Beckham was immediately against the idea. "Do you know how many dangerous animals there are out there?!," she exclaimed to her family. But, all in all, she had no choice in the trip because her mother and father thought that this trip would be a great experience. The ride there was agonizing, and for the most part, it was filled with snoring.  

      Beckham did not know just how much she would enjoy this trip. "We're going on a wildnerness hike tomorrow," her father told her after they had arrived, already having the trip planned out. She dreaded that hike, staying up through the night thinking about the different ways the experience could turn out. Eventually, after walking around and seeing all the beautiful creatures changed her eperience. Her favorite part ended up being seeing the cubs, seeing animals that were so cute, and so small, not able to hurt a fly if they wanted made the experience much better. She even took pictures and enjoyed the rest lf the hike after that. 

      The drive home for the Beckhams was an odd experience, more or less. Driving down the road, they saw a ton of cars stopped along the road. "Look at all this traffic," Mrs. Beckham spoke, thinking that the roads were just really busy. After driving further, they all saw why the cars were stopped. There were two huge bears alongside the road, closer than the animals at the hike were. They were roaming the road as if they were just stray dogs, frightening the family. After going home, it felt nice to not see forest animals roaming all throughout the day. But since the experience was fun, they considered going back again next year. It was an experience like no other. 

A Newsworthy Summer

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/02/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/angelina-jolie-wedding-dress-brad-pitt/index.html?iref=allsearch

For all those people keeping up with the latest celebrities, the wedding of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt was on fire this summer. They got married on August 23, in their estate in France. The wedding was very elegant and Angelina even wore a veil covered in drawings her children created. It was very popular because Angelina and Brad have been a couple for quite a long time, and we were all waiting on the day to see them wed. Due to human interest, word spread fast about the wedding and was long talked about.

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/photos/kim-marries-kanye-florence-23818030/image-23882279

Another big celebrity event that occurred was the Kimye wedding, which we were all eagerly awaiting. The wedding happened very early in the summer, but no one knew what it even looked like until the wedding photos were released. The photos were beautiful, reflecting the nice and simple ceremony the two put on. A lot of people would think, why is this newsworthy? It's just wedding pictures, but really, it's the wedding picture's of a lifetime to most people. The people who have been huge fans of the Kardashians or of Kimye and were waiting to see this moment arise.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/27/world/ebola-virus-explainer/

This story was possibly the biggest story of the summer. The Ebola outbreak that was occurring. It was not some simple virus, which would think. Maybe another 24 hour virus or a small sickness that they could easily find a cure for, and frankly, this wasn't it. Ebola is a deadly disease, that kills, and is spreading like wildfire from West Africa due to people not caring to keep it confined. People have traveled on planes that show the symptoms, traveling and passing on the virus, worsening it throughout time.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/14/michael-brown-ferguson-missouri-timeline/14051827/

Michael Brown was another touching story, similar to the story of Trayvon Martin. The story of a boy and his friend walking to the local quick trip. The police had gotten a call that a suspect that had just robbed a store was headed to that QT. So, upon seeing Michael Brown, the officer shoots him down and kills him immediately, without even confronting before shooting or confirming that it was indeed his guy. So, the family of Michael Brown has hired the same lawyer that covered the Trayvon Martin case, and is assisted with the empathy of their family.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/12/world/meast/who-is-the-isis/

Recently, a new terrorist group has been formed, named as ISIS. They aren't in the US, or currently causing the US any trouble, but we are never too quick to let our guards down. Really, groups like this are unpredictable and the best thing the government can do is to just watch them as carefully as we can and make sure they are not causing any trouble for us because then, there would be chaos and we would have to fight back.