# 10

Reconstruction was the period after the civil war when the south was basically trying to recuperate from the terrible loss that they had. What went well was that there were so many different types of people like Abe Lincon that were trying to help the south by coming up with great ideas to make them stronger. What went bad was that there were much more people that were trying to make it worse and people getting in the way like Andrew Jackson.

I think this is relevant today because there are people that still despise the south even after all this time and racism is still going on which was supposed to be stopped.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125426788854050939.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

This article relates to reconstruction because after we entered the war in Iraq we lost so many soldiers which we didn't expect and the war is so much longer then we expected. So we decided to take our people out of there to reconstruct our military because we suffered such a great loss. 

Blog #9

http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/Sewage-Spill-from-Mission-Valley-to-Ocean-Beach/qWYuIGp6oEeMp2ZNMf20lQ.cspx

Sewage spill from Mission Valley to Ocean Beach:

On Wednesday September 23 about 1,300 pounds of raw sewage spilled into the San Diego River. Flowing down the river and polluting dog beach. You can receive more information about this by either the DEH or  the City of San Diego lifeguards. This relates to our project because we are testing for bacteria in the waters around San Diego and this is part of the reasons why they are so polluted. We can possibly do tests and inform people how bad the water is for when you swim in it after an event like this. Also just the everyday runoff that pollutes the water which people swim in every day.

Blog # 8

I came up with an Idea that we, as a class can write a grant to canon and see if we can get a couple of cameras to use. I would like to do a photo project and take some really cool pictures around san diego. Or I would also like to to a video project like the ones that were done last year but a up to date one.

Blog #7

Who Ever Said You Can’t Do It?
By Grant Garrity

I first grasped a baseball bat when I was five or six years old. At that age I would have never known the importance of baseball and what it means to people when they play. I remember sitting on the rusted green bench waiting to be called up to bat one of my first years playing. The excitement and joy walking up to the plate and having all of the parents and kids watch me as I take center stage. As I step into the box drawn by a thick line of chalk I tense up waiting to hit the ball. My coach then sets the ball onto the tee and I wind up watching the ball for as long as I can and swing my hardest. CRACK! The sight of the ball flying through the air is so exciting that it puts a grin on my face like no other. In years to come I will learn to respect, honor, and believe in the game of baseball.
"There's a long drive way back in center field. Way back, back! Oh what a catch by Mays! ... Willie Mays just brought this crowd to its feet with a catch, which must have been an optical illusion to a lot of people! Boy!" The voice of Jack Brickhouse was filled with excitement as he exclaimed the unfolding of these memorable events. Willie Mays makes the remarkable catch in the 1954 World Series, which makes him so famous along with many other great achievements. Mays didn’t just play baseball for the money or the fame, he played because he had passion for the game. His passion and commitment for the game of baseball is the passion and commitment that I have to school and getting into a great college. I too love to play baseball and have learned many morals and values that Willie Mays was probably taught others as well.
This past year of playing baseball I have learned that training and commitment are the key to being a good ball player. I have also applied this to school, if I don’t study for a test I will not succeed. If I do not practice and train to be a good athlete, most chances are I will not be good. This is something that Mays was extremely well at. At a young age he would go out and play ball after school every day. In his professional career he trained almost every single day. He also had an icon that he respected and appreciated the most in his childhood, his Uncle. His uncle would say to him "You're going to be a baseball player. You're going to be a baseball player, and we're gonna see to that.” And this was true.
For years my father has gone between sitting in the bleachers, watching me play to sitting next to me on the bench coaching me in how to fix my swing for my next at bat. He has been one of my biggest influences in the game of baseball. As a kid he would say, “If you try hard enough you will succeed.” Now since I am older he says to me “Be a leader not a follower.” He has inspired me to try my hardest and to do as much as I can to go out of my way and help others.
From a young little boy who loved to play all different types of sports, baseball has always been my passion. I have never gone a season without playing. Even when bumps in the road occur I was taught to keep strong and never doubt myself. The lessons I have learned as a kid from guardians to athletes have been useful, to this day. Willie Mays has showed me that if I try hard and put my mind to what I really want to do I will succeed. I hope to pass these lessons I have learned in life so far, on to other people and to future generations.

Blog #6

1. What did you discover about your writing during this project?


During this project I learned that I can be a more detailed writer and write stronger sentences. I have also learned that when I write my first drafts they don't always make sense.


2. Identify and describe (at least) one specific writing technique that you used. How did you use it? What effect did it have on your writing?






I used the technique take it easy on the ings. What I did to use this was to go through and take out as many words with ing at the end out. It made my sentences much stronger.


3. If you had time for one more draft, what would you do?



I would go back and have more people critique it and improve even more. I would also try to incorporate more techniques into the piece.


4. Copy one sentence that you believe is well-written and/or important to your overall piece. What makes it stand out to you?


"The excitement and joy walking up to the plate and having all of the parents and kids watch me as I take center stage."

This stands out to me because it is part of my intro and it makes it very strong. I have gotten better at putting sensory detail into my writing so I think this is a good example of it.

Picture

Blog # 5

Rule of Thirds:

The rule of thirds separates the picture into 9 different sections. Where the lines meet is the perfect position to place the subject that you are taking the picture of. It makes the picture look clean and professional.

Slow Shutter Speed:

When you set your camera to have a slow shutter speed what it does is leave the lens open for longer then it normally should be. This works best if you are trying to capture a stationary object and things around it are moving like my example of this waterfall. It also works very well with moving lights. 

Macro:

 

 

Macro is a very interesting type of photography. Macro is very close up pictures. The setting on a camera can also be used to focus in on one spot of a subject and making everything else blurry. If you want to get a high quality macro picture it requires a very expensive lens.

Blog # 4

When Richard read my piece and gave me feedback, he gave me some good ideas and helpful points. He said that I need to make my intro stronger my having a stronger starting sentence. Also I got that he wanted me to make the piece more about myself and not tell so many stories. I will defiantly make my intro stronger and try and make my body paragraphs make more sense.

Who Ever Said You Can’t Do It?

By Grant Garrity

I first grasped a baseball bat when I was five or six years old. At that age I would have never known the importance of baseball and what it means to people when they play. I remember sitting on the rusted green bench waiting to be called up to bat one of my first years playing. The excitement and joy walking up to the plate and having all of the parents and kids watch you as you take center stage. As I step into the box drawn by a thick line of chalk I tense up waiting to hit the ball. My coach then sets the ball onto the tee and I wind up watching the ball for as long as I can and swing my hardest. CRACK! The sight of the ball flying through the air is so exciting that it puts a grin on my face like no other. In years to come I will learn to respect, honor, and believe in the game of baseball.

"There's a long drive way back in center field. Way back, back! Oh what a catch by Mays! ... Willie Mays just brought this crowd to its feet with a catch, which must have been an optical illusion to a lot of people! Boy!"  The voice of Jack Brickhouse was filled with excitement as he exclaimed the unfolding of these memorable events. 1954 Willie Mays makes the remarkable catch in the 1954 World Series, which has made him so famous along with many other great achievements. Mays didn’t just play baseball for the money or the fame; he played because he had passion for the game. His passion and commitment for the game of baseball is my passion and commitment to school and getting into a great college. I too love to play baseball and have learned many morals and values that Willie Mays was probley taught as well.

This past year of playing baseball I have learned that that training and commitment are the key to being a good ball player. I have also applied this to school if you don’t train for a test you will not succeed. If you to not practice and train to be a good athlete most chances are you will not be good. This is something that Mays was extremely well at. At a young age he would go out and play ball after school every day. In his professional career he trained almost every single day. He also had an icon that he respected and appreciated the most in his childhood, his Uncle. His uncle would say to him "You're going to be a baseball player. You're going to be a baseball player, and we're gonna see to that.” And this was true.

For years my father has gone between sitting in the bleachers watching me play to sitting next to me on the bench coaching me in how to fix my swing next time I get up to bat.  He has been one of my biggest influences in the game of baseball.  As a kid he would say, “If you try hard enough you will succeed.”  Now since I am older he says to me “Be a leader not a follower.” He has inspired me to try my hardest and do as much as I can to go out of my way and help others.

From a young little boy who loved to play all different types of sports baseball to me has always been my passion. I have never gone a season without playing. Even when bumps in the road occur I was taught to keep strong and never doubt yourself. The lessons I have learned as a kid from guardians to athletes have been so useful up to now.  Willie Mays has showed me that if you try hard and put your mind to what you really want to do you will succeed. I hope to pass these lessons I have learned in life so far, on to other people and to future generations.

American Icon Resources

Willie Mays
Say Hey the Autobiography of Willie Mays by Willie Mays & Lou Sahadi.
This book was written by Willie Mays himself. He talks about how he grew to be one of the greatest baseball players of all time. I would use this book because it is information directly from Mays himself. It has correct facts and correct dates from events throughout his career.

http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/may0int-1

Willie Mays Interview

This interview was recorded as a video and as just audio. This can be useful because it has very detailed facts about May's childhood and his professional career. So it is a movie with actual game footage and footage of the interview made possible by the Academy of Achievement.

Emeril Lagasse

http://www.emerils.com/emerilology/bio

This is a biography on his own website that has useful information consisting of dates from when he opened his first restaurant to his cookbooks being published. It does not say who wrote it but I think it will be reliable because it is on his own website. 

http://www.famousinterview.ca/interviews/emeril_lagasse.htm

This is an interview by Emeril. I think it would be useful because you can get more out of an interview than you can with a biography. Interviews has more detailed information about specific events or people. 

American Icons

Willie Mays

What does this Icon represent to you? Why?
I have been playing baseball ever since I was a young kid, since then I have not really had an icon that can look up to but I think I have found one. Willie Mays was what I was as a kid, I started baseball at a very young age and so did he. His dad loved to play the game and so has mine. He had so much love and respect for the game like I was taught to have. He represents my passion and love for the game that I have never had for any other sports 

How did this Icon become important in American culture?
In 1951 when Mays was first drafted to the New your Yankees every single young African American baseball player probley heard about him. That first year when he played and hit 19 home runs everyone probley got to know who he was a little bit more. By then he was inspiring every single young African American baseball player that anything was possible even when you weren’t being treated the same as everyone else. He wasn’t just a baseball player he was an inspiration to all young American baseball players.

Who and what did this Icon inspire?
He inspired young children and teenagers that anything was possible if you put your effort into it and tried your hardest. I'm pretty sure that many people looked up to him in his time.

Babe Ruth represents passion and love for the game of baseball that I always had. Babe Ruth and Willie Mays are very  similar in my opinion because they both broke great milestones in the game. They both have the same inspiration on me but Babe is a inspiration on me because his parents didn't really pay much attention to him as a kid because they were to involved in work and that really stands out to me. He then found someone to look up to as a parent figure who was his "Father" in the school he got sent off to. This means to me that he was a very strong hearted kid and didn't let certain problems get to him, he just kept moving on.


Babe became an American icon when he was drafted to the Yankees. America knew he was going to be a star when he was drafted and they were right. His first season he broke the record of home runs which made the team so popular. Everyone was coming to the games and they made enough money to build a stadium known as "the house that ruth built" or yankee stadium.  


Like Willie Mays he inspired every little kid and teenager of his era and even to the present day. I'm pretty sure that every young kid that plays baseball has wanted to be just like babe ruth.

 

Emeril Lagasse

Ever since i was a little kid I have always loved to cook. Emeril has always been one of my favorite chefs. He started from nothing and worked his way to the top. It goes to show that anything is possible if you put your mind to it and put in 100%. He represents me because I have always wanted to be a chef when I grow up and if I was to become one he is the type of person I want to be.

Cooking is something that not many people know how to do or are good at. Emeril has a couple of TV shows teaching people to cook different types of foods whether it be from a different culture or just plain healthy food. Part of America's culture is food so i would say that he is a part of our culture by teaching people how to cook and the history behind cooking.

If you have ever watched any of Emeril's shows you might know that all of the food looks so good. When good food is made that makes you hungry it inspires people to go and cook. Also he has healthy cooking ideas that many people use and when people see these they sometimes push themselves to eat healthier. So he inspires people to eat healthy.