"When Micheal Jordan scored 69 points, I knew I'd always remember it as the night me and Micheal combined for 70 points" - Stacey King

They have won 13 straight games. They are 17-time world champions. They are the Boston Celtics. The Boston Celtics have been an official NBA team since 1949. They have been home to well-known players, like Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and John Havlicek. Havlicek is the top scorer in Celtics franchise history with 26,395 points. Larry Bird was also a prolific scorer, falling in second behind Havlicek with 21,791 points. The Celtics were the first team ever to draft an African American Player. In 1950, they drafted Chuck Cooper. Soon after that, they won their first championship in the 56-57 season. The Boston Celtics began to dominate the NBA after that. They won eight straight championships from 1958 to 1966. That is the longest championship streak in any North American sports team. From 1957 to 1969, the Celtics won 11 out of 13 championships. They settled down and remained relatively quiet until the 2007-2008 season when the big three (Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen) was formed to aid the Celtics to another championship victory over the rival Lakers. They are hoping to do the same thing this year. With a record of 22-4 (1st in the Eastern Division and 2nd overall in the league behind the SA Spurs), they are hoping to jump back into the NBA finals once again. Their only holdback this year is the injury situation. Rajon Rondo (sprained left ankle), Delonte West (broken right wrist), Jermaine O'Neal (sore knee), and Kendrick Perkins (right knee-out three months) all made the injured list this year. Most of these injuries are not season-ending. These players should be back in no time at all. With all of this considered, the Boston Celtics seem to have an edge over their opponents this year. They are definitely Playoff bound, but how far will they go? I hope they win it all, but no one knows.

How To Keep Your New Years Resolutions

It is time to ring in the 2011 year. For some of us, it is just another year. For the rest of us, it is finally graduation year. It took us twelve years, but now the class of 2011 can finally breathe a sigh of relief and say with confidence that the high school chapter of their lives is done and another chapter can begin. Besides graduation, now is the time of year when people are tossing there old ones and writing fresh New Year’s resolutions. While some people scan there old list, they realize what they could have achieved during the past year but failed to do. When writing the new resolutions, everyone says this at some point: This year, I am going to keep these resolutions no matter what! It is possible that some people keep them because they realize that all it takes is a little bit of initiative. Webster dictionary defines initiative as “the beginning step in a process”. The most popular resolution is to lose the extra weight packed on during the candy cane and eggnog-filled holidays. If someone was serious about it they would take the initiative and get a gym membership or start working out at home. Martin Luther King once said “you don’t have to see the entire staircase, just take the first step”. When you do not see results of your efforts in the first couple of weeks, maybe months, do not give up. It may take a while of trying, but if you try hard enough and consistently, you are guaranteed to achieve whatever it is that you are trying to succeed. I guess another term for that would be perseverance. Just because your old resolutions went in the trash, it does not mean that your new ones will. (well they probably will, just with a different mentality).

What is Beauty?

What is beauty? I believe beauty can mean many different things. Obviously it means the outside appearance of something is “easy on the eyes.” This just means that it is good looking. I think it can go further though. My theory is that beauty is only skin deep and though something may long beautiful, does not mean that is what you are going to get on the inside. You can buy a shiny apple just to find a worm in it. You can buy a fancy looking car just to find out that it has not run in twenty years and it is rusted under the hood. You can get a beautiful girlfriend or boyfriend just to find out that he or she is a real jerk. Another famous saying that I believe in is the one that says do not judge a book by its cover. If you were to go and try to find a girlfriend or new car based strictly on good looks, then likely as not, you are not going to have any luck finding anything worth your time. I think in order to fully understand what the term beauty truly means, we need to attempt to define ugliness. Ugliness is something that is not pleasant to look at. Ugliness in human forms would be a girl that no one wants to go out with. Everyone has their own definition of ugliness. It is the same way with beauty. Beauty and ugliness can both be determined once you get to either know the person, or see the object inside and out. You need to find out what is on the inside before you make any judgment on whether it is beautiful or ugly. All in all, I believe that you cannot determine beauty just from outside appearances.

Poem

REBUILD – ANNONYMOUS
No more sorrow, no more pain
Only love and understanding is left to gain
No more words without meaning
Only phrases and gestures full of feeling
No more lonely days and sleepless nights
Only quality time filled with hugs so tight
No more thoughts of worthlessness
Only moments shared together engulfed in happiness
No more starving for attention and a look of disgrace
Only daily kisses accompanied with a warm embrace
Love is patient, kind and complicated
To make it work communication must be initiated
God and His words play a big part
Hold Him near and dear, close to your heart

I was looking on the internet for a poem and when I saw this one, it really hit home for me. I liked it from the first line. When it says “no more sorrow, no more pain, only love and understanding is left to gain”, I think it means that there will come a day when people do not feel things like pain and sorrow, but only love and compassion. People say a lot of things, but most of the time, there words are simply full of air. They carry no weight or meaning. When people can actually walk around and back there words up with action, then the world will be a better place. My favorite line in this poem has to be “love is patient, kind and complicated, to make it work communication must be initiated”. I like the truth behind this phrase because we all know that love is very compassionate, but when it is not going smoothly, it can seem very confusing. When you are in love, you forget to take a step back and look at the situation through someone else’s eyes. If people did this, then the confusion would disappear and you would be able to enjoy love a lot more.

Impact Of This Class

There are many things that I have learned about myself as a writer since I have begun this class. I have figured out that when I put my mind to it and really concentrate, I can write pretty good stuff. When I first started, I was worried that I would have trouble coming up with ideas for articles. I also worried about how I was going to find the time to write so many articles. Although, I must say that my writing process has developed greatly since this class began. Now I research my topic before I write about it where before I would just start typing out random stuff and hoping it made since. I also began proofreading my own work so that I do not look like an idiot when I publish something that is spelled wrong. Before I would not really look at the finished product. I would throw it up on my blog and hope no one read it. I enjoy writing about many things. Sports would have to be up there with my favorite things to write about. I like writing about sports because I love playing sports so it is like writing about something I love. If I had to choose my favorite though, I would have to say I like writing about current events the most. I like to debate things so any opportunity I have to do just that, I will take it. I do not like writing about stuff that deals with the school body. I do not get too involved in all of that so I really do not know much about it. I think this class has improved my writing and typing skills. I know how to put together an article that sounds smart and I know how to type really good now.

Family Matters

What is my favorite childhood television show? I had so many of them it is hard to choose. That was how I spent my time when I was a child. I was either outside or watching TV. I guess I would have to say family matters. That was the show that had Steve Urkel in it. I used to enjoy watching all of Steve’s funny actions because he was always doing something stupid. I remember in one of the many episodes I watched, Steve borrowed Carl Winslow’s (Steve’s “best friend”) car and ended up putting it through the garage door. The funny thing about it is he never even got it out of the garage because he forgot to open the door before he backed up. What made it even funnier, it think, is when Steve said his ever so famous quote: “did I do that”. He always used to say that when he did something bad or when he did something that was stupid. He also had this really high pitched voice that would typically get annoying. It did not get annoying with Steve though because he was the funny character and the voice made him that much funnier. Another funny aspect to that show is that Steve had a big time crush on Carl Winslow’s daughter. Her name was Laura and Steve was always trying to get with her. The funny thing about that was Laura was very popular and Steve was a geek. Maybe it was cliché but it made the show even funnier!

Childhood Games

There are several childhood games that I used to play when I was a child. I will name some of them. If I had to choose, I would have to say that my most favorite childhood game has to be laser tag. We bought the vest that you have to wear and the guns. It was like the place you go to do serious laser tag except this game; you did not have to be in a dark room. Everyone has seven lives and you have to get shot in the vest by the other person’s laser three times to lose a life. It was extremely hard to make the other person lose a life but it was also a lot of fun. I think I enjoyed it so much because it was very challenging. Another game that I used to play when I was a kid was chinese checkers and normal checkers. I used to play against my day in normal checkers. He is the one who taught me how to play and how to think ahead before I make a move. I used to play my grandma in chinese checkers. She always enjoyed that game. We had a circular game board and we each had ten marbles on each side. The object of the game was to get all of your pieces to the other side of the board before your opponent. I wasn’t good at this game so my grandma usually beat me. I am really good at checkers though!

My Favorite Neighbor, Zookmottin

I love flowers! The smell and the feel of their brilliantly smooth pedals are breathtaking. I enjoy going outside on a nice warm sunny summer day and dragging the garden hose out and watering them. There is one downside to this activity though. When I am doing it, I have to listen to our neighbor, Zookmottin, moan and complain about all of his mediocre problems. After a while of hearing the same thing over and over again, you learn to tune him out. Some of the stuff I hear unintentionally is absolutely the crudest stuff I have ever heard. He say’s stuff about his ex-wife, having to pay alimony, and all of his wives before that. He says they come and go but never stay long. He doesn’t know why. One day he came over with a head full of steam though. It was pretty bad this time around. As he was stumbling over, I asked him what was up. He said with an extremely oversized attitude that he would show me what was up. I told him to calm down and tell me what happened. He did and started to talk. He said he knew why his wives kept on leaving him without warning. They were being traded for money by the people who were living with him. I was extremely shocked. I had no idea what to say, so I said the first thing that came to my mind. I asked him you know you’re a gnome, right?

What Is Art??

What is art? I believe every single person you ask that question to will have different answers. That said, my answer is a unique one because I believe art is the human minds way of escaping everyday life. Someone might lose their job and go home and paint. Someone might lose a loved one and go take pictures in the park. I might get a bad grade in school or get in trouble at home and go in the woodshop and make something out of wood. Everyone has their own unique way of dealing with the everyday hurt, pain, or sadness that life deals out. I also believe art is any creation made by somebody using their imagination and no guidelines. I think that is how the best artwork is formed. When people do it freehand and don’t go by any guidelines or rules. Art to me is anything that comes from the heart and soul and not from the internet or any book.
Art is an outward expression of your inner soul. Your artwork shows everyone else around you how you are feeling and whether or not you are having a good day. It also shows people what you have been thinking about. I know this because I enjoy drawing. I know when I sit down to draw something, I have to be in the mood to draw and I have to think about what I am going to draw. If I do not do these things before I draw, I usually just sit there because I do not know what to do. This is why I think it shows people what you are thinking and what kind of mood you in. Overall, I think art is a great way to escape the everyday world and really let your emotions run wild.

Things Not To Do When You Borrow Your Parents Car

Well, you’re probably wondering why my car is buried in between four other cars, aren’t you? Let me tell you how it happened. Last night my mom and dad let me borrow their car. I was ecstatic! This was the first time they had let me borrow the car, let alone drive by myself. I wasn’t going to do anything to mess it up. Well, I did. Instead of going to the party that I told my parents I was going to, I went over to Zach Colson’s house. I figured he could help me study to get a good grade on my next trig test. We were studying when he asked me one of his physics homework questions. The question was whether or not a car going sixty miles per hour could jump four other cars stacked up on top of each other. The car would have to jump off of a ramp that was set at sixty degrees. I told Zach that it would be completely possible because I saw it happen on my all-time favorite show, MythBusters. He disagreed with me. We got into a huge argument and I finally broke down and told him that I would prove it too him. So we left his house and went to the junk yard. We purchased four hunks of junk and paid the guy to stack them up for us. We had to use every last penny Zach had saved up from his tutoring lessons AND piano lessons. After the cars were stacked, we created the ramp, and just that act caused another argument. He wanted it to be set at 60 degrees and I wanted it at 45. We settled for 52.5 degrees so that we would both be happy. That was a big mistake. Before I got into my parents car, I looked at Zach and said it would be easy as pie. He laughed and said that he had already called the ambulance. I took off and made it up to sixty MPH in no time. I hit the jump and my heart was racing! I hit the cars and that is all I remember!!

Photo One : Man On Edge Of Waterfall

I chose this photo because as soon as I saw it, it stuck out to me. I think the whole idea of a man standing at the edge of a potentially deadly waterfall really stood out to me. It kind of makes me think of the time I visited Niagara Falls. This was when I was not living up here yet and was still living in Georgia. When my family and I visited Niagara Falls, I always imagined standing on the top and looking down at everyone. Before I knew any better, I would also wonder what would happen if I jumped off of it. I obviously know now that jumping off of it would be terrible idea but I still wonder what it looks like from up there. I also think this photo can mean so much more. Like the guy in the picture could represent someone living on the edge of life. He knows how far he can go without falling off so he knows where to draw the line when doing stuff. One might also say that this photo represents someone that has gone about as far as life will enable him to. He has maybe achieved everything he has ever wanted to do so now he does not know what to do. Another way of looking at it would be to say that maybe he has not achieved anything but he has tried everything to succeed and has failed every time. No matter which situation it is, the man feels as if he is on the edge and either does not know what to do next or what to change about his past. One last thing this photo could mean is serenity, maybe. All I know is if I was standing on the edge of a waterfall, I would either be totally calm or I would be freaking out. The guy in this photo is obviously calm.