Raiders!

I am responding to my son Camel 

So, this year has been a breakout year for the Oakland Raiders. Their current record is at 4-4 (four wins and four losses) and its been a LOOOONG time since I have seen them with four wins this early in the season. Considering there are sixteen games in one NFL season, the Oakland Raiders are one win away from tying the most wins that they have had in the last seven seasons after they went to the Superbowl in 2002.

For some reason the Raiders always find a way to disappoint their fans. For some reason the Raiders always find a way to lose at the last minute. They might be winning by eight points saying that the opposite team needs a touchdown and a two point conversion and it might be 45 second left on the clock and somehow the Raiders lose. I am a huge Raiders fan, but when they do this, it really disappoints me because I know that they are a better team and that they could do way better!

But this does not mean that I do not love the Raiders. I really believe that the Raiders are going to the play-ffs this year and they are going to be Superbowl material by next season. So far this season is the best record they have had since 2002 when they last went to the Superbowl. This season says a lot about them. It says that they are capable of competing and beating the ton teams in the NFL. It proves that they are capable of doing more than what they are given credit for.

I believe that this is the beginning of a new and improved Raiders team and Mr. Fargher doesn't know what he is talking about. He always has something smart to say about the Raiders when he clearly goes for the weakest team in the NFL, the 49er's. I think that Fargher should just stop talking mess about the Raiders and start rooting for them again because deep down inside his heart, he know that RAIDERS ARE THE BEST TEAM IN THE NFL!

Hunger Games pt.3

In the final part to Hunger Games, me and my groups spoke about our predictions for the next book, Catching Fire.


We mainly discussed about who we thought that Katniss would really end up with in the end of all of the Games. Was she going to choose Peeta and Gale? Throughout the Hunger Games in the arena, Katniss was confused on who she was going to stay with. She was always doubting if Peeta really loved her or was he doing it for the cameras by playing the game right. We wondered if when Gale was watching the games on television, was he jealous of the relationship that Katniss and Peeta had formed? Was he angry? What would be his first reaction when he would see Katniss again or would he not care?


The question that came up was what happened to the tributes that were mutated after they killed Cato? The mutation had just came out of no where and when they finished their job, they just left. Were they just an object to the Games or were they the advantage and support that Katniss and Peeta needed in order to win the Hunger Games


The most surprising part that stood out for me was the fact that Katniss did Peeta wrong throughout the Games. In the end, she finally admitted to him that she only pretended to love him in the arena as a method to survive throughout the Hunger Games. My entire group thought that Katniss was really serious in the beginning when she first found Peeta in the Hunger Games. She always had mixed feelings and although she thought that Peeta was playing the game the whole time, it was really her that had played him. If Katniss was just doing for the game, why didn't Katniss just leave Peeta throughout the game when he was such a burden? If she really just pretended to love Peeta to come out victorious from the game, why didn't Katniss kill him the first chance that she got to?


We also talked about how we didn't really like the book. There was not enough excitement as I expected. Katniss basically just hid to not get killed and she did little to nothing as in killing others to win.  

Hunger Games pt. 2

In the second discussion of Hunger Games, my group mainly talked about how the Capitol and the districts of Panem are somewhat like the government of America. We were talking about how district 13 rebelled against the Capitol which shows how citizens rebel against their government.In situation with the Capitol and the districts, the districts are being put down by the greater power and for that the rebellion began.

The reason for the games is to mainly entertain the people of the Capitol. They put people in the game tokill each other and that's how the people of the Capitol get entertained. The government doesn't care for their people and they will just put anyone there so they could get killed.

We can see a connection throughout the first and second part to the book. In the first part, that chapter ends with Peeta admitting that he is in love with Katniss. Now, the second part to the book ends with Katniss calling out for Peeta. Katniss learns that two people were allowed to survive the games this year. In return for everything that Peeta had did for Katniss, Katniss now wanted to help him survive with her help. This mainly shows that Katniss started to develop more feelings for Peeta since they are going through a lot with the games and also, the love that he claims he has for Katniss plays a factor in this situation they are put in.

Katniss shows the sign of rebellion when she does a real ceremony for Rue's death during the games. In doing this, Katniss put Rue flowers in the Hunger Games arena and then she sang the song that Rue would sing to get the people to stop working for the day back in her district. This is a sign of rebellion because no one on the previous games has ever done that and also, the people who take part in the Games shouldn't show compassion for someone who they would end up having to kill.

My predictions for the end of the book is that they will both come out of the games alive. Since they have already showed that they have love for each other, I think that they will end up being together if they both get out of the Hunger Games.

My Future, No Regrets

I responded to Shiyun's post about the future.

     What does future mean? What is the future that awaits us all? I have been thinking about my future recently and thought that there is no answer to what that will await me. There is no way I would know what my future will be like, for I have to decide that myself. For every decision that I make in life, there will be a result to things. No one can really change what they have done or go back to the past and start over again. We will also have to look at the road ahead and make better decisions.

Shiyun is right when she says that she doesn't know what will happen in her future, but that she could change her future at any moment that she wants. When people make certain decisions in their lives, then that is what shapes them as a person in the future. I know that if I were to make bad choices in my life now, then that will affect my life later on.

In the same matter, I always say that I don't regret anything that I do in my life and its true. I think that people should never live their life with regrets for anything because the decisions that they made is what brought them to where they are in life right now. I do not regret anything that I have done in my lifetime. Sometimes I did make some stupid decisions, but I would never change none of that. If I wouldn't have made those specific choices, then I wouldn't be what I am today: happy.

I honestly don't know what's going to happen with me in the future. I do not know what I am going to do later on, but I am not worried. Although I do have goals that I have set for myself, they don't always work out the way we want them to. Either way, I know that I will make the right choices sooner or later. Even if I do mess up sometimes in life in the way I do things, I still will never regret anything in my future. People that live their lives with regrets are unhappy in the present day because they always wish they could turn back the clock and not make those mistakes. I could never be like that.

Hunger Games pt 1

During our discussion, my group talked about many parts of our book, Hunger Games. Overall, it was a good discussion and I learned a lot of new things from my group.

Hunger Games is a story of the future of America, where there are 12 districts instead. Every year, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12-18 from every district compete in a challenge located in the Capitol called the Hunger Games, in which they must fight until the last one standing. The winner walks away with food and prizes for their districts. Katniss, the main character chooses to stand in for her sister during the games. The boy who will accompany her will be a boy she barely knows, Peeta.

We all talked about many topics on our book and how we feel about it. Some of the subjects that came up was the fact that Peeta was generous to Katniss before he even knew her. There was an event in which Katniss needed food for her family and on purpose, Peeta had burned the bread so he can throw it out and give it to Katniss. This was about 4 years before the Hunger Games and it shows that Peeta's character is supposed to be nice and caring no matter what.

The most thought provoking question that came up within our group discussion was what was going to happen to  Katniss' and Peeta's relationship?Does Katniss really have the guts to kill Peeta in the games after he has been so nice to her? And does Katniss really believe Peeta when he says that he loves her?

The most thoughtful responses that we had to these questions was that we predicted that the relationship between Peeta and Katniss can go both ways. Either they will hate each other during the games, especially Katniss, just so it would be easier to kill him at the end. Or, Katniss will be convinced that Peeta does love her.

I thought that later on in the book, Katniss wouldn't kill Peeta because he will turn out to be such a great person that she couldn't bear to do that to him.Also, I thought that maybe Peeta does not actually love Katniss, but instead, he's just using that excuse so she wont kill him.

Making Jokes

This quote is from Lhadze's post about jokes,

The element of a joke is the part where its funny, but when people take it too far, it does not become a joke, it's an insult. Sometimes, when it gets to the point to where it is an insult and can cause a HUGE conflict.  And it can lead people to depression or lack of self confidence because you've entered their bubble and made fun of them. It's an enormous put down to some people because making fun of their race, or a personal issue, can serverly hurt them and leave them alone and in fear of the person. Whereas if you tone down the level of insult in a joke, you'll probably be better off....But always know the diference between a joke and a rude comment.

Lhadze talks about how people can get hurt when there is a joke made about them. I agree that it is wrong to make fun of someone for something that they can't help, but at the same time, we are teenagers and we like to make fun of each other through jokes.

For me, I like to make jokes about people, but only to the ones who know how to laugh along and not get so butt-hurt when I say it. I wouldn't make fun of someone if I knew that they wouldn't know how to take a joke. I know my limits and even if I make jokes, I would not take it too far, only with people who I am closer to. If i don't know someone, then of course it would be wrong to poke fun at them.

When it comes to race, it isn't the subject that people should be making fun of because that's just pure racism.

Rude comments are wrong to say to people, but you have to understand that sometimes, they just blurt out and then when we do say it aloud, it's too late to think about the other persons' feelings.

What people really need to understand is that they shouldn't get mad at every joke that is made about them, especially when it's coming from a person like me who loves to joke around, but not actually cause anyone harm. Kids need to learn how to laugh along.

Another point is that the kids who are being joked on, they should learn how to speak up and just joke back. If someone makes a joke about you, then just do it back to them. It's fun to see people go at it in a funny way with jokes that are not intended to hurt people. If you are one of those people, then just learn to laugh along and don't start crying and getting mad just because someone wants to make jokes. It is a way of life and jokes help get you through the day with laughter.