October Sky

        I chose the book, October Sky, by Homer Hickam, for probably not the greatest reason, but a reason nonetheless. I chose it because I really, really liked the movie. It's one of my favorites, and I had been meaning to read it in book form.
       My brother had to read it in high school, so we had the book laying around already. I was so happy to see that it was a non fiction piece of literature, so I got pretty lucky in choosing that.
       The book is about this kid in a small southern town who wants to get out and make something of his life. His world revolves around the mine in his rundown town. His father works in the mine, and his destiny if to follow in his footsteps while his older brother goes to college for football. Homer's brother was lucky to get out when he did, or his fate would also involve working in the mine.
       Homer finds a way to get out, though. He gets involved in space rocketry, being completely captivated by it. Soon, he and his friends start building rockets. The town thinks he's crazy, but by the end they get really into it and it becomes a huge deal for them because someone from their little town was about to make something big of themselves.
       Although I already know the story line, I can't wait to finish the book. It's already so good; I like it better than the movie.

"You know the Germans always make good stuff"

...Wow. "You'll say WOW everytime!" is right, makers of Shamwow. If you haven't already been attacked via your home television, well, you're lucky. In the eyes of a viewer, you're obnoxiously greeted by a lanky man with a highlighted foaxhawk and a headset. A headset? Is he going to be making business calls to sell this product while doing the commercial?
As you get further into the commerical, after being captivated by the blue-ish purple backdrop, you see Mr. Shamwow! spill some water on a black table (great for seeing water...not really) and he wipes it up with a Shamwow towel that seems to soak it up almost immediately.
Although, other people have other things to say about this gimmick. People all over Youtube have been making videos in regards to this infomercial, more so targeted at Vince Offer. With a name like that, I guess he was born to be an infomercial guy, giving people great offers.
In all honesty, I can't stand this guy. His voice, his body language, I can't stand any of it. But he is captivating. He's so annoying that you can't stop watching.

Perhaps the Shamwow should remain a song...

Sports in America

       Sports in America have its pros and cons. I feel like they affect all parties involved in the games; the players, coaches, parents, fans, and officials.
       Of course, participating in sports is something that everyone does as a child. Most kids play soccer or football when they're little. As they get older, they either decide to pursue their sport or move on to other things. Sometimes parents can add pressure to their child to participate in a sport, even if the kid doesn't want to be a part of it. Sometimes they don't even realize it, yet they say they will never put pressure on their kids to perform well. This can be really stressful for everyone involved in the game. Coaches can get frustrated at the kid and parent.
       Coaches tend to feel a lot of pressure from everyone around them. Their job is to make sure the team wins, but also has fun. They must come up with strategies for games, drills in practice, and incorporate an enjoyable aspect, especially for little kids. This article delves into the mind of the coach, explaining how they are asked almost unanswerable questions, such as "what bowl game [they're] going to go to", in regards to a Wakeforest high school football team.
      Referees, sometimes going unnoticed, can suffer from stress, as well. In the article we read, Kenny Wilcoxen made some bad calls in a high school game. He was a dedicated official, following in the footsteps of his father. Because of these horrendous calls, he was banned from reffing a finals football game in his state. Feeling heartbroken, he committed suicide. I feel like that not all reffs have felt like Kenny, but I bet some could relate if they're really into reffing sports games.
       None the less, everyone involved it sports feels the pressure from other parties. It's sad because sports were meant to be a fun activity, but now they have everyone going crazy wanting more and more. They want a better performance from players, a better coaching staff, less parents to intervene, and reffs who won't make bad calls. It seems as though everyone has forgotten the true meaning of sports.

Nickel and Dimed Response

     When we interviewed kids in our class about the Nickel and Dimed papers we wrote, I found that I had similar points of view with the peers I interviewed. Tyler, Matt, Emilize, and myself all agreed that we found the project pretty valuable because it teaches a good lesson.

     We discovered how difficult it would be to not only have to take care of ourselves, but also a baby. It seemed like a daunting task in the beginning, to have to organize our spendings and savings, but as the project went on, it became much easier.
     Matt said that he realized that graduating is really important. Without a high school education, there are so little job opportunities. In my own experience, I worked at Market Basket, and I only got $8.00 an hour. I worked so much and got so little pay. In real life, I do work at MB, and as a teenager, this is good to save little by little, and use some of it as pocket money as well.
     There is actually a woman at my work who is in her early twenties, works full-time at MB, and takes care of her son who is only a few months old. I dont' know her personally, but I can only imagine how difficult it is for her. I do know that her family and friends support her very much. She's actually a really good person and is always friendly when I work with her.
     In general, myself and the people I interviewd all thought that this project was really valuable. We decided that this scenario probably wouldn't happen to any of us, but if it were to, we wouldn't be completely screwed. We were able to make this plan and budget everything almost accordingly.