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Aaron Block Capstone

Posted by Aaron Block in Capstone - Manuel - Wed on Thursday, May 19, 2016 at 4:07 pm

For my Capstone project I designed a piece of software called Ribbon. Ribbon is a word processor designed specifically for screenplays since screenplays have a very specific format in which they are supposed to be written. The format includes unusual capitalization and indentation to convey character dialog, actions, new scenes, and other components of film.

The process of designing and making Ribbon consisted of a lot more planning than I had anticipated. During Capstone Week, I spent a lot of time doing research on different ways of organizing the code I was writing. This was very helpful because it made the code I was writing much easier to understand and follow but it also made it more difficult to write code because I was forced to follow a rigid structure.

I learned a lot about programming and my personal capabilities. First, I learned that there are so many resources available for free and on the Internet to allow you to do things with computers that I did not think I was able to do so easily. Second, I learned that a huge amount of software development is spent on thinking about the way the code should be structured rather than writing the actual code. This makes it much easier for other developers to come along later and contribute to your work.


The source code for the application as well as the application itself can be downloaded here.


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Works Cited

Buschmann, Frank, Kevlin Henney, and Douglas C. Schmidt. On Patterns and Pattern Languages. Chichester: Wiley, 2007. Wikibooks. Web. 2 Feb. 2016. Rather than focusing on the components of a piece of software, On patterns and pattern languages emphasizes the relationship between different components. These are called patterns and thinking of my software in terms of the patterns I'm using rather than the components I'm creating has become very helpful in the writing of my code. The more thought I put in to the patterns I use, the easier it becomes for others to understand what the code does and to contribute to the project. Writing using patterns introduces other problems. It’s easy for me to write code that is messy but does the job effectively. To write code following strict patterns is difficult. This source has also made me realize that I need to plan out what code I’m going to write a lot more before I get to writing it.

Demaree, David. "The Art of the Commit." The Art of the Commit · An A List Apart Article. A List Apart & David Demaree, 02 Feb. 2016. Web. 02 Feb. 2016. This article is an excerpt from David Demaree's Git For Humans. My open-source project is being hosted online by a website called Github. Each time I save my project to Github, I must save it with a short message describing what I've changed. This article describes the best way to construct those message so others (and myself) can understand how my project has changed overtime. This is particularly important for making my project open-source. If I want other people to contribute to my project, they need to be able to understand what is going on. If people want to look at an older version of my project, it will be easy for them to find which version they are looking for because every time I save the project to Github, there will be a short message associated with it.

Fedosejev, Artemij. React. js Essentials. Packt Publishing Ltd, 2015. I am using a software framework called React.js. This book is a great book to reference if I do not know how to do something in React. Using React in my application will help me make Ribbon organized and will ensure that I use effective and easy-to-understand programming patterns. React introduces a lot of new conventions and concepts to my code-writing. Therefore, a reference book about React is necessary so I can refer to it at points in the code-writing process where I’m lost. React.js Essentials comes with great examples of how to use React effectively that are easy to understand. Given the important role that React plays in my project, having a React reference book is an absolute necessity.

Fogel, Karl. Producing Open Source Software: How to Run a Successful Free Software Project. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly, 2005. Producing Open Source Software. Karl Fogel, 2005. Web. 2 Feb. 2016. Karl Fogel writes about how to create an open-source project that gains attention and support. He does not deal with the technical, programmatic side of development as much as he deals with how to publicize your project effectively and make sure that once people are aware of your project they continue to pay attention to your project. While I’m developing my app I must be mindful of how what I’m doing may affect how other people see my project. If I’m not careful about the changes I make to my project and how I share those changes publicly on the project page (http://github.com/blockaj/ribbon) it could alienate people who may otherwise contribute to my project.

"Gulp API Docs." GitHub. Gulp, 17 Dec. 2015. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. Gulp is a task manager. While I am developing my application, it’s important that I can easily compile the code I’m writing. It is Gulp’s job to manage all of that. The Gulp API Docs are documentation about how to use Gulp. Without this, the workflow of my project would be very slow and inefficient. Using Gulp will relieve me of a lot of tedious work. Knowing how to use it is obviously essential in being able to use it. This documentation is a very good instruction on how to use Gulp so that my workload is a little less.  

Hahn, Jungpil, Jae Yun Moon, and Chen Zhang. "Emergence of new project teams from open source software developer networks: Impact of prior collaboration ties." Information Systems Research 19.3 (2008): 369-391. This source talks about why people join open-source projects. One of the most compelling reasons is that the contributors have strong ties to the initiator (in this case, me). This is important to keep in mind. The people who may contribute the most to my project may already be around me. In addition, this source is useful because I can use to market my open-source project to developers. At this point in my project, I’ve worked the least on trying to attract others to contribute to my project. If I want to start focusing on this more, I should learn more about why people contribute to open-source projects.

Kubrick, Stanley, and Anthony Burgess. A Clockwork Orange: A Screenplay. Hollywood Scripts, 1970. While having a description of the format of a screenplay is helpful, it’s also very helpful to see a full and polished screenplay. As I progress through the process of developing my application, I will compare the screenplays I write in Ribbon to this screenplay. If, by comparison, everything looks good, I know I’m okay to move on. I can also use the screenplay to see how character and story development works in a real screenplay. Similar to the McKee source, A Clockwork Orange: A Screenplay could give me good insights on some features that would be helpful for experienced and skilled screenwriters to have in a word processor.

McKee, Robert. Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. This book describes the process of writing a screenplay. It goes over how to develop a story and characters. The reason I find it helpful is that it gives me an idea of what things are important to a screenwriter. This could clue me in onto some good ideas for features I may include in my software. It also has some good information about how screenplays should be styled which are also very helpful. If I want my software to format screenplays effectively, there should be a reputable source behind the way I chose to format the screenplay.

Mockus, Audris, Roy T. Fielding, and James D. Herbsleb. "Two case studies of open source software development: Apache and Mozilla." ACM Transactions on Software Engineering and Methodology (TOSEM) 11.3 (2002): 309-346. This case study looks at two of the biggest existing open-source projects: Mozilla and Apache. One of the things this source addresses that other sources in this bibliography do not discuss is an open-source project’s ability to compete with commercial products. This source is useful to me because it describes what makes open-source software so successful. It explains what Mozilla and Apache do right as open-source projects and what they do wrong. There’s is a lot I can learn from this source about how to make my project a successful open-source project and not just a successful piece of software.

Rising, Linda, and Norman S. Janoff. "The Scrum software development process for small teams." IEEE software 17.4 (2000): 26. This is a simple explanation of the Scrum software development process. It incorporates using patterns to develop software with a workflow. I can use this source to learn how to work more efficiently on my project while still writing good code. This source also relates to the Buschmann source which is all about using patterns in programming. Scrum software development may also be useful if others want to contribute to my open-source project. If they decide to, using a development process could help make sure that not only my code is good and organized but theirs is as well. Trust me, this is a good source.


Tags: capstone, Manuel, 2016
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Gentrification Radio Piece

Posted by Aaron Block in Reading, Writing And Rising Up - Block - C on Friday, January 29, 2016 at 9:34 am
By Josh Berg, Aaron Block, Stephanie Dyson, Veronica Nocella, Anna Sugrue

​Our goal was to make a radio story about one specific example of how the mechanism of gentrification works. We wanted to represent the perspectives of people who have had to move in less than ideal circumstances, and the perspectives of the new families who are moving into houses in gentrified areas as well as anyone else involved in or knowledgeable about the process of gentrification.

Gent. Piece Take One
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Iran-U.S. Relations

Posted by Aaron Block in American History - Jonas - X on Thursday, March 26, 2015 at 10:44 am
My infographic covers three major events in the history of Iran-U.S. relations: the coup of Mohammad Mossadegh, the Iran-Contra Affair, and the use of Stuxnet to delay the Iran's development of fully-enriched uranium. The United States has taken many covert actions against Iran in pursuit of our own economic and political interests. The U.S. involvement in all three of the aforementioned events is very interesting and often hard to believe. Learning about Iran-U.S. relations gives a new perspective on what the U.S. is capable of. 
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The End of Manifest Destiny

Posted by Aaron Block in American History - Jonas - X on Thursday, January 29, 2015 at 9:42 am
​http://42441973.nhd.weebly.com/
Manifest Destiny has been murdered. A classic whodunnit.
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Mo' Meta Blue: The World According to Questlove

Posted by Aaron Block in English 3 - Rami - E on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 at 7:16 pm

Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson describes Mo’ Meta Blues as a memoir but that may lead you to believe that he writes about a more specific time period in his life than he does. In Mo’ Meta Blues, Questlove describes and discusses his entire life up until 2013, when the book was published. The book starts on Christmas Eve, 1973 and goes on from there. Mo’ Meta blues is not just a chronological account of Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s life. It is the chronological account of a musician and music-lover’s life. Throughout the book, Questlove flips through his record collection. He describes the memories he associates with certain pieces of music and what those associations mean to him. Anyone who loves music will identify with this aspect of the book and anyone who loves hip-hop or, more specifically, The Roots, will be entertained by Questlove’s stories.  Richard Nichols, The Roots’ co manager has small written pieces throughout the book in the form of footnotes to set Questlove straight when his memory leads him astray. This book is not a piece on philosophy although sometimes it may seem as though it tries to be. Questlove touches on some philosophical ideas that he relates to his experiences but this is not what makes the book great. What makes the book great is the way Questlove describes his relationship with music and how that relationship changes over time. Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove is a fascinating book for anyone who loves music although the reader will find that Questlove’s occasional dive into the meaning of his experiences is a little slow.

As this book is chronological, the beginning of the book is mostly about Questlove’s relationship with music through records. He begins his relationship with music as a listener and appreciator rather than a major contributor, even though it is emphasized that he has been playing music for essentially his entire life. Questlove describes how he began playing the drums on Christmas Eve, 1973. This was clearly an important memory for him as the memory was one of his first and incredibly detailed. Ahmir specifically remembered the music that was playing in the background as he walked down stairs and saw the drum set sitting under the Christmas tree. He writes:

Donny Hathaway’s second album was playing in the background, the self-titled one with the covers of ‘A Song For You’ and ‘Magnificent Sanctuary Band’...I made my way over there. Of the four instruments, I gravitated toward the drums. (11)

Just a page later, Questlove describes an experience he has when he jumps out of the bathtub and runs straight into the radiator. Not only can he recall the song that was playing when he hit the radiator, he can recall the part of the song. Questlove describes Curtis Mayfield’s Freddie’s Dead this part as “ the modulated bridge where the horns come in” (12). For anybody who grew up with music, I think this type of memory is relatable. Specifically, being able to identify the music that was playing in the background (assuming music was playing) when something formative occurred. One may not be able to recall the music playing in the background as well as Ahmir Thompson can but music was always part of Ahmir Thompson’s experiences and for those who love music, it is descriptions like this in Mo’ Meta Blues that make the book so enjoyable.

While much of the Mo’ Meta Blues is spent describing Questlove’s experiences through music, some smaller parts of the book are spent on reflection. These opportunities taken for reflection seem squandered as they ask and attempt to answer questions one could write an entirely new book on, are rather vague, and are only loosely connected to the rest of the book. The added metaphors to these reflections do not clarify the point being made and even make it more confusing. This is particularly apparent towards the end of the book when Questlove attempts to reflect on his life so far (that is what the books about after all) using the shapes of the drums and drum sticks as inspiration.

Will the circle be unbroken? That’s not the only circle that’s a question. Every circle is. Lines are statements. Arrows are especially emphatic statements. They divide and they define. They count up and count down. Circles are more careful. They come around again. They overthink. (144)

This could have been a great addition if it connected with the rest of the book. It seems as though Questlove connected these thoughts to the book in his head and neglected to write that part down.

Mo’ Meta Blues is certainly worth the time. It tells the story of a man and his transition from appreciator and observer of music to active participant. He describes experiences and stories, not necessarily one-hundred percent factually but how he felt they occurred. This connects you to the experiences and to the author in a way which makes the book all the more enjoyable. While the reflection and contemplation of Questlove’s life so far may fall short, it does not tarnish the rest of the book. Anyone with a strong connection to and love for music should read this book.


Mo’ Meta Blues: The World According to Questlove

by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson and Ben Greenman

Published June 18, 2013 by Grand Central Publishing Company

288 pages

Memoir

​



Creative piece can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/aaronsrecordcollection

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God In America

Posted by Aaron Block in English 2 - Pahomov - A on Sunday, March 30, 2014 at 8:48 pm
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Nebuchadnezzar's Slave

Posted by Aaron Block in English 2 - Pahomov - A on Thursday, January 23, 2014 at 6:56 pm

A man rushed through the door and walked briskly toward the steps leading to where Nebuchadnezzar sat in his throne. The man kneeled and tilted his head down. He heard a powerful, booming voice. “You may rise” Nebuchadnezzar said. The man stood and announced “Your conquest of Judea has been successful”. Nebuchadnezzar looked pleased. To conquer Judah was not his original intention, but eventually, it became clear that in order to capture the Egyptian Army, they would need to get through the Judeans. The city of Jerusalem was held under siege longer than expected and Nebuchadnezzar had grown anxious for its destruction. “Good” Nebuchadnezzar said. “Do you have the slaves?” “Yes sir.” the man said. He yelled and the doors to the throne room burst open once again. Two lines of slaves, none of them particularly strong looking, walked into the throne room in chains and tattered clothing. All of the Judean soldiers and strong men would be used to build monuments and other massive structures. These slaves were here to serve the King, Nebuchadnezzar.

Cheers burst forth from the crowds. The people of Babylonia adored Nebuchadnezzar. He had completely rebuilt the Empire and had turned Babylon into a thriving city-state like it once was when Hammurabi was king. Nebuchadnezzar smiled and waved. He loved his people. Even many of the ones whom he had conquered he had also come to love. As he walked through the busy streets of Babylon, he could not get the face of one particular slave out of his mind. He was a new slave, a Judean, who had been assigned to serve Nebuchadnezzar his wine. As Nebuchadnezzar’s cup was being filled the night before, he caught a glance from the slave; a look of disgust that unsettled the King like nothing else before. As Nebuchadnezzar thought of this slave’s look and the feeling that it brought, he grew confused. Nebuchadnezzar was a warrior at heart. He had killed many men and looked into their eyes which were raging with anger, as he did so. Why was this slave’s look of anger and disgust particularly bothersome to a person who had experienced much worse hatred? As he walked, the question kept popping into Nebuchadnezzar’s head. He called to his attendant “I want all of my house slaves lined up in the throne room when we get back”. “Yes, sir” his attendant said. As Nebuchadnezzar began to think about this slave again, he could hear his attendant yelling orders at a messenger in the background.

Nebuchadnezzar slowly walked up the palace steps surrounded by guards. He continued thinking about this slave whose face had been stuck in his head for nearly a day now. When he reached the palace doors, the guards opened them for him. In his throne room, on either side, his slaves stood perfectly still. After Nebuchadnezzar settled, he walked up and down his throne room, carefully looking for the slave whose face had fixed itself in his memory. He asked a slave “What is your name?”. “Arishaka” the slave replied. “Where are you from?” the King asked. “I am an Assyrian”. This was not the slave he was looking for. Nebuchadnezzar looked disappointed. He turned around. Nebuchadnezzar was startled. He saw the slave as though he had appeared out of thin air. “What is your name?” “Benjamin” replied the slave. This was a name that stood out to Nebuchadnezzar. Even though the language of the Judeans and Babylonians were very similar, somehow there names were very different. “Where are you from?” Nebuchadnezzar asked. “Judea” the slave replied. Nebuchadnezzar was obviously satisfied. The King dismissed everybody from his throne room.

A man rushed through the door and walked briskly toward the steps leading to where Nebuchadnezzar sat in his throne. The man kneeled and tilted his head down. He heard a powerful, booming voice. “You may rise” Nebuchadnezzar said. The man stood and announced “Your conquest of Judea has been successful”. Nebuchadnezzar looked pleased. To conquer Judah was not his original intention, but eventually, it became clear that in order to capture the Egyptian Army, they would need to get through the Judeans. The city of Jerusalem was held under siege longer than expected and Nebuchadnezzar had grown anxious for its destruction. “Good” Nebuchadnezzar said. “Do you have the slaves?” “Yes sir.” the man said. He yelled and the doors to the throne room burst open once again. Two lines of slaves, none of them particularly strong looking, walked into the throne room in chains and tattered clothing. All of the Judean soldiers and strong men would be used to build monuments and other massive structures. These slaves were here to serve the King, Nebuchadnezzar.

Cheers burst forth from the crowds. The people of Babylonia adored Nebuchadnezzar. He had completely rebuilt the Empire and had turned Babylon into a thriving city-state like it once was when Hammurabi was king. Nebuchadnezzar smiled and waved. He loved his people. Even many of the ones whom he had conquered he had also come to love. As he walked through the busy streets of Babylon, he could not get the face of one particular slave out of his mind. He was a new slave, a Judean, who had been assigned to serve Nebuchadnezzar his wine. As Nebuchadnezzar’s cup was being filled the night before, he caught a glance from the slave; a look of disgust that unsettled the King like nothing else before. As Nebuchadnezzar thought of this slave’s look and the feeling that it brought, he grew confused. Nebuchadnezzar was a warrior at heart. He had killed many men and looked into their eyes which were raging with anger, as he did so. Why was this slave’s look of anger and disgust particularly bothersome to a person who had experienced much worse hatred? As he walked, the question kept popping into Nebuchadnezzar’s head. He called to his attendant “I want all of my house slaves lined up in the throne room when we get back”. “Yes, sir” his attendant said. As Nebuchadnezzar began to think about this slave again, he could hear his attendant yelling orders at a messenger in the background.

Nebuchadnezzar slowly walked up the palace steps surrounded by guards. He continued thinking about this slave whose face had been stuck in his head for nearly a day now. When he reached the palace doors, the guards opened them for him. In his throne room, on either side, his slaves stood perfectly still. After Nebuchadnezzar settled, he walked up and down his throne room, carefully looking for the slave whose face had fixed itself in his memory. He asked a slave “What is your name?”. “Arishaka” the slave replied. “Where are you from?” the King asked. “I am an Assyrian”. This was not the slave he was looking for. Nebuchadnezzar looked disappointed. He turned around. Nebuchadnezzar was startled. He saw the slave as though he had appeared out of thin air. “What is your name?” “Benjamin” replied the slave. This was a name that stood out to Nebuchadnezzar. Even though the language of the Judeans and Babylonians were very similar, somehow there names were very different. “Where are you from?” Nebuchadnezzar asked. “Judea” the slave replied. Nebuchadnezzar was obviously satisfied. The King dismissed everybody from his throne room.

He was almost certain he would be killed. Why would the king look at him that way? What other type of satisfaction does such a tyrant have from a slave if he does not kill him? Benjamin was severely concerned. He decided there was nothing to do but pray. He closed his eyes and began. After five minutes of silent prayer, Benjamin was violently pulled from his position. God did not hear him. Benjamin was brought back into the throne room. This time, it was only him. Usually, there were some slaves surrounding the oppressor to serve him. This time, he was alone. Nebuchadnezzar stood from his throne and walked towards the slave. “You said your name was Benjamin?” “That is correct, sir”. “And last night, you served me wine. Is that also correct?” Nebuchadnezzar asked. The slave replied “Yes. This is also true”. Now, Nebuchadnezzar knew for sure that he had the right slave. “While you were serving me wine, I noticed an unpleasant look from you. Why was that?” Benjamin knew exactly what the dictator was talking about. Initially, he felt shame and anger that he could do something so foolish. He wished his mistake didn't cost him so dearly. Then, he felt the way he had when he gave the despot that look. His family was killed, his city destroyed. This man lived for nothing. He responded with this thought in mind. “You destroyed my home, killed my family, and took me as your slave”. The king was more than surprised that a slave had the audacity to respond in this way. “Saying something like that could easily get you killed” Nebuchadnezzar said. “Yes. Have you not brought me here to kill me?”. “Your disgusted look has stuck in my mind for a day now. That is why I brought you here. To learn why you look so negatively upon me. I still don’t understand your anger. You have been made a part of the greatest empire on earth”. Benjamin was frustrated now. “How would you feel if you had been conquered?” Benjamin asked. Nebuchadnezzar was a little offended when he heard the question. He really believed that he ruled the greatest empire on earth and seeing it destroyed seemed like an impossibility. Nonetheless, Nebuchadnezzar began to understand what the slave was talking about. With a new understanding, Nebuchadnezzar freed the slaves of Judea except for the prisoners of war. From that day on, the Judeans thrived in Babylonia and even when the Babylonians had been conquered and Cyrus of Persia let the Judeans back into Judah, many of them refused and stayed in Babylonia because of what Nebuchadnezzar made possible.

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Homework

Posted by Aaron Block in English 2 - Pahomov - A on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 at 5:12 pm
I just get home and I have to do homework now. I hate that. There are so many things I would rather do when I get home. If I try to go upstairs right now, sit down, and do my homework, I won’t get it done. I always leave homework for the last minute. I stress myself out that way. The feeling of having something, an assignment hanging over my head almost makes me nauseous. Sometimes I wish I could just be nauseous and throw up already. I could just get it over with. How to get rid of this feeling, this stressed out, nervous, almost nauseous feeling seems obvious. I could stop talking about how tough it is to do my work, stop complaining and just get it done. That’s what I try to do. I try to come at my work with so much tenacity and motivation that I just get it done. Why doesn’t that work? Maybe it’s because I’m just not that motivated. Sometimes, when I enjoy what I’m doing, I’m really motivated. That’s when I get things done. But I hate my homework. What If I just get motivated? I can pretend I’m not doing my homework. I can treat it like I’m destroying my homework. Not doing it would just be giving up, surrendering. Homework is always gonna be there if I ignore it. If I do my homework, it’s no longer homework. It’s not something I have to interact with anymore. That’s how I’ll do it. So, that’s how I start my homework. How do I keep with it? What I mean is, how do I not get distracted. I realize this is getting kind of ridiculous. I mean, “How do I do this? How do I do that?”. Just answer this last question. How do I stay on track? Turn off the television, stop listening to music, get off Facebook. I trudge through my homework. I get it done. I don’t feel nauseous anymore. I’m not nervous. Now I can do whatever I want. That might seem so basic to you. I get that. Maybe it just comes naturally to you and this whole time you though “Are you kidding me? It’s not that hard. Just do it.” It’s hard for me. It’s not excruciating, it’s not torture, but it’s hard and now that I’m done, I’m really relieved.
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Code-switching Isn't Always Bad

Posted by Aaron Block in English 2 - Pahomov - A on Sunday, November 3, 2013 at 6:44 pm

Systems, such as governments or civic institutions, are not shaped by a single, uniform culture like they used to be. Cultures used to dominate a certain area or country. If there were any other cultures in that country, they were usually restricted to a specific area or were forced to assimilate. Places like the United States have brought different people from different cultures together. A prime example of this is school. Schools are places where children from all different cultural backgrounds meet. People from different cultures have different ways of speaking. We often change the way we speak to accommodate others. This phenomenon is called code switching. Code-switching has gained a bad reputation because it has been identified as the reason for people losing their identities or accommodating prejudices towards their social class, ethnicity, or religion.

Code-switching is not all bad, though. In many situations, it becomes a way for individuals in a system to be more productive with one another. At home, I speak English. However, for some, it would be hard to understand as there are Yiddish and Hebrew words interspersed. Consider the James Baldwin essay If Black English Isn’t A Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? in which he could tell the white man had no idea what his family was saying to him. When talking to one’s family, it may be good others cannot understand them. However, when people from different cultures are trying to communicate with one another, code-switching has value. The role of individuals in a system, generally, is to contribute to the system while maintaining personal interests, morals and identity. Code-switching is a way to communicate more productively with people who may not share your cultural background.

I have personal experience with code-switching. At home, my family speaks English. However, there are certain things we express to each other in either Hebrew or Yiddish, not full sentences, but short words or phrases. For example, if we are talking about dinner we might say it is either milchik or fleischik. Milchik means dairy and fleishik means meat. If we were describing a religious person, we might say they were frum. While there would be a lot of language that would be understandable to others, there would be words that were lost on them. At school I never use Hebrew or Yiddish. I do not see that as a bad thing. If I were to use Hebrew or Yiddish, there would often be times when I would have to explain myself to people.  I have a strong cultural identity and am still religious. It is important to maintain personal identity even when you are code-switching.

James Baldwin, in his essay If Black English Isn’t A Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? makes the point that a culture’s way of speaking maintains the identity of individuals. Baldwin writes “It reveals the private identity, and connects one with, or divorces one from, the larger, public, or communal identity.” When language differences separate one from the larger community, it makes collaboration more difficult. While languages of a specific culture have their merits, when speaking among a more diverse group, language differences between cultures become a roadblock. In these instances, code-switching allows one to participate in the larger, more diverse community.

Cultural differences in speaking is not the only thing that may create a need for code-switching. People across the U.S. have many different accents. In the documentary American Tongues, a variety of accents from the United States are introduced and some of them are easier to understand than others. In the film, many accents are introduced that would be hard for people to understand. In this case, code-switching becomes helpful. People can change the way they speak in order for others to understand them better. In American Tongues there is a part where they show people speaking Creole. These people did code-switch in the film. They spoke to each other in Creole but changed the way they spoke to the camera. In that case, code-switching was a helpful tool.

While code-switching can be a good thing, it is important to be aware of the dangers of code-switching. For some, code-switching is a tool to hide their identity, religion, or social class in order to assimilate. One should not use code-switching to deny his or her identity as an important part of being an individual in a system is to maintain identity and cultural background.

The systems that ran along cultural lines have largely been done away with. Instead of cultures being localized to a certain area like they used to, people from different cultures are spread out all over the United States and all over the world. Since language is often such a big part of culture it creates differences in language between cultures, even those that share the same language. This can make it hard for individuals of the systems of today to communicate with one another. The solution though, is code-switching. Often seen as a negative, code-switching is ignored as the helpful communication tool that it can be and is deemed the culprit of the loss of an individual’s identity. While it is true that loss of identity can be a danger of code-switching, those that do it for the right reasons are able to maintain their cultural identity and communicate with others.



Works Cited

Baldwin, James. “If Black English Isn’t A Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?”. The New York Times. New York City: The New York Times, 1979.

American Tongues. Dir. Louis Alvarez, Andy Kolker. Perf. Polly Holliday, Molly Ivins, Robert Klein, Trey Wilson. Center For New American Media, 1987. DVD.
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Cesium

Posted by Aaron Block in Art - Freshman - Hull on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 at 8:53 pm
​Inquiry
In the beginning, I had no idea what Cesium was. It is not an element that people hear of everyday.

Research
In order to produce a good, informed design, I needed to do some research on what Cesium was used for, when it was discovered etc. 

Collaboration
To make a good design and generate ideas, I worked with others and asked about others designs. This helped to improve my design.

Presentation
For this project, I had to matt to of the prints on a background paper. I also had to take a good picture as part of presentation.

Reflection
Now, I reflect on my project. I look at my project and see how it connects to the five SLA core values. 
photo
photo
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It's Kind of a Funny Story IRP

Posted by Aaron Block in English 1 - Dunn on Sunday, June 9, 2013 at 11:07 pm

Aaron Block

6/7/13

English (Red)

Ms. Dunn

It’s Kind of a Funny Story Book Review

It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini is a book about a teen who tries to commit suicide and is put in a mental institution. This book was made into a movie in 2010 featuring Keir Gilchrist, Dana DeVestern, and Zach Galifianakis.

Craig, a teenager who just got into a prestigious school in New York City, feels overwhelmed with all his work. On top of that, his best friend Aaron is dating Craig’s crush, Nina. Craig begins to get depressed and uses drugs to feel better. The drugs do not have a lasting effect. After Craig tries to commit suicide, he calls the suicide hotline. He is told to check himself into a mental hospital. There, Craig meets Bobby who shows him around the hospital. He also meets Noelle, who is in the hospital for cutting herself. Later, he falls in love with her. Through art, Craig is able to rehabilitate himself.

Craig has to overcome a lot in this book. Throughout the entire book, Craig has to deal with an internal struggle. This book covers some serious and grim material. Therefore, it is good that Bobby is there for some comic relief. Sometimes, when you think the book may get too intense, Bobby is there to lighten the feel. It makes the book much easier to read. Some themes in this book are peer pressure and self-identity.  

While Craig’s situation is an extreme one, I found some aspects of his experience relatable. I think anybody can react to feeling pressured like Craig was. Craig just let his feeling of being pressured take over him. This book has a very basic human aspect to the book. On the other hand, the setting and other characters in the book can often be hard to relate to. For most, a mental hospital is not a typical setting. It is not a place most of us experience. In addition to the mental hospital being a difficult place to picture, Craig’s experience in the mental hospital is an unusual to say the least. This makes the book less relatable.

While slow at times, this is still a decent book. Craig’s feelings, while maybe not coming in such intense forms, are pretty common. This helps make the book more enjoyable. Craig’s experience in the mental hospital, on the other hand, is something that not most people experience. However, on the down side, I found it hard to immerse myself in the book because of its pace. The funny aspect of the book made up a little bit for the pace.

I would recommend people read this book. If you enjoy reading this will probably be easier for you. For people who find themselves bored when they read, they also might get a little bored with this book. To those people I would also say continue reading because overall, this book is definitely worth it.








It’s Kind of a Funny Story Playlist

Love Buzz - Nirvana

Love Buzz is about being in love with someone. It exemplifies how Craig feels towards Aaron’s girlfriend, Nina. The song is also loud and intense. When someone listens to it, they can feel the frustration in Kurt Cobain’s voice.

Adam’s Song - Blink 182

This song is about a child who wants to commit suicide. He feels like he is under a lot of pressure. Adam’s Song is written in the form of a suicide note which can make listening to it unsettling and uncomfortable, but also fits with the book at points.

Jumper - Third Eye Blind   

This song is about trying to get someone not to jump and commit suicide. It is analogous to the part of the book where Craig is talking to the person from the suicide hotline.

Me and My Friends - Red Hot Chili Peppers

In this song, Anthony Kiedis sings about all of his friends in his band. It is similar to Craig meeting new friends in the mental institution. Much like his friends in the mental hospital, this song is also a little strange.

Teenage Dirtbag - Wheatus

This song is about a guy who likes a girl. This fits with how Craig feels towards the end. In addition, the love interest’s name in the song is Noelle just like in the book.

Always Look On The Broad Side of Life - Monty Python

After some time in the mental hospital, Craig starts to feel better. This song exemplifies that to some extent. It is a cheerful tune even though the lyrics are kind of grim. It is also a funny song to show that the book has some funny parts.





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Casa Ideal De Sr. Reddy (E1 U9)

Posted by Aaron Block in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Thursday, June 6, 2013 at 8:27 am
​El Sr. Reddy
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Picture 1

Nosotros construimos una casa ideal para Sr. Reddy. Sr. Reddy escuela geométrica. Sr. Reddy le gusta azul, así nosotros usamos azul en la casa. Sr. Reddy tiene un carro. Sr. Reddy quiero uno o dos niños. Sr. Reddy tiene un perro. Nombre de perro de Sr. Reddy es Alfredo. Sr. Reddy  prefiero  dos niños.

Para la niños, incluimos una sala para los niños. Sr. Reddy una jardín. En el jardín nosotros construimos un área para Alfredo. Detrás de la casa está una piscina olímpico. Cuando Sr. Reddy quiere a ver una película, él puede en el cine. La case usa dos baños. La casa es moderna en construccion. Al lado de la casa es un garaje. En la sala es una tele y en la cuarto de Sr. Reddy es una tele.  Casa de Sr. Reddy también tiene una cocina, cuarto de arte, y una cine. Casa de Sr. Reddy tiene una garaje, con un carro. Casa de Sr. Reddy cerca de un supermercado, estación de autobús, parque, y centro comercial.

Sr. Reddy quiere dos una la habitación. En la cuartos, hay una la cama y un guardarropa y un lámpara y una la tele. En la cocina, un el fregadero, un horno, un él gabinetes,  un el lavaplatos, una la mesa, y una la nevera. En el baño, hay una la lavamanos, un el inodora, una la ducha, y una la bañera. En el comedor/la sala, hay una la sillas, un él gabinetes, un el tele, una la mesa, y un él sofá.

Sr. Reddy le gusta leer libros y ver la tele. En la casa nosotros construimos un cuarto de leer y de arte. Detrás de la casa es una piscina así Sr. Reddy puede nadar. Cuando Sr. Reddy quiere ver una película, él puede en la cine en su casa. Nosotros construimos una casa moderna y vibrante.También nosotros construimos área para un jardín. La casa es en una ciudad. Cerca de la casa de Sr. Reddy está una parque, supermercado, transporte público, y un centro comercial. Para la coche nosotros construimos una garaje.


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​La cena
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La cena 2 
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La casa de Sr. Reddy
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​El garaje
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La cocina
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El baño
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​La piscina
Diseñado por Aaron J. Block Esq. y Mitchell Berven-Stotz​
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Homelessness And Poverty In Philadelphia: Agent of Change

Posted by Aaron Block in English 1 - Dunn on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 4:30 pm

This is my third blog post in a series of blog posts about homelessness and poverty in Philadelphia. You can look at the first post here, and the second post here.

For the Agent of Change portion of my You and The World Project, I volunteered at the People’s Emergency Center (PEC). The People’s Emergency Center is an organization which helps people, often women and children, who are homeless and who need help with things like getting a job, school work, or finding a place to stay. It provides housing as well as many different programs teaching children and adults valuable skills. When I got there, Tan Vu, Director of the Digital Inclusion Program met me. He gave me a quick tour of the facility after which he sat down with me and talked about what they did and what I would be interested in doing. One of the first things Mr. Vu talked about was the digital divide. He explained to me that many people are not able to get access to computers or internet. Since nowadays, computers are such a big part of our lives, it is hard for these people to get ahead. I always had a computer in my house. While it was not necessarily surprising to me, I really had not thought about how many people do not have computers in their own home. One of the programs they have at PEC is called Digital Inclusion. This program tries to break the divide. It tries to give people who cannot afford it, access to computers and internet. Children can participate in a ten week program in computers. After that, they get a free computer along with a Clear modem so they can connect to the internet. While I am volunteering at PEC, I will be refurbishing computers for people who finish the programs and get computers. I also perform maintenance. This whole experience, specifically the Agent of Change part of the project has impacted me greatly. I have enjoyed the work I have done at PEC as I get to help people and work with computers, both things I enjoy doing. One of the things Mr. Vu told me about was how hard it is to make sure children continue to use computers. I think that for people at SLA especially, the idea of NOT wanting to using a computer is strange. For so many people, computers have become an important part of our lives. I While I volunteered there, I was surprise how much I learned. I got to learn a lot about the inside of a computer. I got to see how to take out a hard drive or replace/add RAM. When we think of volunteering as a society, I think we generally think of strictly give. However, volunteering as I have experienced it has been both give and take. At some point during my experience at PEC, a little girl came into the room where I was working and said to one of the people who worked there “I will never forget”. It was unexpected but I thought it was really amazing. I got to see how volunteering really affects people. I just got there and had not done much but it helped motivate me. I saw how what I do can really make a big difference.





Bibliography
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Aaron Block's Negative Space

Posted by Aaron Block in Art - Freshman - Hull on Friday, May 3, 2013 at 8:31 am

A. Negative space is the area around an object. When drawing negative space you shade the area around an object as oppose to the object itself.

B. To find negative space in my cutout I cut out the object, in my case the house. For the drawings I quickly outlined the objects then shaded the area around it.

C. It helps to see in negative space because you can see the shapes in an object better than if you were to just look at the object as it is.

D. It does help drawings to see in negative space. You can see the shapes in objects which helps drawing the object as a whole.


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Comida Para Michael Phelps

Posted by Aaron Block in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 10:20 am
chart
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By Adowa Mohamed and Aaron Block
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Final Perspective Drawing

Posted by Aaron Block in Art - Freshman - Hull on Friday, April 19, 2013 at 4:55 pm

a) One thing I learned from this project that I did not know before was how to draw a ceiling line. Also, I learned how to draw all different kinds of objects in one point perspective, not just tables.

b) These things helped make my drawing better because I could make the room itself look more realistic. In addition, I could include other details of the room in one point perspective.

c) If I did this project, I would spend more time on the details. I feel like I spent a lot of time on the “big picture” of the drawing. If I spent more time on details, I think I could have made the picture look fuller.

d) If someone was trying to draw a one point perspective drawing, I would say to them that they should always pay extra careful attention to which sides should be exposed in the drawing and which should not.

e) The resource that helped me the most was the slideshow on moodle. It really helped me figuring out where to start.


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Macbeth Creative Project

Posted by Aaron Block in English 1 - Dunn on Monday, April 8, 2013 at 8:23 am
Macbeth Brains

The project above is the creative portion to my Macbeth Analysis quarter 3 benchmark. It shows how much influence Macbeth, The Witches, and Lady Macbeth have over Macbeth’s mind act by act through brain pie charts. It also includes a quote underneath relating to the chart and a little blurb explaining why the chart looks like it does. The first thing I did when creating this project was making the charts. Afterwards I put the key on the page and added the charts. Then I added the quotes and the blurbs. The most difficult part about this project was making the charts and organizing them the way I wanted on the page. I am really proud of the organization of the project and how the brains look. I am not organized nor neat so to come up with such a clean looking, organized project was exciting for me. Often, my projects are not so aesthetically appealing. I would put one brain on each page and make a slideshow out of them rather than just one poster. I would have more room to add everything I wanted. I learned other underlying themes and emotions of some of the characters. I also learned about some “modern day Macbeths”. I learned that if I give myself enough time, I can come up with an organized appealing project.


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Nuestras actividades

Posted by Aaron Block in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 8:24 am
Mi nombre es Aaron. Tengo catorce años. Soy muy inteligente. Es por eso que yo hago bien en la escuela. Sor perezoso. Por lo tanto, después de las clases veo televisíon y paso un rato con mis amigos. Me encanta guitarra. Así que, cuando tengo tiempo libre, practico la guitarra. De vez en cuando yo ayudo en casa, pero solo a veces.
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E1 U4 Mi Escuela

Posted by Aaron Block in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Thursday, February 7, 2013 at 7:27 am
Me llamo Aaron. Tengo catorce años. Soy estudiante de Science Leadership Academy. Science Leadership Academy está en Filadelfia a 22 y Arch. Está cerca de The Franklin Institute. Science Leadership Academy es una escuela de proyectos. Hay mas o menos 500 estudiantes de Science Leadership Academy. En Science Leadership Academy (SLA) mas o menos 30 profesores. Tenemos Educon a SLA. Educon es un convención de la escuela porque SLA es una escuela muy especial y los profesores de otras escuelas quieren ver cómo aprendemos. En SLA tenemos un club de robótica. Todos los estudiantes de SLA tienen computadores. Hay deportes como basquetbol, futbol, béisbol, softbol, y más. Participo en el club de computadores porque me gusta computadores y quiero saber más sobre computadores.  

Tengo siete clases pero tengo cinco clases en un día. El miércoles tengo cuatro clases porque en la tarde tengo que ir a The Franklin Institute. Mis clases favoritas son historia y inglés. En inglés hacemos muchas cosas buenas. En historia hablamos de los problemas importantes. No me gusta geometría mucho porque yo no salgo bien en las pruebas. En todas mis clases necesito mi computadora. En muchas clases necesito un lápiz o una pluma. En ingeniería y bioquímica necesito un cuaderno. En drama es requerido tener las ropa apropiada.

A SLA tenemos muchos profesores buenos. Srta. Manuel enseña Español 1 y Español 4. Es de las Filipinas. Srta. Manuel es muy energética y también es su clase. Sra. Dunn es una profesora muy buena. Ella enseña inglés y hace proyectos y actividades muy buenos. Ella escoge muy buenos libros para leer. Sr. Sanchez es un profesor muy interesante. Él enseña historia afro-americano. En la clase de Sr. Sanchez tenemos discusiones  interesantes de los problemas de raza y discriminación  Sr. Kay es el profesor para drama. Drama es un clase muy divertido porque Sr. Kay  lo hace divertido. Sr. Kay no es un profesor bobo toda el tiempo. En su clase hay requisitos que necesitamos seguir.

Me encanta SLA. Tengo muchas clases muy buenas como inglés, español, y historia. Aprendo en una manera que es muy diferente que  en todas las escuelas . Me gustan los proyectos porque puedo aplicar todo que yo aprendo en mis clases. En clases como bioquímica siento que no aprendo mucho pero  en general me encanta SLA. SLA es muy especial.
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You and the World #2

Posted by Aaron Block in English 1 - Dunn on Monday, January 21, 2013 at 9:25 pm


Hello. This is the second post in my You and the World project. To look at the first one, click here. I feel the information I have gathered since my last post has been very valuable. Homelessness is a problem that reaches into many different sections of life. A Philadelphia man has been taking pictures of the homeless and talking about them on the internet. To look at the website click here. What this man is doing is really important. How many times have you passed by a homeless person in the street and just ignored them? I have done it too many times to count.


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One homeless man, Lemuel, who was quoted on the site was talking about how he is homeless and people ignore him when he asks for money, but then there are people who ask him for change so they can pay the meter to park. I think this reveals the real problem. People are so self-centered that they do not realize the needs of others. When someone needs to pay the meter to park their car, that is all they think about. When they see someone with change they think “Oh, problem solved!” even if they are homeless. We all need to think beyond our own want and needs and think about this community as a whole. To back this up further, I would like to bring up my survey. I did a survey for this project to see how aware people were about the poverty and homelessness that surrounds them. Look at the graph on the right to see the results.chart_1 There were more people that got things wrong but the results were close to even in terms of how many people got questions wrong versus how many people got questions right. Most of the time when someone got a question wrong they thought there was more poverty. This leads me to believe that it is not a problem of awareness, but a problem of caring. Many people know about the poverty problem in Philadelphia but it seems that they shrug it off. I decided to volunteer at a homeless shelter in order to alleviate the amount of people who are hungry and homeless. However, through this whole experience it has become clear to me that this is not enough. I urge people to volunteer at homeless shelters (here is a list of homeless shelters), but also pay attention to what is going on outside on the streets. Homeless people who either choose not to go to homeless shelters for whatever reason or who cannot get into shelters are left out in the cold. We need to take care of them to. We ignore homeless people on the street often. At least most people I see do. I think that the first step to end the homelessness abundance is to recognize that there are homeless people. We should stop averting our eyes when we see a homeless person but look at them in the eye. If they are asking for change stop and say sorry I do not have any as oppose to ignoring them. I have realized all the wrong things I was doing and I am starting to make a change. There are some homeless people like Lemuel, who had a bad habit and now need help rehabilitating. I bet that being homeless does not help in this process. I think for the sake of homeless people, and even for our sake we need to end the over abundance of homeless people.
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Mis Seres Queridos

Posted by Aaron Block on Friday, January 11, 2013 at 1:01 pm

Spanish Benchmark (Q2) from Aaron Block on Vimeo.

Intro:  ¡Hola! Este es mi proyecto de Español uno. Para mi proyecto, yo hablo a mi familia y a mis amigos. Pero primero, a mi:

Yo: Mi nombre es Aaron. Soy increíblemente inteligente, muy cómico, y un poquito extraño. Tengo pelo y ojos cafés. Tengo muchos amigos. Me gusta música y yo toco la guitarra.

Él: Tengo un hermano. Se llama es Eli. Es inteligente pero tambien, increiblemente extraño. Tiene pelo y ojos cafés como mi. Le encanta ping pong. Él es muy bueno a ping pong y juega en tornamentos de ping pong.

Ellos: Julian y Sam son mi amigos mejores. Son muy bobos. Sam tiene pelo rubio y Julian tiene pelo rojo y muy rizado. Les fascina en música como mi.

Ellas: Los nombres de mis amigas es Tali y Rebecca. Son inteligente y extrañas. Tali tiene pelo cafés y Rebecca tiene pelo rubio. Les fascina animales increiblemente.

Nosotros: Tengo un familia con mi padre, Jonathan, mi madre, Deborah, y mi hermano, Eli. Nos muy bobos y no normal. Tenemos un guinea pig. Somos guinea pig es Rascal. Nos gusta
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The Year of The Hangman Book Review

Posted by Aaron Block on Tuesday, January 8, 2013 at 7:12 am


The Year of The Hangman by Gary Blackwood is an interesting book. It is a piece of alternate history fiction. This is when a book takes a historical event but gives it a different outcome than what actually happened. In this case, the alternate history is about the outcome of the Revolutionary War. While it is a well known fact that the colonists won the Revolutionary War, this book talks about what it would have been like if the Colonists had lost. This book was published in 2002 and won the School Library Journal Best Book Award in 2002.
The main character, Creighton Brown is a boy around the time of adolescents. His family is historically wealthy but lately, they have not had such great fortune. His father is no longer alive. Creighton was told he died in battle. Creighton is more or less oblivious to this fact. Creighton has been loyal to Britain all his life and truly hates the Colonists. However, due to bad behavior, Creighton’s mother sends him to the Colonies where his uncle lives. On his way to the Colonies, Creighton gets captured with his uncle, Gower, Lieutenant Governor of Florida, and a British Marine Officer whose name is Hale. Hale and Gower eventually escape while Creighton pretends to be an indentured servant and is set free. Creighton acts as a spy on the Colonists. He ends up giving himself up to Benjamin Franklin and works in his paper shop as an assistant. Creighton also finds out that his father is not actually dead. Gower just told his family that he was because he was giving away secrets to the Colonists. Creighton, with the help of Benedict Arnold and his friend Peter save Creighton’s father from the prison. When reading this book, I think it is important to try to appreciate what the author has done. He took something that actually happened and changed the outcome in a drastic way. He had to use his imagination while staying inside the outline of history. In other words, he changed history but made it realistic. This is something difficult to pull off and Gary Blackwood manages it gracefully.

One of the worse things about this book is relatability. When reading this book, I found it hard to relate almost any of the characters to myself. This made it harder to read. The one character who I thought was a little bit relatable was Peter, the clumsy giant. I found him relatable because I feel as though I am clumsy much like him. Peter was a good addition to the book for me. Peter’s feelings towards his clumsiness is something I can relate to even more. Peter and I feel the same in that we are always wondering if we are doing something clumsy. At least that is how I thought about Peter.

This book was fascinating. I think that it is definitely a good read. While it is a good book I have a few criticisms. First of all, some of the characters were hard to relate to making the book slightly less interesting. It took me a bit to get into the book. However, once I did, it was a page turner for me. In addition, the fact that it is alternate history was a little confusing to me at first. Gary Blackwood did not write in the book “Creighton said “This is a piece of alternate history which means that the author changed the outcome of something that happened in history.” Obviously that sounds very awkward and I cannot think of a single good place to put that sentence in the book. This is not such a big deal because eventually, one does catch on. It would have been helpful if I had known what kind of book it was beforehand. The weaknesses of the book are fairly minor and the major strength of the book is a big strength. I cannot imagine how careful Gary Blackwood could have been when writing this book. I find that the way he writes about what happened after a failed Revolutionary War is amazing. The author made sure to retain continuity throughout the book so that it truly seems that the Revolutionary War failed. Every detail is meticulously written so that it reflects the alternative outcome to the Revolutionary War.
I recommend this book to people who enjoy historical fiction. I think if you enjoyed Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson then you will also enjoy this book. They take place from around the same time period. I would also say that if you pickup this book and decide that you do not like it in the beginning, you should try to push through to the end. I promise it gets better the more you read.


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Avidida

Posted by Aaron Block in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 8:20 am
Tiene pelo corto y marrones. Es no alto pero no bajo.
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Aaron Block's Slide

Posted by Aaron Block in Technology- Freshmen - Hull on Monday, December 3, 2012 at 9:37 am
Me
Aaron Block Slide
Script

Colors:
For my color scheme, I tried to stick with yellow and red. The yellow pops out with the red behind it making it eye catching and easy to read.
Size: I tried to make the text as large as possible. I also tried to keep the size the same. Unfortunately, sometimes I could not fit text of that size into the slide.
Placement and angling: I made sure that the text and pictures were lined up as best as possible with one another. I also angled the heading text.
Repetition: I am most lacking in repetition. It was only one slide so there was not a lot of room for repetition.


Reflection


I learned that lots of the time, pictures are better than words. I also learned that having less stuff on my slide makes it look less cluttered and more neat. I also learned how to use bleeding to my advantage to create a slide that flows well. I kept the color scheme the same but changed the font to match the rounded edges of the notes. 
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La Carta

Posted by Aaron Block in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Friday, November 30, 2012 at 9:52 am
Querido …,

¡Saludos desde Filadelfia y hola! Me llamo Aaron. ¿Qué tal? Estoy un poquito cansado. No sé porqué estoy cansado. ¿Cuantos años tienen? Tengo catorce años. Mi cumpleaños es en dieciséis de marzo. ¿Cuando es tu cumpleaños? Soy de Filadelfia. Filadelfia es la ciudad de amor fraternal. Es una ciudad grande. De dónde eres tú? Hace muy frío en Filadelfia porque aquí es en medio de invierno. ¿Qué tiempo hace en …? Me gusta musica mucho. Me gusta The Red Hot Chili Peppers y The White Stripes. No me gusta nada películas de horror. ¿Y tú, qué te gusta hacer? Soy inteligente y a veces extraño. Soy cómico con mis amigos tambien soy perezoso.  Con personas qué no conozco, soy tímido y serio. No soy alto pero no soy bajo Salgo bien en escuela. Bueno, me voy porque tengo que hacer mi tarea. Responde cuando puedas.

Con cariño,
Aaron Block
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Homelessness and Poverty in Philadelphia

Posted by Aaron Block in English 1 - Dunn on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 9:48 am
Hello, my name is Aaron. I am a student at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. In English class, we have a project called “You and the World”. For the project, we have to choose an issue that matters to us. Then, we have to blog about it and do something active for our issue. The issue I chose for this project is poverty and homelessness in Philadelphia.
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People waiting to be fed at a shelter in Philadelphia.

I chose this topic because in recent years I had observed poverty around where I lived going up and the homeless population rising. Turns out, I was not just seeing things. Poverty and homelessness in Philadelphia are on the rise and have been since around 2009 or 2010. How about some statistics? When taking the twenty-five biggest cities in the U.S and averaging out their incomes, Philadelphia has the second lowest income. ⅓ of the children and ¼ of the entire population in Philadelphia live below the poverty line. The poverty line means that a family of four has an income of $22,050 or less. To see more statistics click here. This poverty is very centralized in certain areas of Philadelphia. This makes the situation even worse because it means that people who do not live in those areas or people who do not ever travel through there may not even know there is such a big poverty problem in Philadelphia.


To look at my bibliography
click here.
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Mis Favoritas

Posted by Aaron Block in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 7:22 am
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Why Maycomb Needs To Change

Posted by Aaron Block in English 1 - Dunn on Monday, November 5, 2012 at 7:44 am
Link Deas Editorial Formatted
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¿Qué Hora Es? How to say times in spanish.

Posted by Aaron Block in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 10:00 am
In this lesson you will learn:

  • How to say the numbers
  • How to ask for the time
  • Other special terms you need to know when saying the time


    Com se dice el tiempo-page-001
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Here is a video of a bus driver helping people on the bus with the schedule and when they will get to their stop:

¿Qué Hora Es? from Wilson Biggs on Vimeo.

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¡Las Meses y Fechas!

Posted by Aaron Block in Spanish 1 - Manuel on Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 9:59 am
In this lesson we will learn:
-How to say the date
-The months
-How to say the numbers 

Los Meses:
  1. enero - January
  2. febrero - February
  3. marzo - March
  4. abril - April
  5. mayo - May
  6. junio - June
  7. julio - July
  8. agosto - August
  9. septiembre - September
  10. octubre - October
  11. noviembre - November
  12. diciembre - December
​Los numeros para las fechas
Uno - One
Dos - Two
Tres - Three
Cuatro - Four
Cinco - Five
Seis - Six
Siete - Seven
Ocho - Eight
Nueve - Nine
Diez - Ten
Once - Eleven
Doce - Twelve

Trece - Thirteen
Catorce - Fourteen
Quince - Fifteen

Dieciseis - Sixteen
Diecisiete - Seventeen
Dieciocho - Eighteen
Diecinueve - Nineteen
Veinte - Twenty
Treinta - Thirty
​How to say the date:

Es el # de meses

Ex: Es el veinte y cuatro de octubre.

¡Cuidado!

Los meses qué mas se escriben mal:
These are the months that are misspelled the most. 
  1. Agosto 
  2. Septiembre 
  3. Octubre
  4. Noviembre
  5. Diciembre






    Here is a video of two people who are stranded in the forest and finally find someone else:

Las Meses y Fechas from Wilson Biggs on Vimeo.

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Aaron Block's Home Network

Posted by Aaron Block in Technology- Freshmen - Hull on Wednesday, October 24, 2012 at 11:57 am
My internet provider is Comcast. The internet comes in through a cable from the ground into my modem. The modem is connected to a router. The router provides a wireless signal to all of the devices in my house. This includes computers, mobile devices, and other internet devices such as an Apple Airport which is connected to speakers. 
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