Andrew's song

I chose this song for Andrew because it is from a game that we have talked about: Silent Hill 2 (PS2). We have had many conversations about video games and I thought it was appropriate and fun. He is a remarkable writer and always has good outlooks for the pieces of writing we read and criticize in class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buf9g0F0b74&feature=related

For Amy

Amy, I am so happy we met. You are an amazing person and such an extraordinary writer. I posted this as my song to you because despite all things negative, you have a positive attitude towards life. With these qualities, I have no doubt in my mind that your dreams will come true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3eYL6-TEbo

Frank's song

First off, I want to acknowledge all that Frank has done for us as a soldier, and say it now that I mean no disrespect towards him or any other person that has fought or died to protect this country and those who live in it. However, I really don't know what we are fighting for anymore. I feel like many people do; confused and let down by the government and in many cases, lied to. Therefore my trust is lacking. Not only is this one of my favorite songs but I think it holds a good amount of veracity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PynWTLeUJRA

My Book Review

I decided to do my book review on one of my favorite books; The Phantom Tollbooth. In my opinion, this book can be enjoyed by children and adults. Not only does the book reflect us emotionally at a certain age or time in our life, but it is also an amazing journey into the unknown. A book like this is a supplement for the imagination; the book may be supplying the story and the names of the charismatic characters and of stunning places but the reader is the one applying faces to those names, and the visual of the places in which Milo goes to in the book. This book addresses many things that children go through, from having to learn things that they don’t want to learn to being bored and not knowing what to do to entertain themselves. The main character, Milo, is somewhat ignored by his parents and is the only child. He has many books, games, and toys, but longs for something new and exciting to happen in his life. And I believe that all children at one time or another have those moments where they are lost and are just plain bored.
These are the types of problems that still exist with children; they are told what they have to do and what they are allowed to do with their free time and in limiting them, you are suppressing their need for adventure and excitement. Parents are busy; there is no longer one parent in each family with a job or career anymore. Especially with the economical problems, both parents are working and still are barely getting by. So many children in this generation are being raised by babysitters, being put in to school as early as possible, and even when the parents are home, the T.V is hard at work keeping them quiet and under control.
The reason why I think that children and young adults are swaying away from the idea of reading is because they have so many more options as to what to do with their time. If they want adventure, they probably figure playing a video game or going to the nearest red box is the right way to obtain it. Even when they are told to read a book for a school project or research of some sort, how many do you think actually do the assignment correctly? I don’t know how many times I have seen someone looking up cliff notes or going to Google an hour before their homework is due.