My Food Pyramid

十一月二十四号-

每天你得要吃水果，蔬菜 (Shucai), 粒 (Li), 蛋白质 (Danbai Zhi), 和奶站 (Naizhan). 水果可以鲜(Xian). 不如苹果,莓(Mei), 香蕉(Xiangjao), 橘柑(Jugan), 菠萝(Bulou)。五类(Lei) 蔬菜 黑绿(Lu), 面糊(Mianhu)蔬菜，红色和橙色(Chengse)蔬菜，豆粒(Douli) 和豌（Wan).不如小白菜,芥兰，菠菜 (Bocai), 薯(Shu), 和红萝卜(Hong lubo).面包(Mianbao),挂面(Guamian), 燕麦粥 (Yan Maizhou), 禾谷( Hegu) 和米饭 是粒。肉，海鲜 (Haixian), 豆粒和豌是蛋白质。不吃多油。

十一月二十五号-

为了健康，每天你得要运动。走到，跑步 (Paobu), 打网球( Da Wanqiu),打球,游泳， 还是骑(Qi).运动十分钟。父母运动较略 (Jiaolue) 三钟头 (Zhongtou).每天 孩子得要运动六十分钟。

十一月二十六号-

每天孩子要一千(yiqian)卡路里(Ka Lu Li).每天女孩要一千六百卡路里。每天男孩要一千八百卡路里。每天你得要吃二半杯蔬菜，二杯水果，和吃六唡粒。一片面包，半杯米饭，一唡禾谷。也吃三杯奶站， 一杯牛奶(Niunai)和酸奶(Suannai)和二唡奶酪(Nailao). 吃五半唡蛋白质。 一唡肉还是鱼， 半唡果仁, 半杯豆粒和豌。

十一月二十七号-

在感恩节 (Gan en Jie) 我吃很多饭。我吃了火腿 (Huoti), 炸鸡 (Zhaji), 甜和酸鸡，菠菜，玉米面包 (Yumi Mianbao), 米饭和豌，空心面 和奶酪(Kongxin mian he nailao),和酸莓 (Suanmei).我喝可乐。 什么时候我吃饭， 我有甜点。我吃南瓜派(Nan guan pai), 彻里派(Cheli pai), 菠菜派和蛋糕。我也吃薯片(Shupian).感恩节是太好了。我不吃健康因为我不吃水果。我不喝牛奶，我喝Egg Nog. 我吃多肉，不吃很鱼。我只吃菠菜。

十一月二十八号-

早饭我吃剩感恩节饭 (Sheng Gan en jie fan). 今天我吃空心面 和奶酪，米饭和豌，鸡，和凉拌。我不吃二半杯蔬菜，二杯水果，六唡粒，一片面包，半杯米饭，一唡禾谷，三杯奶站， 一杯牛奶和酸奶，二唡奶酪，五半唡蛋白质，一唡肉还是鱼， 半唡果仁, 还是半杯豆粒和豌。我只吃健康凉拌。午饭我吃两伯格(Boge) 和薯条( shutiao).这是菜不健康因为很多油。但是我回家我吃葡萄(Putao) 和喝橙汁(Chengzhi). 我不运动。

十一月二十九号-

今天早饭我吃一片南瓜派。我也吃两玉米花(Yumi hua),很多盐和油。我吃晚饭在十一点。 在晚饭我吃中国饭。我点菜虾咯面（xia lo mian), 鸡，炒饭，和薯条。好 吃极了但是很多盐和油不健康。

十一月三十号-

我吃不健康。我不吃水果，蔬菜 (Shucai), 粒 (Li), 蛋白质 (Danbai Zhi), 和奶站 (Naizhan).代替(Daiti) 我吃什么我喜欢吃。我常常吃多油，盐，甜和肉。 吃少水果。一些蔬菜和粒。我不运动。最健康我吃是了菠菜，凉拌，葡萄，和橙汁。在美国常常吃油，盐和甜的好吃极了。伯格，鸡，米饭和海鲜。我们喜欢点菜fast food. 在牙买加啦和盐菜是好吃极了。我们最喜欢菜是Acki and Salt fish但是不健康因为很油，很盐。我们喜欢吃鱼。

Suicidal 

Constantly Feeling fatigued, sluggish, and physically drained or hopeless? Maybe you feel like your body is becoming heavy. Most days you feel helpless and alone. Being trapped inside your head seems easier than talking to others.

Suicidal thoughts can slow down time causing every minute to feel like another dark hour. But Suicide can happen in the blink of an eye.

30,000 Americans die by suicide each year and an additional 500,000 Americans attempt suicide annually.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death starting at the age of 15 up to 24.

Warning Signs of Considering Suicide:

-Verbal suicide threats such as, “You’d be better off without me.” or “Maybe I won’t be around”

-Expressions of hopelessness and helplessness

-Previous suicide attempts

-Daring or risk-taking behavior

-Personality changes

-Depression

-Giving away prized possessions

-Lack of interest in future plans

You're not alone. Having a suicidal attempt doesn't make you crazy it's just a flaw. Nobody's perfect. Everyone has their own common daily crises. You can overcome your problems and the pain and suicidal feelings will pass away. With just one phone call SUICIDE-9 can reinsure hope and faith in another day.

 Don't make a permanent solution for a temporary problem.

If you or a friend is showing signs of suicide pick up the phone and call 1-88-SUICIDE-9!

Add sunshine to your day, SUICIDE-9 will take your pain away!

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent

Book Report

How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents 

In How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, Julia Alvarez tells a mysterious story of how a Hispanic family faces conflict of tradition after they emigrate to America. This book is very unique because the author manages to tell stories within the story. It starts off backwards, in chapter 3 the mother talks about the four girls in different situations. This chapter is told from the mothers perspective so you can see her love and admiration of the girls.  But in chapter 7, there's a change on thought and perspective. When Yolanda's mom falsely accuses her of starting up trouble she calls her a bad mother. I like that Alvarez constructed the book through a series a stories from each character because this highlights how the characters have changed throughout the text. Alvarez's technique of story telling also demonstrates the relationship of each family member and their feelings. In chapter 3, Laura's shared stories may make readers think she's very open and conversational.

On the other hand, one thing I did not like about this book is the lack of connection. Although the short stories successfully shaped and changed the characters it did not fully connect the four girls. I also think that the reverse chronological order has a big effect on the transition and flow of the story. Reverse chronological order sorta jumps around the story.

In addition, Alvarez's book may have been directed to struggling families with a strong bond or immigrants. My reasoning behind this is that the Garcia family were immigrants who struggled finically and culturally with fitting in to America. I can relate to this too because my family came from Jamaica to the United States and struggled with their new lifestyle as well.

If I were to rate this book, I'd give it a 5 because I liked the different stories but it got a bit confusing for me. I also think that the action scenes took too long and happened very rarely within the text.

What's the dilemma?

In Shakespeare's Scottish play, act 1 scene 7, Macbeth's soliloquy talks about his decision to kill Duncan. In his soliloquy he says,"If everything goes according to plan then this will be quick! Just one stab and that's it! But this is all too risky! I have to think about the possible outcome. Nothing good will come out of this because what goes around must come back again. First of all He's my cousin, and further more my guest.cim suppose to look out for him and protect him not be the one to murder him. Duncan is a good man, everyone loves him. If he dies the town will be devastated and he will be greatly missed."

If I had my own soliloquy my dilemma would be on picking a nail polish color. It would start of with something like....

"Picking a nail polish at the nail salon is the hardest decision EVER,
there's just so many colors: there's over 20 different shades of blue, from baby blue to dark indigo; Pink is a girl's best friend, but It's fall, I think a bloody burgundy or a beige brown would look nice, but those are too dull for me. I always pick a seasonal color; In summer I like to get bright colors like neon green, orange, yellow: when they're that bright people are drawn too look like magnets. Mmhm now I think I want to paint them white; One, it'd go with all my outfits, it's simple yet bold; not to mention, white, says two things about a girl, either she's dope and fierce or simple and classy. It's not a seasonal color, but it suits practically anyone,  I think it compliments my complexion, I'll ask the nail designer what she thinks, maybe I can get any design I want: stripes, bedazzled jewels, 3D stick ons, like a flower, a bow, or maybe even an animated character. No wait I got it,white nail polish,with jewels on my pinky and a"S" on my index finger written in black polish."

A man is a supporter, husband, lover, protector and provider.  Humble yet wise, he is the rock of the family, the problem solver or that shiny knight in armor! Manlihood on the other hand is taught through integrity and responsibility.

Yesterday I asked all the girls in my family what does it mean to be a man, and they all said the same thing, "strength". When things get hard and you can't make ends meet, real man don't run from challenges. They provide stability for their family.

According to the guys being a man means being manly. If you're smart, making a good amount of money, can provide for yourself, and fit the typical image then you are indeed  "manly".

If you google how to be manly you'll see tips on how to be fit and sexually attractive.

When I was younger my father would buy me anything! I never knew how he got it, but that didn't matter to me; as long as I got what I wanted I was happy and so was he. He liked to be the "hero" of the day and amaze me. Like when he'd pick me up on his back and fly me up the stairs as if he were superman. Or kiss my head and stay up with me whenever I had a bad dream. If I couldn't do something daddy would teach me. Whenever he was around everything was ok.

I think a man makes sacrifices and is also the caretaker of his family. But from my perspective the art of "being a man" has degraded along the years. It's not about your potential, traits or qualities but more so of your appearance and possessions. "A man" can be that guy across the street with a big gold watch and fresh new sneaks. "A man" is the guy with more tattoos than the years your required to finish school.

As I grew up I found out ironically that mommy can be that man too. It was no longer daddy teaching me what to do, because mommy stepped up to the plate and wore his shoes. She played both roles by putting a roof over my head and raising me to be the young lady I am today.

In my eye a man is witnessed in your everyday, but only your opinion on what it means to be a man can define that.

Men in Tights!

The life of an actor has changed drastically since Shakespeare’s time. Acting had a bad reputation. Actors were seen as unruly and a threat to society. During this time acting was only open to boys and men. Since it was illegal for women to act in plays, the men played the female leads. Women were very limited; they were denied education, land, rights, freedom of speech, and the opportunity to hold office. In a play women were required to read aloud but doing so goes against their duty to be quite and lady-like. 

Actors were normally lower class people performing for upper class people. Considering the fact that Shakespeare was a high school dropout, I think that social-class did not have an effect on your acting career. Because acting was similar to a part-time job you’re background did not matter.

Many theaters operated a shareholder system, where shares in the company earned more than the workers. Actors were paid depending on their position and where they played. Boy actors were paid three shillings a week. The main actors were paid at least two shillings per day. Part-time actresses were paid one shilling per day.  And if you played a female role you were paid less. Shakespeare was a sharer of a group called, The Chamberlain’s Men, who later  became the King’s Men in honor of James I. James loved theatre and was so intrigued by Shakespeare’s acting group that he gave him a sponsorship (Globe Education Actors).

The benefits of being an actor back then were that you’d potentially become a writer or get famous. The Disadvantages were the stage conditions. Actors had to improvise most of the time. Most of them couldn’t fit on the stage all at once. They didn’t have scenery to create scenes. Whenever they switched scenes they’d use signals, since there was no curtain (Staging and Performance).

In contrast acting today is completely different! Gender does not matter, you don’t have to be apart of a company and there’s a variety of sceneries. Theater is more popular and entertaining. Today, Acting is all about references and experience. The more acts and plays the better. Actors are still paid based on their position and how many plays they play in. In order to become an actor or become an actress, you must insure your financial stability.  Most actors aren't able to have a long-term job. But don't worry,there's always the next big gig or audition.

 

People today do acting for a variety of reasons. It could be to try something new, to meet new people, to boost confidence or self-esteem, or just simply for the pleasure.  If you were an actor what time period would you like to act in and why? Which century do you think was more lenient and beneficial? What is the difference between modern acting and acting in Shakespeare's time? Is it a good change or bad change?

Egypt

Ayuda! 帮忙! مساعدة!

Egypt is a socioeconomic ticketing time bomb. The situation in Egypt's day-to-day circumstances of living, have been difficult for a long time and have worsened since the revolution and removal of Mubarak. The biggest challenge they're facing today is an economic crises.

One in four Egyptians lives below the international poverty line of $2 a day per person and 13 percent of the population is currently out of work.
The North African country's unemployment rate reached 13.2% in 2013, according to a report by Egypt's Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
More than 162,000 Egyptians lost their jobs in 2012 alone, according to government statistics. Overall unemployment stood at 12.6 percent in June 2012 when Morsi took office.

Thep crime has tripled since 2010.The number of reported armed robberies increased more than tenfold from 233 incidents in 2010 to 2,807 incidents in 2012. Home invasions rose nearly 60 percent;from 7,368 incidents in 2010 to 11,699 robberies in 2012. And car thefts more than tripled from 4,973 thefts in 2010 to 21,166 thefts in 2012, according to the Financial Times.

Food and beverages are on fire! The prices have increased by 8.9 percent, but over half the population can't afford food. Businesses have plummeted. Long lines outside gas stations have caused huge traffic jams. Rolling blackouts have become common thing across the country.

The worst part is that about 83 percent of women had been sexually harassed. 91 women have been raped in the last four days in what they call "A Circle of Death." Female protestors are being beaten with metal chains, sticks, and chairs, attacked with knives, sexually assaulted and even raped with sharp objects. Nearly half of victims believed the problem has worsened since the 2011 revolution. About 83 percent that surveyed said they do not feel safe in the street.

As you all may or may not know the US and Egypt are allies. For the most part Obama had been sending Egypt annual military aids. But since the last president was tossed out, the US plans to end their alliance.

Now is not the time to cut military aid when Egypt needs us most. President Obama’s call for a reassessment of U.S. aid should focus on how we can help Egypt, rather than on whether we should. Action is urgent and should be expedited!

Foreign Relations, says military assistance is pretty much the only card the United States can play to put a stop to violence and restart civilization. My question to you is what’s your take on the state of repression in Egypt today? And is it too late? Is there still a chance for a democracy and hope for the uprising generation?

Poetry and Politics in Gaza

(Summer Blog)

Bridgeport, Connecticut

I’ve heard stories of what it used to be
but there all myths. It was a clean and happy time
something unlike this

Downtown was not abandoned or filled with ghost,
in fact it was very beautiful better than most
we had the very best thing a royal palace and old-time buildings,
 but then people lost money and we took a downfall.
the depression caused a lost we were all in poverty 
the way we’re living right now is so unproperly.

Gangs in the 80s took over the streets
it was an over powered war that took over the east.
Fires and killings have touched us all
still spiraling downward
to our downfall.

My city in the 90s wasn’t much better
spending money on clothes
just look at the latest trend setter.

The early 2000s makes us all want to toast
because it’s getting better now
we’re much better host

But the generation now is jumping back into the mist
the streets is all the kids are dealing with
all you see is violence and guns
tomorrows never promised when you’re the next one.
There’s no remorse for our little ones

who are drawn into society’s prospect
and slaved into the glitz of fame

all we’re good for is talk

but no one’s brave enough to walk.

The cycle is a never ending chain.

If education is the key then school is the lock
promote education by staring at the clock
I won't be happy, won't be ok ,
until I'm Attorney Wright one day
to me this matter is something great
it only takes one person
to replicate change.
So why are we so afraid?
Where I’m from the people need change.

So that one day the sky won’t be gray
and aspiration will be a new thing.