Blog Assignment #45: LA Times

Wisconsin teen shoots himself after holding class hostage

A teenager at Marinette High Scholl held nearly two dozen students and a teacher hostage in a for about five hours before shooting himself when police finally arrived at the scene. No one else was harmed. Officers outside the classroom said they heard three gunshots shortly after 8 p.m. and broke through the door. The gunman, a 15-year-old boy, then shot himself. Five of the 23 students taken hostage had been released about 20 minutes before police entered the classroom because they told the gunman they had to use the bathroom. The other 18 students and the teacher, who was informing the police about the teen, were unharmed. 

Afghan policeman kills 6 American troops

An Afghan border policeman on Monday turned his weapon on Western troops, fatally shooting six of them. NATO did not disclose the nationalities of the slain soldiers, but a Pentagon official said they were American. The Western military said it was investigating the attack, which took place during a training exercise in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan. The regional commander of the Afghan border police said all the trainers were U.S. troops. 

Oregon terrorism suspect pleads not guilty

Terrorism suspect Mohamed Osman Mohamud pleaded not guilty Monday to a federal charge of trying to explode a car bomb at a crowded holiday celebration last week in Portland and his lawyers suggested that he was entrapped by the FBI. The 19-year-old Somali American at the center of the latest allegation of homegrown terrorism said, "Yes, your honor," in a soft tone when U.S. Magistrate Judge John V. Acosta asked if he understood his rights.

At least 113 killed in series of Baghdad attacks

Militants unleashed a wave of deadly attacks in Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 113 people in Shiite neighborhoods in an apparent bid to provoke a new sectarian war in the country. Seventeen car bombs and other blasts shook the city at sunset in one of the bloodiest days this year. The coordinated attacks, which bore the earmark of the Sunni Arab militant group Al Qaeda  in Iraq, came just 48 hours after 58 people were killed after armed men seized a Baghdad church.

Iran agrees to new nuclear talks

For the first time in more than a year, Iran has agreed to talks with world powers over its nuclear program. European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton told reporters in Brussels on Friday that she had received an affirmative response from Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili to a standing invitation to talks and that he was ready to restart negotiations sometime after Nov. 10 "in a place and on a date convenient to both sides," according to news agencies.

Blog #44: The BBC

Iranian nuclear scientist killed in motorbike attack

Majid Shahriari, an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed. The scientists were targeted by men on motorbikes who attached bombs to the windows of their cars as they drove to work, officials said. Dr Shahriari was a member of the nuclear engineering department of Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran. His wife is said to have been injured in the attack. The nuclear scientist injured in the second attack was named as Fereydoon Abbasi. His wife was also wounded.

Aztecas gang boss Gallegos 'admits Mexico murders'

Arturo Gallegos Castrellon was captured. He confessed to ordering most of the killings in Juarez since August 2009. Aztecas gang members work as hitmen for the Juarez drug cartel. Gallegos was captured during a weekend raid along with two other alleged gang leaders, Carlos Rodriguez Ramirez and Gisela Ornelas Nunez. Gallegos admitted to ordering an attack last January which left 15 dead, most of them teenagers, believing rival gang members would be there, police said.

'Afghan policeman' kills six Nato troops

The man opened fire during a training mission in Pachir Wagam district, Nangarhar province, said Nato. He was also killed in the incident. Local officials said they believed the incident was not premeditated, but had arisen out of "a misunderstanding". Nato has not revealed the nationalities of the dead soldiers, but local sources said they were American. "An individual in an Afghan border police uniform turned his weapon against International Security Assistance Forces during a training mission today, killing six service members in eastern Afghanistan," Monday's statement said. "The individual who fired on the Isaf forces was also killed in the incident. A joint Afghan and Isaf team is investigating this incident."

Suspected serial killer seized in Sicily

Giuseppe Raeli, who has no previous criminal record, has been charged with five murders and four attempted murders in Cassibile between 1998 and 2009. He was arrested when a helicopter and a special police unit raided his house early on Monday, reports say. The man behind the murders was dubbed the Monster of Cassibile for firing at his victims with a 12-bore shotgun. Among those shot was a married couple who died and their daughter who was wounded. Prosecutors say they have linked Mr Raeli, a married man known locally as Pippo the Wolf, to more than a dozen cases. "The serial killer would kill for just 200 euros" chief prosecutor Ugo Rossi told Italian media. "He wanted justice for himself over those who didn't pay him for small jobs he'd done for them."

Empire Strikes Back director Irvin Kershner dies

Irvin Kershner, director of Star Wars film The Empire Strikes Back, has died in Los Angeles aged 87, his agent has confirmed. 

Kershner - who also directed James Bond film Never Say Never Again - died at home after a long illness, according to his goddaughter Adriana Santini. 

Born in Philadelphia in 1923, Kershner trained as a musician before making documentaries and then features. 

His other credits include Robocop 2 and Eyes of Laura Mars with Faye Dunaway. 

Known as "Kersh", the director was behind the camera when Sir Sean Connery reprised his 007 role in 1983's Never Say Never Again. 

The University of Southern California film school graduate had previously worked with Connery on his 1966 romantic drama A Fine Madness.

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Blog Assignment #43: Myself

http://katiekoo.glogster.com/aboutme/

Blog Assignment #42: Veteran's Day

http://katiekoo.glogster.com/VeteransDay/

Blog Assignment #40: Newspaper Ideas

1.What's happening and how you can help
2.Sports sections
3.Classifieds, what students and their families are selling, what they need help with, any pets that need homes
4.Student Schedules
5.Weather
6.Anonymous help advice
7.What's for lunch
8.Where to get cheapest school supplies
9.Comics
10.Kids sections
11.Crossword puzzles, Sudoku, Word find
12.Tips on how to get to class faster, get better grades
13.Fun facts about school
14.What's coming up
15.Submit your own drawing/joke/suggestion/ideas
16.Ask the Newspaper Team
17.Yummy Wacky Food Ideas
18.Upcoming books
19.Upcoming movies
20.Student of the month
21.Teacher of the month
22.Who quoted this?
23.Latest news on products
24.When and where sales are
25.Students Opinion
26.State's new laws
27.Poems
28.History
29.Persuasive articles
30.Why we should bring back our mascot
31.Funny stories
32.Funny opinions
33.Q&A
34.Polls
35.Editorials
36.Advertising
37.What students want to hear
38.Success tips for upcoming freshmen
39.Stories from graduating seniors
40.Teachers behind the scenes
41.Birthdays
42.Witty Article Titles
43.Our sports teams
44.Why we should have football/soccer/etc.
45.Book reviews
46.Teacher interviews
47.Teacher tips/opinions
48.Movie reviews
49.Students baby pictures
50.Upcoming school events



1.CLASSIFIEDS
Selling, buying, or giving away? This is a perfect place for you and your family to advertise to people you can trust. This is BETTER than Craigslist! Why sell to strangers when you can sell to people you or your child knows?

Selling? Maybe a student has a sibling or parent who's looking. Buying? Vice versa! Your puppy/kitty/hammy/piggy had a couple cutie pies that you can't keep? You know kids always want one. Need help with a project? We can help!

This would be a cool idea because it's original. You only see classifieds in the Sunday Newspaper. Not many kids read that. There's a chance some might not read this one either, but for the ones who do, it'll be great.

It may not be as big a hit as I would imagine, mostly because it's the middle school. But this is something I would love to see in a school newspaper. Why should we exclude the parents though? We can help a lot of people out. Including ourselves if we need too.


2.STUDENT'S BABY PICTURES
Aww! How cute! You haven't changed a bit! Who wouldn't get a kick out of this?

Student's can choose to submit their baby pictures, or a devious friend could do it for them. Kids will be crowding over in our paper to see their classmates as a toddler. I really think this will be a big hit. I mean, why wouldn't it?

It may take a bit of ink, but it's worth it. People will love our newspaper. I believe the rest of this is self explanatory :)


3.WEATHER
I love knowing how cold or hot it's going to be. It will be an interesting tidbit to have on the side of our newspaper. It can also tell us the overall temperature we should look out for and for any rises or drops.

If this was once a week it would be perfect. But, once a month can do fine as well. Instead of doing the weather of what have already passed, we can do it on the following month. Say, temperatures for December.

We can also include if it will snow or not or if there is a chance. When it will rain, when it'll be a perfect day to go and play, or a bad day to go fishing/sports/anything else.

I would love to see this in our newspaper and think everyone else will as well. Let's make our newspaper really a newspaper!

Blog Assignment #39: 5 Favorite Hobbies

1.Being anywhere but my house
I don't really have a favorite hobby. I'll pretty much do anything just to get out of the house. Just yesterday my sister asked if I wanted to go somewhere. I went and didn't know where I was going until I got there. I didn't care, I was too overjoyed at the fact I was out of the house.

2.Reading
I usually don't read at home, because I save it for school, but when I do, I go all out. I love reading. I buy books so I can personally read them any time I want, and I'm saving them to build my own library. Reading is my escape. When no one will take me anywhere, I go into a book to escape from reality. I put myself in that book, either the main character or just someone witnessing it, and it's so weird when I return to the real world.

3.Video Games
Video games are a passion of mine. I love them. They're almost like books. They help me escape reality and go into a better world that I can help. I like the games that lets you free roam in a story or adventure. Not like Gears of War or Halo that all you do is shoot a gun. I like games like Legend of Zelda and Fable. I LOVE the Fable series. Fable 1 was good, Fable 2 was great, and Fable 3 is awesome. All of them give you choices to be good or evil, do quests and improve your land of Albion. On Fable 3 I have logged 150 hours of game play. It came out the 26th of October and I played it all the way through without a hard drive. So, at least 200 hours.

4.Cheerleading
Cheerleading is fun. It gives me something to do and I like saying I'm a cheerleader. Since my sister was a cheerleader, I love getting tips and help with things I need to improve on, or cute little things I can do. Also, it's a great workout and I could always use a good workout.

5.Internet
Yeah yeah, I know, it's sad. But what can I say? I'm a big nerd. I'm bored, I go on the internet. Who doesn't?  Facebook, games, funny websites. Everything is right there. No one will take me anywhere? Post on Facebook. No book to read? Read about new stuff. Played enough games for one day? Play more online. No practice? Look at updated websites.

Blog Assignment #38: 5 Favorite Books

I cannot list books in order of favoritism. Can't do it. Won't do it. Can't make me. I can list books that first come to my mind, but no book ranks Numero Uno for this muchacha. Here are 5 books I love in no particular order whatsoever.

Maximum Ride Series
Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Kids with wings. What more could a girl like me ask for? I love this series because I enjoy weird superpowers like that. The way James Patterson makes the characters is just the right amount of wit and personality to make you fall in love with each and every one of them. Fang's dark side, Max's motherly love, Angel and Gazzy's cuteness, Iggy's strong will, and Nudge's humor.

Ranger's Apprentice Series
I am not done with the series yet, since there are much more books to go. But I don't want them to end because each time it does, a part of me dies along with it. This series is possibly the best I have ever read. I love Medieval times and fighting, strategy, and adventures that go along with it. This series has it all.

My Louisiana Sky
Oh my Gosh, I love this book. I read it in 5th grade and still remember it in great detail today. Mainly because it's based in Louisiana, this book has me in love. The suspense, the sadness, the struggles. All of it reels me in without restraint. I had no trouble reading this book because not one part was boring.

The Outsiders
Ohhhhhhh. Don't even get me started on this book. S.E. Hinton is amazing. She is the greatest writer and has had me read all of her books. Other than superpowers, hurricanes, or Medieval times, Teenage Delinquents are my favorites. It's not like I like it when people do bad things, it's just the drama that goes along with it. And all of her books have this.

Percy Jackson and the Olympian Series
This is probably on everyone's favorite books list, and I don't blame them. It's a pretty neat series and has pretty much everything I like in it. Superpowers, teenage delinquents, not necessarily medieval, but Greek history works for me as well. I always liked Greek mythology. I even learned the Greek Alphabet for just myself. If you asked me, I could recite them now, Alpha to Omega. It's a cute little series and is great for any age.

Blog Assignment #37: 5 Favorite Movies

1.Monty Python and the Holy Grail
This is the most hilarious, stupidest movie I have ever seen. I love it. British humor always cracks me up and this one did the job the best. It's witty comments have me saying them all the time. It's definitely a movie to watch when you need a ROFL moment. I give it 5 Ni's.

2.Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship 
Lord of the Rings is with no doubt, the BEST movie I have ever seen. It's perfect. If I could re-direct the movie, I would change nothing whatsoever. I own all of them and I will never ever get rid of them. This trilogy is the best I have and ever will see. Ever.

3.Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Two Towers is another one of my favorites, mainly because it's a sequel to the Fellowship. Once again, one of the best movies ever. The plot, the characters, everything is exactly right and I love it. The scenery that isn't a very well constructed green screen, is amazing and I applaud the directors.

4.Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Of course I have to put this one! I'm just a little fan girl who is much in love with these movies. If you could tell me a better movie than any of these, I would stand appalled because such a thing does not exist. I l-o-v-e all of them and will always and forever and ever and ever and ever and ever always. Kind of redundant, but you get my point.

5.Beaches
I. Love. Bette Midler. I just love her, her talent, her singing, her acting, her. This movie is so sweet and sad. On my iTunes I have Under The Boardwalk played over 145 times in one day. I know the song by heart and think of C.C. Bloom each time I hear it. Her voice is bliss. It truly is a great movie.

Blog Assignment #36: 5 Favorite Bands

Okay. This is going to be very hard for me since I am a music addict. But, here it goes. These are my favorite BANDS, not singers. Recognize.

1.Mayday Parade
Mayday Parade will forever always and never stop being my favorite band of all time and will never ever cease to be my favorite band ever. Their music is amazing at it feels like angels are singing in my ears. I cannot express my love in so little words. The first song I heard from them that made me so addicted to them was Miserable At Best and of course, it starts with "Katie don't cry." I of course, own all of their albums and 2 T-Shirts

The following are in no particular order. Recognize.

2.All Time Low

All Time Low is an amazing band. I love their songs and their singing is amazing. I first heard the song Dear Maria, Count Me In, which led to Remembering Sunday, which led to The Beach. I have all of their albums. When I listen to All Time Low it gives me an All Time High. I really love this band. I don't know what I would do without them on my iTunes. (Above)

3.A Day To Remember
Now, A Day To Remember is a screamo band. I love screamo bands. So, in case you wanted to listen to them, you have been warned. A Day To Remember is my all time favorite screamo band and will never change. I try not to look at the band members because it changes my opinion of them. But, not these guys! They are great. (Above)

4.Romance on a Rocketship
This guy is amazing. His voice, although auto-tuned, is still great nonetheless. His songs are fun as well as his covers. He doesn't have many songs or albums but his few songs make up for it because they're great. I love One-man-bands a teeny bit more than the regular band. His songs are soft and perfect for any time of the day. (Above)

5.Nickasaur
If I were to describe Nickasaur in one word, it would have to be CUTE! His looks and his songs are just adorable. What makes him more loveable is that he's not trying to become famous at all. He just wants to have fun and share his joy with everyone else. I love that about him. I know, I'm just a little fangirl :)

6.Jon Lofton
Of course I HAVE to love this band. Mainly because it's my brother Jonathan's, but also because his music rocks my socks! His guitar and voice together are the perfect combination. He makes the most sweetest songs and I can't even explain how much I love them. (Above)

7.A Rocket To The Moon
Wait, we were supposed to do 5? My bad. Well, that's a little impossible for me because I have so many bands I love and cannot just limit them to 5. Anyway, A Rocket To The Moon has the coolest songs ever. I love listening to their sweet melodic music and awesomeness of singing. Truly a great band I will love forever and ever.

8.Daphne Loves Derby
This boys voice is AMAZING. It's like beautiful coming out of my speakers. His songs are so mellow and soft and his voice is so smooth. Of course this has to make my top favorite list. Pollen and Salt is my favorite song by him of course. I will always fall for a sweet singer like him :)



Okay, since I can't write a paragraph of each my bands I have on my iTunes since they all are my favorite bands. I'll just list SOME them here :)
Good Charlotte
Metro Station
Broadway
PlayRadioPlay!
NeverShoutNever!
The Ready Set
The Postal Service
Attack Attack!
August Burns Red
Hawthorne Heights
Simple Plan
Passion Pit
All American Rejects
Boys Like Girls
Blue October
Making April
Coldplay
Breathe Carolina
Breaking Benjamin
Call The Cops!
Anberlin
Anarbor
Kill Paradise
Valencia
We The Kings
Family Force 5
Linkin Park
Every Avenue
Phoenix
The Maine
Crossfade
Cute Is What We Aim For
30 Seconds To Mars
White Tie Affair
Relient K
Switchfoot
Goodnight Sunrise
Snow Patrol
Cash Cash
Valencia
Swimming With Dolphins
Second Hand Serenade
Sea Wolf
Sing It Loud
Enter Shikari
Saosin
that's about as far as I'll go because I'm running out of class time :) And those are just Bands, wait until I get to Singers! John Mayer shall be featured first as always.

Blog Assignment #35:My Weekend

This previous weekend I went to my sister Lacey and brother-in-law Daniel's Wedding Reception. I helped out 5 hours before it started. Everything was black and gold because the theme was Saints. It was held at the Community Center and was very pretty. My brother Jonathan was the DJ, Ben was the photographer, and Daniel's 6 year old step brother was dancing his feet off.

I had lots of fun. I danced to the Macarena, Cha Cha Slide, and much more. And I never dance. The wedding cake was white with Fleur-De-Lis around them and actually tasted great. We, myself included, made the Groom's cake. Since Daniel is going into the airforce, we made him a Red Velvet Airforce cake. The Airforce symbol was in the middle and stars were surrounding it. It also tasted awesome.

In the end I had to stay there until 12, which is way past my desired sleep time. We had a great time and I'm glad Lacey and Daniel are happy together. Today, Monday, November 1, 2010, Daniel had to go to the start of Bootcamp for the Airforce. And so begins a long 5 months.

Other than that, nothing else really happened. I didn't do anything for Halloween. I kind of just lazed around in my freedom. I knew 3 people excluding my family, who were all at the Reception. But it was fun, since I met and danced with new people.