Music Review

Cannon in D major by Johann Pachelbel is a very popular piece. It is also known as Pachelbel's Cannon. It is Johann Pachelbel a German Baroque composer's most famous piece of music. It is my favorite song that has no singing in it and is only orchestra music. I played it before and after that I liked it a lot. The Cannon was forgotten after it was composed then when it was rediscovered in the 20th century and it became really famous. A lot of people use it for weddings and included in classical music compilations. it was originally made for three violins but now whole string orchestras play the song.

Jay and Nick

Is Jay's and Nick's relation ship real or is Jay just using Nick. They first met when Jay invited Nick to a party of his and then Nick and Jay started talking about the war that they were both in together. But Nick did not know that he was talking to Jay but Jay knew he was talking to Nick. Jay later says that he just found out that Nick was Daisy's cousin and that he want Nick to help him and Daisy get back together. Jay also says he learned this from Jordan but did he really learned that or did he already know that Nick was Daisy's cousin. Then Jay tries to convince Nick to help him by being really nice to him and it seems like Jay really treats Nick as a close friend. Jay takes Nick out to all these place and even asks him if he is interested in some business thing but Nick refuses. But does Jay really feel that Nick is his friend or is he just using Nick to get close to Daisy and once he  and Daisy are back together would he just not think of Nick as a friend anymore and forget about Nick.

Winter Poem

Going down the hill.
Use sleds to race each other.
Wind blows on my face.

Thankful For a Classmate

The classmate I am thankful for is nobody because I am thankful for anyone in our class. I am thankful for every single person in my class because they all make our class fun and exciting. Every single one of them contributes to the class and make it into what it is. It is also because of everybody that I like this class and can pay attention, learn, and have fun at the same time. I am also especially thankful for Jaleel, Miles, and Sam because they help me a lot in class. When I can't see something clearly Miles tells me what it is and Jaleel lets me use his glasses to see. Also when we have the group work they all help to make the answers the best they can be and help me when I do not understand how to answer it or when I do not understand the question they explain it to me. I would also like to thank Mr. McCarthy because he is a great teacher to have and he makes the class interesting. He also makes jokes and keep the class lively and fun while also teaching us. He is a the best teacher to have for this class.

I am a Plow

I am a plow and so is everybody else. A plow is something that was used by farmers to help them loose up the soil to let them plant things. I say was because it had been really useful to farmers until the tractor came along and that help the farmers sow the field in less time and can sow more so the plow was considered useless because it wasn't as useful. We are like this too because we are helping people and the world in our own ways. We all help other people and make all the lives of all the people we helped easier. We are also helping the world because we are changing the future and making it better for the future generations to come. A plow also paves the way for the seeds to be planted and grown. We are all like this because we are creating our future by what we do. We are all changing our future by going to school when we do this we are learning things that we will use in the future in this way we are paving our way into our future and creating paths so we can reach our goals no matter what it is.

A Direction the Class Needs

The first quarter has ended and there has been negative and positive this about this class. The positive things about this class is that it was really fun. I liked how Mr. McCarthy is a really fun teacher. I liked the days when we had a vocabulary review and we spent the whole day review the vocabulary we learned. I also really like the silent reading days when we just read our book for the whole period. I also like the blogs and where we could write what we felt about the topic that week. Some negatives are that sometimes the blogs were a little hard to write and sometimes I forgot about them because I wasn't reminded that there was a blog that week. I think a good idea would to put the homework on Edline and maybe tell us what to write on the blogs. We should not be made to take notes on everything. Like our books, when reading I didn't really like it when I had to take notes because that got me distracted and I couldn't really get into the story. Also like the House of the Seven Gables, it was already hard enough trying to understand what they were talking about and actually get into the story without having to take notes about what I was reading.

House of the Seven Gables

When I hear the word Salem, I think of Puritans. When I hear the word Puritans I think of the witch trails. Salem is related to Puritans because the were a big religion there and because they are really important. They are important because they were the cause of the Salem witch trails. They were the ones that accused people of being witches causing them to die. And because so many people were accused and when they said they were not witches the judges didn't believe them they still got killed. Also if they use evidence like other people's word those people would get accused of being a witch too. In The House of the Seven Gables there is a reference to the witch trails when he says Colonel Pyncheon accused Matthew Maule of witchcraft to get his piece of land. That means Nathaniel Hawthorne had based that part of the book on real life.Nathaniel Hawthorne also had an experience with the witch trails. His great-great-great grandfather and great-great grandfather were judges during the Salem witch trails and because he probably didn't want to be associated with them he changed his name from Nathaniel Hathorne to Nathaniel Hawthorne adding a w in his name.

The Moment I Knew I was an American

First of all we need to know the meaning of an American. To me an American is somebody that has American thoughts and beliefs and acts like an American. I wasn't born in America but in China, but I moved here when I was three so I think I am more American than Chinese because I was affect by my surroundings making me an American. My parents were the typical Chinese parents trying to make me into a more Chinese person. The moment I became an American I think was when I started going to school. I think that because I started getting affected because my surroundings all had American ways. Even though at home my parents would be teaching me Chinese ways I would get taught American way at school and ever time I went out I would be affected by all the American thoughts and beliefs so in the end I still had became an American. I think that even if I had tried to not become an American I still would have because I believe a person is affected by their surroundings and everything that I have seen has contributed to making me into the person I am now.

Us vs. Them ... Us and Them

There is always going to us vs. them because there is always going to be conflict in the world. But I don't know if some conflicts really need people dying. Most conflicts can be solved but some cannot. Even now there are conflicts causing deaths like how wars are started. It is usually because people's opinion or thoughts on something don't quite match. But wars still end either by making a treaty that fulfills everybody's wants or one side looses which is like the winning side of the war wins the argument. Some times conflicts can be solved by voting which is majority over minority. In The Crucible it is like that most of Salem believes there are witches and only a few people don't believe in them but they are outmatch by the people that believe in them. Most of the people that are accused are not accused because they were thought to be witches but because people didn't like them or they had something people wanted. Like how some people got accused as witches because they had land or money. Even now things are like this people still accuse other people because they want more power, money, etc. This shows how some people are greedy and all they want is to benefit themselves.

John Proctor, Hero or Stooge

In the beginning I though he was a stooge because he had a affair with Abigal then his wife found out and he treid to hid it from everybody else in the town because he wanted to save his name and reputation. But I changed my mind and now think John Proctor is a hero. He is a hero because he tried to save his wife because Abigal accused her of being a witch. He also told the town that he had a affair with Abigal which I think is really brave because that would ruin his name and reputation. He might have cause Abigal to accuse his wife by having the affair in the first place but him telling about his affair makes up for him having the affair in the first place because I know it is really hard to admit to something that you did when it could hurt you and even the people around you. Also he didn't believe in witchcraft in the beginning and in the end. Maybe he didn't believe in witchcraft to save his wife but I still think he is a hero because he had to sacrifice himself to save his wife.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

The way the Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards talks about god is really scary. It makes people scared of god because God has the power to kill you at any second. He says many things about the wicked and how if you are wicked God can do anything he wants with you. Like a person is hanging on a thread over hell, and how he has a arrow pointed at you hearty just waiting to be released, how he has a hand covering something that is like water from rushing out and kill you, and also how every time you do something wrong you get heavier and it is God that is holding you up and he can drop you anytime he wants. Basically he is warning people to not do bad things. But I think that is not a good way of convincing people because scaring them is not really letting them decide. They are so scared of God that they think is his really mean. I don't think that God is really that scary and mean also if he is not scary or mean people will have a more relaxed time enjoying life instead of being afraid of doing anything wrong to anger God.

Arrivals... There goes the Neighborhood

I had lived in San Francisco before I came to Chicago. When I was 7 I moved here. I left after 2nd grade and when I got here I started in 3rd grade but I was a year younger than everybody. No, I didn't skip a grade. The school system in San Francisco lets you into school until December but here it is not and since I was born in November In San Francisco I could go to school but here they don't let me. When I got here they at first wouldn't let me go to third grade because I was a year younger than everyone. But since I already been through second grade then I would be repeating a grade so in the end they let me into third grade. But when I started I was the smallest kid in age and size. When I told everyone how old I was they all thought that I had skipped a grade because they didn't know the school systems in San Francisco was different. SO I had to keep explaining over and over to them and it took a long time because they still didn't understand but in the end they did.  

Introduction

My name is Ye Cheng Huang but that is only my Chinese name and I don't like to be called that. Instead I like to be called Justin. I wasn't born in America. I was born in China but I moved here when I was three so I don't really remember much of when I lived in China. I know three languages, fluent in two and still learning one. I am fluent in Cantonese which is my first language and English which is my second, I also know how to speak Mandarin which I have been learning for seven years. I am a very small person because I am not that tall and weigh very little. But I am in very good physical shape so I am very good in sports. I like swimming and running and have gotten awards for both sports. I also like playing the violin and have played for 5 years. I also like building and inventing things. I also like to draw real life objects. I have a very good memory for directions and can remember things like where I put things very long a go or how to get somewhere by imagining it in my head.