Best Games of All Time

Over the years there has been countless video games. Games have ranged from the original Pong to the new Modern Warfare 2. I have played many types of stations and games. These are my top five favorite games of all time.
1) Halo 3- Along with the good graphics and great game play, it has many great points. It is the third game of the series of four games. It is made by Microsoft on the X-Box 360. It has multi player online and some of the best campaigns of all time.
2)Gauntlet Legends- Gauntlet Legends was a game on the N64. It made its first showing on the NES. The one on the N64 might not have had the best graphics like the new games on X-Box 360 or Playstation 3, but it was one of the starting example for modern MMORPG games. It had a real great campaign of trying to capture the magic stones to face the final boss and sentance him back to hell. >=) It was a game that my friends and I could play for hours and hours on end for fun. (We once did a marathon of Gaunlet for 12 hours straight.)
3)Super Smash Brother Series- These set of three games (Orignal,Melee, and Brawl) have come a long way over the years. It all first started on the N64 with 8 characters and ten levels to conquere your enemies on. Over the years they updated to Melee on gamecube, then Brawl on the Wii. These games have been one of Nitendo's top selling games of all time. They feature all types of characters from Mario and Luigi to Samas and Link. These games are one of the best fighting games of all time to me.
4)Super Mario Bros.- Now if you are naming best games of all time, you cannot forget what started a lot of the videogame craze. These three games are on the NES and host Mario trying to get his love (Peach) back from Bowser. Boswer and Mario are always mortal enemies in all the games and the final boss is always some HUGE form of Bowser. These games were especially hard to beat, since they were on the NES the system would overheat more than a person in the Sahara desert.
5)Legend of Zelda series- Last but not least, you cannot forget about Link. He has been on countless journies to save Zelda from the newest Wii game (Twilite Princess) to the old NES Zelda games. The Zelda series has always been one of the most popular games by all people. Even though they don't always have th best of graphics, the makes work very hard to make the story line make up for that fact.
These are my favorite games of all time (there are many more these are just a few). Word Count 421

Rwandan Genocide Talks

The Rwandan Genocide debate was very fun and exciting. I personally, was the United Nations. The United Nations played a key role in the Rwandan Genocide. Other teams such as the United States and Uganda tried to back us into a corner and tear us apart. We were asked many questions that were hard to answer, but luckily we were prepared for most of them. Some of the questions we got asked were “Why didn’t we help?” The easy answer was that we did not have the sufficient military support and weapons needed to face such a great opposition. Our counter question to that was “Since we did not have the military forces needed, then why did the United States deny us the tanks and military we asked for so that we could help in Rwanda? They had no answer and were stumped, but the bombardment of questions did not stop here. We also got asked “Why did we pull back our troupes after only ten of them died?” Our simple answer to that was by the time the reinforcements has gotten there, our 5,500 troupes would have been slaughtered. So to save their lives we pulled back to regroup with help from other countries and to get ready to go back in.
Other countries got interrogated with questions too besides us. The MRND was also asked many questions like “Why did u brainwash the Rwandan people?” They were prepared too and had answers to the questions. Jake was one of the main people asking all the questions during the debate. He kept asking the MRND questions and more questions until I thought they would pass out(which was good because it kept the questions of of the United Nations). Some people did not get to talk as much as they wanted to probably though like Uganda and the Interahamwe. Our main goal for everything was just to blame the United States. So if something got put or blamed on us we would somehow find a way to push it onto the United States. The United Nations was a very hard organization to do. It was not that hard to find out information of the United Nations role, but it was hard to find reasonable reasons why we pulled out of Rwanda and explanations to other hard questions. In the end though, I found that this pre Simen experience of being the United Nations in the Rwandan Genocide was a very fun thing to do in English. I cannot wait until the real Simen comes and I get a county to represent.

Word Count-431

Thinking Beyond the Horizon

Thesis- Emerson's argument in "The American Scholar" about American society still holds true today.
Emerson's argument is a valid statement, because people are no longer thinking to broaden their knowledge. In China, they only learn what subject you are good in. So if you are good in math that will be the only topic you learn. This would not broaden your knowledge and not allow you to be the professor, priest, and the scholar like Emerson explains. Another example is if a student goes to school only worrying about the subject he is good in like science. In the future he won't be able to be all he can and do the jobs others can.

The common man/women today does not care how their job influences others. They just do their job everyday and get paid. Men and women need to think like the scholars of how they help the world. The farmer helps the world by feeding people so they don't die. Doctors help people become healed when they are ill. Now a days though, people just worry about how much money they will make. Emerson had a great analogy when he said "Man into men, that he might be more helpful to himself; just as the hand was divided into fingers, the better to answer its end." He is saying without everyone working together in the world and feeling they have a purpose then we are basically useless.

Buddah and Zeus Try to Save the Lions (capitilization story)

It was Thanksgiving weekend, and Zeus and Buddha were sitting around watching the Detroit Lions play from Mt. Olympus. Zeus was just sitting on his throne drinking a can of Pepsi, while Buddha was drinking Coke. Then Zeus said, "I am tired of watching this team get killed, I thought Lions are suppose yo be fierce!" Then Buddha said, "I don't know, I guess the Recession on Earth is hitting them hard. At this rate they should change their name to The Pink Bunnies." So a couple minutes later Zeus could not stand this horrible game anymore. He hurled a lightning bolt at Ford Field, and hit the ball right as it was in the air. Then Zeus shouted "I'm going to the East and watch the Steelers play." Zeus thought to himself, Finally a team that actually deserves to be on NBC and ESPN.
Zeus and Buddha later went to Coach Joe and and asked him how the Lions could improve. Joe just laughed and said pray. Zeus and Buddha were determined to help the Lions. They traveled to the West, to ask Coach Jim to help. After searching on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday they finally found him. So Jim said "Get us out of this Depression and I will tell you." So after much thought they fixed it and Coach Jim told them the secret. Just as they got back to Detroit, Aunt Alice (Zeus's aunt) and Uncle Ming (Buddha's uncle) said "You have to finish reading your books." Zeus had to read Expresso a book about speaking Spanish. Buddha had to read Gootentog, a book about speaking German. After all the work they could not tell the Lions how to get better and the Lions have been bad ever since.

Jenny G Cuts Schools Lifeline Off

Last week Jennifer Granholm vetoed a bill that would have given Michigan more money. Why they waited until the last second to pass the bill I don’t know. Without the money the school is in a seven million dollar deficit. Stevenson and other schools in Michigan already had their yearly budget laid out but now we have to come up with the money to break even at the end of the year. We have to act fast or there could be dire consequences. Some of the consequences could be, we could lose our athletics for the remainder of the year. Without athletics, kids would have nothing to do after school and might not be able to concentrate in school because they would have nothing to look forward to after school. Another could be we would lose the buses and would no longer be able to take them before and after school. Without the buses there would be longer lines than there are now for moms and dads to drop off their kids. It would not be able to work. Last they could do the worst thing, cut teachers. It would be tragic to cut teachers in the middle of the school year, because they couldn’t go teach anywhere else because all the other schools already have the year planned out with teachers. So they would be out of work and money. Also we would have to rearrange the whole second semester schedules because the teacher you might have gotten was cut.
What I think they should do to get the money back is either hold off until the school year ends so the teachers can keep their jobs, sports can stay for the rest of the year, and buses will stay. Then if they need to change something they can do it the next year instead of last second in the middle of they year. They could also try to write letters to people in Lansing to get them to try to compromise to make a bill that would give Michigan schools some money even if it isn’t all they hoped for.
Whether they make a new bill or Michigan schools have to come up with the money, we have to act fast. Millions of kids are depending on the leaders in Lansing to finally make a decision so we can keep going to school without worrying if we will still have buses, sports, and the same teachers.

Obama Wins the Nobel Peace Prize for What?!

The Nobel Peace Prize is a very prestigious award, that few people get to win in their lifetime. Such winners in the past are Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, and Martin Luther King Jr. Recently though Barack Obama has won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. For this we should congratulate him for winning it, but did he really deserve this great award?

Yes he is the Untied States leader for another three years and we should support him to better our country because there is no point to whining for three years, but I feel he should not be get this award for many reasons. First off the timing to be nominated was two weeks after he was elected and he could not have helped world peace in two weeks yet! Yes I agree that is a good speaker, but what has he really do to help world peace? He has tried to stop the war yes, but so have many other past presidents and they have not won the Nobel Peace Prize. The organization was trying to make a political statement, that they did not agree with the past President Bush's approach to dealing with other countries. Unlike President Bush, President Obama does not want to charge into other countries, he wants to do it peacefully.

One great example of a person that really worked hard and deserved this great award was Martin Luther King Jr. He worked his whole like for Civil Rights for blacks and whites to be equal. He was so passionate about it he gave his life for the wonderful cause. He later was murdered outside his hotel. Unlike Dr. King, Obama has done nothing and is giving a bad name to the once wonderful award.

He has made many promises to stop Iran from achieving nuclear arms, but at the last United Nations meeting. He talking with papers in his hand about Iran's secret nuclear factory but did not share the information with the United Nations. If he was really trying for peace, would he have not divulged the information he had of the where abouts of a secret nuclear factory? For this I feel appalled that he could get such an award and not even do a simple peace transaction as share information to a peaceful organisation. In the next few years he should prove to the world now that he realy desearved to win the Nobel Peace Prize Award

Boy Scouts of America

It all started in first grade when a few leaders of a Cub Scout pack (grades 1st-5th) came to our school. They told us about Cub Scouts, but all we could focus on was what they said about the pocket knives we could use. Little did we know we would not be able to use them until three years later. So I went home screaming and jumping around (as the little excited and hyper kid I was) begging my mom to join Cub Scouts. After much consideration she finally said “Yes.” The next week we had our first meeting and I was excited to see all my friends from school and the many excited activities we would do there.

Over the many years of Cub Scouts I learned many key things to help save my life if I ever get lost in the forest and many other survival skills. After the five long years of Cub Scouts, it was finally time for me to move on and become a Boy Scout (grades 6th-12th). In Boy Scouts we ado much more camping then in Cub Scouts. We also go on high adventure trips such as Florida Sea Base where you drive down to Key West Florida and sale a boat down all the keys and scuba dive and swim. Along with that is the torturous Phil Mont trip. On that trip you drive out to the Phil Mont Scout Range in Arizona. There you hike from 70-120 miles in any time from 2-3 weeks. I’ve been on the Key West trip but have yet to go on the Phil Mont trip.

In Boy Scouts there are many ranks you achieve while in it. The first rank is the rank of Scout. Then Tenderfoot, Second Class, First Class, and Star. Right now I am a Life. Life is a big achievement in Boy Scouts and not many people make it this far. Yet there is still another rank to go. The rank of Eagle. For Eagle you have to do a big leadership project. You can do from cleaning up a state/local park to help schools or community centers with flowers or make a memorial. Eagle is a big accomplishment, and not many scouts make it that far. Statistics say only 1 in every 100 scouts to join every make Eagle. IT is a humungous thing to be proud of and I hope I make it there one day.


Word Count-407

A-Z about ME

A- I'm athletic. I have played baseball since i was in 1ST grade and I play basketball.

B- Basketball is my favorite sport. I play on the Livonia league and I was on my old school team. My favorite pro team would be the Pistons or Magic.

C- Cats are my favorite animals. I use to have two cats call Peanut and Kitty. I like how they are soft and playful and don't bite many people.

D- I enjoy to dance. I have been dancing my whole life ever since I was about five. When I was five I use to tap dance, but I no longer tap dance anymore I just dance for fun.

E- Ethan is the name of my best friend. I have known him since i was six. He goes to Edsel Ford in Dearborn, and he is a freshman too.

F-I love to read. My favorite type of books to read are fiction books. I love in fiction books how it is not all boring novels or true stories and how they can be make believe.

G- My favorite color is green. Green always remind me of camping in forests or outdoors.

H- Halo 3 if my favorite game. I could play Halo 3 for hours on end and never know what time it is. It is a very exciting and action packed game.

I- I'm intelligent. Since 4th grade I've gotten all A's and my lowest grade has always been English.

J- My name is Jonathan. Most people call me Jon though. My parents named me after my grandfather.

K- I'm kind. I have helped many people with projects and homework they work on. I help people in my math class everyday.

L- My favorite car is the Lamborghini. It is very arrow dynamic and very fast. It is an Italian car.

M- My favorite bank is Metallica. They are a very old metal band. They sang the songs like "One" and "Enter Sandman."

N- I am very neat. I have always had an organised locker and my folders are color coordinated and labeled. Being neat is a good skill to have.

O- My favorite board game is Operation. I enjoy how u have to be focused and have a steady hand. It is a game more of skill than luck.

P- My favorite food is peperoni pizza. It has been my favorite food since I was little and it still is my favorite food.

Q- I'm a very quiet person. I don't talk to many people because I'm shy and quiet, but i do have some friends outside of school and the one or two at Stevenson.

R-I'm very Reverent. I go to church every Sunday and participate in church picnics and gatherings all the time.

S-Steven is my brother. He is a junior this year at Stevenson and is in Global Ed. too. He sings in four different choirs at Stevenson and has been in different musicals. Also he is the assistant director this year for the school play.

T-My favorite fruit by far are tangerines. They are like smaller and more juicy oranges that are easier to peal and eat. They taste great.

U- I am very understanding. I will help people even when others think they shouldn't be helped because I am understanding.

V-I like to watch videos. Some or my favorite videos are Eye or Nye and different movies.

W- My last name is West. It is West now but it use to be Westnoonski. It was polish. Then when my family moved to the United States they shorted it to West.

X-I use to like to play the xylophone when i was younger in my house. We use to have one i played with when i was about three.

Y-I am very young. I am only fourteen and will be fithteen in May.

Z-One of my favorite places to visit for fun is the zoo. I love seeing all the different animals and their habbitats.

Biting Off more than You can Chew

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! I thought there was a monster growing inside me. Sitting in my seat the growling of my stomach was so loud I swear my classmates could hear it. After what seemed like hours, the bell for lunch came to a clanging ring and I exclaimed, “Finally!” As I rushed through the busy hallways I was crammed between two people and I felt like the J in a PB and J sandwich stood for Jon. Navigating through the dense jungle of people, I finally made it to my locker safe, but a tad squished.

As I ventured into the lunch room, I discovered a hole in my brown paper bag. Peaking through the hole I observed that a banana was missing! Then I heard a senior shout out “Hey freshman, your banana split is over here!” Turning around I noticed the remains of a smashed banana under his gigantic foot. At that moment my face felt as red as a tomato. I walked over to help the senior out, but he just blew me off saying “I don’t need help from a freshman.” Slithering away I found a seat jammed in the corner of the lunchroom. I quietly ate my lunch, from then on out minding my own business.

Nosily the bell rang and the lunch came to a end. Running for my life I escaped the claws of the enraged seniors waiting for me be the door. I sprinted to my locker to try to make it to my next class and not get clawed to death by the ferocious seniors. I made it to class finally and thought to myself, “If this is only the first day I can’t even imagine what the next day will be like!”

The Start of a New Life

Walking into Stevenson the first day was very scary, because I knew no one other than my brother who is a junior. Going to school at Stevenson is much different from my past school. Stevenson is a crowded school during class changes. When you walk in the busy hallways people are back to back as if waiting in a never ending line.

Along with the busy hallways is lunch. The first day I got into the lunch room I was a little intimidated, but over a week or so I have met many new friends at lunch. Knowing friends at your lunch table makes it less intimidating than eating alone.

I enjoy most of my classes. My math class teacher is old school. She likes to teach by the book (which I don’t mind much), just after a while it can get old.

My Spanish teacher is energetic. He tries to wake us up from our zombie like states. He makes sure everyone participates and tries to have a good time. On occasion we get some of his old students that pop in and say hello him.

I love my two global education classes. Mrs. B helps use to understand more about school. She helps to understand where things are in the school and what events are going on in the school. She tries to keep us up to date on current events every day. My other global education teacher is Mr. F. He teaches us about English which is by far my worst class. I struggle in English, but I still strive to get A’s in English.

Then I have my favorite class, science. My science teacher is one of the most energetic people I have ever met. If we are not up by his class then you would be wide awake after his. He jokes around with us and is a very kind and fun teacher.

High school is fun with all the different teachers and classes. At times it can be overwhelming with all the homework and have to get to different classes on time. High school is a much different life than middle school and it is going to take time to get sue to.

Word Count-368