The Dress Debate

Is it blue and black or white and gold? No one can seem to decide what color the dress is. Since Thursday, February 26, there has been a huge debate on which color the dress is. Daily News released a newspaper article all about it on Friday, February 27. It has become a huge internet sensation and has sparked a huge debate. The argument all started with the image being posted on Tumblr on Thursday. Many people report that the color of the dress changes as well. Celebrities are even getting involved in the debate. Taylor Swift tweeted, "I don't understand this odd dress debate and I feel like it's a trick somehow. I'm confused and scared. PS it's OBVIOUSLY BLUE AND BLACK." I personally see blue and black and I think it's all a hoax. If you want to read more of the online article, click on the link below! What do you think? Is it blue and black or white and gold?




 http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/dress-arguing-colors-article-1.2131129

How to Get Clearer Skin

Do you ever get acne? Do you ever want to have clearer skin? Most teens have acne and because of it, a lot of teens have a lower self-esteem and self-confidence on there appearance. However, there are ways to have clearer skin to boost you self-confidence. On an online magazine article, there are lots of tips and tricks to have that clear face you have always dreamed of (even though it is a women's article, it works for guys too). Some tips are to ALWAYS wash your face with a benzoyl face wash product every morning and night. You can also add sea salt to your face wash to help prevent acne in the future. Use lukewarm water (not too hot and not too cold) to open up your clogged pores. Cold water won't open pores and hot water dries out skin. Be gentle and rub in face wash gently for 30-45 seconds and rinse well. For more details on how to get a clearer face, visits the online article. I highly suggest it!






http://www.seventeen.com/beauty/makeup-skincare/advice/a23933/clear-skin-tips/

Hiking

Hiking is something I really enjoy doing with friends and family. I got a very small backpack that carries water for Christmas, so I can stay hydrated on my hikes. I have gone on at least 20+ hikes with family, friends, and church groups. All of them ended with beautiful views of mountains, lakes, and tiny specks of houses and nearby towns. In the far off distance I could see other mountains and clouds moving ever so slowly. I only hiked Table Rock once, with my brother and grandfather, it was beautiful and hope to hike it next summer.

The lohdown Bryan Pickler

The lohdown is an article written by Ed loh about him describing  how cars these day are not what they were before in the past, when they were first invented. He says how computers and technology in cars are eventually going to make cars drive on there own, and how we won't need to physically drive anymore in the future.

The Battle of Jericho

My book of fiction is The Battle of Jericho by Sharon M. Draper. It is about a sixteen-year-old teen, Jericho and his best friend and cousin, Josh are invited to be apart of the Warriors of Distinction. The Warriors of Distinction is the most elite and secretive club in town, possibly even the state. Jericho and Josh has always dreamed of becoming a Warrior and will do anything to become one. But, how far will Jericho go to become apart of the Warriors of Distinction? This is a very good book. It is about hazing in high school and how bad it can be. It also teaches the importance on why you should never be involved in hazing. This book was an eye opener to me and made me realize how something that may seem harmless to become apart of a fraternity or club can actually be extremely dangerous. I highly suggest you read this book!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The Goblet of Fire is the fourth installment of the Harry Potter series, written by J.K. Rowling. Harry is starting his fourth year at Hogwarts with his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. However, during the summer holidays Harry is awoken from his sleep by a dream of Lord Voldemort killing a man. Harry becomes worried and writes to Sirius, his godfather, about how his scar was burning when he awoke after the dream. His friend, Ron, invited Harry and Hermione to the Quidditch World Cup two weeks before school started. After the game, there where screams as Death Eaters emerged from the crowd and started to attack all who stood in their way. Harry, Ron, Hermione and the others made it out safely but before they made it back to the tent someone concealed in darkness used a spell to conjure the Dark Mark, the sign used back in the Dark Days when Voldemort was in power. Harry and the others made it safely home and packed ready for Hogwarts. When they arrived at Hogwarts Harry was shocked to hear that the Quidditch House Cup was not going to take place this year. Instead that the Triwizard Tournament will take place between three schools: Hogwarts, Beauxbaton, and Durmstrang. Each school will have a champion to represent them in the tournament by completing three dangerous tasks. Each champion is selected by the Goblet of Fire and the champion can only be seventeen years old. When its time for the selection of the champions the Goblet chooses another champion from Hogwarts -- its Harry!! After everyone calms down about Harry being selected a second Hogwarts champion everyone, except all in his House, loathes Harry. During the First Task, Harry and the other champions have to get passed a dragon guarding a golden egg that has a clue to what the Second Task will be. Harry is the fastest to retrieve the egg by using a Summoning Charm to bring his flying broomstick, The Firebolt, to pass the dragon. In the Second Task, Harry and the others have to get back something they cannot loose. In the Third Task, Harry must make his way through a maze to find the Wizard Cup. Harry and Cedric, the other Hogwarts champion, both make it to the cup. Since Harry helped Cedric with the First task, Cedric tells Harry to take the Cup, but Harry says they should both take it and they do. The Cup however teleports them to a graveyard where Wormtail and Voldemort are waiting. The Dark Lord kills Cedric and ties Harry to a tombstone, so he can be used to bring Voldemort back to power. After Wormtail completes the ritual Voldemort is restored to power and calls upon those that served him, the Death Eaters. Voldemort then asks Wormtail to free Harry so he can have a fighting chance before his death. Harry stands up against Voldemort and escape with Cedric's body. Harry arrives back at Hogwarts, the Triwizard Champion but his fame is nonexistent because of Cedric's death. I enjoy reading the Harry Potter series and this book is one of my favorites. While reading, I was fascinated by the description and detail of everything in the book. I love the Harry Potter series! I never get bored reading any of these books.

"A Child Called It" Sydney Jones

A child called it was based on a true story. A young boy was abused harshly by his mother; he was told he was a bad boy, so that was why he was punished. His mother did many cruel things to him, such as burning is skin above a gas burner, beatings, and holding his head under water. One thing I hated about this book was that I couldn't do anything about the beatings. One thing I loved was when the boy was finally rescued.  This was a great read, and I hope you have the chance to read it as well.

Yes, you are beautiful

In this newspaper post by kasie Strickland February 20th 2015 explains how Tiffany Moon from Over the Moon Photography uses her business to help bullied youth. She gives them a free photo shoot to show them just how bueatiful they really are. She explains how she was bullied as a kid and wants to help today's kids that are victims of bullying. She now has a world wide trend and reaction to the "I am beautiful" project.

Geninne's Art Blog

Geninne's Art Blog is one of my favorites because mainly my love of art and nature. In her art she incorporates nature in most of her art work! She is a very talented artist that does the same things I want to do!  She also does photography and mainly of nature. She takes very beautiful pictures and are amazing to see! You should definitely check out her blog! The blog I like was posted February 9th 2015 of a ceramic plate she made with a very pretty bird on it .

A tale dark and grimm

In this book a tale dark and grimm, by Adam Gidwitz shares multiple stories of adventures a prince and princess get to take part in. They are action filled adventures with very good description and detail! Very good book. This gave me something entertaining to read when I was bored and it definitely helped!

How to dog-proof your lawn

In this magazine article on how to dog-proof your lawn, Justine Lee throws some helpful hints! She suggests picking fertilizer that won't harm your dog if the dog eats it, use organic fertilizer. She also suggests ways to train a puppy and to use positive reinforcement for the good things the puppy does.

The fault in our Stars

In my book of choice, the fault in our Stars, written by John Greene, is both a very sad and funny book. A girl is suffering from cancer and is going to a group therapy session to cope with her illness and meet others in her shoes, little does she know she'll fall in love with a silly guy but also has a disease. A very dramatic story! Highly recommend this book for anyone!

Grayson

In this nonfictional book, Grayson, written by lynne cox, tells the True story of a miraculous encounter between a teenage girl and a baby whale off the coast of California. The baby whale has been separated from his mother and the teenage girl try to find the mother. This book means a lot to me because my great aunt that passed away from ovarian cancer a couple years ago gave this book to me. She was an inspiration to me and my role model, that's why I picked this book.

A child called it

In this autobiography of Dave pelzer, he shares a very emotional story of child abuse. He endures pain and torture no one should have to take. It brings tears to your eyes but gives you an insight that not everyone comes from a "perfect" family and whether or not you prefer to hang out with that particular person,  you still need to be nice because you never know what he/she goes through at home. I definitely recommend this book!

The House of Hades. Bryan pickler

The house of Hades an adventurous and heroic book by Rick Riodan, and this is the fourth book  in second series of Percy Jackson. The main characters are percy jackson, annabeth, hesal, coach hedge, frank, nico, jason, piper, leo, and Ryana. All of them must go on a quest together to stop gaea and to bring peace to camp half blood and camp jupiter. They travel to ancent rome and greek with the argo ll piloted by leo to find items to help compleate there quest. Percy and Annabeth must find the doors of death and close them before gaea rises and coach hedge, ryanna, and nico must transport the Athena Parthenon back to camp half blood to bring peace to both camps. Not only is this book filled with action packed adventures, and fighting, but you get to learn about greek gods and goddesses. I highly recommend anyone who is into greek mythology to read this series.

American Sniper. Cole Powell

The autobiography of Navy Seal Chris Kyle is a heroic book. In this book it talks about the different missions he went threw as a navy seal, but it's not just about his life over seas but how it was back in the United States as in how he met his wife, and how he wasn't there to see the first few years of their lives that he missed out on cause he was serving his country. Chris Kyle was also a man of country. He would help wounded worrirs, and spend time with them, and he also became friends with these men. Sadly, on February 2,2013 Chris and his friend, and fellow Navy Seal, Chad Littlefield were murderd by Eddie Ray Roth who has PTSD from what he experienced in the war. If you enjoy books about war, and if you haven't seen the movie yet I highly recommend this book before you watch the movie.

Jamie's Winston is ready for his combine close up. Cole Powell

James Winston, on of the best quarterbacks to play in collage football is ready for his NFL combine as he says. He will have to meet with different teams in meetings telling them why he wants to be on their team. Not only will he have to prove his mind but also he will have to show his physical abilitys in the combine coming up. He has had definite past legal issues that could cause some problems that could be some damage to his draft pick. There is no doubt that he will be in the top 10 people that will be picked in the first round, but he still needs to prove what he can do before he gets thrown into the NFL. If you follow NFL football this is definitely an article you should read in the sports illustrated magazine.

Get that Championship Look by Mary Oquendo

     I read a magazine article in the March 2015 issue of Dog Fancy titled "Get that Championship Look" by Mary Oquendo. The article is about how to groom your dog to make your dog look like a Westminster show dog. The pros tell you secrets on bathing, drying, and trimming your dog to get them show ready.  It also lets you know different ways to style each breed of dog since they all have their own unique way of grooming. Each dog has its own groomer for the show to make that dog look its very best.  The Westminster Dog Show came on TV the other night and I enjoyed watching it.  I liked reading this article because I have a dog and this would help us tremendously on how to make our dog look like a Westminster show dog. If you have a dog, and it needs grooming, then this article would be a most helpful.

News article: Clemson loses to Georgia tech. Cole Powell

This past Monday the Clemson Tigers lost to the Georgia tech yellow jackets in a basketball game held in Atlanta Georgia. The clemson basketball coach Brad Brownell is 9-1 aginst this Georgia tech team. The Clemson basketball team did not come out strong in this game only scoring 52 points to the yellow jackets 63. Clemson is now ranked No. 295 in the men's NCAA basketball ranking. Clemson has almost no chance to make it into the March Madness brackets at the end of the season.

Blog: how to use your baby as a piece of exercise equipment. Cole Powell

So I read a blog about a man named Brett that has not had enough time to go to the gym because he is a new father. He started thinking and decided that his baby could be used to do some quick exercises that wouldn't hurt the baby. He made it clear that he wasn't doing anything that could be considered child abuse. This blog isn't just for exercises though, it is a blog that can tell new fathers, working class men, and just men that have to much time on there hands how to dress, care for their children, and how to keep there wives and bosses happy. I defiantly recommend this blog to some people out there that might need this.

The Titan's Curse

The book that I read for my book of choice was, The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan. This book is really good if you like mythology and action packed stories. This book is about Percy Jackson on his third adventure with his friends. The adventure was him his friends, Annabeth, Grover, and Thalia working with the Hunters and rescuing the goddesses, Artemis. While on the journey they understand why they have been set on the journey in the first place, the Titan Lord, Kronos is trying to rise again. I recommend this book to anybody who liked The Lighting Thief or just like mythology adventures

Backpacker Magazine, "Walk Through a Rhododendron Tunnel"

This is a "Rhododendron Tunnel" (rho·do·den·dron).  Its "Backpackers Magazine's" #1 hike to do before you die. These real-life enchanted forests are to make even the most manliest man lose his man-card. A  "Rhododendron" is a woody flower mostly found in Asia. It is also known as Nepal's National Flower. But us Upstate South Carolinian's have them right in our backyards. Found off the 1-mile Grassy Ridge Trail on the North Carolina-Tennessee Border, You can see these beautiful flowers. These often bloom in the first 3-weeks of June, "Catch them afterwards" says photographer Sharon Carter, "You will get to see the 'Tunnel Effect'. " 

Animal Farm

     I read a book titled "Animal Farm"by George Orwell. "This classic history/dystopian novel "Animal Farm" is about Old Major, a boar, who gathers all the animals of Manor Farm (owned by Mr. Jones) for a meeting in the big barn. Old Major tells the animals that he had a dream that all animals live together with no human beings to oppress or control them. Old major tells the animals that they must work towards his dreams and teaches them a song called "Beasts of England". The animals do as Old Major's vision said. In just three nights after the meeting, Old Major dies, and three pigs-Napoleon, Snowball, and Squealer emerge and formed Old Major's principles into a philosophy called Animalism. Mr. Jones was defeated by the animals and ran him off of his land. The animals renamed the property Animal Farm to dedicate it to Old Major's dreams. Snowball teaches the animals how to read and write. Napoleon teaches the young puppies the principles of animalism. Snowball announces his plans to build a windmill. The windmill symbolizes the pig's manipulation of the other animals and they labor the other animals to build this windmill to gain more money and power.  The windmill gets destroyed three times throughout the book. Snowball and Napoleon do not see eye to eye on anything. Napoleon has his dogs chase Snowball away and now declares himself as the leader of animal farm. Napoleon changes the governance structure of the farm. He replaces meetings with committee of pigs who will run the farm through a young pig named Squealer. Napoleon takes credit for the windmill idea. At the end of the book, the pigs start to resemble humans. Napoleon holds a dinner party and tells the animals the he abolishes the practice of the revolutionary traditions and changes the property back to "Manor Farm". 

     I enjoyed reading this book because I love history and the book is tied to the Russian Revolution. The Animal Farm is a great fable with a lot of personification where the animals take on human form, which symbolizes Russia and the Soviet Union under the Communist Party rule.  George Orwell(in my opinion) is mainly telling what happened during the Russian Revolution through the eyes of animals on a farm. If you love history like I do, this would be a good read for you. 

I Love to Tell the Story

I read a blog titled "I Love to Tell the Story" by Shannon Duke that was posted on July 3, 2014. Shannon talks about her experiences on a church choir tour called "Saints and Sinners." "Saints and Sinners" is a musical about God sending Death to Everyman (played by Shannon Duke) which represents all mankind. The rest of the play details her search to find out what she needs to do and say  before she makes her stand before God. I liked reading this blog because I was on the trip with her performing in the musical. Shannon was a great actress. What I liked most about the musical was the writer's use of comedy to convey the story. We primarily performed in prisons, and the inmates enjoyed the show and really understood the message. It was an amazing experience. https://shannoneduke.wordpress.com/2014/07/03/i-love-to-tell-the-story/

How to Pack a Lightweight Backpack, By: Erik the Black

For my blog post I went and found a cool "Backpacking"(If you dont know what Backpacking is Click here: http://bit.ly/1EZtqEr or else the blog will not make sense :) ) blog by Erik the Black. The post was about how to Balance and Pack a Lightweight Backpack. In it, it explains how the load should be properly placed to provide a good stable fit on your back.

As you can see, you place more "spongy" type materials on the bottom like Clothing or a Sleeping bag. Then you put more dense and heavy items on the middle of your back to make for better weight transfer on your hips and shoulders. Another tip by Erik is to put a lot of your smaller items in a zip bag. Those loose items end up sliding around in your pack and possibly lost. Also don't forget to put snacks, GPS, and and a camera in easily accessible pockets, that way you do not have to take off you r pack to get that perfect wildlife picture! 



Bio for Erik the Black!:

About My Backpacking Blog

Erik the Black

Welcome!

I created this blog to share my adventures on America’s scenic hiking trails, provide tips and advice for ultralight backpacking, promote my maps and guide books and connect with fellow hikers. I hope you enjoy this blog. I look forward to your comments and perhaps meeting you out on the trail someday.

Happy trails!
Erik the Black

Blog: http://blackwoodspress.com/

Clemson paves new pathway for Young Entrepreneurs

On February 8,2015, I read an article in the Greenville news titled  "Clemson paves new pathway for young entrepreneurs." A three person team of Clemson bio engineering majors created a wrist brace for their senior project designed to help people hindered by essential tremors, including Parkinson's disease. The brace was designed to absorb and diffuse the impact of tremors and to give patients a steady hand. 

The name of the their design is Tremless. This was a really good article that hit home with me because my grandpa has Parkinson's disease. My hopes are to go to Clemson one day and be involved in this new level entrepreneurship which they are going to one day offer to all freshman in all majors. 

Wish you were dead, by Todd Strasser

For my book of fiction, I read Wish you were dead by Todd Strasser. This book is a great book for someone who likes suspense and mystery. In this book, an anonymous blogger wishes for the most popular girl in her school, Lucy, to die. Soon enough, Lucy vanishes with no trace as to what happened to her. The blogger then wishes two others would die and they eventually disappear as well. Madison Archer, a close companion to the three kidnap victims tries to solve the mystery of her disappearing friends. She eventually gets a note signaling that she could be the next one to be gone, which makes her even more desperate to uncover the truth. Along the way she discovers her confused attraction for, Tyler, a mysterious, new student, who knows more than what he is telling. Madison races to unveil the truth, before she is the one who is wished to be dead. A surprising turn of events leaves you wanting to read more. If you like a good spine-tingling mystery, I think this would be a great book for you.

South Korean Students vs. American Students

For my Blog Post, I read a blog from EatYourKimchi.com about the difference between North American and Korean students. Did you know that Korean high school students will go to school around six or seven in the morning and won't come home until around ten-o-clock at night? Korean student life is highly involved in studying to be the best, because the only way to get into a good college is to be the best and to have the best grades. Unlike in America, it is a necessity to have straight A's to go to college in Korea. A lot of Korean students rarely get time to hang out with friends or even sleep. They spend so much time studying that it eventually takes over their lives, and they don't get to experience what it's like to just be a teenager. In America, we have a concept of individualization. Here, when you are in high school, you get to discover things that your good at and what you like. It is all about finding yourself, thinking outside the box, speaking up, and essay writing. While in South Korea, they are all about fitting in, listening to lectures made by their teachers, knowing only one right answer, and succeeding on multiple choice tests. There are some advantages to Korean student life though. I know you're probably thinking, "What? Having to live a life of only studying? How can anything good come from that?" Well since the students spend so much time studying, they don't have time to have to worry about relationships, jobs, or peer pressure, and they end up very well behaved, even if they are stressed out. Some Korean students are so stressed out sometimes that they can't even handle their own lives. Yes, in the end, the majority of Korean students have greater academic skills than in America, but is it actually worth it? A lot of Americans succeed without having to be good at math or science, and succeed on things that they enjoy like arts or entertainment. So, next time you think about complaining about having to do a fifteen problem math worksheet for homework, think again. Maybe, you are the lucky one here. You get to do your homework and maybe an hour or so of studying, then you're usually done. Which one would you think is the better life? Life or a Korean student or life of an American student?

"Life is Short but Sweet for Certain"

      I read a blog titled “Life is short, but sweet for certain.” written by a lady named Lindsay who emphasizes southern class and is a newlywed that is happily married to the man of her dreams.  In the blog that I read she was reminiscing with reference to the series of events that happened to her and her family that particular week.  Lindsay’s papa was struggling with his health and passed away. She held his hand hoping he could stay there with her forever. However, Lindsay chose to focus on the things she could be thankful for during that time and that says a lot about who she is as a person. The same week Lindsay sat at the footstep of her papa’s death, she quit her job. To many people that sounds like a stressful week where a cup of coffee is much needed but instead, Lindsay chose to write about how thankful she was for the people who stood by her side in that moment. The positivity Lindsay carried during this rough week shined through her writing and it was relieving to see someone positive no matter what the circumstances were.

Clemson University's Tillman Hall

     On January 25, 2015 I read an article that was written by Easley Progress about the plea by approximately eighty students to change the name of Clemson University’s Tillman Hall. The clock tower was named after Ben Tillman in 1890. Ben was said to be an outspoken racist or “white supremacist.” A petition was passed around the campus for the cry of equality throughout Clemson University. However, not all students are insisting a name change for this beautiful building that is 125 years old. Other students say the building name is a piece of history for the university and should not be changed. J.K. Rowling once stated, “We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.” Although this author most likely did not make that statement for equality of a university, I believe every bit of that quote is true. No matter what the end result is for Clemson University this should bring students, family, and faculty together as one Clemson family.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Tillman_Hall_2008.jpg

Mask Project!!!

Because we need more time to read, I am changing the due date of the mask project to Monday, 2/16/15. :-) Pass the word!

Barn tips and tricks

The horse blog is a very helpful blog that taught me many helpful tricks on how to make horsey chores not so complicated. I learned that if u but a rubber mat under the food trough so the grain doesn't waste and when your horse goes to clean up the spilt grain he or she will not get a mouthful of dirt.   I also learned that blanket clips on a hose pipe attached to the water buckets allow u to fill up your water bucket without having to stand there waiting time.

Crewel, Sydney Jones

The fiction book I read was entitled "Crewler". This book was about a girl named Adelice who was sent away to be a crewler. A crewler is someone who weaves strands. A strand is meant for someone's life. However, If your strand was cut, you would face death. Adelice had a special talent to where she could weave without a loom. A loom is what you use to weave your strands. She ends up falling in love with a guy there too. As a crewler, you are not supposed to date but to stay pure untill you are married. Adelice gets into a lot of trouble and finds herself trying to run away from being a crewler. This book was a great read and I hope that other students will enjoy this as well.