As if this teenage sensation wasn’t doing enough, she has decided to make a rap video! Rapper T-Pain joined forces with Taylor Swift to create a comical rap song called “Thug Story.” The jokes Swift makes about herself create an innocent and silly mood about the song which proves to be extremely entertaining. This “singer turned rapper” explains her “thug life” and the inexperience she possesses in the “gangster” world. Although she doesn’t have a gun, she’s never been in a club, and she still lives with her parents, as mentioned in the song, she is still a “hardcore gangster.” This engaging video fuels my surprise about what this teen will do next. If any country singer can create a rap video and be interesting, I’m not shocked Taylor Swift was the one to do it. Check out the video and watch the surprise ending!

On the morning of  October 27, 2009, in Coralville, Iowa, police found a seven-year-old boy in a family van covered in dried blood. His throat had been slit, but he was luckily still alive. Outside of the van, his two-year-old brother was found also covered in dried blood, his throat slit, and he was unfortunately dead. The seven-year-old claimed his mother Michelle Kehoe cut his throat then moved on to cut his little brother’s throat. During an audio recording that played Thursday in Kehoe’s first-degree murder trial, the boy said, “She cut me.” Kehoe is pleading not guilty to first-degree murder, attempted murder and child endangerment causing serious injury. As Kehoe listened to the recording of her seven-year-old son, she frowned, occasionally bowing her head.
Assistant Iowa Attorney General Andrew Prosser claimed that the boy locked himself in the van overnight after his mother slashed his and his younger brother’s throats the previous day after leaving them for dead. Then after doing so, Kehoe walked down to a nearby lake and attempted to cut her own throat using the same knife that had been used on her two sons,a camouflage-handle Winchester hunting knife that she had bought the month before. After she attempted to kill herself, she slowly ran down the road and went to the nearest house she could find, which was about a half mile from the van. As someone opened the door, Kehoe immediately told them a story of how a stranger abducted the family, killed her sons, and tried to kill her.
After authorities went searching for the stranger that killed her sons, the only thing they found was a van with a seven-year-old that was claimed to be dead still alive. Deputy Stephen Peterson asked the boy who had done this to him, and he responded, “My mom.” Kehoe began to plot her murders about a month before, buying duct tape, ropes, and the knife. At the crime scene, police found signs of cover-up including, pieces of a first aid kit scattered around and a handwritten note Kehoe allegedly wrote during the attack. The note ends saying, “‘Oh no, here he comes again…” If convicted of first-degree murder, Kehoe faces life in prison with out parole.

The two week long climate conference opened up in Copenhagen this morning. With 192 delegates from various countries around the world already participating, while expecting over 14,000 more to join, this conference is sure to make an impact. Their first order of business is to make an agreement on cutting back greenhouse gases, especially by the United States, which is one of the top contributors of pollution.

By the end of this conference, over 100 leaders from around the globe will have gone to Copenhagen, including President Barack Obama, who will bring with him a proposal, saying that he will pledge for America to cut down greenhouse gases by 17% by the year 2020, and 83% by the year 2050. However, the UN’s goals are to cut down greenhouse gases by 25-40% by the year 2020. Another issue they will be discussing is the cost for this kind of adaptation.  Many have suggested that rich countries must help poor countries by giving them $10 billion a year for aid, beginning immediately. Only time will tell what politics and Mother Nature have in for us this time.

It is now a week into November, and, for seniors, that is a really big deal. As of the first of November, UC schools have been accepting applications, and UC and CSU schools deadlines for the applications are November 30^th.

So, the good news about this is that the physics test and the AP government test are done, and students can now focus on their essays for college. It is also of note that if students need recommendation letters from teachers that they give them at least two weeks to write it so that should be done very soon. Also, you need to get your official transcripts from the office!

Good Luck to all, and don’t forget to apply for scholarships.

A couple of weeks ago, tutoring was far from where it should have been: in every classroom. It’s still not quite there yet, but at least we have some progress. We now have tutoring for AP and college prep classes. Give yourself a pat on the back if you badgered the district enough. So we have tutoring but is there enough? Not even close to enough. Tutoring is supposed to take place only in the library to make it more “available” and “school wide.” Well, that’s nice, except that how many people will be in tutoring? There is no way to tell. The library may become extremely filled, and tutoring would have to be moved anyway– why not just allow it to be in classrooms in the first place? Suppose several teachers need a projector at once? There is only one in the library.

The district has only given the school a limited amount of money in order to support tutoring, maybe only a couple of hours a month to tutor over 100 students per teacher. Not to mention that tutoring can only take place if there are at least ten students per session. It is highly unlikely that ten students will show up to a tutoring session every time. High school is the optimal time to attain your first job. A first job, often times, can be just as important as school activities in teaching you leadership and teamwork used everyday throughout one’s life.

Three of North Dakota University’s star softball players were found dead on Tuesday, November 3^rd.  Ashley Neufeld, Kyrstin Gemar, and Afton Williamson were found inside a Jeep Cherokee, submerged under pond water.

As there isn’t much to do in Dickinson, North Dakota, the girls were known to make usual trips out to the pond to stargaze and talk.  But late on this particular Sunday night, teammates received distress calls from their helpless friends and mentioned “water” and “lake,” but were unable to track where the call was coming from.

From the tread marks the Cherokee left, it seemed as if the girls simply lost control of the wheel and drove into the pond.  No foul play is suspected in this unfortunate case.  Nonetheless, the girls will be missed.  Condolences to their families.

You may think this is a crazy science fiction movie, like a more realistic version of Mars Attacks; well, that’s not the case at all. This film is based on real happenings, caught on tape, and, believe what you may, this movie makes you think. It made me think about the theories on 2012 and how many people believe that “intruders” (the word used to describe aliens in the movie) will come and destroy us. This movie links the Sumerian language to that of the intruders’ tongue, which is virtually the same language. Now, I’m not trying to sound insane or gullible, but when it’s real tapes and people’s first hand accounts of what happened, it is a lot more believable.

So, my review on this movie is a big thumbs up; it was put together very well and definitely leaves an impact on you–absolutely not a waste of money like many movie tickets are.

A bomb-sniffing dog that had disappeared over a year ago has been returned to its Australian unit. Sabi, a black Labrador, was with a joint Australian-Afghan army patrol ambushed in restive Uruzgan province in September 2008, triggering a gunfight that wounded nine troops and earned one Australian soldier the country’s highest bravery medal. But there was no sign of Sabi after the battle, and months of searching failed to find any sign of the retriever— until now. A U.S. soldier recovered Sabi at an isolated patrol base elsewhere in Uruzgan, though details about the exact site were not given. Exactly where Sabi has been or what happened to her during the past 14 months will probably never be known, but she was found in good condition, indicating that somebody had been looking after her. A warm and happy welcome was waiting for this truly amazing dog when it was returned to its rightful owners, proving that sometimes miracles do come true.

On February 16, 2008, Charla Nash was suddenly attacked at her friend’s home in Connecticut by a pet chimpanzee Travis. CNN news broadcaster Jane Velez-Mitchell claimed, “Travis went berserk, and ripped off her hands, her nose, her lips, and her eyelids!” On her show Issues: With Jane Velez-Mitchell, she goes further to play the 911-call that sent police to the scene. The call was placed by Ms. Nash’s friend, and while Travis was wooping and howling in the backround, she exclaimed, “The…that the chimp killed my…my friend. Please! Please! Hurry!”
For the first time since the incident, Ms. Nash came out on TV on Oprah to warn people about the dangers in owning an exotic pet. She appeared in front of the live studio audience on Oprah’s set with a veil covering her deformed face. She showed great courage in re-living her horrific experience for the public knowledge and good. ]]> http://whhspawprints.edublogs.org/2009/12/07/pet-chimp-rips-of-owner%e2%80%99s-face-and-hands/feed/ 0 http://whhspawprints.edublogs.org/2009/12/07/2009-world-series-game-one/ http://whhspawprints.edublogs.org/2009/12/07/2009-world-series-game-one/#comments Mon, 07 Dec 2009 20:04:40 +0000 tbrent http://whhspawprints.edublogs.org/?p=145 by Robby Hiatt

On October 28^th, the first game of the World Series was played. The Philadelphia Phillies played and defeated the New York Yankees 6-1. The dominant pitching by Cliff Lee of the Phillies struck out ten batters en route to their victory.

The Philadelphia Phillies ended the regular season with a record of 93-69, while the Yankees ended with a record of 103-59, the best record in the league. To get to the World Series, the Phillies played the Rockies in a four game series and won it 3-1. The Phillies’ dominance continued when they played their series against the Dodgers, winning it 4-1, allowing them to play the Yankees in the World Series.

The Yankees had a similar path to the World Series. In the first round of the playoffs, they swept the Minnesota Twins, winning the series 3-0. In the next round, the played the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and won the series at 4-2.

During the World Series opener, Chase Utley of the Phillies had hit the first home run allowed in the new Yankees Stadium in the postseason, after allowing the highest amount in the league during the regular season of 237. Later on during the game, Utley would hit another home run, making it the second hit in the postseason at Yankees Stadium.

The Yankees and Phillies are built on the same virtues: power, patience, and good pitching. CC Sabathia of the Yankees was not as impressive as Cliff Lee; however, he still pitched for a 2.57 ERA, no where near as impressive as his previous marks of 1.13 and 1.35 in the two other series he had played in.

The rest of the series looks to be entertaining, with the Yankees hoping to decimate the Phillies like they had already done to them, and the Phillies looking to continue to win and hopefully win the 2009 World Series.