Halloween Stories

The people in my group were Taylor, Bo, Allie, and Makenzie. I really liked all of their stories. Taylor's was written to seem like it was an episode of Supernatural which i thought was really interesting, I'd like to write an episode for my favorite tv show. Bo's was so creepy and mysterious as usual, probably the scariest story i read out of the group. Allie's had the most interesting back story, instead of just having a random bad guy going after a random person, she told you the reason the dead mermaid person was there. Makenzie's was so well written and the part where the main character died at the end was so intense! All of their stories were so good!

This halloween I was going to go to a bonfire and camp out there, but my friend's plans ended up being canceled and I don't want her to be all alone on halloween so I'm going to hang out with her instead.

Horror Story Rough Draft

The music was blaring through the radio. I'd spent all day driving this car trying to get back home. Now it's so dark and quiet outside I can barely keep my eyes open. I try and turn the music up louder to stay awake. Flipping through the stations I stop on the news. Listening to this "Emergency Broadcast", an older man with an odd voice begins speaking in a monotone voice. "Attention. At midnight this evening, an inmate of the Greene County Prison has escaped. He is presumed to be armed and dangerous, and will be fleeing town as fast as possible. If you have any information of his whereabouts, contact the police. Thank You." Chills trickle down my spine as I try to focus on the road. The moon seemed so bright hanging over the long fields next to me. The long empty road seemed to go on forever, only an hour left. Even after making this road trip once a month, it still seems just as long and boring as it had the first time. Just stay focused.
Hours seemed to go by while I just stared straight ahead, half asleep. Then suddenly I notice something, someone. They stood in the middle of the road in a long trench coat and no shoes waving their hands trying to flag me down. I begin to press the brakes and pull over beside him. His long greasy hair pulled back from his face, showing his dark eyes and his odd crooked teeth. He smiled and said "I know it's late, and I’m terribly sorry, but can I have a ride back into town. My car broke down not far from here and I just can't find a payphone anywhere." I stopped and thought. Could I really leave some man in the middle of nowhere, especially with a mad murderer on the loose? What are the chances another car would come by and help?
"....Ok, you can come in. It's only about twenty minutes away anyway." He smirks and slowly makes his way to the car. He reached out to grab the handle with a long scrawny hand, a small bit of blood stained his hand. Must be from his car. Although he's a little tired looking and in desperate need of a shower, he seems sort of put together. And he has a way of talking so smooth and certain, like he’s very sure of himself. "My name’s Harry Fisher, wha-"
"Do you know who I am?" He turns and stares at me with an odd smirk on his face and an almost wild look in his eyes. My heart starts racing, oh no.
***
Mrs. Fisher sits at the kitchen waiting for him to come home. He was supposed to be home hours ago, where is he? She stares out the window and taps her foot on the tile beneath the table. Every month he drives back from North Carolina, and not once has he ever been later than 1 a.m.

Suddenly headlights come up in the drive way. Her husband slowly steps out of the car and walks towards the front door. He reaches his scrawny hand up to the door and knocks. That’s odd, she thought, he should have a key. She gets up and opens the door for him and see’s the perfect face she fell in love with. “What took you so lo-“

“I’m going to bed” he said in a smooth voice. “Oh ok, I guess it is pretty late.”

He follows her down the hall into their bedroom and lays next to her on their queen bed. She rolls over and says Goodnight. Harry keeps making noise behind her, and then suddenly something falls onto the floor beside the bed. She looks down to see what has fallen. The skin from her husband’s face lay next to the bed. She slowly turns to see a man with wild eyes and an odd smirk.

“Do you know who I am?”

Halloween Prompts

Write a Halloween poem using the following words: bat, pumpkin, candy, spooky, night, orange, black, witch, scary, wind...
Halloween Night
Ghouls and Goblins causing a fright
Witches and werewolves walking the streets
causing little kids to screech
Out for scares, out for fun
we'll be full of candy when we're done.

Wind howling
zombies and vampires scowling
spooky bats and scary spiders
kids becoming treat hoarders
bright orange pumpkins
pitch black night.

The best costume I ever wore was…

my super cool velvet unicorn costume. I thought i was so cool with the little hat and everything. I even kept the hat up until about a year ago when we went through our old stuff. Looking back i can see how silly I must've looked, walking around in a sparkly pink onsie with a unicorn hat on. I love the fact that I used to not care how other people saw me as long as I was having fun. My little sister wore the exact same costume so we walked together all night thinking we were the hottest siblings out there. We would actually neigh and gallop around like that little girl in the picture is, it was great.

My favorite Halloween was the time I…
decided I didn't want to dress up and instead stayed home with my bestfriend. We had candy and snacks and we spent the whole night playing some stupid xbox game and passing out candy. I like to be the best at everything so that year I decided to get the full sized candy bars and we went down my street and around the block writing arrows with chalk and putting up little signs. It seemed like every five minutes we would look out the blinds to see if kids were coming even though we knew no one comes down my street. I think that's the same night that I tripped going down the stairs on my bed and i fell down with my ankle twisted in the ladder, which was not so fun at the time.

You and Me (like the cheesiest poem ever)

you and me
dancing in my room
my feet on yours
spinning

you and her
dancing in her room
her feet on yours
spinning

me
sitting in my room
feet on the floor
my head spinning.

Lyric Shuffle

First kiss just like a drug
Come on now make is stop
all of me
under your influence

Ask a Favorite Teacher About Music

What music or songs reminds you of your childhood?
Coach Blackburn said early 90's country like Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson.
Mrs. Petterson said early 80's pop and heavy metal.
Cheesy pop songs by Britney Spears, Avril Lavegne, and Jesse Mcartney remind me of my childhood because my mom made my sister and I a CD with all these songs on it.

Who is your favorite singer or group or song and why?
Mr.s Blackburn said Mr. Jones by Counting Crows, because of the association with friends and memories that song has.
Mr. Petterson said Justin Timberlake and Maroon 5 for "obvious reasons".
My favorite artist is Eminem because he's so smart and lyrically talented.

What music reminds you of someone you love?
Mr. Blackburn said Non-vocal blugrass because he exchanged playlists with his friend at the time, who later became his wife.
Mrs. Petterson said In Your Eyes by Peter Gabrial because it reminds her of her children.
My mom used to sing Baby Of Mine to my sister and I before bed so that song reminds me of her.

Do you go to concerts? Which concerts are memorable to you? Why?
He said yes, punch brothers when they played at georges majestic lounge because he loved the small venue.
She said yes, last november saw Justin Timberlake.
My most memorable concert was Blink-182 because being a part of something so big was a weird feeling.

What radio stations do you normally listen to in your car? Do you sing along?
He listens to a little bit of everything and sings along alot.
She listens to 96.5 and loves to sing and make dances with her daughter.
I normally listen to 96.5 and i sing and dance alot.

Which music or artist was "controversial" or "offensive" to some when your were growing up? Is any music offensive to you?
He said Metallica was really bad where he grew up and his brother got in a lot of trouble once for bringing a Metallica CD into their house. He doesn't like any music that's vulgar, derogatory, or degrades women.
She said Ossie Osborn, people made up rumors about him eating kittens and it scared her as a child.
My mom never let me listen to rap because of the vulgar things they said, no music is really offensive to me because music is meant to be controversial.

Which music or artist do you really dislike or refuse to listen to?
If it includes drug reference or objectifying women then he doesn't listen to it.
She said country music and i agree.


I think it's interesting to see the differences between each person's preference. I think the music you enjoy has a lot to do with where/how you grew up because Blackburn grew up in the country where everyone listened to country music but Mr.s Petterson gre up in the suberbs so you can see how each place effected what they like.

Music and Writing

2. My favorite song is "If I Were a Boy" by Beyonce. This song has such a strong message about how boys don't treat girls the way she wishes they would. She says "If I were a boy, I think I could understand, how it feels to love a girl, I swear I’d be a better man. I’d listen to her, 'cause I know how it hurts, when you lose the one you wanted 'cause he’s taken you for granted, and everything you had got destroyed". Meaning boy's just treat girls like they don't care, using them and hurting them. I know this isn't true for every man, but it is true for a lot. she also says
If I were a boy
Even just for a day
I’d roll outta bed in the morning
And throw on what I wanted and go
Drink beer with the guys
And chase after girls
I’d kick it with who I wanted
And I’d never get confronted for it.
'Cause they’d stick up for me.
Beyonce's trying to show how men can do things women can't because we get judged or disrespected for it. It's such a strong message about feminism and the social inequality between genders. This song is also really catchy and she has a very pretty voice so i listen to it all the time.

3. My taste in music has changed alot in the last few years. I used to be obsessed with this one band Never Shout Never, just some hippie boy from St. Louis singing with an acoustic guitar. But then I got really into Green Day, Blink-182, and Weezer for a few years. But last year I started listening to the rapper Eminem. I used to hate rap but the way he can write such strong powerful lyrics is incredible to me. He has such an interesting mind that's so complex i really love it. Now i listen to everything like Beyonce, Taylor Swift, The Killers, Eminem, anything that makes me feel something.When you open your mind to different styles of music, its suprising to find how easy it is to love it all.

13. Music is extremely poetic. Even upbeat rap songs have deep meaningful lyrics. Like Eminem's lyrics in Love the Way You Lie
"High off of love, drunk from my hate
It's like I'm huffin' paint and I love it, the more I suffer
I suffocate and right before I'm about to drown, she resuscitates me
She f***ing hates me, and I love it" These lyrics are such a twisted and metophorical way to write about love and how it makes him feel, it's very deep and poetic. There are also slow simple songs like The A Team by Ed Sheeran
"But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
'Cause we're just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And she don't want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland
Or sells love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly" it's about a young woman addicted to drugs, having to sell herself and live off the streets to make enough money to support her addiction. Normally I wouldn't be interested in reading about such a sad story but with the melody behind it, the song's too pretty to not play. I think music is more "poetic" than just reading poems off a paper because words are more powerful when they're catchy, easy to remember.

11. Music heals people all the time. It's like having someone else explain how you're feeling in words you can't come up with. I think people like knowing that others are going through the same thing they are, it's comforting.

Movie Preference Questions

My favorite movie is Garden State. I love every part of this movie and i watch it all the time.  It's about a young man who feels empty and depressed, just floating through life on anti dpressants. He goes back home due to the death of his mother and meets a young woman. The movie is just about their love story and how he finds himself through love. It's so deep and funny at the same time i really enjoy it. I don't like action movies, i think they're boring and pretty pointless. I watch movies like every day in my living room with friends, its my favorite thing to do. I need the room to be as dark as possible and completelty silent. I love having snacks like candy or chips and i always have a friend there too. The survey said i'm only 50% emotionaly stable which seems pretty far off, it also says i'm 83% open to new experiences which is very true. It says i watch movies for nostalgia and socialism rather than the art of movies. If my life was made into a movie it would be the funniest comedy of the decade, my sister and i are the funniest people alive so it'd be great.

The Clown

The clown sits at the bar stool, his white suit standing out against the dimly lit porch. The night air cold against the back of his neck, sending shivers down his spine. The clown sits still and watches. He watches the waitress move from one table to the other, hustling to get their orders  in. He watches the older man sit alone with a cigarette in his mouth. He notices the younger couple glaring at him, curious. The waitress comes to his side and asks for his order, maybe some coffee, but he doesn't move. The clown stays still and watches the restraunt. All night he sits by himself in silence.

Through the Window

The sky, going on forever

soft white clouds swirl along the deep blue

to my left, the woods line backyards across the street

tall strong trees stand tall creating shade beneath them

today there are no more trees, only a flat dirt landscap

all chopped down for some building going up.

 Sometimes i sit, staring out the window

wishing the trees could come back

a cold breeze blows the golden leaves off the tree in my yard, now piling onto the grass below

in the distance, i see christmas coming

lights hanging om the roof, carolers at the door.

Dan in Real Life Questions

4. I think Dan wants his children to "do as i say not as i do". My dad says that all the time, especially when he's driving.  It just means parents want their kids to be better than the example theyr're setting.

7. Maybe it's just because i've watched too many princess movies growing up, but i think people can be in love within three days. No, i dont't think this is true for everyone, but sometimes people just have a connection.

5. I think someone should be able to start dating when they start highschool.  I don't think it's bad for teenage girls to wear thongs, because its just underwear and if they like wearing it then it doesn't really matter. No one can see your underwear anyway. I think falling in love can happen at any age, but its often just infatuation and lust being misread as a stronger feeling. But when you know, you just know.

9. Someone's a hottie when they dress nice and have nice hair, just putting effort into the way they look is attractive. However, nothing is more attractive to me than a really funny person. I only want to spend time with someone with a great personality. That makes them a hottie.

27. Teenagers are very hard on their parents. We don't think about the things we say or do so i think we say or do hurtful things to our parents.  Teenagers are really dramatic and loud so we blow things way out of proportion, like taking out the trash or not getting to hangout with.

My great-grandmother moved in across the street
Her house was like an art gallery,
it was spotless with all white walls and nothing out of place.
I would walk over and spend the night curled up in her bed,
staring at the large painting above her bed.
Hung on the wall in her living room,
was one of two Joan Miro prints in her home.
I always admired it, how something so abstract could look so complete.
I would try and find images in it like a submarine or a smiley face,
and she would try to explain that there were no separate images just one large piece.
Now she's gone, and hidden downstairs is her Joan Miro print.

Blue
peaceful is the sky
when the stormy clouds are gone
no more fear among the waves
fading into the distance
the wind and the rain is gone


I think my print (close to the picture above) is great because it can be seen in such different ways. Some people may see nothing, just abstract lines and colors. Then some people see a body of water and the sky above it. Either way, it's so calming to just stare at. Looking at the colors flow from one side to the other, fading into the right. The clouds are so dark and ominous, and you can't tell if they're coming towards the calm water or if they just left.  I love this print, however, I feel like it's unbalanced. Too much of the work is on the left side, the artist should've included some color on the right side to give it an asymmetrical feel.

Sleep

Haiku-

Resting on the bed

my eyes only stay open

tonight I can't sleep

I read an article once about dreams. It said that people dream multiple dreams every night but can almost never remember them all. It makes me think about how many nights I've rested my head and woken up in the morning with no memory of dreaming. How many dreams have I missed out on?

And how does your brain come up with such absurd images and stories in your head? I once dreamed that I was laying on my side in bed when I noticed some strange thing next to me. When I picked it up, I realized it was a balloon pump. So naturally, I have to mess with it. I pull the red lever as far out as it can go, and then I turn the top of the pump towards me. When I release the lever, all the air trapped in it hits me dead in the face. I feel dizzy and numb, as if something strange was in the air. When I woke up, I still felt just as dizzy and strange.

Joan Miro

Joan Miro was born in Barcelona on April 1893 and died on December 25 1983. Although he was born in Barcelona, his heart was tied to the town he grew up in, Mallorca.  His father was a watchmaker named Miquel Miro i Adzerias who married a goldsmith named Dolors Ferra. Joan started drawing classes at age seven and in 1907 enrolled at the fine art academy.  He studied at Cercle Artistic de sant Lluc and also went to business school to please his father. Joan married a woman named Pilar Juncosa Iglesias and they had one daughter named Dolors.  Five major world/historical events he was alive for were Russian Revolution/ "bloody sunday", world war I, world war II, Spanish Civil War, and when Picasso introduced Cubism. He struggled with his first art show being mocked and defaced, then when the Spanish civil war started he was unable to return home like he did every summer, and when he was older Joan struggled with heart disease. People might not know that he has a museum dedicated to him. He worked with painting, sculpture, mural, and ceramics. He is associated with the Surrealism movement. His most famous works include Dona i Ocell, the smile of a tear, and Blue. I like his painting The Song of the Vowels, its a simple green background with a long line of thick black letters all jumbled and scrambled together. I also enjoy Blue II, a painting with only one black line and one thick red line.