Assignment 2 - Tahsen Hossain - Books! They Exist.

To be entirely honest, I have not read many books in the last year. I think I total at fourteen or fifteen completed books in the past twelve months. Of those, I only remember nine:

1. The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanely Robinson (as a World History assignment but I still really enjoyed it)
2. The British Lion by Tony Schumacher
3. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer (although I had already read it several times)
4. The Underground Man by Mick Jackson (which is heartbreakingly relatable despite being at least a decade old although I regret reading it after I watched the movie)
5. The Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews (I didn't necessarily like how it was written but the story has some truly smart moments)
6. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (which I was also rereading so that I could read what I thought was a sequel)
7. Armada by Ernest Cline (which I thought was the sequel to Ready Player One but it wasn't; still a great book)
8. The Presidents Gardens by Muhsin al-Ramli
9. Gai Jin by James Cavell (I didn't know it was the 5th part of a book series so I was very confused for a bit)

Additionally, there were three books that I remember not finishing because of the overwhelming feeling of boredom that occurred every time I picked them up:

1. The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
2. Betrayal at Iga by Susan Span
3. Pearl Wars by Nick James

Greetings. My name is Catherine Lucier, but most people call me Cat. I live with my mum, my dad, my younger sister, and my grandma. I play the piano competitively, and my mum and I are ridiculous art geeks. She was elated that I decided to take AP Art History this year, and so far, I am loving it. I also love math, and AP Calculus this year is incredible! I'm getting really good grades, and it all makes sense, and Dewees is a little bit crazy, but I love her and the class.
In January of this year, I applied to Governor's School for the Arts with a piano major, and I got in. This summer, I had the greatest 3 weeks of my life in the GSA program put on by the Kentucky Center and held at UK. I made amazing friends and had so much fun, and studied many aspects of music with professors and guest artists from around the state and the country. Perhaps you have heard of Harry Pickens? He is a world-famous jazz pianist. I participated in a masterclass that he taught, and though I am a classically trained pianist, and know very different technique from Harry Pickens, I learned a lot about improving my performances by emoting more. I made so many close friends, and it is going to be an astounding feat for another summer to take the place of GSA as the best summer I have ever experienced.
I have a few goals for this year: 1. don't burn out. This happened last year because I spent all my energy on the first semester and was so tired of everything by the second semester, I let myself get some B's. Goal 2. Get a 5 on at least one of my AP exams. I have only gotten 3's and 4's as of yet, and I would very much like to get a 5 (and yes I am quite willing to work for it).
I anticipate a bit of difficulty in AP Language and Composition because I have difficulty turning my thoughts into cohesive words and sentences. However, with all these timed writings and such, I hope to improve my skill in that sector.
My favorite website is Spotify, although I suppose that I technically use the app on both my phone and computer. Regardless, here is the link to the website: https://www.spotify.com/us/
Here are two pictures of a mosquito bite I got on my left knee during the summer:

Assignment #1 – Daniel Mendoza Vasquez

Hello, my name is Daniel. Fortunately, I am an only child, and only need to share my space with parents and one particularly conceited cat. In addition, I’m very proud to be able to call myself a Colombian citizen thanks to my mom, who hails from Bogota, and a few of my early years spent there.  I’m not legally Cuban and could never be due to my birthplace, but because of my dad, I do consider myself a Colombian-Cuban-American. Apart from nationalities, though, I have a great passion for soccer, even if my actual skill level at the sport doesn’t quite match up to my affection for it. This uneven relationship is likewise true for football and basketball, if only to a much lesser degree. 

It is, then, very appropriate that the focal point of my summer was an adventure in Brazil and Argentina; two countries that (much to my Colombian chagrin) have historically dominated the game of soccer. The ten days or so that were spent thousands of miles south of Lexington were incredible, alluring, and undoubtedly not enough. Two separate trips to Florida and a visit from my cousin filled up the rest of the summer months very well, and because of that, I’d absolutely deem this last break from school one of the best.

Now that school has started, however, my concern is not Portuguese translations so much as AP classes and maintaining grade averages. Junior year has an infamous reputation as a difficult and stressful year, but so far, it seems manageable enough. Sometimes it seems like people preoccupy themselves with worry about this year so much that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Either way, I also plan to apply for the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange (again) and spend my senior year in Germany, thereby avoiding the tragedy that is AP Research.

My parent's credit cards suffer from being on this site: https://google.com/flights

A mural of Ayrton Senna in Sao Paulo:

Assignment 1- Hannah Whaley

I am Hannah Whaley. Today is Monday and not Sunday - so this is late. I care a decent amount about my performance in school, but if I don't have to do extra work or study then I certainly won't. This year I want to get all A's, maybe become a National Merit, and definitely decide where I am going to college (or at least get scholarships). The most meaningful moment of my summer vacation was when I went to my cousin's engagement party in Germany and saw people I haven't seen in decades - or in my entire life. It was a bit of a culture shock and one of my aunts is evil, but it was fun. If I could have any super power, it would be to make duplicates of myself that are all completely sentient and capable. Not only would that make me able to protect myself, but I wouldn't have to do nearly as much work all myself. In my free time, I love to read (of course science fiction and fantasy), watch TV, workout, sing/dance, play fun games (whether active or more like Dungeons and Dragons), and hang out with my friends. Right now an activity that not only geeks me out but makes me look like a geek is probably painting miniatures. I don't tell people I do that unless they would understand why because DnD already gets lots of hate, and painting figurines of monsters or dwarves is definitely out there. Nobody will actually read this so I will include a picture of something I painted just for the heck of it. A website I really like is this one: https://lexingtonflowergirl.weebly.com/     please donate flowers :)

Assignment 1 - Lia Jacobs - My Summer

Hi, I'm Lia Jacobs. My favorite thing to do in my free time would have to be watch shows on Netflix. Right now, I'm rewatching the good seasons of Friends, but my two all-time favorite shows are The Office and Parks and Rec. Some other interesting things about me are that I'm vegetarian, I enjoy photography, and despite having two cats, I'm definitely a dog person. My main goals for this year are to get good grades, pass all my AP tests, and build a better resume so I can hopefully get into a good college. I don't know exactly where I want to go to college or what I want to do, so my other goal is to go on lots of college visits to hopefully figure that out.

When talking about my summer, it seems largely uneventful, but it was one of the best summers I've ever had. Usually, my family goes on one large vacation together, but we ended up going on several shorter trips which I liked better because there was more to look forward to. The first week of June, we went to St. Louis, where I grew up, to celebrate my little cousin's birthday and visit family. Later on, we went to Ludington State Park in Michigan with my grandparents, my aunt, and their two crazy dogs. We stayed right on a smaller lake next to Lake Michigan and we did a lot of hiking throughout the park. We were there for the Fourth of July and went into a small town to see a surprisingly good fireworks display. Lastly, since my mom and I were already in Orlando for a sports tournament, we went to Disney World for several days. It was an unforgettable experience since it was my first time going there, even though I was a little too old for all of the 'magic'. The picture below is of a dog we saw while at Disney.

My favorite website would have to be http://www.flipline.com/games/papascheeseria/index.html because it's a really good way to pass time when you're bored.

Assignment 1- Mary Huffman- A Grand Summer, or Intro to Mary

My name is Mary Huffman, as you should know. Some of my goals this year are to sleep 7 hours
every night and pass all my classes. I also want to be involved in more extracurriculars to get my
résumé game up, watch every Saints football game, and stay being a savage. 

This summer, my family and I drove to and from the Grand Canyon, about 1800 miles each way. We
stopped at several places on the journey, and I still can't decide which was my favorite. My family and
I spent about a day just driving through the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. Most of that
time was spent on "the highest paved road in America," which led to the peak of Mount Evans.
Travelling on this road was absolutely the scariest experience of my life. The road was barely paved
in some patches, it was made of switchbacks, and we followed a steady trail of tail lights up the
mountain when we could see them. Eventually, we were driving above the clouds, but the visibility still
must have been a solid 10 feet. Every now and then, you could look up at the snow-covered rock and
see very well-camouflaged mountain goats. The most remarkable part of treacherous Mount Evans
was that hail was coming through the car's sunroof in the middle of July.

A slightly embarrassing thing that "geeks me out" is the original Star Trek series from the '70s. I know
it's incredibly cheesy, but I try to watch the show every night when it comes on. Unsurprisingly, I've
seen a lot of commercials meant for elderly people, such as advertisements for C-PAP cleaning
machines and asbestos poisoning. 

I know I haven't stopped talking about it, but this photo was taken at the Grand Canyon. I watched the
sunset over the canyon while people all around me spoke in rapid French about how beautiful it was.
And yes, I was a little too close to the edge for a moment, but I did a little foot maneuver and managed
to keep myself out of one of those "Deaths in the Canyon" books.

My favorite website is the following link, mostly because it's the one I've spent the most time on
recently while I tried for days to figure out how to make a blog post.

https://1920aplangcomp1.blogspot.com/?m=1

Assignment 1- Juliann Hyatt- Hi.

Hello and happy birthday, Mr. Logsdon!

Obviously, I am a student in high school. I'm currently 16, and my birthday is three days after Christmas. I've had five concussions in the last 5 years, almost all due to freak accidents:
-Hit my head on the side of my house
-Hit in the head with a volleyball in gym
-Hit in the back of my head with a locker door (by Connor F.)
-Hit in the face with a basketball in gym at an entirely different school
-Kneed myself in the forehead at SkyZone

I've gone to Picadome Elementary, Meadowthorpe Elementary, and Winburn Middle, all for three years each.

I am a very avid Minecraft player. I play mainly in creative mode due to the amount of mods I have, and I spend most of my time building elaborate contraptions that would be nearly impossible to build in survival but also only benefit someone in survival. I also have a bunch of virtual bees to deal with my overwhelming fear of actual bees.

Currently, my favorite website is www.flipline.com, as coolmathgames now requires a paid subscription when used outside of school hours. Here you can play all of the Papa's Pizzaria and spinoff games.

Here's a image of part of my current minecraft project, including a sorting mechanism for my bees and a automatic miner.

Assignment 1- Jasir Rahman- Summer of Exploration

Hey, I'm Jasir Rahman.  Happy birthday Mr. Logsdon!

This summer definitely expanded my catalog of interests that geek me.  Due to an injury, my summer's course changed its trajectory from that of an athletic experience to that of an exploratory experience.  Striving to stay productive I explored whatever came to mind, perhaps the only time I may have been able to do so as now my schedule is filled with homework and sporting events galore (come out to the soccer game on Tuesday against Lafayette at 8:00, it's our 1st home game!).  Nonetheless, I'm trying to find time for my newfound interests wherever I can.

Upon discovering that my mother had a subscription to RosettaStone, I was eager to use it to learn my father's native language, Urdu, which he had neglected to teach us for reasons I may never know. Whenever listening to conversations between my father and his friends or the occasional Bollywood film my ears perk up when I hear some of the words in my limited vocabulary.  Despite the busy schedule, I hope to be able to have basic conversations with my father and his side of the family by the time I graduate. 

On the subject of language learning, I learned the basics of web development over the summer.  My mother wanted a website that didn't exist (at least functionally for our area) and I decided to learn some HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in order to perhaps make it on my own.  The more and more I got into it, the greater the challenge of making a stylish, functional website.  With every hardship, with every tedious line of code, I must remind myself that Rome wasn't built in a day.  Again, with time being an increasingly precious commodity now that school is in session, it becomes more difficult to find time to work on the website.  I hope to have it done before December 2020.  Here is a link to my website's individual files as it stands right now: https://flaxen-copper.glitch.me. 

Finally, spending the summer researching the geopolitical and economic implications of the construction of Chinese infrastructure in the European Union was, and I think you would agree, the most thrilling part of my summer of exploration.  The UK Season Opener for Speech and Debate is September 7th and 8th, which kicks off an 8 month period in which I get to wake up at 5:30 A.M. on the weekends and argue about politics, the economy, the environment, etc... for roughly 4-7 hours depending on how well we do.  It can be stressful, annoying, tiring... but in the end we take dubs.

Assignment 2 : iRead (College)

Gimme list of books you have read during the past twelve months.  As you compile your list, think about the breadth and depth of content. Please don’t fell the need to include every book you read in the last year. Select the ones that best demonstrate your interests/passions or allowed you to explore something “novel.” This list should include the books you are most excited about but also the ones that challenged your way of thinking. Each title is a means of interacting with the world of ideas and communicates something significant about you.  Also consider including the books you didn’t finish, ‘cause sometimes it’s just not worth it – and this says something about the book as well as the reader.  What does not finishing say about you the good the bad and the ugly.

Due Sunday, September 8

October 29th is last day to make up Blogs 1-8

Assignment 1- Tahsen Hossain- Sup Dawg

"We are all divorced from life, we are all cripples, every one of us, more or less. We are so divorced from it that we feel at once a sort of loathing for real life, and so cannot bear to be reminded of it. Why, we have come almost to looking upon real life as an effort, almost as hard work, and we are all privately agreed that it is better in books." - The Underground Man

   Given that I have never before blogged with the sole exception of my brief time on Wattpad writing short stories which have long since been deleted, I don't quite know how to start a post. Let's go with the typical AA starter:

Hi, my name is Tahsen and I'm a student.

   My favourite quote at the moment is from the Underground Man (above). I'm not really sure why to be entirely honest. It is a genuinely hopeless statement but it's sincere and I can appreciate that. It also rather accurately describes what "geeks" me out and why.

What geeks me out is to escape. To walk past space and time with passing glance and exit from the confines of reality into the endless hallways outside and slide into another room.

   Or at least I do that in my head. Really, I just draw, watch movies, play videogames and play soccer.

   I love getting lost in stories. I used to love reading books because they were the best way to describe and imagine a world but now I tend to lean in favour of animated films and/or tv series because they can create dynamic images that words can't express and overcome the limitations of live-action media without losing overall quality. The best stories, I think, are those that aren't born into a vacuum of nothingness but are rather created as a part of a tightly closed system where everything inside the system has significance and can affect the rest of the system. One where every single detail is a part of a greater world. Tolkien's tales of Middle Earth, Breaking Bad, Castlevania (the Netflix series), and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood are all excellent examples of such airtight storytelling.

   I dabble in writing and painting on my own but am nowhere close to being capable of creating something of a comparable calibre. My best painting thus far is the cherry blossom growing from a rotting heart (as seen below the left). My logo is a torch (as seen below on the right).

   My favourite website is MuseScore (https://musescore.org/en) it lets me listen to music composed by amateur composers and compose music myself. Some of it is really impressive.

x

Assignment 1- Sarah Clark- tennis

Hi, I’m Sarah. The most meaningful part of my summer vacation was going to France. I stayed with a family for 3 weeks and it was really fun. My French correspondent then came back to the US, but she was actually pretty annoying and ungrateful. However, the experience was still fun and we are still in touch.  I also enjoyed dropping my brother off at his college in California. If I could have any superpower I would read minds. Tennis totally geeks me out!! I have played since I was little and every time I go on a court I smile:). I play about 3 times a week and play singles on the varsity team. Tennis season is in the spring, but in the fall and summer, there is a program called “Junior Team Tennis” that provides practice and tournaments. In the winter, I normally just play with my friends and take lessons. I hope to play tennis in college.
For my picture, I’m choosing a photo taken at the city tournament. In this tournament, Henry Clay girls and boys teams both won! I played singles and made it to the finals.

For my website, I  am choosing the AP Lang website. Every time I type in it’s URL, I am filled with hope. As my favorite class, this website seems appropriate to mark the day of my first blog post. I also like the haiku on the website, so I frequently open the page to read it.
https://hchsaplangandcomp.weebly.com/

Assignment 1 - Elizabeth Moore - The Bob Evans Farm Festival

My family culture is a little redneck, with rich traditions like our annual trip to the Bob Evans Farm Festival in Rio Grande, Ohio, pronounced “Rye-O-Grand”.  The second weekend of October, we haul our 1960s Airstream to a little campsite down the road from Bob Evans’ original farm. The weekend is rife with bluegrass concerts, lumberjack shows, arts and crafts booths, homemade soup beans, and, my personal favorite, the cow-chip tossing contest. The cow-chip tossing contest - the most highly anticipated event of the year – requires that each team of two fling a dried cow patty down-field and catch it in a 5-gallon bucket. While I have yet to secure the glorious prize for victory in said contest (a t-shirt that reads “Shake my hand, I won the Bob Evans cow-chip-tossing contest”), I placed 2^nd in the HIGHLY competitive adult division. Also, my nutcracker obsession is borderline concerning (see below).

https://www.coolmathgames.com/0-papas-wingeria

Assignment 1 - Penelope Pierson - My Summer Vacation

 My name is Penelope Pierson. I don't have many interesting thing about me but I was able to visit Japan this summer. It has been a goal of mine to go to Japan since I was in elementary school, at least for a little while, and finally this year I got to visit Hokkaido. If I could, I would go back again. It was such a cultural difference but it made me realize just how different the Western world. I was aware that asian countries do implement western words/phrases when they speak, but in Japan, the amount of promotional signs and texts were in English which was shocking. Being able to immerse myself in the lifestyle was probably a memory that I will remember the most. Even while I'm back in Kentucky, I wish to once again visit such a beautiful country, where I'm able to understand the "convenience" style of living.

(Image: My TSA note I found in my luggage once I got to Japan)
 

My favorite website: https://dddance.party/

Assignment 1 – Howdy

For your first post, introduce yourself!

Share your name, but also a little bit about who you are. Some ideas to consider are:

What are your personal and academic goals for this school year?

What was the most meaningful moment of your summer vacation?

What superpower would you have if you could pick anything?

And so on and so forth.

I want to know what Geeks you out.

To receive full credit, you must insert a picture or video (of something)  AND a hyperlink to your favorite (appropriate) website.

Due Sunday, September 1st (My 50th Birthday)

150 word minimum

October 27th is last day to make up Blogs 1-8