MARYROSS' blogs

This article on CNN explained what was going on New York today. Three detectives, who killed a groom to be named Sean Bell in November 2006, were all aquitted today which sparked an outraged outside of the court. It all started on the night of November 2006, when Bell, 23, was at a nightclub with his friends celebrating his bachelor's party. At that same time there were undercover detectives in the club looking for guns, drugs and postitution that was going on in the said club. Around 4a.m. when the club was closing, one of Bell's friends said that he was going to get a gun and walked towards Bell's car. Bell was behind the wheel and police thought that their own lives were in danger. 50 bullets were shot on the scene and killed Bell. Today the verdict was that the three detectives were not found guilty. This case wasn't about justice but about the police having a right to be above the law. It was stated that this court that the trial took place in was "bankrupt when it come to justice for people of color." "An innocent man lost his life, a bride lost her groom, two daughters lost their father, and a mother and a father lost their son. No verdict could ever end the grief that those who knew and loved Sean Bell suffer." Authorities stated that the outrage outside of the court was generally orderly even with all their angers towards the verdict.

It was obvious that Bell's death was and wrongful death. It was also said in the article that there was no gun found in his car. I disagree with the outcome of the court, although people still has to respect their decisions because of their authority. I watched on the news that these dectectives were had a right to be above the law. They said that this wasn't about justice but I could see how it could be because a life a an innocent man was lost, especially at the dawn of his wedding. I think if the law was in effect and the judge followed the law truly, these dectectives would've been found guilty. I think that Federal prosecutors should conduct a review if there were any civil rights violations. My opinion is that this verdict was uncalled for and that an outrage was necessary.

Labels: Current Event

Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. New York, New York. Penguin Groups: 1986.


The last time I read this book was in elementary school and it was the one for children. I chose to read this novel because it's a classic and I haven't really read it yet. I wasn't sure what type of genre this novel fell into but I think it's a classic with satire, folk narrative and comedy. This novel took place around 1845.


Plot: Tom Sawyer lives with his Aunt Polly and his half-brother Sid. After playing hooky from school on Friday and getting into a fight, Aunt Polly punishes Tom by making his whitewash the fence the nest day. Tom was very disappointed at having to waste his free day off and decides to persuade his friends in doing his job. Tom also falls in love with the new girl in town, Becky Thatcher, and persuades her to get engaged to him. It wasn't long till Becky finds out that Tom has been engaged before with Amy Lawrence. After Tom got dumped by Becky, he accompanies Huckleberry to the graveyard at night to try and find a cure for warts. Little did they know, they witness the murder of Dr. Robinson by Injun Joe. The two runs away and swears a blood oath that they will not tell anyone what they saw. Injun Joe then blames Muff Potter for the murder and was arrested. Tom's guilt started to get to him. Tom, Huck and Joe Harper runs away to an island to become pirates. As they enjoy fooling around and having their freedom, they are aware that the whole community is looking for their bodies. Tom sneaks back home and came up with an idea to have all three of them to surprise everyone at their funerals. Everyone rejoiced for their return. When summer arrived, Tom and Huck go hunting for buried treasure in a hunted house. Little did they know, Injun Joe and his companion arrive there and sees their tools and walks off with the treasure. Huck begins to spy on Injun Joe and finds out that they have something planned to the Widow Douglass. Huck runs for help and becomes an anonymous hero of the community. Meanwhile, Tom and Becky gets loss in a cave and begins to weaken from starvation. Tom sees Injun Joe in the cave because Injun Joe using the cave as a hideout. When Becky and Tom were found, Judge Thatcher locks up the cave and leaves Injun Joe to starve to death. A week later after everything happened, Tom takes Huck to the cave and they find the box of gold which was given to them. The Widow Douglass adopts Huck, although Huck decides to escape civilized life. Tom promises Huck that if he returns, he can join Tom's robber band and Huck agrees.


Character: Tom Sawyer is a mischievous child who envies Huck's lazy lifestyle and freedom. In the story, Tom begins to show him mature and make responsible decisions from the critical moments that he had to face. In the beginning of the book, Tom's misbehavior tends him to get into trouble. However by the end of the book. he was no longer disobedient. His growth in throughout the book means that he is beginning to embrace social customs of sacrificing his childhood. I chose him because his energy and thirst for adventure moves the story. The novel really shows how he has grown up bit by bit.


Evaluation: Like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, I enjoyed this book. However I should have read this before reading Huckleberry Finn because it makes more sense to. Anyways, I would recommend this book to people who have nothing to do and just wants to read. But I think for children, I would recommend the book that I read in elementary school because they could understand it better. I don't think that there is anything the I would change in the book because it was well written and I enjoyed all the adventures that were showcased in this book.


Mark Twain was born as Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri in 1835. He grew up near a small Mississippi River town. His two novels, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, were the set in the fictional St. Petersburg which is really the place where Mark Twain grew up. He grew up in a prosperous family and as a young man, he travelled frequently. He worked as a printer's typesetter and as a steamboat pilot.

Labels: Book Report

This article states that North Korea may be on the brink of another famine. This could be a result of last year's devastating floods, the increase in food prices and a malnourished population. According to the U.N., nearly 40% of young children are "chronically malnourished." The Democratic Republic of North Korea is still recovering from a famine in the 1990s that was said to have killed about a million people. The U.N. is concerned that the food shortfall of 1, 600, 000 tons of rice and wheat this year will mean that the malnutrition will increase and that children will receive less food than thay are needing to receive. The prices of rice and other staple foods has doubled over the past year. This means that the country does not have enough food to feed its people and has not received any contributions from South Korea over the years. Another part of the problem is North Korea's government that is led by Kim Jong Il. He has refused outside aid and denies that his country has suffered from famine. Pyongyang cut off the U.N. group's operations in 2006 and before the cut, the program has been assisting more that 6 million North Koreans. Now it can only help a little more than a million of the most vulnerable population, which are women and children.

I think that this is another important issue to look at because everyone knows North Korea as an isolated country. Now with North Korea's government, it shows how much pride they have for their country. Especially Kim Jong Il because he is denying that his country was in a state of famine before. The way that I am reacting to this is that it's like gas prices going up everyday. I know it's not the same as food but it's what we need in everyday life. All I know is that the Philippines is also going through a similar problem with their agriculture. They have less rice fields and are in a shortage of rice which makes a lot of its population suffer, especially those in poverty. I think that the government has to step up a bit and help out with the problem thy're facing (even though I know they won't) and stop having so much dignity and pride over themselves.

Labels: Current Event

It's hard to believe that this was made out of the sand we step on at the beach. Whenever I look at it, I stare at it with awe because the person who did this must have been devoted in finishing this. Everyone who saw this must have revered in awe with this simple yet astonishing creation.






This tree looks very desolate in its environment. When looking at the picture you see green grass, clear blue sky and a very relaxing environment. However the forlorn tree sticks out because it's naked and bare.

Labels: Vocabulary

In this article it was said that 8 teenagers, 6 of them girls, could be sentened for life in prison for the beating of another teenager. These teenagers ranged from the age 14-18 are facing charges of kidnapping and battery. The video shows a brutal scene where the 16 year old victim is punched, kneeded and slapped by the other girls. All the victim could do is huddle in a "fetal position" or stands and screams. It was said the the teenagers were retaliating for the insults that were posted online by the victim. The teens were engaged in the fight for almost 30 minutes and was posted on YouTube. The 16 year old victim was hospitalized and has blurred vision, hearing loss and a swollen face. The video only shows the girls doing the fighting and the boys were lookouts. It was said in the article that girls have always been more vicious than boys because their violence is of a personal nature. Boys usually have focus and a concrete goal when they fight but girls want to caise pain and make the other girl feel bad. When the 8 teens were arrested they showed no remorse and joked that they won't be going to the beach for spring break and the other asked if she could still go to cheer practice.

Labels: Current Event

Prompt: You have only a limited time left to live. You are somehow able to leave a message behind, to pass on some final thoughts. What is your message?

Scenario: I have been fighting Alzheimer’s for quite a while now. During the first few years that I’ve had it, I was still able to live quite a normal life as I slowly forget people and different things that are important in my life. However it got worst overtime to the point that it caused me to forget all the memories of my past including people, hobbies, my social life and my passion for Nike shoes. As it got worst and fatal to the point where I knew I was dying, a miracle happened and I remembered my past life. I didn’t take this miracle for granted and wrote a letter to the people who were a part of my life, whether good or bad, to remember who I was. Little did I know that after I wrote that letter, the sun has finally shined down on me.

My Letter:

I have no idea who I am writing this letter to. I know there are so much people who have been a part of my life but it would be too hard to write a letter to each and every one of them. In the first place, I don’t have a heart to begin with. It’s been “stone cold” for the past how many years of my life. However I don’t want to leave without saying what I feel inside because I don’t want to be carrying a load of crap down to my grave. First of all I would just like to say sorry to everyone that I’ve hurt in the past. I’m just a person who has so many imperfections as a person and in life. I know sometimes I’ve been inconsiderate to other people’s feelings and emotions but it’s just the way how life works. Sometimes you do things that you didn’t want to do and sometimes you hurt the ones who you don’t want to hurt. Secondly I would like to tell everyone out there who will be reading this letter something that I have just realized now that everything has been coming back to me. Life comes at you fast so just live it the way you want to live it. Don’t let anybody tell you what to do or what you should do. Remember you know yourself more than anybody else in the world. Follow your dreams and goals in life and try to find ways to achieve them. Surely this will make life more worthwhile, feeling accomplished. Also keep those you love close to you, especially friends and family because they are “gifts of life”…yeah corny I know. Your family will always be there to back you up and support in the different obstacles in life. And in the end, even if you didn’t succeed, they will always be there. Friends are the ones that keep you company and make time more useful. Keep in touch with your old friends for they are the ones that know you best bur also save room for the new friends that you meet in life. Most importantly, don’t be afraid to just be yourself. It doesn’t matter if you’re nice or you’re an asshole, what’s important is that you go out there and show everyone who you are. Don’t be part of the crowd. Be unique and just be you because for sure you will be more respected that way. Lastly, this message goes out to those who have made different impacts in my life and you guys know who you are. To those who did nothing but talk shit about me or contributed to fucking up my life all I have to say is that you all can go to hell (you guys know who you are). I’m sorry to say this but you guys didn’t succeed in your quest to make my life hell. In fact you guys just made me stronger to face every challenge that comes my way. To those who were always there for me, my family and friends, there are only two words that I can tell you all, THANK YOU. You guys were there for me through all the bullshit that I’ve done. I know sometimes I’ve hurt you guys in different ways, but you were still there. Thank you for making my life worthwhile and memorable, even though I know that I won’t remember it in a few minutes. That’s all I want to say before I go. Peace-Love-Nikes.

The Beezy of all Beezies,
Maryross Aguilar
“Beasty Moss”

Labels: Creative Writing, Journal

In this article, it was reported that a southeastern Brazilian state has been hit by a disease called Dengue. Dengue can be a deadly mosquito-borne disease that can not be past by person to person. More that 55,000 cases of dengue has been reported during that last four months. This disease has killed 67 people in the Rio de Janeiro state and slightly less than half of the deaths were children under the age of 13. Brazilian authorities are calling this situation an epidemic. They couldn't identify whether the deaths were caused the severe form of dengue, which is called the dengue hemorrhagic fever, because it could be fatal if it was unrecognized or not properly treated. The dengue hemorrhagic fever can be characterized by abnormal internal or external bleeding. There are four different viruses that can cause dengue that is carried by mosquitos. Hospitals in that region of Brazil are flooding with patients that have been hit by the dengue fever and the average waits of hospitals can range from 8-28 hours in some places. People could only watch their loved ones die slowly as they try to get treatment from hospitals. There is no vaccine to prevent dengue fever or the dengue hemorrhagic fever. There are about 10 million cases of dengue around the world each year.

Labels: Current Event

Childhood Dreams:

• Be a Rockstar
• Be an assassin or a sniper
• Be like Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee and Jet Li
• Own my own store of shoes
• Have a tiger, wolf, tarsier or kangaroo as a pet
• GENIUS
• Be the richest and most successful female in the world

Reflection:

Randy Pausch's speech inspired me to follow my own dreams (well some). He kept the audience entertained with his humor as he spoke about his dreams, other people's dreams and how they achieved it. His speech made me think about my dreams (well my dreams now) and how I can find ways to achieve them. He gave so many advice on how to achieve you dreams. Some of the advice he gave was to be grateful, find the best in people, work hard. However the most important thing I got out of his speech was the brick wall and how they are there to separate us from those who doesn't want to achieve their dreams. His speech was very eye-opening and inspiring.

Labels: Journal