New Year 2009!

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is December 29th, 2008, I’m Royce, and I’m here to talk about the New Year and some changes to the Modern Typewriter.

First of all, we hope everyone had a Merry Christmas, Happy Channakah, Happy Kwannzaa, and very happy winter holidays. During this time, the Modern Typewriter team spent their time with family, and having a great time, and we sure hope you had a great time too!

As you all know, I’m sure, is that the New Year is coming very quickly, and in only just two days,  it will be New Year’s Eve, a night of parties across the United States. And on January 1st, it will be the New Year, 2009.

And another year means the Modern Typewriter is turning two years old next November. Which means more surprises, more interesting posts, more pages, new writers, and more!

“2009 is going to be a good year for the Modern Typewriter. A lot is changing, and by a lot, we mean a LOT!” says Cody, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

“We discuss a lot of stuff to change. Some will be good changes, some might turn out bad, we don’t know. We just decided to take the risk.” said Melanie, another writer.

“One of the changes we decided to make is to elect kind of like a leader.” says Rochester, another writer. “Like a head editor, or something along those lines. We, in the past, just posted randomly whenever we felt like it, and sometimes we didn’t agree on the post, or the grammar was not entirely correct, so we needed a head editor. We took a vote, and is was only fair that the founder would be in charge. So we picked Royce to be the head person.”

More videos, more pages, more political cartoons, more EVERYTHING! It truly is going to be a good year, 2009.

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

 

SANTA UPDATE

Currently, Santa is In:

Lublin, Poland

 

NORAD Santa Tracker 2008!

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is December 24th, 2008, Christmas Eve! I’m Royce, and I’m here to introduce a tradtion we started last year, finding out where Santa is in the world during Christmas Eve, with the help from the famous, NORAD Santa Tracker.

For those of you who weren’t here with the Modern Typewriter last year at Christmas time, we did something called NORAD TRACKS SANTA. And we posted updates close to the hour. This year we will post updates of where the Big Guy is currently.

Santa Currently Is In:

Kowloon, Hong Kong

Video Taken From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDuMy65SgUc

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

 

God Grew Tired of Us

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is December 18th, 2008, I’m Royce, and I’m here to tell you about the Lost Boys of Sudan.

The Lost Boys of Sudan are thousands of boys who were considered refugees after the Second Sudanese Civil War, during the years 1983-2005.

“There is a movie that I recently watched God Grew Tired of Us. It was about these boys about in their teenage years being sponsored to move from a refugee camp to the United States of America. They were given an apartment stocked with their basic needs. It was an incredible story, to see these boys’ faces just light up with joy, to see them just be so thankful that the world helped them and cared for them. It was a great movie.” says Cody, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

Approximately, 27,000 boys were now refugees during the war. They had to flee because of Muslim domination in the Northern part of the country. The Lost Boys fled to Kenya, where they were assigned a refugee camp. Estimating, 3,801 of the boys were sponsored to be transferred to the United States. They were scattered throughout 38 cities, averaging about one hundred per city.

“In the movie, God Grew Tired of Us, it actually puts a story on the face of three refugees. Just to be in their position and know their opinions and feelings, you can’t imagine what these boys have gone through. They have seen so much, been torn apart by war. Doctors say that this group of boys are the most war-traumatized group they’ve seen. It’s just terrible.” says Melanie, another writer.

“When I watch this movie, I think about how lucky I am, and how selfish I’ve been. For Christmas, I wanted a new cell phone. After I watch this movie, these refugees probably just want food for Christmas. It makes me feel guilty, and now I’m going to do everything I possibly can to help these people have a better life. I’m not going to just sit back while these people starve to death. It doesn’t make sense at all for me to do such a thing. These people deserve just the same as I do, so why can’t we give it to them?” says Jaycee, another writer.

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

Picture Taken From: http://criticdocs.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/godgrewtiredofus.jpg

 

‘Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler’ Denied

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is December 17th, 2008, I’m Royce, and I’m here to tell you about something that’s been stirring up controversy.

Recently, Dec. 16, a family named Campbell were denied a birthday cake with special writing on it. Why? Well, they wanted the writing to say: ‘Happy Birthday Adolf Hitler’.

Their three-year-old son, Adolf Hitler Campbell, had a birthday party and the cake was denied the writing by the store.

It was said that two years earlier, they had also wanted a swastika to appear on the cake. And they have two daughters, with ‘interesting’ names as well: JoyceLynn Aryan Nation, and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie.

“Wow, they’re racist. I can just tell by the names. Who names a girl ‘Aryan Nation’? I hope they know what it stands for. Aryan Nation means a ‘pure’ nation with people who have blonde hair and blue eyes. ” says Cody, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

“In the article read, it said that the parents were taught not to mix socially and romantically with other races, but not to completely avoid them. And yet they say they’re not racist.” says Melanie, another writer.

Given, they have the right to name thier children the names they want. They said they liked the name ‘Adolf Hitler’ because “no one in the world would have that name”.

“Gee, I wonder why no one in the world would have that name.” says Anonymous.

“Above all, I feel for Adolf Hitler Campbell, because when he starts to learn about what happened with the man Adolf Hitler and what Hitler did, he will feel out of place in school.” says Karina, another writer.

So, should the store have put the name on the cake? What do you think? Leave a comment to express your opinion!

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

Picture Taken From: http://library.usu.edu/Specol/digitalexhibits/masaryk/images/swastika.jpg

 

Valkyrie, the New Movie

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is December 16th, 2008, I’m Royce, and I’m here to tell you about an upcoming movie called Valkyrie.

Tom Cruise plays Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg, the head organizer of the July 20 Plot to asassinate Adolf Hitler, Nazi Germany’s leader. ‘Operation Valkyrie’ was the name of the emergency plan used in case of a revolt in the country. The codename was then used by high-ranking Nazi officers to put their plan into action.

Their plan was to asassinate Hitler, take control of the country, and end the war safely and peacefully. The officers disagreed with Hitler’s plans for Germany and their conscience said otherwise that Hitler was bad for Germany. He needed to be stopped.

The plan ended up failing when the bomb that was supposed to kill Hitler did not fatally wound him. After the bombing, a kangaroo trial occurred and then sentenced the officers to immediate death.

The tagline of the new movie is: Many saw evil. They dared to stop it.

Below is the trailer for the new movie, Valkyrie, which will be in theaters December 25th, Christmas day, 2008.

Video taken from YouTube videos.

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

 

Autism

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is December 13th, 2008, I’m Royce, and I’m here to tell you about a disorder called Autism.

About one in every 150 children are diagnosed with Autism. This is more common than AIDS, diabetes, and even pediatric cancer. It happens in every ethnic group, and is more likely to happen to boys. Children with Autism usually have a harder time communicating with other people and relating to others. Currently, there is no cure for Autism, nor a way to prevent it.

“When I walk around school, I see the Autistic children and their teacher. I cannot imagine what their life can consist of. They must have a hard time, and I realize above all things that they would need is a friend.” says Melanie, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

Excerpt From Blazing the Trails For Kids With Autism, by Robyn Schneider:

When they first started, their coaches held their hands while running with them, not sure what to expect as both Alex and Jamie have limited language and self-injurious behavior that can oftentimes be unpredictable. Soon the coaches were able to let go and run with them side by side. Now, in just a little over one year, Alex and Jamie have run in 15 races all over Long Island. Their first race was a 5K (3.1 miles) and Alex finished in 27:45, Jamie in 31:24. Now, for the same 5K race, Alex finishes in 20:53 and Jamie in 25:35. They have also begun to increase their distance running in 10K races (6.2 miles). In the last 10K Alex finished in 43:28 and Jamie in 55:35. They have both placed in several races, including first and second place! Their trophies and race photos have begun to clutter our home and it’s wonderful. They have even been featured in the New York Times and the Greater LI Running Club Magazine!

Kids with autism have many skills that we often never know exist. The best part of our new discovery is that Alex and Jamie are running with typically developing kids and adults, together. As we watch and cheer and wait with nervous anticipation until they cross the finish line each time, we are so excited and proud to see them with all the other runners and realize their abilities to succeed in this wonderful outdoor sport. Best of all are the ear to ear smiles on both of their faces; they really love to run! Now we are planning our own race to increase awareness of autism and to benefit Eden II’s Genesis School, a program exclusively for individuals with autism, where Alex and Jamie have attended since its inception in 1995.

We have lived through many tough times through the years, but there’s one thing that we’ve learned and that’s to keep exploring the inner talents and skills that our kids possess. A year ago we had no idea that Alex and Jamie could run so fast. Now, come this September the boys will be included in their high school cross country team. Inclusion in their own district high school was so far beyond our expectations. We never dreamed of this happening!

“Whenever some of my friends call the Autistic kids ‘retarded’ or ‘useless’, I tell them that they’re not retarded, or useless. Typical kids nowadays are so judgmental. They call the Autistic kids retarded when they don’t even know what is wrong. And they aren’t retarded. I tell them that it’s wrong to call them that, and then they realize that it is, and they end up apologizing.” says Karina, another writer.

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

Picture Retrieved From: http://www.nbbd.com/npr/autism/AutismRibbonLg.jpg

 

The Greatest Time Of Year

Video taken from YouTube videos.

 

The Book Thief…By Markus Zusak

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is December 11th, 2008, I’m Royce, and I’m here to tell you about a book that I recently finished reading.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak goes into detail of the life of Liesel Meminger, a girl who in the beginning loses her brother to a deadly cough. When she watches the grave diggers bury him in the deep snow, one of them drops a book known as the Grave Digger’s Handbook. She picks it up and takes it. This is her first book.

“Oh my goodness, I love this book! It is so terribly sad at the end! I cried!” said Karina, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

“I remember reading this book last year. This was such a good book. It was beautifully written, I loved it. I reccomend it to anyone.” Said Cody, another writer.

The book is in the perspective of Death, the collector of souls. And the book is during World War 2, so Death is flying around quite a lot. Death does not like the job assigned to him.

I went around to ask the Modern Typewriter team about their thoughts and opinions on the book, since we were all assigned to read it last year. The opinions were of a large, mixed variety.

“This book was one of the best books I have ever read in my entire life. It was incredible to read, I just wanted to read it all the time. I couldn’t put it down once I picked it up. It is the book that steals your attention right away.” says Rochester, a writer.

“I hate this book because it made me cry at the end! It was so sad and heart-breaking. It surely had an effect on the reader once read. I wanted to change the story to a happier ending.” said Melanie, another writer.

“The author was brilliant when writing this. That’s all I’ll say.” said Jacob, an editor.

“The perfect novel: action, adventure, romance, very well written.” says Jaycee.

Well, you heard our opinions! Now for yours! Comment back if you read the book, or if you just want to know more!

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

 

Some Band Videos

Welcome to the Modern Typewriter, a daily blog to discuss topics that can’t be answered easily, or are just some fun topics! Today is December 10th, 2008, I’m Royce, and I’m here to show you some band videos.

A couple of the writers on the Modern Typewriter team are in the school band. They suggested posting a few videos of the songs that they have played in class. Now, these videos aren’t actually the Modern Typewriter writers! These are some other schools playing the exact same songs that they play.

Dr. ROCKenstein

“I play the flute, and I remember this piece. It was so upbeat and I just loved it, as did the other flutes. It was just so fun to play.” says Melanie, a writer at the Modern Typewriter.

Declaration And Dance

“Declaration and Dance, I remember this one from last year. This was a fun piece, but it wasn’t exactly my favorite, but I still liked it.” said Cody, another writer.

The Forge Of Vulcan

“Such an upbeat song when heard. The percussion is an important factor in this song, without the percussion, it wouldn’t even be a song.” says Rochester, another writer.

Being Able To Play Music

“Just the chance to be in a band is awesome. I love the songs we play, and I love the bondship that comes out of it in field trips and everything.” says Jaycee, a Modern Typewriter writer and flute player.

“The adrenaline rush when we start to play, the energy that you hear, it’s all heart-pounding. It’s so exciting, so much fun.” says Cody, a trumpet player.

“Playing music relates to a lot of things in the world. You have to be able to count, so musicians are generally better mathematicians than non-musicians.” says Rochester, a French Horn player.

Well, I, Royce, a saxophone player at heart, think that to play music means the world to me. Without music, culture wouldn’t be culture like it is today. Without music, we would have no beat, no pulse to sing or play along to. The feeling when playing music is incredible.

Remember, I’m Royce, and this is the Modern Typewriter, OUT!

All videos in this post were taken from YouTube videos.