Summer

Yes, Anna is officially done with her junior year and will be on hiatus till the beginning of September as a senior.

:D

Polls show Obama-McCain race tight as campaign begins

Probably by this time, everyone is aware that Obama is the democratic nominee so I thought I'd give a summary on this article. According to CNN's average of four recent national polls, Obama held a narrow 2 point lead over his Republican counterpart among registered voters, 47 percent to 45 percent and were conducted between May 21 and June 3 before Obama's official nomination. According to Rep. Charles Rangel, Clinton has announced her support for Obama and pledged to help him win the White House.

R&B - Until You Come Back To Me

Genre: Rhythm and Blues

History
It is a mixture of jazz, gospel and blues. R&B started around the 1940's which was coined as a musical marketing term in the United States. It evolved during the the World War II period where it became most influential from the rural South to the Midwest, Northeast and West Coast. R&B became popular in places like Chicago, New York, Detroit and Los Angeles until it spreaded worldwide. R&B isn't only about the words of the song but also the instruments that create the melody. Some instruments that are used in R&B music are guitars, bass, harmonica, saxophone and piano. You can say that R&B is a modern form of soul and funk because the melodies and tunes are very similar. Even though R&B began to become popular among the African-American, this music has become very popular with people of all ethnic backgrounds today.Cover:The cover that my group and I are doing is the song that was originally sung by Aretha Franklin and was co-written by Stevie Wonder, Until You Come Back to Me. However we are doing the cover that was sung by Camile Velasco. We came up with this song because it portrayed what R&B really is. In this song you'll hear the gospel/soul harmony in the background with some funk beats by the drums. This song also uses the piano, guitar and the bass. Asides from that, the lyrics tell a story and in this case, it's about someone who is waiting for that one person to come back into their life.

Until You Come Back (Camile Velasco) Lyrics:

Though you don't call anymore
I sit and wait in vain
I guess I'll rap on your door
tap on your window pane
I wanna tell you, baby
changes I've been going through,
missing you, listen you
'til you come back to me
that's what I'm gonna do

Why did you have to decide
you had to set me free?
I'm gonna swallow my pride
and beg you to please,
baby, please see me
I'm gonna walk by myself
just to prove that my love is true,
all for you, baby'til you come back to me
that's what I'm gonna do

Living for you, my dear
is like living in a world of constant fear
hear my plea
I've got to make you see that our love is dying
Although your phone you ignore
somehow I must explain
I'll gonna rap on your door,
tap on your window pane
I'm gonna camp by your steps
until I get through to you
I got to change your view, baby

'til you come back to me
that's what I'm gonna do
'til you come back to me
that's what I'm gonna do
'til you come back to methat's what I'm gonna do
I'll gonna rap on your door,
tap on your window pane
Open up, baby.
I'll gonna rap on your door,
tap on your window pane
I'll gonna rap on your door,
tap on your window pane

Our lyrics:
Our lyrics are based on the ignorance of the other partner not realizing a relationship to be over. It completely contrasts the original lyrics. We have titled it Out of Love.

Out of Love Lyrics
Slowly falling out of love
Not sure if I should stay
Can’t say ‘I can’t get enough’ (enough)
Nothing’s goin our way (nothing’s goin our way)

Didn’t want to say it
But this can’t go on anymore
Dissing you, listen you
In the past, I’d never say
That you’re no longer my boo

Why did we leave it at that
We could have agreed
I need more than mere chit-chat
You’re not the one
Oh not the one I need
So please let it be (please let it be)
You just have to let me go
In the past, I’d never say
That you’re no longer my boo

We’re not what we used to be
Said I'm slowly fallin' out of love with you
Boy listen
You need to set me free cuz I want to move on without you
Although I'm finally letting goI know we'll end this artificial show
Oh boy you need to realize (realize)That I’m not gonna try
Oh I’m not gonna try
We need to say our good-byes (say our good-byes)
I’ve had too many chances with you
Oh boy
In the past, I’d never saythat you’re no longer my boo

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Author: Haddon, Mark

Publication: Random House, New York 2003

Reason, Type, & Setting: After looking through Elika's stack of books, this book caught my attention. It is a fictional book and delves into the mind of an autistic boy, although it is never mentioned by the narrator himself, thus the structural irony. Just as Huckleberry Finn, the reader may not know whether what the narrator is saying, is really true. I've noticed that recently I've taken to reading books dealing with the depth of the character and their mind. The story takes place in Swindon, Wiltshire.

Plot: After discovering the dead body of his neighbor's dog, Christopher begins to investigate as to what happened. Though later on in the book it doesn't seem to be the main plot, however, to me there seems to be many mysteries within this book related to this incident with those being his mother, the relationship between Christopher and his father, and the bigger picture of dealing with his familial problems and seeing this throughout his narration.

Character: Christopher is a very interesting character. He is in his mid-teens and attends a special needs school. Despite the reputation he may have at that school or from other neighbors, he is very skilled in math and even gets into A level mathematics which is probably equivalent to AP calculus. He cannot comprehend human emotion and is uncomfortable towards being touched or being affectionate in any way. Christopher wants a reason behind everything, which is probably why he is excellent in math since it is based on calculations, logic, and reasoning. It seems like it is the only sure thing for him whereas with comprehending human emotion there could be numerous reasons behind one facial expression which is hard for him to understand. This book, aside from being narrated by him, is actually a book that he wrote which is why the chapters are enumerated by prime numbers and contains drawings.

Evaluation: This book was very interesting to read and it was a page turner. Looking through the point of view of a boy with autism was very intriguing and it is the type of book that I've noticed myself to be reading lately of. I like to read more into a character and see how they develop within a story. I would definitely recommend this book to others and I may read other books written by the author as well.

Author/Trivia/Context: Mark Haddon is a novelist as well as a poet. Aside from writing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, he has written A Spot of Bother and his Agent Z series.

Honors Due Date: June 2nd