"Red, White, And Beer"

       This piece of satire is written by Dave Barry. He is the speaker of the the story. The tone of this story is very patriotic and sarcastic. Barry shows the intended audience, which is the future readers or the readers of the time how they could be patriotic in commercials. With the use of sarcasm, Barry shows the reader how every commercial fools you by telling you that you are patriotic and supportive of the country if you buy their product. Barry sais that the real patrotism comes in the beer commersials. He is being sarcastic here. There is nothing patriotic in drinking beer, but sadly beer is an icon of America so people follow what the power of the telivision has to offer. He emphasizes how if infuences gangsters because they think that is the way of being patriotic.
       Patriotism is a very big deal because it shows how much you love your country. However, with the use of the television, it is obviously interpreted in the wrong way. Being patriotic does not mean that you have to buy every American product. Barry is sarcastic because he sees small things in commercials that have nothing to do with patriotism. He laughs at commercials that just include the Statue of Liberty in order to make the commercial patriotic. He mocks the stupidity that is places into "patriotic" commercials.

"Toronto Raptors Think Of Really Good Comeback 10 Minutes After Losing Game"

       This article was founded in the Onion. There is no clear identification as to who wrote this article. It only states that it was in Toronto. On Wednesday, the Tornto Raptors lost to the Philidelphia 76ers by an embarassing final score. After the game their center Aaron Gray was interviewed. He and his teammates realized ten minutes after the game that they could have easily won this game. They should have won by simply following fundamentals such as jumping and passing. They also thought as a team about how they have even won twenty games this year.
       This article uses a great deal of humor and sarcasm. It is almost as if it is mocking the Toronto Raptor's team. The humor in this article is that the Raptor's team realized that they could have won ten minutes after the game actually finished. You are supposed to be thinking about winning during the game, not afterwards in the shower. The sarcasm comes in when they say they have no idea how they've won twenty games this year. This is both humor and sarcasm because they are trying to show how the Raptor's team is slow at creating ideas to win during the game as well as just making their team look bad in the interview.

"Morning Explosions Kill Dozens in Damascus"

       This article was founded in the LA Times, and was reported from Beirut. On a beautiful Saturday morning, things got even more bloody in the Syrian capital. Two bombs were exploded.Authorities reported that at least twenty seven people had died, and 100 had been injured. It is said that there is blood scattered all around the district, bodies on the floor, and multiple cars exploded. The bombs were originally placed in cars that were set off in the morning. Car bombs are an indication that Al-Qaeda is getting ready to overthrow the government of Assad.
       It is sad that these things are happening to such a small country. I feel so sorry for the people, especially since I have family there. Things like this should not be happening to people anywhere. Since this revolution started a year ago, over 10,000 people have died! This is not acceptable. The U.S. should take a step in making things better if they truly are the greatest and most powerful country.

SOAPST

       The Great Gatsby takes place in New York City during the 1920s. This is the time in history when illegal drinking was popular. This was also the Jazz time period. Rich people would throw parties, and they would last for two days. The speaker of this story is Nick. He is a young man who has a rich family. He did not want to live with his families wealth, so he decided to move to New York for a fresh start. He explains to us the life of the rich people and all the men and women who have affairs with one another. He is a shy person who is not very social and outgoing.
       The audience of the book is the readers. He explains the book in his view, but at the same time narrarate the story. His main purpose is to inform, and explain to us the events that would occur in the lives of these rich people. He clearly explains that they are not all reliable people. He also emphasizes on his neighbor Gatsby. He is slowly starting to meet him but is curiouse since the man is very myserious and is always hidden from people.

Importance of Language

       Language is one of the most important things in the world. Language is good for various reasons such as social acceptance, trade, communication, and self recognition. There are two things that are very important to language. One of those would be diction. People do not communicate the same way. Everyone has something different to say to describe something. Diction is necessary because it helps you understand a person as well as quickly judge them based on their language. One great example would be that you do not talk to your friend the same way as you would talk to the police or a teacher.
       The second one would be dialect. Without dialect, you would not know which part of the country that person is from. Because countries have mixed nationalities, there is always a different dialect they speak. Every language has a different dialect. Dialect is like a key to identify people. It is a key to acceptance as well as the feeling of being home when around people who speak your same dialect.

"Gatsby Party"

       If I was as rich as Jay Gatsby, I would throw the best parties the world has ever seen. First, I would bring fifty bottles of every different type of vodka. Then, I would bring pole dancers so they could entertain the men. When the males are entertained, they will come back again for another party. The best DJ in the world will be there with the hottest music to entertain us all. I would also bring about ten maids so they always make sure the house is clean.
       Food is the most important thing. I would bring ten different types of pizza with ten fifty boxes of each. Three hundred orders of three by three animal style burgers with about four hundred pounds of fries to make everyone happy. This is random, but I would bring Dodger dogs because that stuff is simply amazing. Finally, I would bring Harout Pampoukdjian because that man knows how to party. Everyone will be on their feet and partying for two nights in a row!

"Two U.S. troops killed amid Afghan protests over Koran burning"

       This article was found in the LA Times, and was written by Laura King. The day when President Obama apologized for the burning of the Korans at an American Miltary base, two American soldiers were killed. At least thirteen people were dead. This occured when laborers at the Bagram air base found out that disposed Korans were being burned. The death of the two Americans took place in a base at Khogyani district at Nangarhar province. The citizens were chanting anti-American slogans. This outrage occured after President Obamas apology.
       Countless deaths occur to Afghan citizens every day. However, this is different because it occured to U.S. soldiers. We need to get out of Afghanistan already. Too many innocent young men are dying for stupid reasons. Its time for them to come home! I also blame the U.S. military base for doing such an unorthodox action. It is our fault that the deaths occured but that does not mean that it should happen.

"19 Americans to stand trial in Egypt on Feb. 26"

       This article was founded in the LA Times, and was written by Amro Hassan. Forty-three pro democracy activists as well as nineteen Americans will stand under trial on Feb 26, over a political reform in Cairo. They will be tried on charges of illegally operating and funding foreign nongovernmental organizations to create and uprising in Cairo. The four based U.S. organizations are International Republican Institute, Freedom House, National Democratic Institute, and an organization that trains journalists. These organizations have been working illegally in Cairo and have been funded more than 26 million dollars. The Egyptians want to get rid of U.S. aid after this uprising.
       It is truly disappointing that the Unites States did such a thing. They are a powerhouse, and acted illegally. Why would they try to create a political mess in Cairo? I think they did this so they cover up the mess and look as if they could cause peace in any country, once again looking as if they are a flawless country. However, what they just did is low and probably ruined the reputation of America. It turned to such a big deal that Americans with high powers have been kept hostage in their own embassy. Egypt has also thought of getting rid of U.S. aid and depending on themselves only. This is going to be a disaster for the Americans.

Prohibition in the 1920's

       One of the greatest Prohibitions of all time occurred in the 1920's. This was the prohibition of alcohol. It was finally time for the government to set alcohol aside for good. Some of the main reasons were gang activities. Gangs started running the alcohol business, which led to violent incidents. Not only were gangs involved with violence, so were ever day citizens. Woman's Rights activists had enough of alcohol. They were one of the major supporters of the Prohibition. They said that when the men drank, it totally affected the income of the family. At this time, men drank at the factories during their lunch brakes.
     This is a significant topic, because during this time period rich people would always consume alcohol. It was the perfect pass-time for them. When you were rich, you would consume the alcohol. When you were poor, you would make the alcohol. This was the obvious separation of the social classes. However, in 1929 the stock market completely crashed. The Government desperately needed money. They had to get ride of the Prohibition of alcohol. That is exactly what they did! Alcohol was a great generator of money for the government. It was extremely important for them to get the alcohol business back and running. In 1933, Roosevelts first year in office alcohol became an accepted drink to consume.

"Hundreds come to service for 2 boys burned to death by father"

       This article was founded in the LA Times. The article was written by staff writer Ricardo Lopez, the rest of the Times staff, and Wire reports. A memorial service was held Saturday morning for Charles and Braden Powell who were burned to death by their father. Over a 1000 people attended the service. The service was held in Tacoma Washington. Both these kids were younger than seven years old. Their teachers said how they were bright young students who were always curious to know more about everything. However, a dipatcher was somehow blamed for this. He did not react quick enough when he was called by people. He thought nothing would happen. He later realized that if he was not "clumsy", he would have saved the kids from exploding in their own house.
       It is extremely sad that things like this occur. It is also sad to say that some people love hurting young children. Why do so many little kids like Charles and Braden have to get killed. Bad people in this world are becoming more common than good people. I cannot believe something like this happened again. This is a great awareness event to parents and activists around the world. We should all start to prevent things like this from happening to young children. I hope that this is the last event like this that occurs. Sadly, we live in a world that people do messed up thing every second.

" A Day Outside the House"

       As I am sitting outside I am realizing how beautiful the outside life is. I am sitting on a metal chair. There is no wind right now, but a slight breeze. There are flies wondering in the sky, a well as a white butterfly soaring over my pool. The pool water is so clear that it looks like the ocean water. The plants are alive and beautiful, and the sun is shining its rays on them. There are six pots of plants lined up across the wall. My favorite one is the small lemon plant. There are miny lemons on them. As I approach to smell it, I quickly walk away because I see a bee roaming around the lemons. The blee flew away, and I went back to it. As I started to smell the lemon it reminded me of my childhood. I used to go and pick lemons at my grandmas house.
        Next, I walk across my backyard towards the fance. I could see all the houses for atleast a mile. Then suddenly, I hear a noise. Its the noise of my neighbors dog! That dog is a monster. However, it has a terrible sickness which causes it to not grow. I look at the rest of my pots, and I see tiny bugs in them. I have been outside for a good half hour, and yet no wind. It looks like the perfect sunday.

"NATO members rattled by U.S. combat plan on Afghanistan"

       This article was founded in LA Times, and was written by David S. Cloud. The United States propsed a new plan that they would be leaving Afghanistan by 2013. NATO was suprised by this plan an were put into shock. France also agreed that they will remove their remaining 2500 troops by the end of 2013. U.S. also said that they will leave the Afghans responsible of all the interior problems of the country. However, they will not fully remove every troop. U.S. troops will train Afghan units and aid them in raids and be available in emergencies. They will be active im combat unless it is necessary.
      I am glad that U.S. proposed this to NATO because now finally all our troops wil be back home in two years. Its been enough fighting. The war has gone nowhere. Too many innocent men and women have died and its enough. However, the downside to all this is that the U.S. will always change their plans. They never stay put on a plan. Hopefully, everything will go as planned, and all our troops will be back home.

Death of a Salesman

       Death of a Salesman has all the aspects of SOAPST. It is a play so this play does not have one specific speaker. Its main speakers would be Biff, Happy, Willy, and Linda. They are the main characters in the play. The occasion of this play would be during the 1940s in Brooklyn, New York. You could easily picture life in New York because the lifestyle that is present in the play is a typical life people in the 1940s would be living. Especially the fact that during this time all the house in Brooklyn were being torn down so apartment buildings rise. The audience to this play would be anyone who is willing to read the play. That would usually be us students, or even people who are actually present when the play is being performed.
      There are multiple purposes to this play. One would be to inform to us the lifestyle that people lived through during the 1940s. Another purpose would be to tell us the economic problems family's had to overcome. Finally, the main purpose is to explain to us that we should always make our parents proud. They do everything for us, and if we becoming "people" in the real world that means everything for them. The subject of this play is also life during the 1940s which includes hardships and economic problems. There are multiple tones for this play. One would be serious, because the father is always serious when he talks. Finally the last tone would be sad and influential. It is sad because of the fact that the father got fired from his job. It is influential because it always tells us that we should make the best out of our lives and not take it to waste. 

Death of a Salesman Character

       In Death of a Salesman, the character that I correspond with the most would be Biff. Biff is a very athletic kid who had a future in sports but did not work enough to achieve his goal. He is bad in math, and does in put enough effort into his work. He is a great kid but because he saw a tragic event in his life it affected him greatly. Biff also tries his best, but sometimes he falls short. However, he really does love his dad a lot and will do anything to make his father proud.
      I relate myself to Biff because we are both very athletic. Just like Biff, I have a hope of making it to a great college to play sports. Hopefully, unlike Biff I actually make it. Both Biff and I are bad in math. However, I am not failing math and actually try my best to do better in it. A great similarity we share is laziness. Sometimes I will admit that I do become lazy, and when that happens I perform bad in school or in life. Despite that, sometimes i try really hard it I happen to fall short. This really is sad because just like him I want to make my father proud. It is true that if you do something wrong, your father will always be the first one who will be mad at you. These are the reasons that I chose Biff as my character.