Good job Juliet!

Okay, so Juliet, Andy's girlfriend, was in the finale for The Voice. Unfortunately, she came in second place right behind the black guy. (IDK his name, so don't yell at me!) But she did such a good job. I love her voice, and I can't wait to see her on tour with her BF and his band someday!

Sammi Doll and Jinxx broke up?!

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The Secret Life of North Korea: The Hermit Kingdom

Megan Jones

Mrs. Otemuyiwa

Communication Arts

21 February, 2012

The Secret Life of North Korea: The Hermit Kingdom

North Korea has been known for being a secretive, highly communist country. The US and Japan are currently trying to stop this country from succeeding in nuclear domination. But some people have been wondering what’s been happening behind the scenes; what really goes on behind the powers of former leaders, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, and current leader, Kim Jong Un.

Everyday Activities and Former Leaders

North Korean citizens live in fear of their dictators. According to Sue Lloyd Roberts, reporter for article “North Korea: Life in Cultural Isolation” on BBC News, “The people live seldom lives by cutting the roadside grass with scissors, a time consuming act, and wash the city pavements with scrubbing brushes and cloths, items usually reserved for the home.” (Roberts)

How the people of North Korea “worship” the former leaders is kind of strange for some. In honor of the dead leaders, Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, Michael Bristow, reporter for article “North Korea: Life in Cultural Isolation” on BBC News, said that “two flowers were named after them. A bright red flower, looking identical to the original Pansy, is called the ‘KimJongIlia.’ A magenta flower, looking like its cousin, Orchid, is called the ‘KimIlSungia.’” (Bristow)

Paul French, author on article “GOOD Guide: to Daily Life in North Korea” for Good News, says that “Nearly every house, building, office, etc., has two pictures of the former leaders in every room. They are also on the universally worn lapel badges.” (French)

Economy and Technology

Also, French reports that “When it comes to devices, they are beyond anyone’s reach. Internet use is for senior citizens only. Plus, even though you are politically trusted to have a cell phone, calls charge 7.5 cents per minute plus an $825 registration fee.” (French)

Also, French states that “having a 23,500,000+ population, only about 800,000 have cars. Many roads have been built, but cars passing by are rarely seen. Now, here is something funky about the traffic light: instead of three colors, like an American traffic light, the North Korean traffic light has four colors. RED means stop, YELLOW means slow down, GREEN means go, and BLUE means turn right.” (French)

Military and Government

According to the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs on article “Background Note: North Korea” for the U.S. Department of State, informs that “North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world. It has an estimated active military force of up to 1.2 million personnel, compared to about 680,000 in South Korea. The age range of soldiers go from 17 to 54, while in South Korea, the age range is from 28 to 30. The North Korean navy is primarily a coastal navy. The air force has twice the number of aircraft as South Korea, but, except for a few advanced fighters, the North Korean air force is obsolete.” (Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs)

The BEAPA also states that “North Korea has a centralized government under the rigid control of the communist Korean Worker’s Party (KWP), to which all government officials belong, such as the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA), the National Defense Commission (NDC), and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), formerly known as the State Administration Council (SAC).” (Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs)

Family and Health

According to Patricia J. Kummer, author of book “North Korea,” states that “Family plays a huge role in the country. In the past, the household used to be made up of three generations: grandparents, parents, children, and even aunts and uncles. Although some households still include grandparents, North Korean households today is made up of two generations: parents and their children.” (Kummer)

Kummer also says “The North Korean child policy is up to two children, and children go to school from ages 5 to 16.” (Kummer)

Kummer also states “In the 1990s, North Korean villagers plummet into famine, and are still going through  this today. Villagers have to stand in lines just to get food rations.” (Kummer)

Also, author French informs that “every Sunday is ‘walking day,’ where North Koreans walk everywhere they need to go to. The former dictators have placed down this holiday for necessary ‘health reasons.’” (French)

Human rights groups have been on North Korea’s case for so long, but the past leaders and the current leader has been ignoring these complaints for years. Many North Koreans have tried to escape the country through the poorly guarded border along China, and passing through the highly equipped, guarded border between North Korea and South Korea. Many women who escaped to China are so scared to be sent back, they become Chinese sex slaves. North Koreans have lived in fear for so long. They go through being chased by soldiers, wild environments and identity change just to find freedom. People from all over the world may not be the army, or members of huge human rights organizations, but they can make a change by holding meetings, doing charity work, or holding (legal) strikes.

The world can do this, one step at a time.    

Works Cited

Lloyd Roberts, Sue. Bristow, Michael. “North Korea: Life in Cultural Isolation” BBC News Magazine (20 December, 2011) 14 February, 2012

French, Paul. “GOOD Guide: to Daily Life in North Korea” Good News (19 December, 2011) 14 February, 2012

Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs “Background Note: North Korea” U.S. Department of State (31 October, 2011) 14 February, 2012

Kummer, Patricia J. “North Korea” USA and Canada: Scholastic, Inc. (2008)

I am such a late person...

I'm sorry for being late but Black Veil Brides had started their South America Tour a few days ago hehehe. I'll give you the tour dates.



SOUTH AMERICA
January 12: Circo Volador in Unidad Modelo, Mexico
January 14: Teatro Colegiales in Buenos Aires, Argentina
January 15: Teatro Teleton in Santiago, Chile
January 18: Bar Opinao in Porto Alegre, Brazil
January 20: John Bull in Curitiba, Brazil
January 21: Carioca Club in Sao Paulo, Brazil


Oh yeah, just in case I forget again, here are the future tour dates for Australia and Europe.



AUSTRALIA
February 25: RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane, Australia
February 26: Olympic Park in Sydney, Australia
March 2: Showgrounds in Melbourne, Australia
March 3: Bonython Park in Adelaide, Australia
March 5: Claremont Showgrounds in Perth, Australia


EUROPE (with D.R.U.G.S)
March 21: Essigfabrik in Koeln, Germany
March 23: Melkweg Max in Amsterdam, Netherlands
March 24: Civic Hall in Wolverhampton, UK
March 25: Mandela Hall in Belfast, UK
March 26: Academy in Dublin, Ireland
March 27: Barrowlands in Glasgow, UK
March 28: Picture House in Edinburgh, UK
March 29: O2 Academy in Leeds, UK
March 30: O2 Academy Brixton in London, UK
April 1: Academy in Bristol, UK - Sold Out!


                                                                                   BOOYAH!!!!!!!!

Warriors Don't Cry

The viewpoint of the author is against racism, her life was hard in Central High School because of racism. She could write about everything that happened to her in high school.


Cast:
Melba: Keke Palmer
India: Whoopi Goldberg
Mom: Oprah
Danny: Scotty McCreery
Link: Chord Overstreet
Vince: Dwayne Wade


Music:
Acoustic guitar (hapy moments)
Piano (during parties/church)
Classical music (during sad/inspirational moments)


Set:
High school
50s clothes/nice dresses
Fighting, racism scenes, angry mobs, army
Teachers-mean
Classrooms/halls
House
Pep rally/gym


Editor:
Gets beat up-most time
Melba and Danny are in the halls-most time
Church-most time
Family-least
School-least
Happy transitions

Buried Alive Tour Is Over!!! And links to BVB's twitters

The Buried Alive Tour is officially over. Black Veil Brides are now going their separate ways for their break. CC is currently going back to LA to see his family, Jinxx is currently back falling in love again with his fiance, Sammi in LA, Ashley is currently back in LA and is, well, being Ashley, (A party-craving animal) Jake is currently getting ready to fly to London to see his girlfriend, Ella, and Andy is currently in LA with his girlfriend, Juliet. How do I know all of their shenanigans? well, duh. Twitter! I'll give you the links.

http://twitter.com/#!/AndyBVB
http://twitter.com/ashleypurdy
http://twitter.com/JinxxBVB
http://twitter.com/ccbvb
http://twitter.com/jakepittsbvb

Runts

For some time now in a small farm, the farmer was selling puppies just several weeks after his dog gave birth to them. The puppies were placed in a box outside of his market where he sells his produce. One day, a family drove to the market to buy some bell peppers. It was a family of three: a mom, a dad and a son that was about eight or nine. While his parents were shopping, the boy got bored and wandered around the small, tented area. He soon found the box of puppies.

                                                                       "Oh my gosh! Puppies!" the boy yelped with joy.

                                                                                                                                                The farmer found the boy laughing and ruffling the puppies' hair and told him, "These puppies are free, you know."

                                                                                                                                                        "Oh boy! Are they?" The boy asked the farmer with excitement.

                                                                                         "They sure are. which one do you want?"

                                                                                                                                                       The boy quickly scooped up a puppy from a box, which looked like it had a broken leg. "I want this one!"

                                                                                                                                                  "Oh no, you don't want that one, boy. that one is a runt. It's leg has been broken like that ever since it was born. You wouldn't be able to give it walks or play ball with it."

                                                                              The boy set the puppy back in the box and pulled up both of his pant legs. The boy's legs have leg braces on them. "I'm guessing we're both runts, then," he said.

                                                                                                                                                                 The farmer doesn't know what to say. He called for the parents and talked about the puppy and about how it was born with a disabled leg. The parents then told him how the boy was also born with disabled legs. In the end, the family ended up with bell peppers to make stuffed bell peppers with and a new, special friend.