We love to watch you frolic during Field Day!! (we also hope you did well on STAAR sophomores)

So much goodness here. 

List of the best things I saw outside at Field Day today:

1. Any time any of you attempted to be "athletic". 
2. Humanities students running.
3. Coach Goff playing basketball.
4. Ms. Moreno laying tennis.
5. Roloefs sitting in the sun warming himself like a sea turtle. 
6. People hanging upside down from random equipment because... why not? 
7. Ms. Virdin repeatedly calling the same teacher the wrong name again and again. 
8. Humanities students still running. 
9. Boys with their shirt sleeves pushed up to show off their "guns". 
10. Confirmation that even though you're all in high school, everyone turns in to a 3rd grader when you're sent outside.

This pretty much captures Siddiqui's feelings about Field Day. 

Larry Springer work day tomorrow!

Come prepared my friends... come prepared. You have all class period to work. Have some goals and get to it. It is incredibly frustrating to know how busy you all are and then watch you waste quality work time. 

Cover week here at the blog rolls on...

We've got a first here at the blog... a request for our weekly soundtrack! This validates my life at a level you cannot imagine. Because of this momentous occasion, we're going to go big. We're going to do a big double whammy of covers in an all David Bowie edition!

First up, we've got two different cover versions of Bowie's classic track "The Man Who Sold the World". The first version comes to us courtesy of one of the last public performances of Nirvana before Kurt Cobain's suicide. Here is their take on the Bowier song:

Our next version is much more recent and an incredibly stirring take on the song. Here is former R.E.M. front man, Michael Stipe performing on The Tonight Show just the other day. 

And, our final Bowie cover comes to us courtesy of seminal Gothic band, Bauhaus. Here is there amazing cover of Bowie's standard "Ziggy Stardust". Feel the feelz!

This is the greatest day of your life

Sweet Fancy Moses! Look what day it is!!

Yes! This is a real thing! Today is National Manatee Appreciation Day! Hug your local manatee!

Militant manatees?

Snuggly manatees!

Manatee wants to ask you a question

Can you even deal with Manatee Day? 

Persepolis FTW!

We hope you enjoyed your small taste of the awesomeness that is Persepolis. We encourage you to seek out either the graphic novel or the animated film. You will not be disappointed. 

If Persepolis isn't your cup of chai, then take a leap of faith and seek out another graphic novel title. Amazon has some good recommendations as well as some other online resources. Embrace the future!

STAAR Wars continued...
We want to wish best of luck to our sophomore homies as they show the state of Texas has to DOMINATE. Be persuasive my friends... be persuasive.

I'd tell you the name of the test I took, but you've never even heard of it. 

Cover week continues for this week's soundtrack

We're going to switch things up a bit for today's cover song. One of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs is "The Ghost of Tom Joad". This is Springsteen at his quiet best. Using Steinbeck's Grapes of Wraith as his inspiration (the song title is a reference to that novel's main character), Springsteen indicts the economic plight of America's underclass. it is tragically beautiful. Here's the original:

While Springsteen infuses the song with quiet resolve, today's cover version cranks the anger up to 11 and shouts in the face of oppression. What else can you expect from one of the best political bands of the last few decades, Rage Against the Machine? Here is today's cover song, Rage Against the Machine covering Springsteen with "The Ghost of Tom Joad".

So let it be written... so let it be done.

This is just so true on so many levels

TICK... TICK... TICK... BOOM!
Oh momma! Don't you love STAAR week!!??

The Nature Boy, Ric Flair, captures all of our feelings about STAAR week

We know this week is a straight up beat down for all of you. We feel your feelz. I know it is no fun writing thought provoking commentary on a short piece of non fiction about tides or whatever, but you should try "actively monitoring" for 5 hours. The mind starts playing tricks on you!

This was Siddiqui by the end of the day on Tuesday.

THIS WEEK...

Remember, we do have a regular day on Wednesday, and you have a short reading in your literature book due that day. 

Thursday, we're back to STAAR fun, but this time it is the sophomores up to bat!

Friday is a work day for Larry Springer; come ready to TCB! (don't forget, The Larry Springer Show goes live next Tuesday)

THIS WEEK'S SOUNDTRACK:
I don't know about you people, but nothing lights my musical fire that a great cover. That's right... it is cover song week here at the Huge Manatees blog.
We'll start off keeping things nice and chill. We all need to relax after STAAR testing right? I love this cover; heck, I love this album. This was a definite soundtrack in my college years. The band is The Cowboy Junkies from the album, The Trinity Sessions. Fun fact, the album title comes from the fact that the entire album was recorded in an old church. I could listen to Margo Timmins, the lead singer, all day long. This is their intensely soulful cover of the Velvet Underground classic, "Sweet Jane".

Work, work, work, work, work, durjkjsdlkjfdur

So how about that hail? Pretty ridiculous.  Plano was like a scene from The Purge this morning with traffic lights out, car accidents, and so forth.  Well, at least we're all here safely as our insurance companies figure out how to tackle the citywide damages.

Today we began our two-day Schism as the ninth graders prepare for the STAAR test and the tenth graders review AP writing.  Tbh, I literally have no idea what the ninth graders did in class today, so I can't speak to that, but I can about to the tenth graders! Here are a few general reminders for my sophomores about effective writing for an AP history course:

• SAY WHAT YOU MEAN.  Be explicit, concise, and to the point.  Don't waste time with "fluff" and don't make your grader think about what you were trying to say.  There aren't any points for trying.  
• Know what the question is asking you to write about! Trade refers to the exchange of commodities.  Think potatoes, tomatoes, silver, spices, horses, slaves, rubber, iron, etc. 
• Understand your AP world regions.  See the map below.

I love when Current Events meets world history. President Obama is visiting Argentina this week.  Here's an interesting article about the historical implications of this visit, courtesy of Mrs. Garafola. 

Rather than posting silly things from the Internet, today I'll leave you with some Cold War themed songs.

We didn't start the fire by Billy Joel, 1989

99 Luftballoons by Nena, 1983

Heroes by David Bowie, 1977

Right Here, Right Now by Jesus Jones, 1990

Okay, I couldn't help myself.  Here's just one image.

And my monthly #tbt for your viewing pleasure:

I look so hardcore. 

Have a wonderful three-day weekend! 

- Warrior Princess Siddiqui (even though I accidentally wrote this on Garafola's account)

Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

Class felt a little warm today as we ended our coverage of the Cold War.  The almost 50 year threat of nuclear war, complete with fallout shelters, spies, astronauts, angry Soviet premiers banging shoes against podiums, and duck and cover drills, finally came to an end in 1991 as Mikhail Gorbachev resigned from his position, and Kazakhstan "walked" out of the Union, the last Soviet state to do so. So did we, the United States, "win" the Cold War? That's for you to decide. 

The U.S. government's "duck and cover" film for students (1951)

Today you should've taken away the following points:

• The Cold War came to an end as a result of internal dissent (crippling economic measures under a command economy, politically repressive policies) and external problems (ongoing revolutions in satellite states such as Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, etc.)
• The most visible symbol of the end of the Cold War was the fall of the Berlin Wall, when Germany was united as one country.
• The end of the Cold War is usually associated with leaders such as President Reagan of the U.S. (alongside Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher of England) and the Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. 

According to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, the dissolution of the Soviet Union was a result of policies dating back to Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks. See the link for a news article about this.

Here are some famous images from the Cold War and its aftermath.

Buzz Aldrin posing on the moon...take that Soviet space program!

Khrushchev and Nixon at the "kitchen debate"

Protesters during Czechoslovakia's 1989 Velvet Revolution

Germans celebrating reunification in 1990 in front of the Reichstag building

Hungarian flag with the Soviet coat of arms cut out..
This later becomes a symbol of the failed 1953 uprising

You'll get a lot of the Cold War in U.S History and AP European History. 

Don't forget - Current Event #9 is tomorrow! We've posted an article about the terrorist attack that occurred in Brussels yesterday.

Looking for a Humanities Experience? Here are some suggestions for the upcoming long weekend:

• Check out the Vermeer exhibit at the DMA
• Watch a musical adaptation of The Little Mermaid at Fair Park
• Listen to a symphony performance of Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage at the Verizon Theater
• Listen to Beethoven's Fifth at the Meyerson Symphony Center
• Listen to UTD's Chamber Singers Concert: Magic and Fantasy at the Jonsson Performance Hall (featuring music from Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc...and it's FREE)

And now for some Internet funnies.

- Warrior Princess Siddiqui

Cubans, colonialism, and collaboration

Today's 8th Current Event was apropos, considering our coverage of the Cold War in class.  President Obama is the first U.S. leader to visit Cuba in 88 years.

Awkward handshakes ftw

Here are some fun facts about Cuba:

• Cuba has a 99.8% literacy rate, the highest in the world
• Fidel Castro is a huge fan of the Beatles and commissioned a large statue of John Lennon
• The U.S. pays Cuba over $4,000 a month to rent land for the maintenance of our prison at Guantanamo Bay, but Cuba has refused to cash any of the checks (will this change after the president's visit??) 
• South Korean soap operas are popular in Cuba

In class today you should've made significant progress on your decolonization posters.  These need to be completed by tomorrow; you will have a few minutes to get last minute things glued or written down before we take them up for a grade. 

Don't forget - you have a little bit of WHAP reading (pgs. 892-896) due tomorrow! Get ready to tear down the Berlin Wall! 

Finished with your posters and the reading? Here are some websites to try out:

• Learn a new language
• Super into documentaries? Watch a bunch of them here
• Want some encouragement on making stronger passwords for accounts? 
• Watch a puppy licking your computer screen
• Like rubber ducks and wish they were everywhere?
• Create art out of circles

Some Internet funnies:

- Warrior Princess Siddiqui

A little civil disobedience

Happy Monday (of a four day week)! So technically, today is like a Tuesday.

Today you started your group Decolonization poster assignment.  Hopefully you used class time wisely and assigned tasks and started planning out your actual poster.  Your poster needs to be completed in its entirety by the start of class on Wednesday. However, if you're productive, you could very well finish by the end of class tomorrow.  Be sure to follow the instructions provided (an electronic copy is on the website for your reference) and make sure all information relates to decolonization.

Our hope is that you'll be able to understand the following things:

• Decolonization occurred gradually and in some cases took several decades to achieve
• Independence movements could've been non-violent (through the use of civil disobedience, think Gandhi and Mandela, or violent (think Ho Chi Minh).  However, several regions saw violence as an effect of independence, such as partition of India and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict (which we'll study in greater detail in a few weeks)
• Decolonization was led by professional and Western-educated leaders (ex. Saddam Hussein, Nelson Mandela, Ho Chi Minh, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Mohandas Gandhi)
• With a few exceptions (such as Vietnam), nations undergoing decolonization tended to abstain from Cold War struggles, and were thus referred to as non-aligned states.  

The ideas of many of these leaders since influence us greatly today.  Here are a few resonating quotes from them: 

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." - Nelson Mandela

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mohandas Gandhi (one of my favorite quotes)

"The person who talks most of his own virtue is often the least virtuous." - J. Nehru

Fun fact: Nehru is the namesake of a fashion trend that developed in the 1960's, worn famously by members of the Beatles, the Monkees, and even the Ken doll. 

The Nehru jacket...available at Sears...when they used to have clothes

This month's S.U.P.E.R. is not tucked far away south of 635, but closer to home! Coffee House Cafe is amazing.  They have traditional brunch items (pancakes, eggs, etc.), and I had the good fortune of going to town on some chipotle migas, a pancake, and turkey bacon (DON'T JUDGE).  Mmmm. 

Some Internet funnies if you're finished with your timelines:

- Warrior Princess Siddiqui

The day you found out "Banana Republic" isn't a good thing

Humanitarians,

Forgive my lack of posting yesterday; your lack of comments have me demoralized. DOES ANYONE CARE?! I will just wallow in the knowledge of my impending death and the total lack of meaning in my life. Or something.

On Thursday, we discussed/worked on some of the big events of the Cold War. (If you didn't finish after today, check the web; the whole packet is online) The biggest take-aways is that the Soviet Union and the United States Hate. Each. Other. Everything (literally everything) is a contest since actual war with each other isn't an option (thanks Robert Mcnamara and MAD). This includes wars with each other's friends, space, technology, sports, entertainment, everything. My personal favorite example of this is the Kitchen Debates, where Khrushchev and Nixon argued about kitchen appliances and whose women had it better.

lol, from Dr. Strangelove. Such. A. Good. Movie. 

Today, we defined decolonization (The withdrawal from its former colonies of a colonial power; the acquisition of political or economic independence by such colonies) and then discussed this very phenomenon in Latin America. Some takeaways:

• decolonization isn't happening in a vacuum; it is also part of the Cold War. How you decolonize and who you ally with are super important questions for these nations moving forward. 
• In Latin America, there was a clear trend: new anti-imperialist leaders tended to favor socialism/communism...this made America nervous or even mad...America intervened and replaced or attempted to replace these leaders....the new leaders tended to be military authoritative leaders ... chaos ensues. SO MANY modern issues in Latin America are tied to this time period and the US's interventions. 
• Check the book The Killing Zone by my professor Stephen Rabe if you are interested in learning more. I've highly enjoyed it. I also recommend Terror in the Land of the Holy Spirit by UT professor Virginia Garrard-Burnett; it's about the Mayan genocide in Guatemala in the 1980's. 
• I told my classes about Salvadore Allende's niece, author Isabel Allende. Her novels rock! I particularly liked Daughter of Fortune and Island Beneath the Sea. 

Next week, we will look at Decolonization in Asia and Africa; but remember we kind of already have...China's communist revolution and Korea's attempt at Communism could also be seen through the lenses of decolonization!!!

This day in history?! I think yes.

•  1521: Ferdinand Magellan reached the Philippines....where he was killed.
• 
• 1850: Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel The Scarlet Letter was published.



me, teaching this book in AMSTUD


• 1935: Adolf Hitler cancelled the military clause of the Treaty of Versailles and began militarizing Germany.
• 1968: The My Lai massacre occurred in Vietnam (during the Vietnam War). The My Lai incident was a massacre of somewhere around 347 unarmed Vietnamese civilians, including women and children, by US soldiers. The incident remained unknown to the American public until the autumn of 1969, when a series of leters by a former soldier to government officials forced the army to take action. Only the leader of the unit, Lt. William L. Calley, was convicted of a crime; he was found guilty of the premeditated murder of at least twenty-two Vietnamese civilians. He served 3 years.The My Lai incidnet contributed to growing disillusionment in the US with the Vietnam War. 
• 
• 1988: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter of the NSA are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States for their role in the Iran-Contra Affair (whaaaaaat we talked about this today!).

And finally....some sweet social media to follow. 

Instagram again, because I felt like I needed to continue the trent. Miserable Men is an instagram dedicated to photos of men forced to go shopping who hate their life. It makes me giggle, because I feel like any of them could be Peter. Also, based on the feed, I love that this is an apparently international issue....lolz....

Have a fabulous weekend! Make good choices!

- cbg