Alexander Tristano Public Feed

Wes Anderson's The Avengers

Posted by Alexander Tristano in Reel Reading · Giknis · D Band on

​ I want think about your favorite movie, a piece of art you know and love. Now I want you to step outside of you imagination comfort zone and if you can, imagine that beautiful movie being filmed in a completely different style. Whether the genre has been replaced with another type of film that is completely different, or the director has been replaced by an auteur whose style is very unique and completely recognizable, and nothing like the original director, the original film you love has been drastically changed.

What if for example, Wes Anderson, the genius behind Moonrise Kingdom, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Grand Budapest Hotel among others directed Joss Whedon's the Avengers. Since these two directors both have their own very unique styles and because their styles vary drastically from one another, I thought it would be interesting to try and compare these two directors in a film featuring writing by Mr. Whedon, and Directing by Mr. Anderson, with some minor edits by myself and my partner Shane. We had already study a work by Anderson. We watched The Grand Budapest Hotel which is a great example of Anderson's style of directing and how the camera work, turns and moves through the scene. Each scene seems very choreographed which is what we tried to capture. The actors walking into the scene at around the same time and the camera does a few one hundred and eighty degree turns. The camera work in Anderson's films are very deliberate and we tried to mimic that in our film.

Another thing that is very prominent is Wes Anderson films is symmetry. He loves when shots are very symmetrical. For example to people walking to the same spot in a scene or objects behind the actors having symmetry. As something my partner and I recognized in his film, we tried to mimic that as well. There are some parts of my film the involve at least some symmetry, unfortunately because the world isn't quite symmetrical and we didn't have enough time to build our own set there isn't too obvious. Although if you look hard enough you will find some things symmetrical about the way we shot our scene.

The final aspect that we decided to capture, among the many aspects that make something a Wes Anderson film, or that are well known from him, is the close up. It was noticeable that Wes Anderson like to use close ups quite a bit so we decided to put a few in there

Some examples of camera work you will see in this film is one hundred and eighty degree turns of the camera similar to the very blocky way that Anderson likes to turn rotate or move his camera. You will also see a ninety degree turn of the camera in a similar block fashion. There are some deliberate moments with the camera moves forward toward a character while saying a line to create a close up shot. We tried to make it seem as if there was a choreographed feel to the camera angles and movements as well as the slight movement of each character. And Finally we also went for symmetry as there were railings on each side of us and symmetry when we both walk into the shot.

Unfortunately actors such as Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman could not be present for the making of this film but we made due with what we had.

Alexander Tristano Capstone

Posted by Alexander Tristano in Capstone · Todd · Wed on

​I have always been interested in American Sign Language (ASL) for as long as I can remember. Many of my preschool teachers knew ASL and from time to time would teach us different signs. I also remember having books and and instructional video teaching ASL. For my capstone I wanted to learn a language. I was at first interested in relearning ASL, but found that it turned out quickly that I would much rather learn about the Deaf Community. In researching the about the Deaf Community, I learned about the two different sides of the Deaf Community, and how the invention of Cochlear Implants impacted the Deaf Community negatively. I continued learning more and more about Cochlear Implants and what they are and how they work. I listened to multiple podcasts in which reporters would interview people who had lost their hearing or were born deaf and who had Cochlear Implants about what their lives were like and how their lives changed due to getting Cochlear Implants. I also learned the other uses of cochlear implants or other technology instead of cochlear implants. I was able to interview three different people who either had Cochlear implants or were considered part of the deaf community themselves. Their opinions on the deaf community were very interesting and what they had to say about Cochlear Implants was very helpful. Overall I am very proud of the work I put into this capstone and am proud of the outcome.


https://atristano.wixsite.com/cochlearimplants

Here is the link to my annotated bibliography

Fourth Quarter Advanced Art

Posted by Alexander Tristano in Advanced Art - Hull - a1 on
For my final quarter advanced art portfolio I created 4 different art pieces of my choosing. The very first creation was a sketch of my choosing from the location of the Rodin museum. I chose to draw the base and part of the statue of the thinker. I wanted to create a sketch that allowed me to draw objects with perspective. Choosing to draw the base of a statue allowed me to be able to draw a simple shape heavy base of a statue. I then decided to draw a fractal because I love fractals. The simplicity and symmetrical of such designs seem to go all the way into infinity making it seem quite complicated. In the center I decided to create a few designs to make the picture liven up. My next project is kind of a big one. I started by creating an abstract painting the eventually became a idea of what would happen, and what the world would look like when trump becomes president. I then added several different abstract pattern drawing that I enjoy creating. My final art piece of this year was a bent piece of metal. I found it at school and decided that I could make a statue out of metal. When I finally created I wanted to add a little color. I very cautiously and carefully held it near a flame and as the fire touch the metal, it created a brownish slightly burned color. Overall I felt good and very proud about my art projects I made this quarter as well as all I made this year.

Advanced Art Quarter Three

Posted by Alexander Tristano in Advanced Art - Hull - a1 on
This portfolio is a collection of my artwork for this quarter and it represents my skill and hard work and effort through out this quarter as well as how I have grown as an artist over these past few quarters and most of this year. This quarters portfolio consists of several drawings that include coloring, finessing skills in shading and using basic shapes to draw complex figures, and as well as a self portrait. We also continued learning more about art history and different techniques that very famous, very important, and iconic artists used in their work. 

Warning Militarized Drones Above

Posted by Alexander Tristano in English 3 - Block - E on

The advancement of militarized warfare is a topic that I have been interested in ever since I learned about militarized drones and airstrikes. Through this piece of writing I wanted to convey both sides of this argument for and against drones and mentioning why we would be better off with drones as long as there is maximum security, subservience and supervision. Although it is important to see the other side. No drones would be a slightly more peaceful path, when taking into account that weapons are very harmful, and ideally, and would without military or weaponry could in theory be possible, but unfortunately, because we live in a world filled with violence and destruction drones can be a possible safeguard possibly stopping bigger or larger threats.  


Drones are incredible robots that can be used to do so much more than just attack. Many drones are used to film video and take pictures high above where we couldn’t reach, and are also able to detect weather patterns and hotspots in forest fires. They are also probably used to spy on everyone, possibly to detect crime or violence. They are really useful machines, and they have obviously become weaponized. This unsurprisingly created a lot of controversy over whether drone warfare was just or fair, or if it was simply killing, or murder. People wondered if drones more or less beneficial than modern/guerrilla warfare and if strikes were causing more harm than good. This is not the right way to go about this issue. Debating back and forth on weather drone strikes are necessary, is a waste of time. Instead we should be focused more on how to properly manage drone warfare, and warfare in general.

Many agree that the right procedures need to be executed, and security definitely needs to be re enforced when it comes to a weapon like a militarized drone. Research and correct calculations need to be performed and completed flawlessly, ahead of time so that we are capable of carrying out drones strikes that are as free of human error and as accurate as possible. It certainly would be hard for everything to be completely perfect, but when this process is done to the best of everyone's ability, the safer everyone will be. Certainly there will always be casualties. This is unfortunately a negative side effect of war, but there are a lot less civilian deaths than if modern/guerrilla warfare were to take place. The more security we have, the possibility of an accidental disaster of several innocent civilians being killed during a strike could be diminished.

This militarized drone above tells a slightly suggestive story about an airstrike, although with not much context it can be up to the viewer to figure out the whole arc of what is going on. The drone has just fired a missile which most likely means that somewhere, several thousand miles away, a general has ordered a modern day soldier, who is piloting the drone, to take aim and fire on the target in question. In an idealist, utopian world the missile would strike its target perfectly, and on impact, there would be minimal destruction only killing the individual, or those who were targeted. Everyone else would be safe and there would be no injuries on innocent civilians nearby. Unfortunately we don’t live in a fairy tale, and drone strikes are very dangerous.

According to The Huffington Post, on their article titled The Drone Papers, in Afghanistan, “between January 2012 and February 2013, U.S. special operations airstrikes killed more than 200 people. Of those, only 35 were the intended targets.” The article goes on to state that, “During one five-month period of the operation, according to the documents, nearly ninety percent of the people killed in airstrikes were not the intended targets.” These two stats may differ slightly for thirty five out of two hundred is definitely greater than ten percent accurate, which is what the other source suggests, but no matter the slight difference in these percentages, based on the data it would seem as if these particular drone strikes weren’t completely accurate. In fact the article states that the U.S. had very little intelligence and evidence of who their target was when it came to these particular drone strikes. The fact that everyone involved had very little idea of what exactly was going on is extremely irresponsible on the half of the general, and on the intelligence researchers. Sloppy situations such as this one are unbelievably wrong that it causes so many people to question the benefits of drone warfare, although if done correctly, can be effective and clean. It is possible for drone strikes to not be a disaster, and cause only slight damage on civilians nearby.

According to The New York Times article titled The Moral Case for Drones, and research that was conducted by Avery Plaw, who studies political science at the University of Massachusetts, of four drone strike incidents that occurred in Pakistan, between four percent and twenty percent of those killed were innocent civilians. This is an example of a drone strike done properly, and executed efficiently. It is certainly possible that there can be arguments stating that twenty percent is a little high, but compared to modern day guerilla warfare, where around forty six percent of all deaths are of civilians, twenty percent is fairly minor. Plaw also found in his research that forty six percent happened to be a low percentage. In fact, “In conventional military conflicts over the last two decades, he found that estimates of civilian deaths ranged from about 33 percent to more than 80 percent of all deaths.” Now, when thinking about the fact that Ninety percent of civilians die due to some airstrikes may not seem entirely unreasonable for the reasons that modern day guerilla warfare can cause up to eighty percent of the death be civilians deaths.

The most important thing to keep in mind is that these statistics are based on the death of civilians in other countries. Taking into account the fact that very little of our soldiers even get wounded from these drone strikes is a huge plus to us. While there is obviously some debate on whether drone strikes are dangerous to innocent civilians it definitely does not mean that drones are absolutely terrible. Drones are quite useful when it comes to the killing of only one or a few people who pose a threat to us and to others without starting a full out war. So, while a more reasonable story for the picture above would be that the missile strikes down possibly killing the target or targets and innocent civilians, causing many injuries, it still doesn’t mean that drones are bad, unethical, unreasonable and murderous.

"The Drone Papers - The Huffington Post." Web. 22 Mar. 2016. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/drone-papers_us_561ed361e4b0c5a1ce61f463>.


Shane, Scott. "The Moral Case for Drones." The New York Times. The New York Times, 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/15/sunday-review/the-moral-case-for-drones.html>.

Identity and Belonging Podcast

Posted by Alexander Tristano in English 3 - Block - E on
Interview_Podcast_Project - 13116, 10.38 PM
My goals for this podcast was to interview someone who had a story to tell, and would love to talk about themselves for a while. When I chose my interviewee because he is an immigrant from Spain, and he is also homosexual. I asked him about how this played a role on figuring out how he fit into society here in America as someone who is not born here or is of the minority.

When completing my assignment, the interview went extraordinarily well. I was obviously surprised by all the stories he had to offer, and the most difficult part of the assignment was choosing the audio clips that would make it into the final and the ones that would get deleted. It was hard to throw away such amazing audio footage because it seemed as if everything I had was absolutely amazing.

Advanced Art Quarter Two

Posted by Alexander Tristano in Advanced Art - Hull - a1 on
This slideshow is a culmination of my past artwork assignments that range from art history to an illustration of our favorite childhood book, story our poem. For the two art history assignment we learn about and analyzed several different works of art, figuring out what statement the artist was trying to make with their creation. For our other assignments we created an illustration of a children's book, a drawing of fabric, and how it folds creating wrinkles and shadows, we also used a photo editing online software to edit a photo, and we created a collage. With these art assignments, I felt as if I have begun to learn a lot more about how I am able to express myself though my artwork, creating pieces that interest me or have at least some sort of special connection with me. I also feel as if I am becoming a much better artist through all this practice of creating and turning in an assignment every week or so.

Sheltered Schools

Posted by Alexander Tristano in English 3 - Block - E on
My goals for this paper is to tell the audience about my self and how I have grown as a person and in understand the world around. I want to convey the message to my audience that I have when I was younger I never felt out of place because I was surrounded buy kids like me. I also want to explain how I realize now how unfortunate that was, because back then I had no idea about racial issues because I was sheltered. I also feel it is necessary to understand that there is a stigma when it comes to private schools and while private schools are not bad necessarily, many private school kids are sheltered by their "lovely" community. This is obviously not what should be strived for when kids are learning about the world. I really feel good about my paper. I feel as if this is a situation that I can talk about personally and with quite a bit of detail. My process could have been better, because even though I felt as if I had a lot to talk about, it was a slow start I ended up finishing my paper on the later side.
 
I have grown up in what I would consider a middle class family. I have never felt bad about my identity, and have never gone to a school where I have felt out of place. My private pre-k through eight school was predominantly white. I assume that Hearing “private school,” most likely makes you think of snobby, privileged, rich, white kids, whose lives are sheltered. You might think that they have no idea of any issues of race and diversity. While this tends to be what most private schools are made up of, my elementary and middle school was not quite like this.
Not everything was handed down to us on a platter. Even though we had enough to pay one hundred and fifty-thousand dollars for ten years of outstanding education, we were not stereotypical preppy white kids. While it might sound odd that I am trying to defend myself as someone who went to a private school, looking back on myself as a person during those ten years, I don’t see a snobby rich white kid. I do see a sheltered white kid.
From pre-k all the way through eighth grade my class was ninety percent white and ten percent african american, hispanic, and asian. My experience with race was almost non existent, and I developed a sense of belonging. I was a white kid with twenty-five other white kids and I felt as if I fit in. I was in the majority and I felt comfortable, because, as Thandie Newton stated in her TED talk Embracing Otherness, Embracing myself, “the self likes to fit, to see itself replicated, to belong. That confirms its existence and its importance.” We were all in the same social class, and shared very similar beliefs, especially when it came to politics. Almost all the kids in my school were democrats, and it was assumed that most of us were all leaning towards the left party. When it came to race, I never understood how race was a problem in our everyday lives.
Because of my sheltered environment, I never understood how race could be an issue. While the environment at my old school taught me that being a part of the majority was a good thing, the environment at SLA told me the complete opposite. The transition was foreign to me, and quite scary, because, like Thandie Newton stated, “I still valued self worth over all other worth,” and I was no longer surrounded by people who shared my same race, background and religious and political beliefs. “My self — was trying to plug in,” and it [my self] was unsuccessful. As the community began to accept me for who I was, I was not only taught that being a white kid in a school with other white kids caused me to be unaware of racial issues such as stereotyping and racial profiling, but it taught me that it was better to not grow up in a sheltered environment. Being at SLA, I realized that I used to be completely oblivious to how our society treats the minority so horribly. Although, the main issue in my eyes, about me, was that I practically had no friends outside of my race at my old school, and I was not aware of what it was like to be the minority.
The environment at SLA caused me to change my views on race, and I no longer want to be the majority at a private school. I am glad that I am no longer surrounded by kids of my same complexion. I don’t want to feel as if I fit in simply because of my skin color. I know I fit in because I am different, and that is the beauty of a wonderful community. It has taught me that we don’t need to be the same to fit in. In fact, it is better when we all come from very different backgrounds. Being different is what makes us fit in.

Title it Advanced Essay #2: The School Sylubus

Posted by Alexander Tristano in English 3 - Block - E on
In this paper I have focused on becoming a better writer. I have always struggled with writing, and I have wanted to do a better job when it comes to writing. I have wanted to expand my vocabulary, so I don't say the same things over and over again, and I want my writing to be smooth, connected with conjunctions in proper places. I have also tried to improve upon my use of grammar, figuring out where to place punctuation, so that my sentences make sense. I am very proud of my analytical writing, I felt as if it was something that I improved upon. I want to get better at writing descriptive scenes.

I constantly hear students complain about math homework, or just any homework in general, asking questions such as, “How is this going to help me in the future? What purpose will it serve? How will it be useful? When am I going to need to use this? Why is this important or relevant to me? The questions ring in my ear, I swear it is contagious. I now have started wondering if there are certain things that I am not going to need to use after I get out of school and enter the real world. In fact, I remember recently talking to my mom who is a graduate school math professor about homework that Mr. Reddy gave us. “What are you doing in math class these days?” she asked me.

“…uhh….” My mind was blank. It was a friday night and I didn’t want to think about any sort of work at all, but she wanted to know the status of my homework for the weekend. “Oh right,” I just remembered. “We are learning about the division and simplification of polynomials.”

She asked me to explain it because this is something she had not learned in a long time and had not needed to know. I did my best to recall everything that Mr. Reddy drilled into our head. She easily understood what I was explaining, but there was a look on her face that suggested confusion.

“What?” I asked.

“Why would you put the remainder over the complex polynomial?”

I didn’t know how to answer. I tried to force an explanation out of my mouth, but nothing would come. I finally said “I don’t know” in an attitude that made it seem as if I had something to defend. “ I mean… I guess… Because-”

She interrupted. “Oh, because in normal long division, you put the remainder over the divisor and that is how you get the decimal.”

“Oh that’s true,” slight pause. “Also that’s what we were told to do.”

“That just seems useless,” she added, almost as an insult to what we were learning in math. “It just seems pointless. How would that help you? How would that simplify the equation?” I was speechless; my mind was flipped upside down; I was shocked. I never thought that my mom would ever in, her existence, question what I would be learning especially in my math class. I could not for the life of me think of any sort of response to her question. I wasn’t barely even confident enough to say “I don’t know,” but her question got me thinking. Do schools teach us to be literate in the real world? I mentioned this to my mom and we eventually got on the topic of what in school is necessary to be taught in schools, and what is not. I then told her about a video on Youtube that I had seen recently. It was of a British guy, Dave Brown, rapping about how the school curriculum was flawed. Ever since watching that video I had wondered if what we are learning in school is important to us. My mom also showed me the video titled “Somewhere in America,” the video in class. It was featuring three teenage girls who performed a slam poem about how the most important lessons we need for everyday life are not taught in school. Ever since then, I have always been interested in what is important to be taught in school versus what is irrelevant.

“I wasn’t taught how to get a job, but I can remember dissecting a frog,” Dave Brown. Unless you are passionate about becoming a scientist, learning how to dissect a frog is not important. If you are a junior or senior in high school, or if you’re just starting college, a skill that your survival in the world depends on is getting a job. This is especially true if you are trying to afford college. So far the only two jobs I’ve gotten are because my mom knew a couple people who were interested in hiring, and wanted someone who could help out with a large amount of work. I have never experience the process of applying for a job, sending in a resume, and setting up an interview. Now I’m afraid of what will happen when it comes time for me to get a job. I wouldn’t know how to handle the responsibility of getting a job even if I was approached with the opportunity to get hired. I wasn’t taught how to use computer programming, so how am I supposed to major in CS without any experience. How am I supposed to find an internship or volunteer work that can help me if I don’t have a platform to work off of. This makes me look like an idiot, especially when talking to professional programmers, video game designers, and computer scientists. The typical sting of the dreadful question that nags at me as if I’m stupid gives me a headache. “So, what programing experience do you have?” My mind hunts for words putting them together in one long command to impress whoever cares to listen. I fail each time, and have no clue what I am actually talking about.

“Umm… I uh… I can umm… I- I’ve- I’ve coded a few times… using processing… and then I- I tried using eclipse… which I think is javascript based. I found eclipse to be too hard though”, and now I know we’re off to a great start when I can’t even understand one of the most simplest programing applications, and its language. Their response is always the same.

“We can start you on something a bit more basic,” or “it takes time everyone needs room for improvement and room to grow.” Honestly I get it. I understand. There isn’t any reason the truth needs to be hidden. I know I am not that good, especially if I have no where to start.

I am trapped by my lack of knowledge. If only I had learned this is school. Unfortunately those in charge of the school curriculum believe that dividing polynomials and staying up all night writing essays about the history of these United States is more important.

“I mean I get that you want us to practice writing but in real life when am I ever going to need to do in depth research of how the English, French, Portuguese and, Spanish sailed across the Atlantic and slaughtered the Indigenous people with guns, germs, and steel? And when in my life am I going to need to solve equations that involve dividing polynomials? Even If you are interested in majoring in math no one whatsoever will need to know all that information about vertical, slanted, or horizontal asymptotes?”

Literacy is understanding the world around us. Schools do not always teach us to be literate. We often learn to be literate, but not from our parents, guardians, friends or family. We do not often remember learning how to be literate. Do you remember who taught you to always fill in “C” on a quiz or test when you do not know what the answer is? Do you remember who told you to pretend to be on the phone if you think someone is following you?


 Brown, D. (Director). (2015). Don't Stay in School [Motion picture]. England: Youtube. 


 Youth Speaks (Director). (2014). Changing the World, One Word at a Time! | The Queen Latifah Show [Motion picture]. California: Youtube. 

Literacy from alex tristano on Vimeo.

A1 Artist Statement

Posted by Alexander Tristano in Advanced Art - Hull - a1 on

In creating my images I wanted to have a variety that I could feel proud about. One of the projects painting the surface of a ceiling tile. For that project I decided that I wanted to paint a sierpinski triangle on a ceiling tile using the colors blue green and yellow. I chose to create a sierpinski triangle because it represents what I like to draw. I like drawing shapes and I like drawing things with symmetry in them. I chose the colors blue green and yellow for my sierpinski triangle because those colors seem to both contrast and complement each other. They go well together and I found that they would make my painting stand out.

The second project we worked on was any drawing of our choice we. We could chose whatever we wanted to draw as long as it looked like we put in a solid effort. When choosing what to draw, I wanted to chose something that interested me, or something that was very vibrant in color and detailed. I immediately thought of Butterflies. There is some thing about them that is quite interesting and colorful. I decided to search for an image of a Butterfly online to get an idea of what to draw. So many of the pictures were so simple, yet when inspected, were so very detailed, and that fascinated me.

We also had to do a self portrait which is something I have done before. I wanted to take a picture that would describe how I felt when doing this project. I decide to take a simple picture of myself with focused face. I was focused on this assignment which is why I took a fairly standard picture of myself. I like it because there is not a lot happening in the picture it is focused on me in front of a window with light shining through, showing that this is a self portrait of me. Everything seems normal and how it should be which is what I like

Advanced Essay #1 It's Worth the Wait

Posted by Alexander Tristano in English 3 - Block - E on
My goals with this paper​ were to illustrate my first memorable experience with soccer. And to emphasize the importance of patients. I also wanted to show how teamwork and friendship is quite powerful, and can be thought of as a family or community. I felt that I did a good job with my descriptions of my experience and I feel proud of my writing. I still feel as if there are some things that I could improve upon. Sometimes my writing isn't up to par and I am still trying to paint pictures with my words, but I feel as if this is a challenge for me.

We ride up to the field on our bikes, my dad and I, as I feel a breeze wash over me like a welcoming. My eyes glance from one thing to another as I see the soccer field, my mom, and her team. “Stay focused! Look where you’re going!” My brain screams at me. I look up startled, but find no reason to be alarmed. “It’s just grass and a few trees here and there,” I tell myself. “There’s nothing to be afraid of,” I think. I hop off my bike and search for a tree to rest it against. “Where should I put it?” I ask myself, “Should I put it next to my dad’s bike or will that be inconvenient? Naw, I’ll just put it next to his.” I gently lean my bike down against his, making sure it doesn’t fall, then I look up and follow him as he heads toward the field. I jog a little to catch up, his huge legs giving him an advantage. He walks fast. I look back at the field where my mom is playing with her team. This is where they usually have practice at Edgely Field, and my dad and I often come watch her play.

The game pauses for a bit. She comes over to say hi. It looks like they’re just taking a break. She talks with her team about something I don’t register, and after about five minutes they walk back on to the field. Just then an idea springs into my mom’s head, and she walks back towards us. Now usually this wouldn’t happen, but on this one particular occasion, my mom thought that I would like the opportunity to play. I was only seven at the time, and had played soccer with the Fairmount Association for a few years, but these women were definitely bigger than I was, and had played soccer for several more years than I had. Because of this, my mom decides that it would be safest for me to play goalie. I had played goalie before and was pretty good.

I think about it. My mind races for an answer, searching for pros and cons of this situation. “Sure they are big and tall, and I am very small, but I will only be playing in goal. Maybe I could make some decent saves, and if I said no I’d be passing up an exciting opportunity.” Since that was the position I liked to play and that is what I wanted to play, my final answer was yes. Everyone on the field is waiting as I build up the courage to walk on to that field and join the team. I could feel the excitement in me bubbling, rising through my body and I step over the side line of the field. I jog across, the blood pumping through my veins. My heart starts beating just a little bit faster as my feet lead me closer to my position. I stop on the goal line right between two red flags. We unfortunately did not have full sized goals. The game begins. I am ready, I am hopeful, I am going to do well, but nothing happens. The ball doesn’t come anywhere near me, and to be honest I am bored. This is definitely something that goalkeepers have to deal with, standing in front of the goal and just watching the field is what you have to do.

All of the sudden, the other team stole possession of the ball. I feel a surge of energy and excitement rush through me this was going to be my big moment. I was not sure what would happen and I was definitely nervous, but there was no way I was going to let this breakaway frighten me. This is what I trained for. The player advances on me and I was ready to block the shot. My eyes were training on her like a hawk hunting for it’s next meal. Every little move of her body was a hint to me of what would happen to the ball when she kicks it. I see the shot coming and I jump into position, my bare hands extend out ready to block the shot no matter how much pain they would feel. Out of nowhere, I saw my teammate charge. Her only objective was to get herself between the shot and me. She raced for the attacking player about to shoot. She fought for the ball trying to get possession and I glimpsed my teammate trying to clear the ball, but nothing could have prepared me for what happened next.

Without warning, I felt the ball slam hard into my face. I felt as if my face was permanently dented. I was thrown down on to my back by the force of the ball. The pain surged through my body and my injured head. I felt myself about to let out a scream that could not be contained any longer. I cried out desperately in pain. I couldn’t see, in fact I didn’t want to try, for fear that it might hurt my head even more. I decided just to lay down and cry for help. I heard voices, people worrying if I was okay. And I heard my own teammate keep saying “I’m so sorry I’m so so sorry!” Turns out, instead of actually clearing it, like she wanted to do, she accidentally booted the ball right into my face. It took quite a lot of coaxing and care to actually get me up and standing again. I slowly start to walk off the field with help. I feel drowsy. I was sure that without help, I wasn’t going to be able to stand up by myself. I would have fallen down without the team's support. They help me walk off the field and sit me down. I need rest. I need sleep, I need to lie down. My mom decides I should probably not play with the team until I was older. Showing up to their games and cheering them on their games, we agreed, was the best thing I could do to support them.

I will have to wait nine years before I can officially join their soccer club, and I don’t mind waiting. Now nine years later, joining the soccer club that my parents have been apart of since I was six months, is something that I was ready for. This summer I played with some of the same women in Summer League, as back then. But now, I’m a lot taller than them. I can certainly say it was worth the wait.

Climate Change Monologue Project

Posted by Alexander Tristano in World History - Block - C on
In our World History class this unit we have been learning about the how unfair the world is in terms of education, and wealth or poverty. We followed that up with learning how different some culture seem especially the Nacirema. It was certainly weird to think of ourselves as different, but we learned not to immediately judge other cultures because the seem different. We then were assigned to make a meme that educates people about the pressing problems all over the world. Now we are finishing this unit off by learning about how climate change is effecting people, places, families and villages all around the world. We were assigned the task of making monologues about climate change and how they are affect the earth and effecting people. While writing these monologues are main goal, as a class was to inform people of the devastating catastrophe that climate change and global warming has on families all over the world. My goals for writing these three monologues was to enlighten people on the different views and arguments on climate change and why some people are not rushing to save the our planet.

[Eric Schmidt the chairman of google in an interview with Diane Rehm]


Thank you for having me on the your show Ms. Rehm, I really appreciate it. (WAIT FOR HER RESPONSE) Well as I am sure you are aware, climate change and global warming are both quite problematic at this day and age. We here at google are certainly aware of how this is an issue and how it is affecting children and adults and families around the world. Everybody understands that climate change is an issue, (THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU JUST SAID) well most everyone is aware, and we here at google also understand that climate change isn’t something that can go away. If we want it to not be a problem we have to do something, which is why we here at google feel that we need to do our part to try and prevent climate change from becoming more of an issue. We also know that many other people feel the same way and people are in fact trying to do something about it which is great and we are all for that. (SHE ASKS A QUESTION) Ahh yes the big controversy in Partnering with the ALEC corporation. Just quickly, for those who don’t know What ALEC stands for, they are the American Legislative Executive Council. You asked me about partnering with ALEC and the controversy that arose due to climate change. To answer that question, I say this.

The reason we originally partnered with ALEC was for a political campaign for something totally unrelated to climate change, something that happen a long time ago. (PAUSE) When we realized how much of an issue climate change really was we decided to cut funds with ALEC. It turns out that partnering with ALEC was not a good idea. They are what people would call climate deniers, they do not believe that climate change is an issue. They don’t believe that it will ever be an issue, and they are not worried at all. It doesn’t make sense, but that is just the way they think. We do not agree with ALEC. We do not agree with their thinking, and we, just like anyone else, would not be happy to be associated with a company like ALEC. This is why we will not be partnering with them anymore.

We realize our mistake in partnering with them and we are very ashamed of ourselves, but we know now what not to do. Everyone makes mistakes, but the biggest mistake is not learning from what you did wrong. We now know what to do and what not to do and because we want to prevent climate change, and because we know it’s a problem, we will do the best we can and we will do our part to prevent what is happening.




[Jasper Pannini an average person ranting about the news on climate change]


God climate change is getting worse. (PAUSE) Everyone says they care but no one actually cares. I mean if they did we’d already be on our feet racing to solve the problem, like first one to put an end to climate change wins something, (PAUSE) but no, it’s not like that. What frustrates me the most is when people say “climate change is a problem and we need to fix it” but then do nothing, or become more interested in what they call “more important problems.” Yes, climate change does not seem as pressing, as problematic, or as important, as your mortgage or you family that you need to take care of, but let me tell you, people are paying with their lives because you are not willing to admit to your mistakes, or not willing to fix them.

When you’re frustrated because you’re stuck in traffic, your car is letting out exhaust which is polluting the air, and killing the environment. So you got to work late and your boss is screaming at you, well on the other side of the world families and homes are being torn apart by hurricanes all because of climate change. (PAUSE) Anyway climate change, is an outrageous issue that we need to take care of, but we’re lazy so we don’t keep in mind the their have been disasters that have killed thousands all around the world because we won’t take care of our earth.

We also like to blame other people for causing global warming, which is another way of being lazy. The government or world leaders get a lot of heat for this problem. This just blows my mind, the stupidity of people who are like “oh climate change isn’t my problem I’ve already done what I need to do, now other people need to do what they can.” What? Obviously not, if there are still disasters all over the world, you still need to do your part to prevent these from happening. Everybody needs to pitch in, and everyone needs to stop being lazy. Everyone needs stop blaming other people for climate change, and everyone most importantly needs to stop talking about how much of a problem this is, and start doing something about it.




[Paul Weyrich founder of ALEC taking stand by saying climate change isn’t an issue]


Okay. Hold on just a minute. Yes climate change is an issue, yes our ozone layer is getting thinner. Yes this causes more heat from the sun to get trapped in our solar system or causes our atmospheir to be vulnerable. Yes this causes storms, floods, and heat waves, (PAUSE) but I mean honestly is this what I should be worried about all the time. (PAUSE) Should I really be losing sleep over this issue. (PAUSE) I mean I have other things to worry about. I have to worry about my health and well being, I have to worry about my family’s health and well being and I have to worry about my job. I have to make sure that our organisation doesn’t collapse into shambles and I have to make sure they are all healthy and capable to do what they need to do, and I need to make sure I can meet my goals and expectations. So with all that in mind, I feel as if climate change is not an issue. It’s not affecting me, or the people that are important to me, and on top of that we are all fine and healthy, so I think it is pointless to worry about something that seems so invisible or so far away.

Secondly, we are not even sure if climate change is an issue or not. There is still much debate on whether this is a catastrophe or whether this is just a natural phenomenon. A natural phenomenon for those who don’t know is something that happens naturally kind of like the ice age. It is something that was bound to happen anyway and it will eventually go away. If it is a natural phenomenon, it just going to happen and we might get over it or we might not survive, but either way, there is nothing we can do.

Finally, we here at ALEC are all for trying to create better ways to live and be happy, but when something just costs to much and if don’t get the money or the outcome we deserved for the amount of money, work, and effort we put in we are not huge fans of that. We want to do what is best for us and others for a good deal and for a good outcome. Helping the world prevent climate change is an expense for us and for others. It is just not pleasant for anyone, and while we would love to help, it does not exactly seem plausible or probable.

Lets Stop Climate Change from alex tristano on Vimeo.

La casa de Cristiano Ronaldo

Posted by Alexander Tristano in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on


Esta es La casa de Cristiano Ronaldo. Es muy grande. Está en Madrid España. Está cerca de Santiago Bernabéu Stadium y Plaza de Españay, y San Francisco el Grande Basilica mucho mas. Está lejos de Barcelona y Museu Picasso y Santa María del Mar y mucho mas. La casa tiene una piscina grande y un jardín grande con muchas plantas pequeños. La casa tiene dos pisos y muchas salas grandes. Tambien, la casa tiene muchas ventanas grandes.

Esto es mi Familia

Posted by Alexander Tristano in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on
Displaying IMG950287.jpg

Esto es mi familia. Somos a veces bobos locos, y extraños. Nos gusta ejercicio por correr, jugar futbol, y ciclismo. Mi papá se llama David y el apodo es Dave. Mi mamá se llama Janine. A mi papa le gusta leer mucho en su tiempo libre. Él lee muy rápido. También a le gusta mirrar el Sherlock, y el Anime. A me gusta mirrar el Sherlock también. A mi mamá le gusta usar su computadora y su iPad en su tiempo libre pero ella no tiene mucho tiempo libre. Trabaja muy duro. A mi papa y yo nos gusta mirrar peliculas mucho en nuestro tiempo libre. También a nos gusta ir al cine a veces en nuestro tiempo libre. Y a nos gusta también jugar videojuegos a veces en nuestro tiempo libre.

Yo Asisto A SLA

Posted by Alexander Tristano in Spanish 1 - Manuel - B on
My Powtoon

Made by Alex Tristano

SLA es la Mejor


Me llamo Alejandro. Tengo quince años. Soy estudiante de Science Leadership Academy. El apodo de Science Leadership Academy es SLA. SLA es un escuela muy bueno y es muy divertida. SLA esta en Filadelfia veintidós y market. Esta cerca de “The Franklin Institute” y “Trader Joe's” y el rio de el Schuylkill. En la escuela, hay más de cuatro cien estudiantes y sobre veinticinco profesores. También en SLA hay cinco pisos pero nosotros nunca usar el piso cuatro por que nosotros no propio el piso. SLA tenemos mas clases difíciles pero en general, las clases son divertidas y interesante. Tenemos Fútbol ultimate frisbee y pista y campo. Me gusta Fútbol y pista y campo porque soy bueno en los dos y estos muy divertidas.


Tengo muchos clases. Tengo Historia, Español, Inglés, Geometría, y Bioquímica. Tambien tengo dos electivos. Tengo destrezas académicas y Tecnología. En destrezas académicas estudiamos para las clases. Es similar a un periodo libre y es muy útil. Technologia es más o menos divertida pero es un poco aburrido a veces. Me gusta Español y Geometría pero mi clase favorita es Ingles por que la clase es muy divertida. y muy interesante. Tambien el Sr. Kay es muy comico. La clase no me gusta mucho es Historia. Historia no es mal pero es un poco aburrido similar a Technologia. Me gusta Historia un poco pero no mucho. Bioquimic no es muy mal o muy bueno es en la media. Tenemos tarea difícil y para tener éxito, tenemos que completar al tare todo los dias.


La Srta. Manuel enseña español Ella es muy divertida y cómico. La clase de español es difícil pero es también interesante y más o menos divertida. La Srta. Manuel jugar fútbol. Ella compleaños es el ciecisiete de mayo. El Sr. Kay enseña Inglés. La clase de ingles es muy divertida porque el Sr. Kay es super comico y muy amable. Él hacer la clase muy interesante y divertida. Eso es porque me gusta su clase mucho.


SLA es una escuela muy bueno. Me gusta SLA mucho porque la comunidad de la escuela es muy acepta Puedes ser quien tu quieres ser y a nadie le importa. También yo tengo mucho amigos y ellos son muy amable. También me gusta los clases. Tengo muchos clases y en general los clases son divertidas y interesantes. En SLA hay es nada eso no me gusta Me gusta todo de SLA.


​http://www.powtoon.com/p/dU1koKfP4GW/

All About Me Slide

Posted by Alexander Tristano in Technology- Freshmen - Hull - y2 on
Tech Presentation-Alex
Tech Presentation-Alex

When I first did my slide, I honestly had no idea of what my slide was going to have on it or how the layout would be. I did some research but I still was very clueless. I decided to find some images of what I like to do or what represents me and put it on a slide, but now that I have seen all the other slides, I decided to cut back on the images and have a little bit more of an interesting background as well as finding different images that made the slide a bit more connected and not separated by white space.

Lucid Chart Internet Drawing -- Alex Tristano

Posted by Alexander Tristano on
This lucid chart is a picture of the internet. A while back during our first or second Technology class, we were assigned to draw the internet. We soon learned what the internet actually is and were then assigned to edit our drawing based on what we learned. We now were just assigned to make a digital version of our drawing on lucid chart. My lucid chart as shown below starts with "the cloud" or the internet and travels in to our home. Our I.S.P. is cavalier. The internet enters our home through a telephone socket. Connected to that is an Ethernet cable as well as our house phone. the Ethernet cable is connected to the modem, which connects to our wireless router through an Ethernet cable. Connecting directly from the router are two desktops. We then have two kindles four laptops to three phones a desktop and an iPad that connect through wirelessly to the router.
Internet Drawing Flowchart
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