• What did you set out to do?

• How does your work incorporate the art of storytelling?

• What do you hope your audience gains from your work?

• What did you gain from doing this work. 

The group I worked with for the the duration of this project focused on the epidemic of HIV/AIDS throughout Philadelphia. Raeven, Taylor, Jailsa, and I brainstormed many ideas to help broadcast this problem to those in our school, and those throughout the city. We immediately began breaking down the project in to portions where think we would be most productive. Raeven created a google doc form where people could anonymously answer questions on HIV/AIDs related inquiries, Taylor created the script for our video and acted in it, Jalisa edited said video, and I was charged with social networking and creating an ad. 

Since we save desserts for last, I’ll list a couple challenges that arrived during the creation of this project. One challenge was designing an ad that would quickly grasp the eye of a passerby, while still delivering a powerful message. Many different advertisements line the walls of SLA, telling all who read of upcoming events. I had to make sure that our ad could compete amongst the sea of ads. I decided to incorporate the most famous African-American AIDS awareness activist Magic Johnson on a poster, along with some clover statistics. Instead of posting them around the school, we will be handing them out. This insures that people must at least look at them firsthand, before doing whatever they please with them. 

Another challenge was gaining followers on Twitter. We felt twitter would be the best social network to set up on because of it’s popular promotion reputation. YOu can get a word out quickly, and follow other pages that support the same cause as you. What started off as a fun idea, turned sour quickly. We couldn’t manage to get followers outside of our group mates! We knew our page wouldn’t progress within our own circle, so we looked to other groups who created twitters for their problem. Once we “followed” them, promotions and constant tweeting got me to a staggering 12 followers. Yes, this is a challenge that we are still trying to solve. 

On the other hand, a success we managed to pull off was a smooth video. Our video consisted of an angel and a devil, whom represented good judgement and bad judgement. Taylor approached us with a thorough script which clearly depicted each person’s role, and of course what they were saying. We were even able to use the nurse’s office to help Jalisa complete her role as a nurse preparing an AIDS test. I believe this video will grab the viewer’s attention of the presence of HIV/AIDS, and also the importance of getting tested/treated for it as quickly as possible. 

All in all, this project was fairly simple, as long as you’re organized. We broke down roles from the beginning, which gave all of us the chance to think about how we could construct our individual parts. With more time came more ways to perfect our product, and also add more components to help broadcast what we needed to say to the public. Our objective was to inform others of the dire epidemic of HIV/AIDS, which we think we accomplished. 

1. 

Lane, Roger (1999). Violent Death in the City: Suicide, Accident, and Murder in Nineteenth-Century Philadelphia. Ohio State University Press

This book depicts various forms of crimes in Nineteenth-Century Philadelphia, predominately murder. Roger Lane told the story of violence in philadelphia, backed by thorough comparisons of national statistics. Lane says how the Nineteenth-century murders were significantly lower than those of modern times. Lane uses final records of deceased individuals, sometimes as small as the regards from a state agent, to help reflect the lives they lived before their deaths. This source is kind of reliable due to her direct contact with people who were aware of how the deaths occurred or even family members. This source is slightly unreliable because some people she contacted didn’t know the people from a can of paint. Overall I think this source is good because she cited gun violence as one of the main causes of death besides natural, which is an essential detail in our project. 

2. 

Cook, Philip J., Jens Ludwig (2000). "Chapter 2". Gun Violence: The Real Costs. Oxford University Press

This book outlines the cost Gun Violence costs America annually, while also giving statistics of murder rates. Cook goes in to detail on how much it actually costs to clean and properly treat a gunshot wound, and how it is not only hurting our country’s people, but the economy as well. Cook also says that Philadelphia's percentage of gun violence has risen more than 20% since 1973, proving that Philadelphia’s gun violence is spiraling at a positive rate, but is a negative impact on the city. This source is reliable because he cites direct sources and city officials. He also cites the U.S Census and cross checks different crimes that are committed in Philly to see how many are gun related. 

3. 

Murphy , Ray. "Gun Violence in Philadelphia." Ray Murph'ys Blog. N.p., 10 010 2007. Web. Web. 14 Feb. 2013. <http://youngphillypolitics.com/gun_violence_philadelphia>.

In this blog, author Ray Murphy gives his insight on the continuos murders that were popping up throughout Philadelphia. He comments on how the city might be better overall without guns, and what he thinks could be the main cause of all these murders. He gives quantitative data by stating the amount of gun related murders that were committed that far into 2007 (300), which was not really backed by a source. This source is both reliable, and unreliable. It is reliable because he has some factual data included, but also unreliable because he features a lot of opinionated views. 

4. 

Bohn, Kevin. "Philadelphia: Teen 'afraid every da'y as gun violence soars." CNN [Philadelphia] n.d., n. pag. Print. <http://articles.cnn.com/2007-05-16/us/philly.homicides_1_zip-gun-violence-violent-crime?_s=PM:US>.

This source is an interview of an average Philadelphian teen on gun violence, conducted by CNN. Isaac Diaz is asked numerous questions about gun violence and how he copes with it. CNN also cites that the new record for gun-related murders in a year is 406, which topped the 400 set in 1990. I would count this source as reliable because it comes from CNN. CNN is a nationally credited news broadcasting company, so I assume they have a group of fact checkers backing the work. I also count this source as reliable because the interview is direct, no second hand relays or anything that can taint the words from Diaz’s mouth. 

5. 

Huttonlock, Frank. Interview by Nuri Bracey. Gun Violence in Philadelphia 14 February 2013. February . Print.

This last source was an interview conducted by myself. The interviewee was Frank Huttonlock, a Gun Range Safety Officer located in Philadelphia. The interview was based on three questions; "What do you think is the main cause of gun violence?",

"Which age group commits the most gun related crimes?", and "How can you work to control gun violence?" A response I got was “Media is the main cause of gun violence to me. All these teens see is how they’re favorite artist is waving a gun to get what he wants, and they try to mimic that.” The classic response, and a liable one at that. I think this source is reliable and unreliable at the same time. It is reliable because yet again, it is straight from interviewer to interviewee. It’s unreliable because his answers aren’t factual, but opinionated. 

 “What you want NIGGER!”

 “I’ll take the cream of wheat sir,” I always say, with a smile. My brain has been programmed to say this, even though under my skin, I’m hot like Mt. Saint Helen in 2004.

 “Good, cause you ain’t getting no banana MONKEY!”

 “Oh no sir, I don’t want that, too much potassium for my diet.” That’s how you get’em back. They never like it when you use “big words”. The accomplishment felt good until the expected happened. Every guards fist was flying at my face, while my legs instinctively dropped and curled up. 2 minutes and the occasional n-word passed before I got up, brushed my jumpsuit, and walked off.

  I go out to the yard to play basketball with my best friend. No one knows his real name, but he goes by “Silk”, though he’s almost 90 years old and wrinkly. I though about what I’m going to do when he passes, when the ball he shot missed and hit a guard smack in his head. I remember saying, “RUN NOW!” but it was useless to say to him, he could barely walk. I turned to see about 20 guards, tasers out, and every inmate outside. Everyone was looking at Silk, who was crying.

  “NIGGER YOU MINE!” bellowed one of the guards as he raced at Silk. He swung his big meaty fist and hit Silk in his jaw, retracting with a couple teeth. That must have been the cue. Every guard rushed in to get their licks, fueled by the smell of flesh opening up revealing pearl white bone. The horde of guards retreated, revealing an unrecognizable, close to death, Silk. As he lay there unconscious, inmates running furiously over to him, I could already see that he was dead. Somewhere, dormant inside my heart, a spark ignited the fuel that the guards’ 17-year-old abuse provided.

“What the HELL is wrong with you! It was an accident! You didn’t have to beat him to death! Fear was no longer a registered word in my vocabulary. Seeing my friend, my diary, the man I told everything too, my mentor dead at my feet, that overfilled the cup of hate I had towards the guards.

 “Boy, you better watch your tongue.”

If I hadn’t looked at him, I wouldn’t of saw the sheer fright in his eyes. He knew what he did was wrong, but he tried to keep his composure. Standing on a large boulder in the middle of the yard, the Death Valley sun beaming at my forehead, I did what I hadn’t done since my trial: spoke my mind. “My brothers, and that’s exactly what we are now. Not by blood, but by bond and hardship. We can no longer allow these oppressive tyrants to slaughter our souls! We can no longer stand back and watch one of our brothers get the leather belt across his face. The day for revolution has come, and this damn sure will not be televised! We pray to be delivered from evil every night, today YOU HAVE THAT CHOICE! MAKE IT!” Silence washed over the entire yard while I awaited the fist of these human devils.

 “Amen” came a voice echoing through the crowd.

 A roar erupted, drowning out the sounds of 400 inmates piling on to 70 guards.

 A discreet but extensive letter was sent to each inmate, apologizing to each one, promising a better future for us captured survivors.

How many streetlights do you need on one street? I kept asking that myself during my brisk walk to the 69^th Street Terminal.  Small traces of the sun’s warmth seemed to catch my stride. I started to hear a faint but familiar tune. I wandered to the source of the sound to find that a man, just about my height, was playing Sir Duke on his saxophone. I let the music surround me for some time, tapping my feet to the rhythm. I tossed a $5 bill in his case and moved about my business after a while. I found a spot to relax and waited when a lady in a red white and green walked and stood in front of me.

Ever since childhood I’ve been known as a nice guy. Although some people might confuse it with gullibility, I just consider it hard to say no. If family, or a close friend, asks for money, I’d oblige to it without thinking. If I don’t have what they’re asking for, then I’ll ask them if what I have would suffice. I don’t know why, but I’m obsessed with seeing people happy. Now don’t get my wrong, I’m not feminine or mushy or any of that, but seeing people upset around me makes me not operate right.

“Wassup Nuri!”

“Watsup Na’im?”

I don’t even know why I asked this question. I knew what would come from my 19-year-old brother Na’im.

“Can I borrow $10 for gas?”

Of course I said to myself! Now I had no idea if that was what is was really going to, but I had just received my first paycheck so I was happy to give him some money. That was just how it went. It didn’t matter if they paid back, or if it was just a giveaway, I don’t let family go without. Friends on the other hand are just a little different. For them, their must be reason, and its not usually more than 5$ if its money.  I never pondered over them, but those have always been the rules I set on loans/gifts.

One time, my mom even questioned me on my kindness. We were in the kitchen cooking, about 5:30pm. I was pouring bacon bits in to a searing pan, careful of the grease trying to fight me. Out of the blue, she asks a puzzling question

“Why do you give away your hard earned money to people who’ll spend it on God knows what?”

I looked up from my flaming pan, gave her a big smile and said “Cause I’m a nice person.”

“Look out child, that’s going to hurt you when you get older”

That was one of the only sayings I pondered before. Half of me thought she was right, but the other half thought that there couldn’t be any consequences of being polite. I really disagreed with what she said since I haven’t been penalized or effected negatively by giving money.

The last time someone asked me for money was not too long ago. I was in my English class on a warm morning, sitting next to my “bro” Octavious. I was tapping a beat on the table when my teacher walked around selling notebooks needed especially for this class. He turned to me, face stricken with hope, and asked for 1$ dollar to purchase one. Seeing that it was for school, and he was one of my bro’s, of course I said yes. It wasn’t the first time he asked for a monetary supplement, but he always pays back so it’s was ok. That’s how it is for almost everyone, I never ask, but they always return.

I make sure that people understand that I’m not gullible. People may not see on the exterior, but there are rules to this money system. If people see that I give away money to my friends, some of my lesser friends/acquaintances start to ask. That’s when I firmly and adequately refuse. To me its not a bad habit, just me being nice. I’m not getting overpowered, and I know how to say no. That’s probably why for the first time in my life, a stranger in a red, white, and green Rita’s apron moving towards me rewarded my kindness with a gelati and a warm smile on a warm summer night.

In order to learn how to do this, you must know how to: say the numbers 1-29, and how to speak correct grammar

Time is one of the weirdest and confusing subjects (for me) in español. There a lot of twist and turns in it.

 If the time is anywhere BEFORE THE 30 MIN. MARK (and it's not one o'clock), than you would say Son las, dos,  tres, cuatro(etc.).

If the time is one o'clock, then you say Es la una.

Say the time is 4:20. You would say son las cuatro y veinte. If the time is 2:30, you would say son las dos y media. If the time is 4:40 or 4:55, you'd say cuatro menos veinte or cuatro menos cince. You do this since your subtracting the min. that it would take to get to 60.

There is a chart for reference and a link below to help you further understand.