Taylor Swift (guest blogger--Lauren Kotler)

Taylor Alison Swift was born as a star,she was born on December 13, 1989 in a small town in Wymossing, PA. Taylor has been singing all of her life and her inspiration is her grandmother who was a professional opera singer. She started her career by locally performing starting at the age of 8 and everyone enjoyed her music. At age 11 she sang the national anthem at a 76s game and preformed at restaurants until the age of seventeen until her fame sparked while she preformed at a showcase at Nashville's Bluebird Cafe in 2006, Scott Borchetta who was creating a new record label and wanted Taylor to be the first one he signs to his new label called Big Machine Records.Later that year of 2006 Swift had her first single called Tim McGraw which was a hit and went to number one on the charts. In 2008 she released two studio albums, Fearless, and Taylor Swift. Fearless was the best selling album from 2008 through 2009. Later in 2009 she kicked off her Fearless tour in all 50 states and more. Her tickets sold out in less than two minutes and became the most awarded country artist in the music history. Swift has been nominated 86 times and had won 62 awards from 2008-2010. Taylor is my favorite singer and role model who is yours?

How To Make A Hit Video (Guest Blogger: Harrison Whelan)

Here is how to come up with good video ideas and how to create good videos.
Usually you will start off brainstorming for new ideas, and this usually happens when you are in a quiet place. My favorite places consist of a park, an empty bedroom, or a in a classroom.





If you are with a friend then the brainstorming will be much easier, since you both can come up with thoughts at the same time and piece them together. Make sure you are with a creative partner though; you don’t want your ideas being bland and boring. Another tip is to write down every possible idea so then in the future; it can be expanded and hopefully written into a script. When coming up with video ideas think realistically. If you have an idea that seems out of budget for your own situation then don’t do it. There’s nothing worse than being stuck with all this filmed material and have it being trashed because you cant finish it because of your budget.
Another tip when you’re finished shooting is to have a good editing software and good knowledge of said editing software. The pros use a program called Final Cut Pro. If you cant afford this (it is pricy) then you should get Final Cut Express. It is less expensive but has less effects and options than FCP.
Here is a video tutorial about the basics of FCE.



Here is a link to the Apple website.

Another situation one has to deal with is writers block. Which is basically when you can’t come up with any good ideas. A quick solution to this (I have found to be very successful) is to just have something to eat, watch some TV, and talk to yourself a lot. I know talking to yourself may sound weird but it really helps keep the mind going and sometimes helps good ideas flow.

I hope these tips have been helpful and good luck on creating a great video!

Music Mentality and Motion (Guest Blogger: Nick Guns)

Nicholas Guns

Enjoying music is a part of people’s lives all around the world. It has been vital to culture since the beginning of human settlement as ingenious people constructed the first bone flutes, animal hide drums, and primitive maracas. Music’s development over thousands of years as produced great artists as well as great instruments, and styles. Such creation is a new kind of invention; not for work, but for expression. As people look back on the greatest musical artists in history they envision people like Ludwig Van Beethoven, George Harrison, and Tupac. However, could they ever imagine creating art themselves? Learning how to play an instrument and musical abilities could make anyone the next star, but do they have the guts to try it?


Music is defined as sound organized over time. Simple, it seems but is there more? This is a great question many have asked themselves but only few answer. People need to explore the vast realm of which could be their song and if they play it on a guitar, on the court, on their desk, or in their head during algebra class. To really answer these great questions and to truly feel self expressed, music is the only way to go. Just think, how you could change and opinion, or even the world with a single note, rhyme, or line. So yell the song of you, and feel how it feels. Express yourself in music, so you can pass the time. Music is a form of expression, and it is up to you to make an impression.



Small Assignment: 1) Think of the music that inspires you the most. Describe this music and tell why it interests you. Is it the lyrics? Instruments? Beats? etc. 2) Do you agree with my definition of music or is there "more" to it? Make an arguement and explain why you believe so.

NJ All Day (Guest Blogger: Ryan Ross)

If you're looking for good basketball, and I'm talking really good basketball, you don't have to look very far. Right here in our backyard, the state of New Jersey, there is some of the best high school basketball in the country. In total, their have been over 30 McDonald's High School All Americans from the Garden State. NJ has three teams that are regularly in the country's tom 25 teams: St. Patrick's of Elizabeth, St. Benedict's of Newark, and St. Anthony's of Jersey City. This year, the state was shaken up when the state championship did not include any of these three giants. Instead, the state championship came back close to home for me, going to the Trenton Catholic Academy team of Hamilton, NJ. Because my friend plays on the Trenton Catholic team, I attended nearly every game in the tournament. Even though the tournament was missing St. Patrick's because of an illegal practicing scandal, the tournament still displayed top talent across the board. Some famous alumni from the state are Charlie Villanueva and Luol Deng who both played for Blair and now are in the NBA. Others are Joakim Noah, J.R. Smith, Al Harrington, Andrew Bynum, Tim Thomas, and Jay Williams, all of whom are or were recently in the NBA.

Speaking NJ high school basketball, our school is one of the many competitive teams in the state.

One of the NBA's all time greats, Willis Reed is played basketball in NJ. He was raised in Cedar Grove, NJ. If you don't know who he is, here is a video

This video shows Willis Reed's heroic return from an injury in Game 7 of an intense playoff series. His Knicks would go on to win the series thanks to his stellar play. Willis Reed's heart and skill epitomizes the New Jersey Basketball Player.

What's your favorite sport to play or watch? Is the sport popular in your state? What professional athletes are from your area?

Caroline's Glee Blog (Guest Blogger--Caroline Campbell)

I love watching TV, and my favorite TV show is Glee. Glee is about a group of teenagers in high school. Most of them are not very popular, but they all have one thing in common: they can sing. So one of the Spanish teachers at the school in Lima, Ohio, Mr. Schuester, takes over the glee club at the school, where the students can come and sing together. Glee club used to be popular at the school, but after time it became known as something only the outcasts and losers do. So when Will Schuester takes it over he tries to change it back into the popular club it was before.

The show is a good mixture of drama, comedy, and singing. All of the characters have specific personalities. Rachel is the lead girl singer, and Finn is the lead male singer. The other people in the glee club are Puck, Kurt, Quinn, Mercedes, Santana, Brittany, Artie, Tina, and Mike. The students in glee club are typical high school students, so there is a lot of drama going on. There are many relationships between the people in the glee club, and there are also a lot of problems with the cheerleading coach at the school, Sue Sylvester. She tries to do whatever she can to ruin the glee club forever. The show has been a big hit, with millions of viewers each week.

This is a video showing the commercial for season two of Glee.


Write a comment saying your favorite TV show or who your favorite character on Glee is if you watch it. Thanks for reading my blog
Caroline Campbell

For Tonight:

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Write your first blog passage on your top interest. Please put effort into using proper grammar and correct spelling. Also, make the reader truly learn something about this interest of yours...not just that you really, really, really like it. Email your writing to mhoban@hunschool.org tonight. We'll work on posting it on the blog tomorrow during class.

-Mr. Hoban

Maritza Correia (Guest Blogger - Janine Cadet)

Maritza Correia is the first African-American female swimmer to make it to the Olympics. She was born in 1981 in San Juan, Puerto Rico but her parents moved their from Guyana. At seven years old, she was diagnose with a severe case of scoliosis, therefore to help cure it her parents started her up with swimming. She started to become very good and started to win championship after championship. She attended UGA (University of Georgia) and during her college career she was a 27-All Time American and 11-time NCAA Champion. In 2000, she had high hopes of making it to the Olympics in Sydney, Australia and went to Olympic Trials but missed the cut off and slipped into a depression. With help of friends and family she finally re-emerged to becoming a top swimmer. She then made it to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece in the 4X400 Freestyle Relay.


Video I Made of Maritza Correia:



Now retired, Martiza Correia is a promoter for USA Swimming and Nike. She also speaks to young inner city kids about her swimming career and encourages them to follow her dream. I've met her even a couple of times and her story ahs inspired me to keep trying harder. Is their anyone who has inspired you to do the same? Thanks for reading!