The Lottery

The Lottery is a short story by Shirley Jackson. It was first published in the The New Yorker in 1948. The story is about a small American village having their annual lottery. There is a special box used only for the annual lottery. In the box, there are small pieces of paper, with one piece having a black dot in the middle. The head of each house draws the small piece of paper, and Bill Hutchinson receives the paper with the black dot. Each person in the Hutchinson family draws and whoever gets the paper with the black dot "wins" the lottery. At the end of the story, Tessie Hutchinson, Bill's wife, receives the paper with the black dot and "wins" the lottery. The prize of the lottery was being stoned.
Stoning is a form of capital punishment that involves people throwing stones at the convicted until he or she dies. Stoning has been used for a long time, and still happens today in our society. In the story The Lottery, the person who "won" the lottery could have been a man or a woman, or even a child, but in the real world, stoning affects women the most. Most of the time, women are being stoned for a crime with no evidence. Stoning is not the only brutal abuse women suffer. Some abuses include: bride burning, bride kidnapping, honor killing, female genital mutilation and human trafficking. Because of the brutality of stoning and other abuses women suffer, I chose Violence against Women as the theme.

Bride Kidnapping

America's Team: Best Team in the NFL

In the 1990s, "America's Team" won 3 Superbowls with one of the greatest trio of all time, Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmett Smith, and one of the best defensive coaches of all time, Jimmy Johnson. Who is "America's Team"? They are the Dallas Cowboys. The are known as "America's Team" because of its high attendance and extreme passion for football in the city of Dallas. After their third superbowl win, the Cowboy's success has declined and teams such as New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, and Pittsburgh Steelers have been the best teams. Recently, the Cowboys are re-emerging as the best team in the NFL because of the emergence of Tony Romo and the talent offense.

The Dallas Cowboys are once again the best team in the NFL because of Tony Romo. After the retirement of Troy Aikman, the Cowboys did not have any success with Quincy Carter and Vinny Testeverde. Luckily the Cowboys were able to nab Tony Romo. He was undrafted from Eastern Illinois. Romo has tremendous footwork and arm accuracy. He can throw accurately on the run. He is not afraid of the pressure. He is able to find gaps and throw the football before being sacked. Sometimes, he makes poor judgments and throws an interception, but he is still learning and has vastly improved since being an undrafted prospect.

Tony Romo is having so much success because he has a balance, talented offense. The Cowboys have a balance of running and passing. When they run, they have the power of Marion Barber and the speed of Felix Jones. When they pass, they have targets like Terrell Owens, Patrick Crayton, and Jason Witten. With so many options, they can mix up their game plan and confuse the defense.
At the beginnning of the year, every scout and sports analyst said the Cowboys were the most talented. Now with Tom Brady out for the season, Peyton Manning not 100% healed, and San Diego Chargers struggling, the Cowboys are the clearcut favourite to be the best team and win the Superbowl.

Cidade de Deus (the city)

Cidade de Deus is a city in Brazil and means "City of God". It is located in the Western Zone of the city of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city in Brazil. The population is about 50 000. It is notorious for its violent community, and high crime rates.
Cidade de Deus was found in 1960. The government decided to remove favelas in the centre of Rio de Janeiro and settle them in the suburbs. "Favela" means shanty town (settlements who live improvised dwellings made from scrap plywood, corrugated metal, and sheets of plastic). Many favelas are very close and very cramped and are plagued by crime and hygiene problems.
In the 1980s, different associations such as sporting clubs, samba groups, active churches dance troupes and the black movement emerged in Cidade de Deus. The city has been improving drastically over the years. In 2003, the "Community Committee of Cidade de Deus" was formed to improve the life in Cidade de Deus.

Welcome

Welcome to Cidade de Deus! Cidade de Deus is a city in Brazil and it means "City of God".



My name is Machete. I love football, basketball and tennis. In my blog, I will mostly be posting my English assignments and independent study units, but I will also be posting sports analysis and any issues that are concerning me.