Official Student Newspaper of Henry M. Gunn High School

The Oracle

Official Student Newspaper of Henry M. Gunn High School

The Oracle

Official Student Newspaper of Henry M. Gunn High School

The Oracle

Blogs showcase students’ distinctive passions

iomoo.wordpress.com

According to French designer Coco Chanel, fashion fades and only style remains the same.  In posts on her blog, iomoo.wordpress.com, sophomore Sara Ameri tries to make Chanel’s belief clear to readers.  “I don’t dress based on what other people find trendy or what other people want me to wear,” Ameri said. “I dress based on what I like: my style.”

Since 2009, Ameri has used her blog to post pictures of her clothing style, as well as her opinions about them.  She also includes other interests in her posts.  “I like to post a lot of photography that’s not really fashion-related,” Ameri said. “It’s pretty much whatever is on the top of my mind.”

In addition to her blog, Ameri also maintains an eBay profile where she sells fashion clothing. The prices range from 99 cents for a pair of red flannel shorts to $120 for Gucci vintage heels. She earns about $200 to $300 a month from these sales. “Generally I sell my mom’s old clothing, so I give her the majority of the money to be fair,” she said. “But sometimes she lets me keep 20 percent to 30 percent of the sales and I just use the money to save up.”

Among her influences are the style blogs “The Man Repeller” and “Fated to Be Hated.” “I really like the kinds [of blogs where] you can tell that [the bloggers] have a personality,” Ameri said.

With its name derived from the Greek goddess Io, iomoo.wordpress.com earns around 800 views per week.  However, the blog’s popularity has not distracted Ameri from its ultimate purpose. “The blog wasn’t originally aimed towards having readers,” she said. “It was mostly just something for me to be able to reflect back on and see how things in the fashion world have changed.”

—Compiled by Cooper Aspergren

athousandlittlepages.blogspot.com

Two months ago, junior Cindy Lin created a blog called “A Thousand Little Pages,” a site where she posts books reviews and weekly blogger memes. According to Lin, book memes are themed posts that bloggers publish on a specific day of the week. “For example, the very popular ‘In My Mailbox’ allows various bloggers to share the books they received that week,” Lin said. “The idea is to create a blogging community where bloggers visit each other’s posts and comment.”

Lin decided to create her own blog when she started reading other book blogs back in 2010. After developing a solid presence as a book reviewer on Goodreads, a website for book enthusiast to make reading lists and suggest books for others, Lin decided to start posting reviews on her own blog. “Posting reviews is very cathartic, especially after finishing a particularly intense novel,” Lin said. “Instead of bottling up all my thoughts, I get to share it with the world and prompt a discussion.”

Even though the blog is still in its early stages, Lin has already posted full reviews of 70 books and rated over 1,000 others. “The bulk of my content is about young adult novels, with a few middle school or adult book-related posts sprinkled throughout,” she said.

Lin has also held three giveaways in which she has given away books and posters. According to Lin, giveaways are a way to show follower appreciation. “They are a great way to get people to come visit my blog in the first place,” Lin said.

In the future, Lin plans to conduct interviews with authors and do book tours once she has more followers. Lin would love to participate in various book events, including BookExpo America and the American Library Association Midwinter Conference where she can meet authors or publishers.

—Compiled by Emily Yao

hip-hopisntdead.blogspot.com

As senior Matt Brooks types out his posts, he feels the beat of the song flow through his body and out his fingertips. Brooks, uses Blogspot as a place to express his passion for hip-hop.

His blog, “Hip-hop Isn’t Dead”, features posts regarding the latest hip-hop hits and album releases and album reviews, as well as oldies to be remembered. “I created it because I love sharing music with the people around me,” Brooks said. “The Internet is the way of the future for sharing music.” One can also find hip-hop singles, song leaks, mixtapes and extended plays that Brooks enjoys. These reflect a mixture of both mainstream and underground artists within the hip-hop genre.

Brooks started his blog over the summer after his friends asked him what his favorite recent albums were, and he has been blogging ever since. He compiles a collection of music every week or so, and publishes a number of posts in a single session. “In general, I tend to post twenty at a time, rather than one a day. I like to compile a bunch of music over the week, that way I can really listen through the songs and give good and honest reviews about the tracks.”  Brooks said.

Brooks has been a diehard fan of hip-hop mogul Lil Wayne for seven years.  “I really respect his grind and creativity that he puts into his music,” Brooks said. “The Carter III has got to be [one of my] favorite albums. He’s a real motivational artist and he puts a lot of effort into his work, not to mention he’s a great performer.”

Brooks hopes to continue his hip-hop blogging and aspires to possibly pursue a career as a music critic.

—Compiled by Ellen Lee

outsidethehoodie.blogspot.com

Sophomore Arjun Parikh is the creative mind behind “Outside The Hoodie,” a blog he started as an outlet for his opinions on the world of sports. Parikh started the blog in Dec. 2010 and has accumulated a weekly fan-base of 600 people. He writes about different sports from all around the spectrum of the athletic world. The blog is opinion-based and updated every one to two weeks.

The title of the blog comes from the coach of Parikh’s favorite team: the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick, the coach, is famous for wearing different hoodies at every game. “It’s called ‘Outside the Hoodie’ because my opinions are generally different from popular opinion,” Parikh said.

Parikh’s blog as serves as a platform to communicate his opinions on certain sports-related issues. “With the blog, I can actually write and get my thoughts down without being interrupted,” Parikh said.

The blog’s topic is no surprise as Parikh has been a sports enthusiast ever since he can remember. “I was born in Boston and my dad took me to Red Sox games since I was one year old,” he said. He has also played soccer since the age of six. “I really follow the sports world closely, I’m kind of obsessed,” Parikh said.

Parikh enjoys writing on his blog over academic writing. “I can say whatever I want, and it’s not timed; it’s not like an essay,” Parikh said. “I write what I want, and people can choose to read it and disagree or agree.”

According to Parikh, the blog has become an integrated part of his life now. “When I’m watching sports events, I’m thinking about what I want to write about,” Parikh said.

—Compiled by Wayland Fong

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