Christian L's TOP BLOG

Oh What A Night............Um, I Mean Summer

2010-08-29T19:15:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

It's been a year since I have blogged. However, if you want more updates, I've been on Twitter mostly this past year @amazechristianl

This summer was an eventful one. My sister, Francesca, was involved in a serious accident around Labor Day weekend and so that was the beginning of my eventful summer. She fell two stories during the middle of the night and was rushed to ICU. She spent about a week there and it seemed like science fiction to see her in that state. She was then in the rehab for about two weeks and is now back at home recovering little by little. She is currently attending Greenville Tech this fall.

During this past summer I worked at JCPenney's as a sales associate in Men's and Children's clothing. Both with big contrasts between them in types of customers, clothing sold, and much more. It was a very interesting position because I had never before had a position in retail and I had to jump into the water very quickly. I can say that it was a very rewarding and enlightening experience. Through it I became more confident about myself and more willing to be open with others.

Then after about two months working there I went on a cruise with my family on Liberty Of The Seas to Puerto Rico, Haiti, and St. Maarten. It's hard to imagine that I was on the second largest cruise ship in the world, but I was. I will never forget the trip and it was incredible to see Francesca having the opportunity to be on the trip with us after the past two months with her accident.

When we first got on the trip they had their first parade, the "Soca-Licious" parade. (Whatever that's supposed to mean.) I'm guessing it was the "Let's Get Hyped" parade.

And we were getting "hyped."

And excited.

Some guests were hanging from the ceiling.

On our first part of call we were in St. Maarten. We went on the 12 Metre Sailboat race where, you were either on the Stars And Stripes or Canada Two. We ended up on Canada Two by default. We still had a great time. Check out the cool sails.

We had a great view of our ship and a Princess ship in port from the sailboat.

And a cool view of what was ahead.

And this is the Canada Two crew. And I still don't know who everyone is.

While in St. Maarten, we wanted to stop at Ben and Marco's, but had no time.

But we did see boats at rest.

And the harbor.

We got a picture of us three teens in front of the two ships in port that day.

And saw a cool sunset to top it all off.

Perhaps this one is better.

It seemed the entire ship was out there.

And the clouds were interesting to look at.

And then we made it to Puerto Rico.

But more interesting than statues, was the fort wall.

Well, not that much more exciting.

And we got a good view from the fort.

And we saw some really old cannons.

Possibly a better view from the fort.

And there was a chapel too.

And the walk was just like a Death Valley experience.

And check out this crazy statue. WOAH!

Yes, there are stop signs and one way streets in Puerto Rico.

A view of the ship from a distance in the old city.

And we enjoy the view.

And yes the ship is HUGE!

Then we were on to Haiti. Royal Caribbean donated a portion of our cruise fare and what we bought in Haiti to the earthquake victims. The scenery was very relaxing.

And you could see the bluest sky and the greenest leaves.

At the end of our cruise we enjoyed a Pirate Parade. AARRRGGHHH!

And a sword fight!

And court jesters.

And the aftermath was Chaos.

And this was the best picture of me yet.

So that's a roundup of our cruise. So much has occurred since then and so much continues to happen. I will try to blog more, but then again it may not.

I hope everyone is well, and blog on!

Christian

A Vacation To Remember

2009-07-31T21:16:00.000-07:00

"Dude, you haven't blogged in forever. When are you writing a new one?" Well, my answer to that question is this blog coming up. Indeed it has been forever, friends.

As many of you know, I recently went on a two week Baltic cruise from June 28 to July 9th. This was about one month ago and since then I've been unpacking, uploading, and getting things back to normal. It was an excellent trip with many sights and sounds that I will never forget and times that were not like any other.

Both the beginning and ending parts of our trip occurred in London and Dover, England. Both charming places with interesting history and spectacular architecture.

Big Ben was incredible. We visited London for the first time a couple of years ago. Seeing Big Ben is a must when you visit London, if you get the chance. But in honesty London the second time around is better. You get to see what you missed the first time and discover more of what you had seen the first time.

Seeing the Eye Of London up close again is quite an experience. The last time we traveled to London we took a ride on the Eye and the entire citywide view of London was breathtaking.

This was the first time however that my travel group of the family saw the Globe Theater, where Shakespeare performed many of his plays for the first time. We were not able to stop by before going on the cruise, but there may be a next time in the near future.

This time around we were able to catch a glimpse of London Bridge, made famous by both the Nursery Rhyme and the ever popular Fergie song of the same name.

We almost made it to the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England, but no cigar. It would have been interesting since I was wearing a watch at the time. I wonder what it would be like having my time mess up in England. It's a sight to see.

We stayed in many hotels in London. Some nicer than others, but that's the way it is in England. Also remember to wear pants in England because the saying goes, "There are no shorts in England, no shorts."

So now it was finally time to board the Norwegian Jewel, a ship we had cruised in the Mediterranean once before and now for the 12 day Baltic capital cruise.

Our first stop was Copenhagen, Denmark.

Can you guess who this famous figure is? HMMM???? Okay, okay. It's the Little Mermaid. The fairy tale told by Hans Christian Andersen and made into a multi million dollar movie by Disney. Oh can we ever forget our fascination with the famous red head Ariel.

We eventually made it to Tivoli in Copenhagen, the oldest theme park in the world. I couldn't believe how advanced the theme park had been since it had been around for long, since 1843. It was an incredible sight to see. Danny and Tyler took some time off to play Wheelchair Bumpers in the park.

Yes we even caught a glimpse of the Hard Rock Cafe there too. Well one of the millions around the world.

And so we waved goodbye to Tivoli for the day and went on a walking tour of the town. It was not all that scenic compared to other places I have been, but still interesting nonetheless.

We sure got our fair share of Michael Jackson mania on this trip, especially passing by this window shop in Denmark.

But there were very more interesting things than that on our trip and we got tired of watching Fox News with MJ's Latest Hoorah on cruise ship TV every night.

But then as we were eating lunch we found the most obscure exhibit that we have ever seen on any of our trips.

Are you Lost yet? We sure were. What was this? It was an exhibition of crazy signs from around the world. Some funnier and more outrageous than others.

I took a bunch of pictures. Here are a few of them:

And then.

Never knew those existed. I would like to see where I can find them.

Then again.

Why bother telling us that? Its useless if we do anything wrong then? Right? Sure.

And this needs no explanation.

Yep, go ahead and make your own conclusions on that one.

Then we got back on the ship and sailed away to Berlin/Rostock, Germany.

The highlight of our trip was going to see the oldest astronomical clock the world built in 1472 and located in St. Mary's Church.

We also went to a maritime museum before that and learned about the maritime history of the city.

They had some very interesting models of the most popular ships in history.

This is one of the Titanic which sank in 1912.

Fast forward two days and we were finally in Tallin, Estonia. It was my favorite country out of all the ports. Home town feel, not very touristy, city band, etc.

We had a great time. Went to a medieval restaurant, had many group pictures, and even some of us rode a Super Bike.

Yes a Super Bike. It could take up to six passengers at a time. I want one of those in SC.

In the race for time, they were faster than us by about half an hour.

After the adventurous time in Estonia, we went for two days in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

We had a great tour guide Natalia. You should check them out at Guide Guru if you ever want to tour there. She was incredible and Yuri, our bus driver, was too.

On our first day we went to St. Catherine's Summer Palace and Peterhoff, which were more than imaginably huge, but easy to navigate.

A view could be seen from the Terrace of Peterhoff.

We even had to wear funky shoes at the Palace.

On Day Two of our tour we went to the Hermitage and more churches, as we had in other cities.

These paintings were life size. Huge. Humongous. Some more famous and recognized than others.

We were lucky enough to see most of the museum. I was so blown away by the collection. It was far beyond what I was expecting from the small galleries I have been to in the states, besides Washington DC.

We even saw Rembrandt's Prodigal Son up close. Real close.

So then we move on to the most BORING city in the Baltic; Helsinki, Finland. If only they added an extra L and a T then that would fit the town perfectly. What a hoot of a city.

My family, not the whole group, started the day with Sunday Mass at a local parish. 20% Finn, and the rest were mostly Africans and Hispanics. A melting pot in Finland.

Afterwords we met the group to see a Lutheran church.

This one.

And all they had to show for it was one friggin' painting and a statue of Luther. WOO HOO!

What a waste.

So we leave in haste down the big steps and take a short tour of the city. We stumbled upon some weird signs along the way.

And.

Well Im wondering the same thing as the monkey. It thinks its Peter Pan, but it's not. HMMMM.

And Yes, Virginia, Santa Claus does exist in Finland too.

So then we went to our last port of Stockholm, Sweden. A massive country with little time to be spent in it.

Our first stop was to see an old ship wreck, the Vasa, which sank in 1628 on its maiden voyage, and was pulled up in 1961 entirely intact.

And a replica of the ship to go with it.

We even saw a replica of the maiden voyage.

And a few figurines from the ship.

And that was the end of our port stops on this trip.

Sure did.

So it was now time to head back to the cruise ship, Norwegian Jewel to spend our final days and hours on before we headed to London, and then home.

Oh it's definitely the good life for sure.

On one of the nights on the cruise ship my father celebrated his birthday on board. What a great time we had that night, the waiters singing, and the best chocolate cake we have EVER had.

The night life was incredible on this trip. Went into the club at midnight and stayed late into the night. Good times.

Oh yes let the good times roll.

And then we were booted off for good. :(

So we first get off the ship and hit a local pub for drinks and grub. We were exhausted from the long trip and took a break before heading onto the trains from Dover to London.

And yes I do like the advertising potential of this past picture.

So we get to Dover and crash for the night. Slept for like 12 hours. Got up early the next morning to hit the trains for London.

Later in the evening some of our group took a walk to Chelsea, a neighborhood of London, with some friends. But we didn't expect the sight we saw there.

At the time, unbeknownst to us, the new Jaguar XJ was having a worldwide showcase close by. Supposedly, according to reports, video, and pictures; there were celebrities that included the likes of David Hasselholff, Jay Leno, and Elle MacPherson. Little did we know, we caught a glimpse of Elle MacPherson walking the so called red carpet with the paparazzi. The real stuff.

Here is the outside of the event.

And then Elle MacPherson and the paps show up.

If you ask, yes it was as crazy as the videos on TMZ. Like 100 times crazier.

We now bring you..................the official Paps pictures of Elle MacPherson at the Jaguar XJ premiere in Chelsea, London (with us in the background).

Picture One

(I am walking away in this one).

Picture Two

(This one includes my second cousins Trisha (in the red jacket) and Keith (in the dark jacket).

Picture Three

(This picture includes Keith, my Mother in the green sweater, and myself).

Final Picture Four

(The final picture includes my Mother, and myself behind the looking woman).

And these conclude my two week cruise trip to Europe, part two.

It will definitely be a great vacation to remember. If I am ever able, I would go back in heartbeat. I think I have gone on long enough for this entry, so I would like to say thank you for traveling with me in pictures.

God bless all of you and I will talk to you all soon,

Christian L.

The New Year Awaits

2009-01-01T16:53:00.000-08:00

Hello every1,

First off Happy New Years. We finally made it to 2009! It's definitely been a very busy and wild past year and months past. It's now time to refresh and start all over again. I'm ready.

The second half of this first semester went very well and I am still alive. HOORAY. The second semester is on the horizon and I am ready for the journey. The pictures and video say it all.

There is so much to reflect on this past year with school, family, and social life. But I am most proud to have accomplished two things:

1. Graduated high school in May.

2. Started college in August.

These may not seem eventful, but they have made this past year memorable. A busy, exciting, fast paced ride.

I am hoping this coming year to write more news as it comes up. I was definitely a slacker with being a HS senior and getting ready for the college life, but that seems pretty normal from all angles. So stay tuned for that and more this coming year.

As I close off, I would like to thank you all for all the friendship you have given me this past year and I wish you many more good tidings in this year of 2009.

Happy New Years,
Christian.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here is the Top 20 for 2008 = as tradition goes
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1. Bleeding Love - Leona Lewis

2. I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry

3. So What - Pink

4. No One - Alicia Keys

5. Four Minutes - Madonna

6. Take A Bow - Rihanna

7. Hot N Cold - Katy Perry

8. Apologize - One Republic

9. Disturbia - Rihanna

10. Low - Flo Rida

11. Love Song - Sara Bareilles

12. Forever - Chris Brown

13. Viva La Vida - Coldplay

14. Dont Stop The Music - Rihanna

15. If I Were A Boy - Beyonce

16. Im Yours - Jason Mraz

17. With You - Chris Brown

18. Live Your Life - Ti

19. Touch My Body - Mariah Carey

20. Womanizer - Britney Spears

JL MANN WINS SPIRIT WEEK 2008!!!!

2008-10-31T20:04:00.000-07:00

JL MANN BEAT GREENVILLE!!!!!

Mann = $340,043.

Greenville= $156,965.

WOO HOO!!!!!

Congratulations Patriots From Chucktown! Congrats Congrats Congrats A Million! I can't believe it! I am in total shock! I have been praying and getting the word out about Jett Zone and believe this is the best Spirit Week ever! Way better than back in 2005 with the $123,000 over $120,000. I am very impressed and overjoyed. I can't express all my enthusiasm on your victory in this short blog. Your choice to raise money to build homes for the memories of Justin, Emily, Travis, and Taylor was very generous and kind. I don't believe you could have picked a better way to raise money than for Habitat For Humanity Greenville this year. Great job on all your hard work. JettZone.com looked amazing and so did the Mann website, which I must say looks way better than what it did when I went to school there. Congrats Congrats Congrats! This will be a Spirit Week to remember. The totals for Mann are more than double and that has never been achieved in Spirit Week history. This Spirit Week will set the standard for years to come! As I head off God Bless JL Mann, its students, faculty, the City Of Greenville, Habitat Greenville, and of course the families and memories we raised money for. I am so overjoyed I can't speak more.

Love You All!

Christian

A New Beginning

2008-08-29T06:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Every1,

I arrived in Charleston, aka "Chucktown" about a week ago at the College Of Charleston. I am officially starting over. First the summer.

The cruise to Alaska and trip to California were some of the most memorable two weeks I ever had. I could only wish for more. Hopefully soon, maybe in the next few minutes before classes. I will put up my pictures. It was an amazing time. And even then the two locations were completely different and in a drastic way with the temperatures and climates of Southern Alaska and Southern California. I could only wish for more.

This first week at Charleston has been an interesting one. I never knew quite what to expect. I never knew I would be as busy as I have been. I have wanted to try to get to be early by instead homework has taken me till midnight on most nights. It's not that bad, because I usually do not need that many hours of sleep.

I have received so many emails of encouragement and miss you's from the folks back home and I am very thankful for all of them. This past week has been a crazy one and I am trying to get done with as much stuff as I can. It's been busy, but fun as well.

This first week of classes have been quite a surprise already. First, I though I would like Latin the best and Public Speaking the worst. But guess what? It's vice versa now. I actually like Public Speaking more than Latin. I don't know why, it's just a gut feeling. A very weird and strange one at that.

I went to my first CSA meeting and get together last night. CSA stands for Catholic Student Association. It's the most awesome organization ever! Anyways, back to my story. This past night was movie night and we watched Hook. Now, I haven't watched Hook since I was a kid and I still thought it was entertaining for the millionth time. I actually got some of the jokes in there since I am a bit older now. It's funny how that is with family movies. They are childish, but they know how to sneak in adult jokes without you realizing it.

On the first Sunday here, I went to the 8 am mass at the Cathedral here in Charleston. It is a magnificent building and very big and beautiful in all its aspects. I am planning to continue to Altar Serve there after all my paperwork gets filled out and stuff.

My dorm here on campus is very nice. I am enjoying the campus and residence life so far. Our RA is hilarious and very caring. I feel safe and feel like I can be myself for once. I guess in high school you still have to fit in some sort of a mold and I feel in college you can be yourself and not really have to worry as much.

And lastly, one more thing. I put up a message on Facebook and Myspace about my Stickam account. This is the way I will try and keep in touch with you all while I am away. I will prob get on every other weekend on either Fridays Or Saturdays from 10 Pm to Midnight. I will let you guys know on there when I come on. The address is www.stickam.com/christiantheamazing. It is the same address line as my Myspace. I have a webcam for college, so I think I will use it. When I go Live aka "Get On Camera" you will be able to see me on there. If you want to chat with me, log in as a member or make a chat name with the "Enter Chat" button on the bottom of my Live screen. Some nights, however, will be special nights. Examples include "Family", "Charleston Friends." "Greenville Friends," and "Everyone" where Everyone can come in and chat. But stay tuned to those details.

Life is going well so far. I will keep you posted as much as I can this year and hope you all are doing well.

Christian!

Oh The Joys Of Summer Living!

2008-07-05T19:21:00.000-07:00

Hello Every1,

This has been one crazy first month of the summer. So much and yet too much fun along the way. First we had Graduation at Furman University here in Greenville, SC where we graduated over 300 seniors. We then went to the beach for a week. After that a week long break. Then it was back out to Charleston for Orientation for two hot, long, humid, and extremely fun days. Then only a week later it was the Fourth yesterday and today was my Father's BDay. WHHHEEEWWW!!!!

What an overload.!.!.

First the beach trip this year with the family was allot of fun. I stayed in Surfside Beach which is in between Myrtle Beach and Garden City Beach. It is a two mile walking distance to both. We first arrived tired and burnt out from the four hour trip there, and slept the first night off in the beach house. The first day, however, I started walking up and down to both Myrtle Beach and Garden City to see if any of my friends were around. And yes there were. In Droves and Packs and Piles of them at beach houses squished so close there was no land in between them. It wasn't that bad however. I usually spent my days with my friends and evenings with my family. It was a good mix. I mean not too much time with one or the other. I ended up walking around 10 miles a day visiting both sections because my friends were so far spread out around the beach. The first day I saw some of my senior friends, James, Jakob, and Alex. We talked for a while and hung out the first night at the Garden City pier. We met on the top deck and then had some food, drinks, and fellowship at the local Sam's Corner Hot Dog Shop. We then went to the Arcade and they watched me fail miserably at DDR. (I am a good dancer, but not the video game kind) I got past the first staged and flunked the second one. It was a good time. It ended up getting late so I walked two miles backed to my beach house.

The next night we met up again and we met at the Pier again and hung out again. They decided to go out to a friends house and I had to go back because it was getting pretty late already.

The third day I met up with the JL Mann Juniors and talked and danced and partied like crunk crazy in the day time. GOOD TIMES! I would usually stop by after walking my two mile walk up to Garden City and relax in the hot sand, (felt like 100* with the humidity) But it felt good. I got burned a bit and I didn't care. As long as I got to be with people who were awesome people and great friends in every respect. THEY ARE THE MOST AWESOME SENIORS AT MANN FOR 2009! I know they will lead our school to new levels and do great things. I wish them all the best next year.

Anyways, nothing much happened, besides Chats, Bocce Ball, Volleyball, Surfing, Swimming, Pizza and Drinks.

In the days following I saw even MORE friends from my past. On the fourth day I met up with a friend from elementary school, Hannah, whom I hadn't seen in seven years. I met her two friends Vanessa and Hayley, who are amazing young women who will do great things. We talked about old memories at OLR and what had happened to our fellow OLR alumni in high school. They joined me on some of the walks in the afternoon. Better thing was is that I joined THEM on their walks. It was nice for once to be able to talk one on one with someone who's been there since the beginning about things.

On the fifth day it was the JL Mann Juniors again and Hannah and Friends. Still the same old, same old. I went and hung out with some new friends I met at the Pier and then went back home again.

On the sixth day, (Okay guys this IS NOT the Creation story, beach style) I met up with another friend elementary school, Austin. I hadn't seen her in seven years either. She still looked just as amazing as I thought she did back then. She was very beautiful woman then and still is. Still the same old, same old discussions about the past and the future. We are both majoring in Communications in our respective colleges which is pretty neat.

I took pictures for the week on my last day and met up with Taylor and Staci from UCDC. They have been good friends of mine from the school and Mann and will never forget them along with everyone else. I took pictures for the week that day and it was a bit crazy because there was no way to make up for lost moments throughout the week. The week is somewhat one big memory. Actually one of the best memories of the past few months of work and turmoil.

Then it was a week long break and then two days of Charleston Orientation. What a packed two days journey. Tons of info, so much my head felt like it was about to explode at the end. The first night I arrived late and went straight to bed in the dorm that I was staying in the first night. My roommate the first night lived near me and we talked a little bit about going to college and such. The next day was hell it seemed. The evening activities were something to look forward to. We had a cookout that second night filled with chips, burgers, and hot dogs. The first table I sat with played a card game called Fact or Crap with Intern Holley. My personal group for the two days was Courteney. The interns were definitely generous of their time, very friendly, and very helpful when all of us freshies were stressed and hyper as crap at our Orientation. The second table I was with had an UNO Tournament and one of our fellow Mann graduates and current CofC students was there, even though he was not an intern, was playing along. Harrison was there along with my Greenville friend Berklie who will be a transfer student to CofC next year. We got so close. Actually, funny thing was, Harrison won. He left for like twenty minutes. Came back and won! It was crazy, but still a fun ride. The second day was the same way long and full of info. I met some new people like Lindsay and Sadie! YEAH!!! And yes I did meet some people from my intern's group. My roommate the second night, John, was pretty cool to talk to. We talked about high school and what we were interested in majoring in at CofC among other things. Then it was time to go and it was another four hours back home to Greenville.

So it has now come down to the Fourth and yes we did have a Motorcycle parade of Gold Wings. They tried to set the world record for Largest Motorcycle Parade in the world. They fell short of their goal even though they had over 10,000 participants.

One of the best things that I have started this summer is going to a local Catholic College Bible Study Group. They have been some the coolest friends that I have had this summer. I am so glad to know some people who have graduated from and are going to CofC next year and those who lived there for the Citadel. Sarah, Joe, Craig, Ryan, Andy, and Kyle are amazing friends and I can't wait even more for CofC to begin next fall. We have already been out to Coffee Underground too many times and a few outings here and there along with last week's Pro Life prayer hour at our local abortion center, which is located next door to the local pro life center. Kinda awkward, but awesome at the same time.

I have been working this summer for more hours and that's been pretty cool as well.

For now, that is all until next time.

God bless every1 and enjoy the rest of all your summers to come,

Christian L.

Once a Patriot, Now a Cougar!

2008-06-04T19:49:00.000-07:00

Every1!

I graduated from High School this afternoon. Oh and what an experience it was to walk across the stage of my education to receive my diploma. A moment I will never forget.

Before I go into that, I would like to congratulate the St. Mary's High School Youth Group in beating the DOC Young Adult Group in the Second Annual Softball Game 10 - 7! Way to go guys.

Here are a few shots from the game.

And now for the final Graduation 2008 Update News!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE JL MANN SENIORS OF THE CLASS OF 2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here are the notable Mann Senior Graduates Of 2008 and the outstanding Junior Marshalls of the ceremony!

Graduation Performer One: Bradley Phillips

Graduation Performer Two: Allen Reid

Valedictorian: Nina Kuo

Salutatorian: Caroline Burdette

Third In The Senior Class: Lindsay Caesar

Fourth In The Senior Class: Phillip Calvin

Fifth In The Senior Class: Andrew Finley

Sixth In The Senior Class: Stacey Schutzman

Seventh In The Senior Class: Collin Sarvis

Eighth In The Senior Class: Ben Mangelsen

Ninth In The Senior Class: Elspeth McWaters

Tenth In The Senior Class: Allen Reid

Senior Class Secretary And Treasurer: Megan Roben

Senior Class Vice President: Brienna Jones

Senior Class President: Michael Johnson

Senior Class Executive Council Member One: Kristen Crawford

Senior Class Executive Council Member Two: Shaina Toner

Student Body Vice President: Alex Roper

Student Body President: Emily Ayer

The following were academic honors diploma graduates!

*Nina Kuo

*Lindsay Caesar

*Phillip Calvin

*Stacey Schutzman

*Collin Sarvis

*Ben Mangelsen

*Elspeth McWaters

*Allen Reid

*Nathan Bailey

*Tyler Bennett

*Josh Bittinger

*Josh Edwards

*Austin Finley

*Charlie Humphreys

*Michael Johnson

*Tiffany Marino

*Ross Ovington

*Chris Reinke

*Blake Sanders

*Steve Zielinski

Congrats!

The following Seniors were Magnet Distinction Graduates!

*Phillip Calvin

*Nathan Bailey

*Josh Bittinger

*Jamaal Cox

*Shawna Darnall

*Kathryn Ethridge

*Danielle Gianakas

*Roosevelt Leggett

*Patrick O'Malley

Congrats to these students!

These next set of graduates are Highest Honor Graduates with a GPA of 4.5 and higher!

*Nina Kuo

*Caroline Burdette

*Lindsay Caesar

*Phillip Calvin

*Andrew Finley

*Stacey Schutzman

*Collin Sarvis

*Ben Mangelsen

*Elspeth McWaters

*Allen Reid

*Nathan Bailey

*Sharod Beeks

*Tyler Bennett

*Josh Bittinger

*Bridget Cate

*Laurel Crout

*Shawna Darnall

*Danielle Gianakas

*Nicole Girard

*Charlie Humphreys

*Lauren Lea

*Andrejz Malisz

*Andreina Malki

*Tiffany Marino

*Rebecca Mercer

*Victor Orozco

*Ross Ovington

*Rohail Kazi

*Cyrus Saharkhiz

*Blake Sanders

*Riley Seaver

*Katie Sikkelee

*Jessica Todd

*Logan Vanzura

*Steve Zielinski

Congrats to these amazing Patriots!

This next set of Seniors are High Honor Graduates with a GPA between 4.25 and 4.5!

*Alex Roper

*Emily Ayer

*Lauren Bjerke

*Jay Bridgeman

*Luke Douglas

*Arthur Ellison

*Austin Finley

*Patrick Haarsgard

*Michael Johnson

*Zach Lincolnhol

*Erin Morgan

*Hannah Moseley

*Patrick O'Malley

*Bradley Phillips

*Chris Reinke

*Ariana Renrick

*Katie Scardo

*Lisa Sutch

*Page Tarleton

*Ally Truitt

Congratulations again!

These final Seniors are Honor Graduates with a GPA between 4.0 and 4.25!

*Kristen Crawford

*Sammie Burman

*Cheng Chang

*Tyler Crull

*Amber Davis

*Josh Edwards

*Kathryn Ethridge

*Brenn Gray

*Logan Greene

*Kyle Griffin

*James Haarsgard

*Pat Hanahan

*Brittany Heeringa

*Christian LeBlanc

*Alex Marcum

*Scott McAbee

*Sarah Miller

*Colin Phillips

*Joanna Serieno

*Ashley Shelby

*Tom Smith

*Alyssa Sullivan

*Jock Symons

*Kellie Warth

*Renee Welfare

*Knox White

Congrats to these awesome seniors!!!!

YOU MADE IT SENIORS!!!! BEST OF LUCK AND GOD BLESS!!!!

Thanks again to our amazing Junior Marshalls for the ceremony!

*Jon Bagwell

*Amber Cantrell

*Chris Chu

*Caryn Cortez

*Carol Killian

*Price Kinney

*Matt Kofoed

*Leighton Morgan

*Jacob Varughese

*Jason Tedstone

*Grace Williams

*Rae Wilson

Congrats go out to the following Foreign Exchange Students!

*Ulan Abdimamatov

*Nicolas Hughes

*Paleeya Thanavatanacharoen

Thanks again to all of our teachers, parents, friends, family, and the school board who were in attendance as well.

Check out the graduation pictures on my Facebook and Myspace for pleasure!

Good night every1,

Christian L.

As We Come To A Close

2008-05-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

Hello every1,

It's been a great Memorial Day weekend here in SC. Late nights and allot of fun to be had.

And it's definitely been a very interesting past few months as well.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First off, the YG Open House was a complete success!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In my recent Latin Four Honors classes, we made pasta from scratch! It was so much fun making it in one day and eating it the second.

It was definitely a major highlight of my senior year at Mann.

Monica and Crysta enjoyed the food.

Andreina talked with Nicole (to her left and the head chef and ring leader of the project) about the recipe, while Ron and Grace look on.

Spence had an awesome time at the Pasta Party!

Although Jennifer and Jimella had the best time of all!

Kudos again to Nicole and Spence and the Latin Four Honors Class for putting it all together!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Miss Talimann pageant came and the ladies strut their stuff! Yes it was finally held after a long delay.

The winners were:

Freshmann Attendant: Rilee Williams
Miss Freshmann: Kennedy Coulter

Sophomore Attendant: Chelsea Hedrick
Miss Sophomore: Marion Reeves

Junior Attendant: Madison Evans
Miss Junior: Annie Hickerson

Senior Attendant: Abbie Holliday
Miss Senior: Madison Mcclain

AND YOUR 2008 MISS TALISMANN IS..........................................................................................................................
..............................
.........................................
....................................................................................................................
..............................
.........................................
....................................................................................................................
..............................
.........................................
....................................................................................................................
..............................
.........................................
LOGAN GREENE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats again to all our winners!!!

Abbie Holliday (Senior Attendant) , Madison Mcclain (Miss Senior) , Logan Greene (Miss Talismann)

Take Two!

Congrats again!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

My final dance recital was held this past Friday night at Furman and thank you to everyone who was able to come. We had a special performance by upcoming pop boy band V Factory before intermission pictures of the show and after show are on the MySpace and Facebook.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Check out JL Mann Student's success story over the timeline stone debate below:

J.L. Mann walkway stays with three revised stones

Students' 'quiet protest' leads to compromise after some parents objected to use of religious symbols

By Ron Barnett • STAFF WRITER • May 20, 2008

After nearly a month of "quiet protest," negotiations and artistic redesign, J.L. Mann High School has decided not to tear up its "Walk through History" but only remove three stones that contained religious symbols, school officials said Monday.

The three stones -- two containing the Islamic name of God in Arabic and one depicting a Bible -- will be replaced with ones illustrating the same historical events but without the images some called inappropriate for a walkway, Mann art teacher Steve Garner said.

"There was never any intent to offend anybody in the first place," he said. "It was all just history."

Last month, principal Susan Hughes told The Greenville News said she planned to remove the walkway, which contained 136 stones depicting historical events, and display the stones elsewhere.

Some parents said they were offended that people could walk on words and symbols that were sacred to them.

But after students protested, school officials, students and the offended parents worked out a plan to remove only three stones. One depicted a mosque and the Islamic name of God, Allah, in Arabic; another included the Arabic name of God on an Iraqi flag; and another showed an image of a Bible to illustrate Gutenberg's printing press.

The mosque stone was created by an Islamic student from Jordan, said Garner, one of three teachers who oversaw the three-year-long project.

"I thought she understood what the project was for," he said. "We didn't think there was a problem at the time and were very surprised to find out that there was a problem."

After consulting with members of the local Jewish community, a Star of David used on one of the stones was found not to be problematic, Garner said.

Julie Perry, president of the school's Parent-Teacher-Student Association, said students acted in "a mature manner" in pressing their case to save the walkway.

"They did a quiet protest, very respectful," she said.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As you all know this was by no means a "Quiet Protest." We had blogs, protests, and local and national media covering our efforts and we did not go "quietly" without "Stand On Your Art" badges and a Facebook group along with it. So kudos to our students and the local community for making the right decision to keep the stones in.

In a recent story in The Greenville Journal, the writer stated that the stones were viewable "on the school website and at the Old JL Mann Library." Hm..... I wonder where they got that from. I Googled to make sure and the only way they could have known that is through this blog. I wrote the fact in my first editorial about the timeline stones. It was never on the school website nor in the local papers, or the school paper for that matter. So yes, students of JL Mann High School. YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE! :)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enjoy the rest of the weekend every1

and yes "I am still boogying my way all across America and I will hopefully be releasing a new video soon."*

Have a good one,

Christian L.

*Thanks for the heads up Mannuscript.

And Your 2008 Senior Year Talismann Has Arrived!

2008-05-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

With full force JL Mann's 2008 Talismann yearbooks were delivered to classes full of eager students, faculty, and staff. They just couldn't hold their excitement and with a loud burst of energy signed their yearbooks and cherished on memories of their past school year and years before that. This year, however, was the final Talismann for our Mann seniors. After this, there's last minute exams, graduation practice, and graduation itself. We will be moving in our own different ways. Some will go straight into the workforce, while others will continue their education in their respective colleges, universities, and technical schools. Whichever way they choose to go, this will be a Talismann seniors will cherish forever. The day started early for the seniors, somewhat, at 11 for Senior Skits and then moved on to book distribution and the like. A senior cookout was held and seniors wrote their memories of the past four years in friend's and teacher's yearbooks that were present in attendance. It will definitely be a Talismann Day they will never forget. It was also the year of Senior Domination in the yearbook. It was definitely full of seniors and respectively so from the looks of all the past editions.

Underclassmen enjoyed their day in Advisory writing comments in each other's yearbooks and watching movies such as "Singing In The Rain" and "The Lion King" to pass the time. Others played Chess and Checkers on their Promethean Boards Too. Once school was finally dismissed their was only another year ahead for most of them to make more lasting memories of their high school years.

The "Mann In The Spotlight" Students Of 2008 are as follows:

*9th: Tyler Fant

*9th: Jordan Layton

*9th: Raheem Adams

*10th: Robert Hall

*10th: Carley Chardukian

*10th: Cody Rabideau

*11th: Madison Evans

*11th: Rishun Cheek

*11th: Daniela Meza

CONGRATS TO THESE FINE AND AMAZING MANN PATRIOTS FOR 2008!

AND NOW TIME FOR OUR SENIOR SUPERLATIVES FOR THE SENIOR CLASS OF 2008!!!!!!

Best All Around -
Male: Charlie Humphreys
Female: Alex Roper

Most School Spirited -
Male: Nico DiNunzio
Female: Emily Ayer

Best Dressed -
Male: Gordon Gulledge
Female: Tiffany Marino

Best Looking -
Male: Will Davis
Female: Katie Sikkelee

Best Smile -
Male: Bradley Phillips
Female: Jessica Todd

Best Personality -
Male: Logan Vanzura
Female: Elizabeth McAfee

Most Athletic -
Male: JT Floyd
Female: KiKi Rutledge

Most Flirtatious -
Male: Will Watson
Female: Emily Propes

Most Sarcastic -
Male: Shane Francis
Female: Laurel Crout

Best To Take Home To Mom And Dad -
Male: Allen Reid
Female: Caroline Burdette

Best Hair -
Male: Kyle Haghshenas
Female: Collin Sarvis

Best Eyes -
Male: Michael Mew
Female: Carolyn Welsch

Most Memorable -
Male: Christian LeBlanc
Female: Madison Wynn

Biggest Heart -
Male: Will Broadus
Female: Nicole Girard

Class Clown -
Male: John Orren
Female: Sarah Miller

Most Likely To Take Over The World -
Male: Knox White
Female: Elspeth McWaters

Most Likely To Be Late To Graduation -
Male: Riley Howard
Female: Taylor Lentz

Friendliest -
Male: Michael Johnson
Female: Shaina Toner

Most Likely To Succeed -
Male: Tyler Crull
Female: Lauren Bjerke

Most Intelligent -
Male: Cyrus Saharkhiz
Female: Nina Kuo

Most Likely To Brighten Your Day -
Male: Carson Steinmetz
Female: Sammie Burman

Forever Young -
Male: Colin Harding
Female: Brenn Gray

Most Time Spent In Front Of A Mirror -
Male: Kevin Pitts
Female: Logan Greene

Worst Driver -
Male: Jock Symons
Female: Page Tarleton

CONGRATS TO ALL OF OUR 2008 TALISMANN SENIOR SUPERLATIVE WINNERS!!!!!!

AND NOW HERE IS OUR 2008 SENIOR HALL OF FAME NOMINATED BY THE SENIOR TEACHERS!!!!!!

*Emily Ayer

*Jay Bridgeman

*CJ Carlton

*Jamaal Cox

*Rohail Kazi

*Nina Kuo

*Victor Orozco

*Alex Roper

*Katie Scardo

*Knox White

CONGRATS TO THESE FINE PATRIOT SENIORS OF 2008 FOR THEIR HARD WORK AND STRONG DEDICATION TO JL MANN. THEY ARE AND HAVE BEEN THE TRUE SPIRIT OF MANN THIS YEAR AND THE PAST FOUR YEARS!

These past four years will be ones to remember from Spirit Weeks to Homecomings to Proms. Memories have been made and never will be forgotten thanks to the class of 2008!!! GOOOOO SENIORRRRSSS!!!!!!!!

On a side note, let us congratulate again this year's Prom King And Queen from "A Night At The Ritz" at the Downtown Hyatt this past Saturday.

This year's Prom King And Queen were..........................................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
...............................................................
.....................................................................
PROM KING: Neil Brown
and
PROM QUEEN: Emily Ayer
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats to you both again for a splendid evening along with the the Junior Class with the leadership of Lizzie Miller as class president. This was a Prom night that will definitely be the one to remember for a very long time.

Good luck to all of next year's Student Council nominees in the elections this week.

And for now that is all. Prom photos are up so check them out.

Hope all is well with every1 and enjoy the weekend and life in general. Live it to the fullest! Much love and support to you all!

PS. Congrats and Kudos to the Art Club and our entire Mann community for showing what it means to stand up for what we believe in and using "common sense." Our timeline is staying in the new walkway after a long fight and only two stones will be removed and replaced. WAY TO GO MANN!!!!!!

Christian L.

Stepping From Here To Gone

2008-04-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

“Stand on your Art!” This was not a common phrase until this week at JL Mann. Art and religion have coexisted since the Middle Ages. Paintings such as Raphael’s angels from his Sistine Madonna, Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam from the Sistine Chapel, and Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper are cultural icons of our society. Popes, presidents, kings, and the common man supported the arts for many centuries.

Fast forward to 2008 and the support between artists and the public is being challenged. JL Mann’s Timeline Project has been in production for over four years since 2004. The idea stemmed from a timeline walk in Doncaster, England, discovered by Coach Cook and Mr. Garner on one of their many Study Abroad trips. The timeline walk was a showcase of the town’s history and culture embedded in its downtown sidewalks. Having seen the timeline in Doncaster, Coach Cook and Mr. Garner decided to bring home this idea as a way to commemorate the old JL Mann at the new JL Mann.

In the early stages of the project, students, teachers, parents, and the Mann community picked out both local and global historical events to be put on stones that were to be placed on the walkway of the New Mann. As they were being finished these timeline stones were displayed in the Old Mann Media Center so that people could see them before they were moved and placed at the new school. They were also displayed on the school website and still are. At that time people could decide which stones to keep and which stones to take off the Timeline Project, or which stones might need to be modified or redone. The plan was that once the tiles were in the walkway, the project would be “set in stone.”

After the dedication of the new school, a few concerned parents had issues with the new walkway, even though over the previous four years they had a chance to speak their minds before all of the tiles were laid down yet said nothing. They indicated that it was against their religion to step on symbols that they felt represented their beliefs. So four years ago, could they not have spoken up about the Timeline Project before it was completed? This is absolutely disgraceful. The parents, students, teachers, and community have had four years to speak up about the stones that they did not want placed on the Timeline if they felt it disrespected their religions before these stones were cemented in place. Flyers were sent home throughout the last four years and there were numerous email newsletters informing parents and the community about the project. And yet, no responses until now.

Members of this community, parents, students, and teachers have spent long dedicated hours, weeks, months, school breaks, and summers – over the years working on this endearing project. If anyone has a problem with it at this point, it is too late. Everyone had four years to speak their mind about the project content and designs. If you did not, then it is your problem for not doing so. The Art Club among others has done an excellent job in trying new, innovative and interesting ways to showcase our school, its history, and its artistic talents. It would be unfortunate if this time around their efforts have gone to waste; removing the stones would leave a dark patch on our school’s character and strong foundations. We should not, in any way, succumb to this bullying. It gets no one anywhere.

Keep the stones of history in place for future generations of students at Mann. People will want to walk on that Timeline a hundred years from now knowing that we did the right thing by keeping them in place. If we tear them all out, what would be left of this long painstaking project? Absolutely nothing and a lost vision of the New JL Mann and what it stands for. Let us be proud of our school and what it has accomplished through this Timeline. There is talk about taking out a few particular stones. It’s a shame to come to this, but there could be some compromise; if we have to take out one or two stones, OK. But not every single stone. One or two is fine; 136 are too many. A good stone to replace a lost theme should be on Spirit Week because that is one event that binds us together as a school and community.

So “Stand on your Art,” Mann, and believe in what you stand for. Hard work and dedication should be rewarded. As it was in the past for the great artists to showcase their ideas in their own ways, Mann is doing its own way of showing our history in the most innovative and enlightening way that it can.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

JL Mann Walking Path Flops With Some Parents

By Ron Barnett • STAFF WRITER • April 22, 2008

Don’t tread on me.

Responding to complaints from parents, the principal of J.L. Mann High School has decided to rip 136 stepping stones from a brick walkway in front of the new school because some of the stones depict symbols that are sacred to some members of the community.

And stepping on somebody’s sacred symbols can be offensive, said Principal Susan Hughes, who is seeking a compromise to move the artwork and display it.

The stones, part of a Timeline Walk, were designed and crafted by students to cover historic events ranging in seriousness from the publication of the first Batman comic book in 1939 to the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima in 1945.

But the Walk of History, as the display is also called, also includes religious symbols tied to events in history -- a Muslim mosque and crescent, a Bible, a Star of David.

And political symbols that are held in reverence by many, in particular the American flag.

"Certainly we did not want to offend anyone but wanted to display the artistic talents of our students," Hughes said.

Other parents have taken to the defense of the artwork, which was done as part of a four-year project to raise money to commission a life-sized bronze statue of the school’s mascot, the Patriot, she said.

Hughes is trying to find a compromise.

"We wanted to work out a solution that would balance those concerns while retaining the students’ creative expressions of historical events," she said. It’s not the symbols themselves that have been objected to, but the fact that they were being walked on, she said.

She is working with district officials to come up with a way to move the artwork and display it in such a way that it can’t be stepped on.

Students tromped along the walkway Monday afternoon on their way into the building, mostly without taking notice of the stones.

"I can see where people are coming from when they get offended, like the Islam or something about stepping on the symbol," said Abbie Holliday, a senior at the school. "I didn’t think anything was wrong with it, but I can see where it offends some people."

The walkway starts at 2800 BC with Stonehenge and proceeds through world, American and local history -- which by nature is riddled with controversy.

Among images of the world’s great religions and historical events are such potentially controversial images as Robert E. Lee, "A Southern hero," astride his white horse with a Confederate battle flag in the background.

Then there’s Martin Luther King, and Marilyn Monroe and Elvis.

Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species is illustrated with the famous succession of walking mammals from monkey-like beings to man.

One stone celebrates the school’s 1982 state championship in basketball. Others depict the first video game in 1975, the creation of the Fender electric guitar in 1946 and "the Intimidator," Dale Earnhardt.

You could even walk on a stone that commemorates the founding of The Greenville News in 1874.

Support The Students! http://www.standonyourart.org/

Mann Updates, DYC, And Spring Break 08 OH YEAH!!!!

2008-04-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

Hello every1,

As I said just a few hours ago I was going to make a blog about DYC and Spring Break. Well here it is. I hope that every1 is excited about me going to Charleston last year. It's been a very exhilarating time for me in finding the college that was right for me and Charleston was the one.

First I would like to congratulate the Mann website for featuring students the past month and, also, to Mr. Keen for winning Teacher Of The Month for March and to Miss Sullivan-Smith for April. As for Keen, it was about time that a real and caring teacher won this award.

I was jumping up and down with so much joy and happiness when I heard the announcements in third period Latin Four Honors. For the past months it seemed that the "Teacher Of The Month" award was joke, but when Keen won it felt like the seriousness started to settle it. I mean it's not life and death if you don't get the award, it just showcases the best of the best teachers at Mann and Keen by far is the best. He listens to students and is definitely someone students can talk to about anything and everything Mann. He is definitely "Teacher Mann Of The Year!!!!"

As for the school website:

Well, Can you believe it? I would like to thank the School Website for finally featuring students on the front page! It was the right thing to do and the right time. I can honestly say they are now competitive with the other schools in this district. I am sending my kudos to the Media Center of JL Mann for furthering this effort by giving students an opportunity to be featured on the Mann website. If you bought a book last week at the school's book fair you can write a book report about it, get your picture taken, and have both your picture and book report featured on the school website's front page. Now how awesome is that?! :) This book report will be rewarded with a gift certificate to the local Spill The Beans. I encourage our student body to further the effort by participating in this awesome opportunity to have more Mann students on the front page. And along with that, don't forget about featuring our "Students Of The Month" too.

And as a side note I did read City People a while back. HMMM. Should I dare to mention it?

Does this look familiar?

I hope so. I think that Greenvillians have been fooled by City People' Teacher Of The Week section. I mean "wow." This "Drama Coach" made "City People's Teacher Of The Week" two times in two years and no one stopped and thought, "Hey, haven't I seen this douche before?" Well, maybe not. HELLO!!!!! Come On Mann could we not find a teacher, Keen, or a student, Knox White as Johnny Quest, to be featured. We had to go and use old material to be "new" news. Are you kidding me? This is absolutely ridiculous on the part of our Mann liaison to not have had checked this before sending the Okay. I mean Knox White would have been a good choice over a second "very brand spanking new" article on Coach White. Come on he's not really "THAT GREAT!" Ha Ha! To get a lead role is a bigger deal than directing it. Agree? I would have rather read a "new" article about Knox White and how he felt about playing Johnny Quest than read an article titled "A Director's View Of JL Mann Plays." I think the Drama department is great, but they do not deserve THAT much attention. (PS- Same goes for the Athletic Department.) But in the future please put "New Mann News" out there instead "Newer Old Mann News" in the local papers. We would not look like fools and we would definitely up our media presentation among other schools.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now I want to talk about DYC from March. It was a blast! Here is my second photo fun story.

This time we were "Lost In Christ"

Andy and I and Every1 else had tons of fun!

Wannabe Stephen rocked the show as usual! Best Catholic band in SC! WOOT!

The Macho Man skit was hilarious!

And so was the Riverdance!

At times we had to remind Heather, one of the Adult leaders, what was going on.

AND THE FOOD WAS AWESOMMMMEEE!!! SERIOUSLY!!!

They even had an Ice Cream cup tower this year at DYC!

And I thought it was awesome too!

The most exciting part of the first night was Tommy defeating Chris in "Are You Smarter Than Your Youth Minister?"

Yes I am! :)

After the retreat Moses saw a really HAWT girl at Wendy's.

He wanted to get her number, but no such luck.

And as usual Franny discussed the anatomy of her huge hair.

Andy

AND

Moses

Had a "face off" at the end. Both were tied.

Chris then had to prep Franny for her "DYC Photoshoot."

And all Heather wanted to do was take a spin in Brent's Sports Car.

And that is all for my DYC Story!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now let me tell you about my Spring Break this year. We went on the great big ship Norwegian Dawn and it was definitely a cruise to remember. We visited the Dominican Republic, both Virgin Island, US and British, and the Bahamas!

Marjy wanted some of that Lovin'.

"Uh Oh! What are they up to now?" Nothing.

Sandy started to tell scary stories to get them to stop.

The car ride to the ship was crazy.

During one of our pit stops Franny did a "James Bond" to the bathroom.

No Kidding!

This is Freedom Of The Seas, the biggest cruise ship in the world!

Up Close.

For dinner in Miami we went to Johnny Rockets and "Oh Yes, It Was Refreshing!"

This is Miami in a rainstorm from the cruise ship we were on.

This is "The Hammock Spot" in Samana, Dominican Republic. It was HOOOOT!

We chilled from the heat.

And so did I.

Here's your own "chill spot."

A view of the sailboats in the US Virgin Islands on our Snorkeling Excursion.

An On Deck Cruise Party!

Beach day in the British Virgin Islands!

Eagle Ice Sculpture at the Chocoholic Buffet!

A view of the Bahamas Beach!

The Hallway of the ship.

Our Messy Stateroom.

Hello and Goodbye from the Bahamas!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prom is in another week and that's about it. Sorry about the looong post everyone! Hope all is well.

Christian L.

My College Decision

2008-04-18T16:10:00.001-07:00

Hello every1,

Well, it's definitely been a while since I blogged. I will post another 1 soon about DYC, Spring Break, and such. But for now I just want to tell you all where I will be going next year for my freshman year of college. This has been a tough decision and I am happy that I am getting this off my chest. I though through the religious aspects, education opportunities, job offerings, extra curricular activities offered, and the social aspects. And now I want to reveal to you all want my college choice is for the class of 2012 in the 2008-2009 school year.

AND MY DECISION IS.............................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................
.....................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................
.....................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................
.....................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................
.....................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................
............................................................................................................................................................................................................
...............................................................................

College Of Charleston!

Thank you all for your support these past four years at Mann and my journey with classes, tests, Spirit Weeks, Dances, Spring Breaks, Cruises, DYCs, YG, Altar Serving, and so on. I will continue to bring you all the updates of what's up at Charleston when I leave in August. I will be back in about a week posting on the things I mentioned before. This has been an amazing and fun and entertaining wild ride at Mann. It was the best high school experience EVER and I hope to bring my Mann memories and make them Charleston memories. Thanks again and I will see you ALL at Charleston!

"Ready or not Charleston! Here I COME!!!!!"

Christian L.

THREE PEAT!!! THREE PEAT!!! THREE PEAT!!! Mann's Girl's Basketball Wins Third State Championship In A Row!!!

2008-03-01T18:32:00.000-08:00

Hello every1,

This has been quite an exciting roller coaster of a night watching our girl's basketball team play Myrtle Beach in the state finals for the third year straight. Well, we did it! :) We are three peat champions in girl's basketball for three years and counting!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am very proud of our girls and I can not wait to see if we can do a four peat next year.

Here is the final score:

Mann Girls Basketball	60
Myrtle Beach	55

WAY TO GO GIRLS!

Congrats to the Girl's BBall players:

*Ally Wolff

*Cassidy Clayton

*Keisha Drummond

*Tylia Henley

*Eboni Holiday

*Ashley Holiday

*Camille Glymph

*KiKi Rutledge

*LaBarbara Martin

*Lauren Sorrell

*Britney Holiday

*Renee Welfare

Mann becomes the first girls team in Class AAA history to capture three straight titles.

WAY TO GO GIRLS!!!!

Good night for now every1,

Christian L.

Congrats To NHS Inductees And Mann's Boy's Soccer Team!

2008-02-29T20:50:00.000-08:00

Hello Every1!

This has definitely been a crazy week with everything and this next week is going to get even crazier! It's been a few days since my last post and I'm already seeing positive change! Thanks for all you do guys!

First the NHS Inductions went very well on Tuesday night at Mann. We had many students attend and many helped out along the way as well. Bradley Phillips, Allen Reid, And Doug Phillips did a vocal performance with "How Far We've Come by Matchbox Twenty" and Bruce Bannister spoke to the students about what it means to be a leader.

Congrats to the following Juniors in being inducted into NHS Tuesday night!:

*Brenda Adimora

*Jonathan Bagwell

*Eric Basso

*Jonathan Belfore

*Alex Born

*Emma Borowicz

*Kate Borowicz

*Maddie Bray

*Ashley Brown

*Marjy Buschur

*Daniela Cano

*Amber Cantrell

*Chris Chu

*Jeanette Collins

*Caryn Cortez

*Brittany Crenshaw

*Andrew Daniel

*Olivia Devore

*Trip Ethridge

*Mikel Gasmovic

*Corbin Gaucher

*Travis Greig

*Zaneta Hill

*Savannah Holder

*Carson Jackson

*Elizabeth Jeter

*Aaron Johnson

*Carol Killian

*Price Kinney

*Matt Kofoed

*Francesca LeBlanc

*Megan Masotti

*Sam Mattern

*Campbell Mclain

*Matt May

*Anne Melief

*Danielle Meyers

*Lizzie Miller

*Will Mitchell

*Colleen Moe

*Ian Moore

*Leighton Morgan

*Carson Perry

*Greg Roush

*Chris Saindon

*Olivia Self

*Josh Shaw

*Jill Shepard

*Jason Tedstone

*Calli Trice

*Drew Tucker

*Grace Williams

*Rae Wilson

*Brent Vogel

Congrats again to these Juniors!!!!!

Finally Congratulations to the following Seniors who were inducted into NHS Tuesday night!:

*Amber Davis

*James Haarsgard

*Brittany Heeringa

*Steve Zielinski

Congrats to these Seniors who were inducted into NHS Tuesday night!!!!!!!!

WELL DONE TO EVERYONE WHO WAS INDUCTED!!!!!!!!! Work hard next year and let your leadership qualities shine next year at Mann!

Finally a congratulations goes out to the JL Mann Boy's Soccer Team who defeated "State Champions" Greenville tonight 4-1. It was an intense game from start to finish and I wish them best of luck for the rest of the upcoming season.

Stay tuned to the blog this weekend for updates on the Girl's Basketball team's trip to the state finals for the third year in a a row! Good luck to them tomorrow as well.

Good night every1 and I will see you again soon,

Christian L.

OH MANN! OH MY!

2008-02-27T17:55:00.001-08:00

Fear, Intimidation, Abuse Of Rules, Abuse Of Authority, And Abuse Of Power, And Oh My The Horror is what we have faced in the new JL Mann High School since the move this past January.

There have been new rules and new regulations that have been deemed unnecessary and considered outrageous by fellow students, parents, community members, and even a few teachers.

These 16 items include the following:

1. ID Policy

2. Food And Drink Policy

3. The New Loitering Rule

4. The New Littering Rule

5. After School Procedures

6. New Lunch Policy

7. New School Falling Apart

8. Unstable Desks

9. Horrid Commons Area

10. Advisory - Worth It?

11. Renaissance - HUH?!?!

12. Drills At The Last Minute

13. No Pep Rallies Ever?

14. NHS - The Continuations

15. Single Sex Classes - Do They Really?

16. School Website - Teachers Matter More Than Students?

So Let's begin with item #1 - The ID Policy

This is a great safety rule for our students. But since the move both students, teachers, and administrators have abused this power. For one thing students who do not where there ID's are sent to ISS. On the other hand teachers who do the same thing have no punishments in place. We are not saying that they should go to ISS, "Bad! Bad! Ms. Tyvan," we just want them to honor and respect the same rules as the students. Students have abused this rule because some teachers fall slack on the rules as with everything else by not wearing them.

Item #2 is The Food And Drink Policy

This should have been strongly enforced from day one. No school deserves to be filled with trash and dirty. On the other hand, students should be able to handle themselves with maturity when eating in the classroom. If they make a mess they clean it up, if not then punishment should ensure. Forcing students to eat outside class instruction leaves them to learn less and miss vital information for that class. The rule should only be enforced if a student makes a mess. If they do, they have to clean up after themselves and let the learning ensue!

The New Loitering Rule at #3.

Let me just say as everyone has said from students, to parents, the community at large, and teachers, as well, that this rule is simply ludicrous and unnecessary. What harm is there when a student comes early to school, say five minutes early, and they just need to breathe a bit before coming inside. I'd say, "That's fine with me. Have a happy dandy day." Well, not that slapstick. No student is going to be sitting there figuring a way to disrupt school that day and no student wouldn't dare to do stupid things, only the select few. The majority of the students who drive to school are upperclassmen. By that time no one has the maturity level of a "I just got out of middle school" - er. So seeing that they probably are not immature, most of them, there is nothing to little reason as to why the administration thinks they cause trouble by sitting in their cars. COME ON! If there is a problem, then punishment should ensure as with the Food and Drink policy. Not everyone causes a problem and having an administrator check the cars every morning just creates more than was necessary.

To show the funny side of this rule I decided to see if it was really that much of a good rule, since this was just implemented at the new school and was not a problem at the old school. "tsk, tsk" So about two weeks ago I arrived at school about 5 minutes early as I usually do. I see my friends waiting in their cars for the school bell to ring listening to their favorite music, talking with friends, and reading books, and doing homework. So I caught everyone's eyes around me and said to myself, "What the heck? He's too stupid to notice, I'll fake that I'm sleeping so that he will make a fool out of himself." So I did. 10 seconds later he comes to my car and knocks on my window once to "Wake Up" even though everyone around me knew I was totally faking it. So I lazily wake up and then he knocks on my window two more times. Seeing that I was "Awake" I start reading a book. He then gets angry with me for no reason and tells me to "LOOK AT ME" I mean he was shouting at the top of his lungs at this point. And at that time everyone is laughing at him in their cars. So I "looked" at him and then he does the same rhetoric, "Come inside and no loitering," even though I was not loitering. Loitering means, "to stand idly, to stop numerous times, or to delay and procrastinate." Okay the first two I was not doing. But the third I see, I "delayed" going into school because I needed to catch up on my "Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz's" But I did not want to go to the Commons area, because it gets so crowded. That is item #9. And you'll see why we do not like the new commons area.

In the past week Item #4 was implemented. It's even more strange than Item #3. This is the Littering Rule. WAIT. Okay. So you're thinking that's a good thing right? I agree, but not in the way they are doing it. You see, let's say Johnnie parks 20 spaces to the left of me and decides, "Hey, I'm gonna drop this "Big Lots bag beside my car and see how far it blows to my right. Ha ha. That kid is gonna get in so so much trouble." The same can happen if he decides to place his Big Lots bag at my car. Either way if they find it an hour after I came in the doors I get in trouble. Silly, right? Even though it was not my trash. Some of the consequences have been "Community Service" and just this morning a student was arrested. OKay. Another girl said that a Burger King bag was found under her car, and that the administrators have the right to drive to Burger King to check their surveillance cameras to see if she was there. That is an abuse of power ladies and gentlemen. Leave it alone and let her be.

Since I leave early from Mann, Item #5 with After School Procedures do not affect me. A few of my Junior and Sophomore friends have detailed in full the nutty procedure when students leave campus. First, if you have an event after school, and you had an early dismissal, you are not allowed on campus until 4pm. Even though you might be late for that 3:45 Beta Club meeting, they will not let you in, even when your life depends on it. Another rule is that ALL Students have to be let out before Car Riders and Bus Riders. This may seem to be a fantasy for some students but it is unfair to the rest of the student population. Some friends of mine got picked up at 3:35 and could not leave campus until 4:15 so that every last student was out of the parking lot. The people who tried to leave before that were stopped by cops and told the entire student handbook. Oh my!

The Lunch Policy at #6 got way out of hand today and yesterday. In short, Students pick up your dang trash. It's that simple. Today because of a messy commons area the day before, at lunch today only two lines of lunch were served along with just milk. The Patriot Pantry, Snack Machines, Soda Machines, Gatorade, Cookies, Papa John's, And ChikFilA were not served. So this created chaos for students who regularly got school lunch. The first issue is throwing the food away. It seems that many students are too lazy to get up and walk to the trash can to throw their things away. I do it every day nonetheless. But the one thing that helps is when teachers and staff roll the trashcans around to the tables and we see that more students throw their trash away versus feeling forced to throw it away themselves. It is a big asset when the staff walks around because the students feel respected and we don't lose vital time with friends in the middle of the school day with trash issues. The second problem was having two lunch lines instead of four. Getting rid of the "goodies" was absolutely necessary, but getting rid of ChikFilA and Papa Johns was unnecessary. Today for the first time since the move, some students were not able to get their lunch until five minutes before the bell rang. FIVE MINUTES! That's not enough time to slam a banana and a Sunny D. So in the future keep the four lines, get rid of the rest. We teach healthy and safe habits that way.

The New School is certainly falling apart at #7. The school is supposed to be "settling" but we do not certainly do not see that at JL Mann. We have cement bricks falling at fast rates through two ceilings at once. At times they nearly miss a student's ear or head, if not watching out. This new school is absolutely dangerous. The walls should not be able to "move" but should be stable. Maybe other materials should have been used and more money used to help protect students and not harm them in their new school environment. It's enough moving into the new school, it's another thing making sure that "that cement block better not bust my head like a watermelon today," incident.

Not to mention that the new desks are unstable with Item #8. According to Inside Sources, the new desks were made by South Carolina convicts in prison. "Oh How Lovely." "We have murderers and druggies making our lovely new desks". "I'm feeling safer already." In the next few months, the school is provide "newer" new desks to make up for these that are full of crap and not useful in the classroom. The reason they are unstable you ask? Well. Most desks have four bars that help it stand up. Our "brilliant" convicts decided to cut their slack short and made only three bars. So if you are getting out of your seat and you happen to place your bag on the wrong side. POP GOES THE DESK! Yes, it's history. Thanks goodness for "Newer" new desks.

And now we come back to the Horrid Commons Area at #9. Yes, it's as bad as it seems. I feel like "High School Musical" every time I walk in there. Except there's no singing and dancing. And there's no Vanessa Hudgens or Zac Efron in sight. O well. The problem is that they commons area can only fit 530 students at a time. So put twice as much in their and you have a problem. Students can go to the library, but that's it. No one is allowed into the classrooms until the bell rings at the usual time. So cram around 1200 students and staff and faculty and so on in that thing and you have heat cramps, and soon chaos ensues again. This is why the Loitering Rule does not make sense. It's dangerous to cram the commons area, it's noisy, and students want a little bit of privacy before heading into a very "public" public school.

So is Advisory really worth it at #10? I mean I know we need life skills but recently it's just been a hoot of a waste of time. The last lesson depicted the last in a tornado situation and whom we would save: "Doctor, Teacher, Actor, Swimmer, and so on." Excuse me, what kind of life skill is this exactly? Am I supposed to be trained to be Supermann when I grow up? Um I'm not so sure. Let's find some "real" topics to talk about, but oh no, "That's too graphic," "You're too young," "blah, blah, blah" and so on with the excuses. So in short nothing is learned in Advisory just more free time of free time to chat with friends and make new memories.

The new Renaissance program is quite appalling at #11. The decision making process for this year's rally was extremely ridiculous. Students who were not leaders got to go, while other notorious ones were deliberately left out. It is about grades, yes, but absences, HUH??!!??!! Some people get sick and there's nothing they can do about it. I missed it because I went to the March For Life in DC and I was not allowed to go because they did not consider me a leader, because of the necessary absence. I think standing up for your right to live takes some gut especially when in DC in the wintertime. BURRR. I froze my butt off so that you could continue to live in this free world. In the words of Hilary Clinton, reworded, "Shame on you Renaissance!"

So any day now this week JL Mann plans to have their monthly "at the last minute" drills for fire, earthquakes, tornadoes and the like at #12. It seems that safety at Mann is not a top priority, more like at the bottom. We care more about the athletic teams and such instead of preparing for a natural disaster. HMMM. I'm confused. Anyways, I always was taught that hard work and being street smart was more important than being an athlete. I guess in my high school years I have discovered that this is totally false and wrong. Well, we'll see what happens from here.

Rumors are spreading widely that there will be no pep rallies at the new school this year at #13. I'm staying proactive on this because I know you guys want to see me dance one last time. I'm working hard to work things out, but things are looking dull right now. Hopefully in a few months we will try to persuade them to have at least one pep rally or two in the new school before our senior class leaves in May. Especially with school spirit being so low with the new rules, we need a pep rally soon and we need it FAST!!!!!!!!!!

The NHS inductions were held last night at #14 with our future leaders. The ceremony went pretty well despite no "fashion police" and "xtreme" gum chewing, the event was a pleasant thing that unfolded. More on this will come over the weekend. Instead let me take you back the months before the Induction Ceremony because of the delay due to the New School move and poor planning on the people in charge. In January were supposed to have a meeting. Well one week went by. Nothing. Second Week. Nothing. Third Week. Nothing. Fourth Week. Nothing. Wait. Were we not supposed to have one in January. I don't know. All I know is I followed my NHS rules and came to the "meetings" In case they did really happen without my knowledge, send me the memo.

A new program is coming to Mann at #15. Single Sex Classes is new in the realms of high schools across America. Only Elementary and Middle Schools have used them. We are determined to be the first high school to do it for our Freshmen class. WOOP DE DO! "We can make our freshmen more like middle schoolers again!" "YEAH!" (Freshmen teachers jump wildly up and down with glee) Well. Not so fast. Many of the freshmen teachers did not find out about this until the day AFTER the press release. So here we have a new program, no say from the freshmen teachers, and they just decide to implement the program to the dismay of the ill informed public. So before you send your kids into "Middle School Hell" please figure out if the administration and teachers are working together before you do so. It is a good program according to many scholars. But to the JL Mann community at large which many includes teachers and students, we do NOT agree.
And lastly at #16 the school website tells it all.

Check out the screen shots of our website compared to others across the district.
JL Mann

Greer

Eastside

Mauldin

I chose the Greer, Eastside, and Mauldin sites, not only because they are "Award Winners" but also because they prominently display their students on their front pages.

As you can tell by our screen shot. The teacher gets the face over, while only student's backs are shown while they are recycling. "Well, that's nice." "We just love recycling at JL Mann."

But the other sites are seeming to have more substance.

Let's take the first look at Greer. Beauty Pageant held recently is the big news. Cool. Not only that the young ladies are prominently displayed with their faces showing.

"Gosh, I wish our website did that!" The teacher on our website, moreover was "Teacher Of The Month." We DO, also, have "Students Of The Month." Why are they not displayed? Don't ask me.

Let's move on to Eastside. Different variety. But still the same concept. Students are prominently displayed. Students at the YABA book party that stands for Young Adult Book Awards for South Carolina for reading at least two or more of the twenty books on the yearly list. A noticeable plus for Eastside is that they have photo galleries of other events at their school on their front page to showcase more of the student body than would normally be displayed on the front page. Smart Thinking Eastside!

"Let's try that Mann," says Jimmy. "Yeah," says Adelle the webmaster!

And by far, even though we are one of their biggest rivals, Mauldin's website is simply the best. The front picture is not poised and it shows the true spirit of what it means to be in high school. Make friends, study, and live life to the fullest. Another plus for Mauldin at that is that students are featured in their Name and Logo strip at the top of their page. The front photo is definitely the most intriguing to make students want to go to that school.

Now for the quiz.

Which school would you NOT go to based on their website?

A) Mann
B) Greer
C) Eastside
D) Mauldin

Of course this is hard, but to be honest I would chose A) Mann. I feel that this is a "Moment Of Truth." We seem to make no effort whatsoever to prominently display our students as other school websites do and no effort to make students feel the want to come to this amazing school.

Guys, seriously, I love JL Mann. I have had the most fun that I have ever had in four years at this school. But this website of ours needs to shape up. NOW. FAST! If we do not care enough about our student body, try putting a student in charge or fire the current webmaster and hire another one. If we want more people to have interest in JL Mann we have to change our website, ludicrous rules, and regulations, and our attitudes to our students, teachers, staff, and our community.

JL Mann is still the best school in Greenville County. We need to show that starting tommorow when we are out in public, or at games, or at shows. They more we show off our school spirit, the better off our school will be, and the better off our future Patriots will be in the end.

God bless and enjoy your evening every1,

Christian L.

The Amazing DC Trip!

2008-02-02T17:56:00.000-08:00

Hello again every1! It's been about two weeks now since the DC trip for the March For Life with
St. Joseph's High School and St. Mary's Youth Group here in SC. In short, I had a blast. But here's the whole story despite little news coverage here and around the states.

Saturday night was the day before I left for DC. I was excited and also scared since I had never been on a trip without my family and just a few close friends since the Freshmen year Florida trip. But that's a whole other story. So this kinda seemed like a new experience even though I had done it in Florida and also because I had been to DC once before my Sophomore year of high school on spring break with my family. So there I was late Saturday night awaiting anxiously and excitingly about what the next day would bring. Because the packing took so long with snacks, clothes, fun stuff, and more snacks I did not hit the sack until around 1 or 2 in the morning. I had to wake up at 5 the next morning to meet the buses at St. Joe's by 6. So in all I had absolutely little sleep, but that did not keep me away from being able to survive the trip.

Sunday morning at 5 I am up and atom for the trip. With three bags of everything that I needed I was off to DC. The trip to St. Joe's was a quiet one and very low key at that. Once I had arrived I was hustled into the Chapel for a brief Sunday Pro Life mass before we left on our trip. Father Longenecker did the Mass and had much ways to connect the pro life movement to other major movements since the dawn of time. Then it was too the buses. I said my goodbyes to my mom who showed me off and then we bolted out of the parking lot with two charter buses packed and we were finally headed off to DC.

I was excited to be off and couldn't wait. Before we had left we had movie choices that we could have. It was either LOTR or Padre Pio for our two buses. Luckily we got LOTR while the other bus two had to watch Padre Pio. HA HA! I was glad that my seat mate was Andy.

He's been a good friend in YG and we talked for like forever. Even through the dull and boring LOTR. I probably took too many pictures. But that was me on a field trip high. We made a few pit stops on the way and ate too many BK's and Mickey D's.

I think we got a little to mad here.

At one point in the trip I was speaking Gollum language.

Andy started freaking out and I stopped myself before I went too far. The bus ride up was crazzzzzyyyyyyy.

At one point we convinced Father Longenecker to do an Indiana Jones pose. And later one his son Ellis decided to join in.

He is such a funny kid. But his friend Clark had to babysit him since he was underage most of the trip.

But that sums up the trip up. I had fun looking out at the window at times to snow and heavy winds and many towns and cities that we passed through on the 8 hour trip to DC.

Once we hit Arlington, VA, I knew we were close to DC.

We stayed overnight at the Radisson in VA and my group went to eat out at Chilli's the first night. That included Andy, Christopher, and Tommy, and Lucas. We met another Youth Group there that was sitting beside us and laughed at all the stupid things that kids say in Youth Group these days.

"God loves cats that are fat."
"Jesus blessed donkeys."
"Mary threw the first stone."

and so on.

Monday the 21 was sightseeing of DC. We woke up around 6 and walked to the Metro to get to Union Station around 7 in the morning. We got lost and finally found the first train to Union Station.

Most of the group boarded with success and high spirits. Our YG director Chris was confused along with John in the back.

But once everything was situated everyone was better then they were before. We had a few minutes to spare so we laughed and joked and talked about all the sites we would see that day. I wanted to see the White House and they thought that the Lincoln Memorial was cooler.

COOOMMEEE ONNN. A guy sitting in a chair is cooler than the President's house??!!! PHSH! Kidding me? Nope. Anyways, that was the plan from there.

One thing that surprised me about DC was that their were newsstands for The Onion, which is a newspaper of satire on current news. Andy was not pleased having Lucas read it and so was I.
I love The Onion, but maybe not at this point in time.

We had finally arrived at Union Station and Christopher wanted our group to get a move on. And so we did. First stop was the Capitol building. Mind you it was about 30 degrees outside so we were wearing extremely heavy warm coats and boots that were really air tight and smooth. So we were FREEZING SOUTHERNERS!

The Capitol was our destination and we were headed full force to see it. Their was a wait of up to an hour. No Kidding. An Hour. By the time we entered the building My feet, head, and hands were numb and I couldn't feel anything. I was about to collapse. But I made it through.

While we waited I took a picture of the back side of the Capitol with the sunrise and the American Flag waving on the top.

Once I reached the door they checked my bag and the others for weapons, knives, spray, and food. Yep, food. I had to throw all mine away for that day. So I had to be hungry until lunch and dinner with no snack food for a day. The security guy called my bag a "mini WalMart" which it was. We went inside and did our tour.

This is the view from the Capitol balcony where the President gets inaugurated. Hopefully "You Know Who" will not be our president from that balcony next year. Please. Please. Please. We are now considered the lucky few to have had that experience.

After 20 minutes on the balcony taking pictures of DC we left and I got a big full scale picture of the Capitol before we left.

Next up was the Mall Of America and the local museums. We visited Air And Space, Lincoln, Washington, and a few others. Disappointly we never made it to the White House. The other groups except us did. Boo Hoo. Im not complaining, because I've already been their before anyway.

We went to the Washington Monument and saw how humongous it was. Then it was lunch time. My group, same as usual, went to Fuddruckers in downtown DC. We then met up with the other groups at Ruby Tuesdays, Subway, and Mickey D's and we all made a big YG trip to Bed, Bath, And Beyond to try out their new massage chair. That's when they left me. Seriously. Left Me. I walked around as did everyone else. It was time to leave the store at 1 in the afternoon and I went to meet the group at the front of the store. They were not there. Went to the first floor. Not their either. Went outside the store. Not there. Went back to restaurants. Still no sign. So I then figured out they left me for the museums. So much for watching out for each other and those silly chaperone's.

So here I am in Downtown DC scared out of my mind with some Stunna Shades on. I walked to the monuments which were about a mile away from where I was. Their were pickpockets everywhere so I really had to fend myself without others around me. I made a stop into a Smithsonian Museum. Met up with Belmont Abbey people I did not know and hung with them and then went on my own pursuits. Saw the whole museum in like 20 minutes max and every exhibit in like 5 minutes each. After that I went to Mickey D's and surprisingly found St. Joe's people whom I recognized. I called Chris and told him where I was. He was not scared one bit. AHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's scary when you're own chaperone's are not scared for your life. BAD, BAD, BAD. But everything worked out in the end.

It was back to the buses for the groups to get to the Pro Life Vigil Mass at the Basilica Of The Shrine Of The Immaculate Conception.

Before leaving we took a group picture before heading out.

This time I sat with my friend Clark.

Yes, the really extremely crazy fun Clark. We talked about the day and how I got lost and how he played pranks on a few people downtown.

He camera phobic so I had to stop taking pictures for a while.

I mean I was serious.

Ellis wanted to join us so he hung out with Clark and I for the last few minutes of the bus ride to the Basilica.

And went crazy on us before the bus was supposed to land at its destination.

Emily and Andy were glad to get off from the bus to stretch their legs and walk to the Basilica.

The Basilica in full before we entered for the Pro Life Vigil Mass on Monday.

The mass was soooo crowded. It was so crowded that our group had to go to the lower crypt of the church. Even then the place was packed with people. I seriously had not seen so many people in my life in such tight spaces before it.

Andy sure does.

Actually we both do, even though I'm wearing a DC shirt at Mass. OOPS.

The YG guys chilled before Mass began.

So did the YG girls too.

We were lucky enough to have Father Longenecker be a part of the Mass for the Diocese Of Charleston!!!!

After the Mass was over around 10 that night we left and headed straight for the buses to the hotel. It was too late at 11 to go out so we ordered pizzas for the night. Then we stayed up watching Dane Cook and Lewis Black reruns on Comedy Central until 2 in the morning.

Tuesday January 22, 2008 was March For Life Day and now called The Sanctity Of Human Life Day by President Bush!!!!!! Speakers such as Sam Brownback and Ron Paul were there too.

First stop was the Verizon Center for the Pro Life Youth Rally And Mass before the March For Life. Over ten thousand people were in attendance for the Rally and the March altogether.

And you can see what I am talking about when there are 10,000 people in one building. There was actually standing room in this place!

And again we were lucky enough to have Father Longenecker serve this Mass too!

Even the American Representative to Pope B16 was there!

I had a lot of fun at the Pro Life Mass And Rally with my friends and my fellow Catholics.

Clark was camera phobic as usual.

And Andy was having the time of his life too!

Then it was off to the March itself. The moment I had always been waiting for. People stretched from the Capitol building to the White House. I held the banner for the Diocese Of Charleston the whole way through. It was breathtaking. The whole experience.

I was glad to see the whole group get into it from both sides. Many people chanting, singing, and praying. It was an experience I will never forget.

The Saint Joseph's High School Banner.

The Diocese Of Charleston Banner.

We all eventually all became tired and headed the buses for home in SC. The bus ride back was fun. I sat with my friends Jill the first half, Michael the second half, and Seth the third half. It was too dark to take pictures so I waited for BK to come.

The guys sat and chilled in one corner of the resturaunt.

The girls and Andy sat on the other side talking gossip and rumors about the trip.

At one point the three amigos and I went and got our own table. At one point Christopher accidentally called Tommy "Timmy" and Lucas, Christopher, Tommy, and I burst out laughing! It was the funniest thing ever.

At the table beside us, Stephen argued with Malachi over why the Catholic Church does not allow women to be presidents in America using his "Mini Catholic Cathecism For Idiots" book.

Jordan and I had fun on the trip.

And so did Marco.

And then once everything was done all we wanted to do was go homeeeeeee. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

We got back at St. Joe's for pick up at about 1 in the morning. I was extremely tired. I finally reached my house around 1:30 on Wednesday the 23rd. And I had to go to school the next day. St. Joe's kids and Homeschoolers were lucky enough to sleep in a bit, but the rest of us had to get up bright and early.

So I got home, unpacked, and hit the sack around 2:30 or 3 that night. I then woke up at 7 for school. Only 4 hours of sleep for me.

I went back to school and everyone wanted to know the whole story. Well, here it is in it's entirety.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out the new stuff on my profile which is the OI7 Banner for Justin, Travis, Emily, Taylor, Mac, and Jacob and the new V Factory banner for the release of their new song "For You" and others on my Facebook and Myspace now! Congrats to Wesley and the rest of the gang on their new releases this week! I wish them the best of luck in all that they do.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope everyone had a great week and hope that all is going well!

Christian L.

Top 20 Of Top 20 For 2007!!!!!

2007-12-30T14:53:00.000-08:00

Here is my official list of the Top 20 songs for this amazing year of 2007!

1. Umbrella - Rihanna

2. Hey There Delilah - Plain White Ts

3. Irreplaceable - Beyonce

4. Say It Right - Nelly Furtado

5. Big Girls Don't Cry - Fergie

6. The Sweet Escape - Gwen Stefani

7. Apologize - One Republic

8. Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5

9. The Way I Are - Timbaland

10. Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne

11. What Goes Around Comes Around - Justin Timberlake

12. No One - Alicia Keys

13. Who Knew - Pink

14. Glamorous - Fergie

15. Stronger - Kanye West

16. Give It To Me - Timbaland

17. Its Not Over - Daughtry

18. Summer Love - Justin Timberlake

19. Rockstar - Nickelback

20. Bubbly - Colbie Caillat

Happy New Years Everyone!

Christian L.

Check out the countdown until Friday. Have a good one!

Mann Of The Year 2007 WINNER!

2007-12-22T16:48:00.000-08:00

Everyone. This has been a long month of voting for Mann students, parents, teachers, and alumni to decide our new Mann Of The Year 2007. We started off with 20 nominees and now we are done to our winner. This has been a close race through and through and I would like to congratulate the top three again for their hard work this year as Mann's leaders.

Here are the runners up this year for Mann Of The Year 2007:.

3rd Runner Up is.............................. Alex Roper with 23% of the vote!

2nd Runner Up is...............................Ashley Brown with 30% of the vote!

And this year's Mann Of The Year 2007 is..................................................
.............................................................
............................................................
..............................................................

.............................................................
............................................................
..............................................................
.............................................................
............................................................
..............................................................
.............................................................
............................................................
..............................................................
.............................................................
............................................................
..............................................................
LIZZIE MILLER WITH 47% OF THE VOTE!

CONGRATULATIONS TO LIZZIE MILLER, THIS YEAR'S MANN OF THE YEAR FOR 2007!!!!!!!

Goodbye Old Mann, Hello New Mann

2007-12-21T17:49:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I hope you have been enjoying the new YouTube I posted a few hours ago. This last week in the old school has been one I will never forget. The cleaning of lockers, the franticness of the teachers to clean their classrooms and move them to the new school, the tears of students when saying their goodbyes, and the overwhelming picture snapping of parents and students. I will never forget it.

The new school open house was last Monday night. I am excited about the new school. It has its drawbacks, but so does everything else. Today The Greenville Journal did an article on our open house and even had a picture of Duncan's Vader for Christmas. It was quite an experience. I had a hard time finding my classes, but so did everyone else. They are much more spaced out in the new school than in the old school. It will be a hassle this first week back in January, but I think it will all work out. The new lockers, on the other hand, are a pain too. So much for new technology when it is difficult to get a grasp of. But I guess new things take time and so will our move from the old school to the new school.

I have enjoyed packing teachers boxes over the past week. Laughing at old memories and remembering things of old. I will never forget it. During the packing day on Saturday I did a brick in Doc Loch's class. Here are two pictures of my 'ghoulish' brick.

and Two.

I feel etched in stone at the old school, but it's time for me to move on. Im sad, but excited about the big move at the same time. It's that way from the other students and teachers at Mann that I have talked to as well.

The last day at Mann was truly 'in style' and a 'hassle' as well. The Greenville News did fair reporting, but here's the other side of the story.

I arrived at school in the morning and was surprised to see the school in total darkness. I didn't know what was going on and just thought at the moment that the lights were off and that teacher's wanted an early holiday. That was a so so observation. About ten minutes later after I had arrived I learned that the lights in the gym went out the night before after the girls game and before the boys game. One of my friends who is involved with athletics told me that when the lights went out, everyone freaked and exited the gym until they could get the lights back on.

Half an hour goes by and they cancel the game for good. I learned more as the day went on. About ten minutes before school was to start, we were told to head over to the new school to have a temporary place to stay. OOOO BOOOY. It was "fun!" Students were freaking out again and they had to call in more buses to transport students. No preparation in sight equaled chaos from the get go. I left in a hurry so I would get to the school on time. While on the way I felt bad for the car riders and bus riders who had no other way of getting there except by bus or from other students. I was already too much in a hurry to help anyone and I'm sorry for that.

Once I arrived I was hassled into the building. They took my food away because the new school rules allowed any food or drinks in the building. That was bummer number one. Then I was forced into the crowded and spacey new gym. It was glossied and full of people.

Here are some pictures to help with my story. Im sorry in advance for these pictures and if you are in them.

The glossy gym. WOOT!

The new scoreboard.

I was lucky enough to be one of the first people in the building. But then the flood of students came in.

Yes, just like animals it felt like. Unprepared, even when they knew about it the night before. But that's how it unfolded.

Food was taken away as well. Later on however, students snuck in cookies and cake and had parties with no punishment. I was delighted to eat those cookies after a full cramped hour in the gym.

Studnets were really upset and just wanted to go home. BUT NOOOOO........

To make it better Coach White, 'THE' Drama King Teacher decided to turn the situation in the gym into a mini pep rally. And NO it was not my last dance ever. We are in the works for another one soon in the new year.

The mini pep rally was a success though. Yes, I did perform, hence my last note.

Santa Sayz was hilarious!

And Alicia Hunter proves she is still the Singing Womann at Mann doing No One By Alicia Keys Acapella!

After all this craziness was finished we were instructed to be at our First Period until further notice. I was, along with other students, bored out of my mind and trapped in the new school. There was no way to leave and even if we did students were forced back into the building.

But the cookies and cake in the classes made it all better. I talked with a few of my friends until time went by. Lunch time then rolled around. MORE CHAOS!!!!!

They decided the split the school into two lunch shifts. Mind you we have over 1,000 students. Now imagine cramping 500 of them into a small area and you see what I mean. It was crazy. The worst part about it was that students had to pay for their food. The problem with it was that some students kept electronic accounts and didn't have money with them. They couldn't trust the new system at the new school because it was quickly installed that morning. I had about had it with my last day "in style." I went to the office and had my dismissal sheet. I waited fifteen minutes and then left. I ended up at Burger King and the employees had heard what was going on. About fifteen minutes later two other Mann groups showed up and had conflicting stories about the Mann situation.

Since I had no other classes that day I went home, slept, and then went to work. It was a long day after that. But this pretty much sums up the last day at Mann. A Day Of Chaos.

But its time to move on and enjoy this Chrismas season upon us.

Goodbye Old Mann.

Hello New Mann.

Have a wonderful Christmas Break everyone.
Christian L.

NEW YOUTUBE VIDEO PREMIERE!

2007-12-21T15:12:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone.

Here is the latest You Tube video for the new year. I am still performing. No Worries. The dance last Friday, for the record, is NOT my last dance. I am in preparation for another dance at a pep rally near you. Stay tuned for more info. Here is my new video 'Christian Cranks It With Friends." ENJOY!

The Amazing Christian L

Mann Of The Year 2007 TOP THREE!

2007-12-15T19:44:00.000-08:00

Here are the three finalists for Mann Of The Year 2007 as voted by you! Congrats to the top three!

1. Lizzie Miller!

2. Alex Roper!

3. Ashley Brown!

Go vote for this year's Mann Of The Year 2007 NOW! Final results will come out this Saturday! Go vote at groups.myspace.com/jlmannspiritweek!

CONGRATS AGAIN TO THE TOP THREE FINALISTS!

Have a good one,

Christian L.

Here Are The Top Six Finalists For Mann Of The Year 2007!

2007-12-08T21:43:00.000-08:00

Congrats to the top six!

1. Lizzie Miller

2. Ashley Brown

3. Alex Roper

4. Pierce Wylie

5. Emily Ayer

6. Tiffany Marino

CONGRATS TO ALL THE TOP SIX FINALISTS! Continue to vote at groups.myspace.com/jlmannspiritweek and get your favorites into the top 3 next weekend! WOOT!

Have a good one!
Christian L.

Mann Of The Year Top Ten Nominees Results

2007-12-01T19:19:00.000-08:00

The voting is wild in this year's Mann Of The Year poll. Here are our ten finalists for this week!

Congrats to the following:

1. Lizzie Miller

2. Tiffany Marino

3. Alex Roper

4. Logan Vanzura

5. Brienna Jones

6. Ashley Brown

7. Pierce Wylie

8. Carson Jackson

9. Emily Ayer

10. Tara Cothran

CONGRATS TO OUR TOP TEN FOR MANN OF THE YEAR 2007! Go vote at www.groups.myspace.com/jlmannspiritweek!

Christian L.

Mann Of The Year 2007 Nominees Announced!

2007-11-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again. It's time to now vote on your Mann Of The Year 2007! This will probably be the last year of the famed contest so get your favorites in the top! The person who wins this year will join me as the 2005 winner and Kate Phinney as the 2006 winner. So get your votes in as much as possible. Eliminations are held each week until we get to the top three. This year's nominees are as follows:

* Bria Starks

*Tay Anderson

*Walker Hogan

*Lawson Mcabee

*Raena Rubenstein

*Maddi Garrett

*Tara Cothran

*Whitley Kelly

*Brittney Norton

*Jeb Wallace

*Lizzie Miller

*Ashley Brown

*Pierce Wylie

*Carson Jackson

*Tucker Rumney

*Emily Ayer

*Brienna Jones

*Logan Vanzura

*Tiffany Marino

*Alex Roper

CONGRATS TO ALL THIS YEARS 2007 MANN OF THE YEAR NOMINEES!!!! Get your vote on now at www.groups.myspace.com/jlmannspiritweek!

Good luck to all nominees and have a good one!

Christian L.

Tragedy Hits JL Mann Three Fold

2007-11-02T20:23:00.000-07:00

A news event thats sweeping the nation hits close to home at JL Mann High School. The tragedy of the beach house fire in Ocean Isle Beach, NC has hit the campus of JL Mann in such dramatic force this week as we cope with the loss of three of our 2006 alumni. This Sunday morning blaze has been talked about all over the national news and, even, international news. The blaze which occurred Sunday morning held a house of 13 college students from USC and one from Clemson who were at the prime of their lives looking for a weekend break to watch a football game and relax from the heavy tolls of college life. Seven students perished in the fire leaving only six to tell the tale. The three Mann students who have past are:

*Justin Anderson from USC.
*Travis Cale from USC.
*Emily Yelton from Clemson.

All three were the most humble and vivacious friends that anyone could love and treasure during their time here in our lives.

Here are the three friends as described by their loved ones from GreenvilleOnline.com

Justin Anderson: “He would’ve been the best father in the world”

Published: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 7:38 pm

By Jeanne Brooks
STAFF WRITER
jmbrooks@greenvillenews.com

On Monday, this is what someone who stopped by the house told Justin Anderson’s family: They never knew anybody who didn’t like him.
He was a young man people remembered by his smile and kindness, James Grubb recalled Tuesday. Grubb was Justin’s youth pastor at St. Matthew United Methodist Church in Greenville.
Other parents would tell Justin’s parents they never worried when their own kids were with Justin, said his father, Tom Anderson.
And as for that, “The thing I’ll never forget, the thing that is to me his legacy,” Anderson said, “was how good he was to his younger brothers.” Justin was the second of four brothers. He was close to his older brother, too. With the younger boys, Justin babysat and -- “Not saying he liked it,” his father noted -- was even willing to change diapers.
“He would’ve been the best father in the world,” his own father said. “He was like a Pied Piper with kids. He would take the time to talk with them.”
He liked to go fishing with his friends. “Sometimes they’d fish before school” at a pond near a friend’s house, Anderson said. “They’d get in half an hour before the sun came up.” The boys always threw the fish they caught back in the water.
Justin was a good athlete, and played football and soccer at J. L. Mann High School. He played on his church’s basketball team the year they won the Methodist Church state championship, when Justin was about 14.
He was a good student too, smart and willing to work at his studies. He finished his freshman year at the University of South Carolina with a 3.6 average and belonged to an honor fraternity.
Going to USC was a lifelong dream. Justin came from a family with a passel of USC graduates, including his parents.
He was good about friendship. “If you were Justin’s friend, you were Justin’s friend for life,” his father said. And “he was good about not letting anybody be left out.”
He had a deep faith, Grubb said. “He didn’t run around talking about it. But he was an incredibly deep thinker. He knew scripture better than most kids in the youth group.”
The pastor said the relationship between Justin and his family was very strong. He loved his mother very much, and, “It was father-and-son as best as it could get. It crossed over to friendship, and there was a mutual respect.”
Justin had injured his arm about 10 days before he left for the beach weekend. His plan was to drive to Greenville on Sunday. His father’s birthday was Monday. Also, his father had arranged for an MRI on Justin’s arm.
If the fire had begun a few hours later, Anderson said, “He would’ve gotten up and come home.”
“They were good kids,” he said. “A freak act of bad luck happened. It was time to change a page in God’s book for them.”
But, “It’ll never be the same. That’s for sure.”
On Tuesday, every mailbox in the Andersons’ neighborhood, all 325, wore a white ribbon for Justin. There was a white wreath at each entrance into the subdivision.
On the Andersons’ mailbox, neighbors had placed a white ribbon with black and red ribbons in the middle for USC.

Justin Anderson.

Travis Cale: "Travis was one who was always happy"

Published: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 10:31 pm

By Jeanne Brooks
STAFF WRITER
jmbrooks@greenvillenews.com

Travis Cale believed in the world and other people. "He wanted the world to be a good place," said his grandmother, Sara Payne. "He believed it was."
Maybe that explained his trademark smile and sunny spirit. "
His smile was like a movie star's," she said. "Travis was one who was always happy. He had masses of friends, girls and boys." Friendship, like math, was one of his talents.
"If you gave him a problem" -- without a calculator or paper and pencil -- "he gave you an answer right away," Payne said.
Travis had dark curly hair and looked like his mother. He had wanted to go to the University of South Carolina for nearly forever.
"He wore a Carolina-red USC cap all the time," his grandmother recalled. "It was faded and shaped to his head. He had that same hat I don't know how many years."
He played the guitar. "One of his friends taught him how. But he wouldn't play for you much."
And he liked to fish. "Fishing was his passion," one of his aunts wrote in a draft of a statement. "He could catch a fish in a mud puddle!"
"Many a day," Payne recalled, "he'd come home from school and walk into the garage and pick up a fishing pole." Usually there were friends going with him.
Sometimes he fished before school, too.
His mother taught him ballroom dancing and the shag when he was about middle-school age.
And his manners were almost immaculate. "He never allowed anyone, old or young, to go through a door that he didn't open," his aunt wrote. And "he carried groceries and suitcases for complete strangers."
Travis' grandmother remembered, "It was 'Yes, ma'am' and 'No, ma'am' with him."
He liked banana pudding and to sleep in of a morning.
He was very close to his older brother, Burns.
And he liked Thanksgiving in Dillon County with 50 to 70 members of his extended family. His grandmother recalls how he and his cousins would get up games of baseball under the pecan trees.
He graduated from J.L. Mann High School, where he played outfield on the varsity baseball team. He also loved playing church basketball.
Travis was 19 and in his sophomore year at USC.
He hadn't yet settled on what he wanted to be in life.
"His lifespan was short," Payne said. But the world was better for it. "He made it a better place."
His aunt wrote, "Young children always came right up to Travis and asked him to play."

Travis Cale.

Emily Yelton: "She was a ray of sunshine. She was fun"

Published: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 5:37 pm
Updated: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 8:26 pm

By Ron Barnett
STAFF WRITER
rbarnett@greenvillenews.com

Even as the family of Clemson University sophomore Emily Yelton waited for official notification, they already knew the tragic truth: She was among the victims.
"We know Emily was there and we know that she is gone," said her mother, Kim Yelton.
Emily, who is survived by an identical twin, Meredith, also a Clemson student, was at the beach house with friends she had gone to school with at J.L. Mann High who are now students at the University of South Carolina, her mother said.
"She was a ray of sunshine. She was fun. She was larger than life. She never met a stranger," her mother said.
Emily, who turned 19 in August, was in the process of changing her major from marketing to early childhood education because of her love for children, according to her mom.
She had been a volunteer swim coach and often took kids from her neighborhood in Simpsonville to the movies.
"She just loved children and they loved her," Kim Yelton said.
Her mom had talked with Emily at about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, while her friends were engrossed in the USC-Tennessee football game and Emily was reveling in Clemson’s defeat over Maryland earlier in the day.
She told her mother about how she and her boyfriend, Travis Cale, who also died in the fire, had gone fishing that afternoon and had made friends with an elderly man at the pier.
The family takes some comfort at least in word from the authorities that Emily apparently didn’t suffer.
"To hear that she went peacefully in her sleep is a huge relief," her mother said. "And I’m also sure that she is in heaven. I know exactly what age she became a Christian."
Emily grew up attending Buncombe Street United Methodist Church and had been going to Brookwood Community Church at the time of her death, her mother said.
Emily’s father, Jeff Yelton, is a vice president at Scansource, and her mother is a part-time tennis instructor.
As to her twin sister, who also was one of her roommates at Clemson, she is understandably taking the loss hard, her mother said.
"She felt like half of herself was gone," she said.
The outpouring of support from the community and across the nation has been a source of comfort for the family, she said.
"We’re leaning on our family and our friends and on the Lord."
"We know that Emily died a happy girl. She was happy and fun. She died with some of her best friends."
Because of the close ties between Emily’s family and two other fire victims, Cale and Justin Anderson, the loss goes even deeper for the Yeltons.
"I feel like I’ve lost three children," Kim Yelton said, and her tears began to flow.

Emily Yelton.

Here are the obituaries to follow with the service times.

Justin Michael Anderson, 19, died October 28, 2007.
Justin was a loving brother and a beautiful son.
Born in Columbia, he was a son of Dr. Joseph Thomas and Dawn Bielaski Anderson.
Justin was a 2006 graduate of J.L. Mann High School, where he played football and soccer. He was an honor student at the University of South Carolina, majoring in business, and was a member of the SAE fraternity.
Justin was a member of St. Matthew United Methodist Church. He had been an acolyte and played on the basketball team. He also attended Salkahatchie Summer Mission Service.
Surviving, in addition to his parents, are his brothers, Stephen, Taylor and Matthew, all of Greenville; maternal grandparents, Frank and Eleanor Bielaski of Columbia; paternal grandparents, Bud and Betty Anderson of Columbia; his aunt, Lori Harley and her husband, Will, of Charlotte, N.C.; his uncle, Mark Anderson and his wife, Carol, of Atlanta, Ga.; and cousins, Brent and Ethan Anderson and Megan and Josh Harley.
Services will be Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Matthew United Methodist Church with the Rev. Cameron Treece officiating. Burial will follow in Woodlawn Memorial Park.
The family will receive friends Saturday from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m. at the Church.
Memorials may be made to the Justin Anderson Endowment Fund at St. Matthew United Methodist Church, 701 Cleveland St., Greenville, SC 29601, or to Carolina Remembrance Fund, 1600 Hampton St., Suite 736, Columbia, SC 29208.
The Mackey Mortuary, Century Drive.
Published in The Greenville News: 11-02-2007.

Travis Lane Cale, 19, of 25 Round Pond Road, died Sunday, October 28, 2007.
Born in Greenville, he was the son of Stephen Eugene and Connie Payne Cale.
Travis was a 2006 graduate of JL Mann Academy, where he played JV and Varsity baseball. He attended the University of South Carolina, majoring in Business and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity.
He was a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church and active in Young Life.
He played church basketball, Greenville Little League (All Stars) and Beck Baseball Team.
Travis loved to fish, especially at the pond near his home. He loved 4-wheeling, video games, dancing, listening to country music and playing guitar with friends. He always looked forward to Thanksgiving with family and playing baseball with his cousins. He enjoyed spending the Fourth of July at Beech Mountain with his friends, and enjoyed doing anything and everything that involved his brother, Burns and their extraordinarily close-knit friends. He especially enjoyed spending time with his girlfriend, Emily Yelton.
Surviving, in addition to his parents, are his brother, Burns Stephen Cale of the home; maternal grandmother, Sara W. Payne of Greenville; paternal grandparents, Bobbie Campbell Lazar and W.E. "Rainey" Lazar of Greenville; other surviving family members include, Reverend Sara Anna Payne of Richmond, Va., Dr. William and Patti Payne Bearden of Chapin, S.C., Julie Payne Wooley of Greenwood, Tommy and Jacque Cale Gaul of Greer, Larry and Lisa Cale Colburn of Canton, Ga., Mike Lazar of Greer, Roy and Robin Doss of Rustburg, Va., Dr. Mike and Dr. Anna Bearden Lowit, Ryan and Wallace Bearden Miller, Robert Wooley, Elizabeth Wooley, Jason and Amy Gaul, Ryan Gaul, Connor Colburn, Jeffrey Doss, Cord Doss, Brian Lazar and Kevin Lazar. He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Burns E. Cale.
Memorials may be made to Carolina Remembrance Fund for Travis Cale, SAE, University of South Carolina, Gift Processing, 1600 Hampton Street, Suite 736, Columbia, SC 29208 or Meals on Wheels, 15 Oregon Street, Greenville, SC 29605.
The funeral service will be held Saturday, November 3, 2007, at 2:30 p.m. at Brookwood Church, 580 Brookwood Point Place, Simpsonville. Visitation will follow the service at the residence.
Active pallbearers will be Ryan Gaul, Le McNair, Julian Nexson, Brendan Smith, R.J. Snyder, Robert Wooley and Brayden Wynn.
Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.thomasmcafee.com.
Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Downtown.
Published in The Greenville News: 11-02-2007

Emily Lauren Yelton, 19, died October 28, 2007.
Born in Greenville, S.C., she was a daughter of Jeff and Kim Yelton.
Emily was a graduate of J.L. Mann High School, where she was a head cheerleader and a member of Young Life of Greenville. She was a sophomore at Clemson University and attended Brookwood Church.
Surviving, in addition to her parents, are her twin sister, Meredith Ashburn Yelton of Greenville; her paternal grandparents, Dr. and Mrs. Ernest Yelton of Rutherfordton, N.C.; her maternal grandfather, Larry Wright of Greenville; and aunts, Kristin Blanton and her husband, Stan, of Greer, Wendy Garrison and her husband, Chris, of Greer, Kathleen Mayer of Greenville and Patty Green of Mt. Pleasant, S.C.
A Memorial Service will be Friday at 2 p.m. at Brookwood Church, with the Rev. David Martin and the Rev. Perry Duggar officiating. Inurnment will follow in Graceland East Memorial Park.
Memorials may be made to Young Life of Greenville.
The Mackey Mortuary, Century Drive
Published in The Greenville News: 11-01-2007

Justin, Travis, and Emily, RIP.

The good news is that people survived this fire so that others may know what occured.

Tripp Wylie of the JL Mann Class Of 2006 survived the fire and lived to tell the tale on the The Today Show, Good Morning America, and The Early Show. I am so thankful Tripp survived this horrible disaster.

Here are both his stories from The Today Show and GreenvilleOnline.

House fire survivor remembers friends who perished

Tripp Wylie jumped from third floor into canal, but girlfriend did not follow

By Mike Celizic

TODAYShow.com contributor

updated 10:17 a.m. ET, Tues., Oct. 30, 2007

College students Travis Cale, Justin Anderson and Emily Yelton were Tripp Wylie’s best friends, kids he had known since grammar school.
Yelton was his former girlfriend, Cassidy Pendley was his current girlfriend, and Wylie lost them all in a savage fire at a North Carolina beach house Sunday that left him alive but hardly untouched.
“You try to make sense out of it, which is impossible,” Wylie said when TODAY co-host Matt Lauer asked during an interview Tuesday if he asks himself why he survived while his friends died.“People keep telling me it happened for a reason, everything happens for a reason. I have to believe that right now,” he said. “It’s the only thing that I can hold on to right now. Definitely, I keep asking myself that question.”
Wylie and his friends were among 12 students from the University of South Carolina and one from Clemson University who had piled into four cars last week for a late-season weekend at a big, two-story beach house built on stilts and overlooking a canal in the little North Carolina town of Ocean Isle Beach.
On Saturday night, they watched South Carolina lose to Tennessee in football, then stayed up late, dancing on the house’s big back deck, having a good time.

Sometime before 7 a.m. Sunday, the house erupted in flames. The five students sleeping on the first floor got out; of the eight students on the upper floor — three stories above the ground — only Wylie, a 20-year-old sophomore, survived.

He leaped out of his bedroom window into the canal more than 20 feet below. When he hit the water, he yelled repeatedly to his girlfriend, Pendley, urging her — begging her — to jump after him. She never did.
Wylie hadn’t wanted to go on television to talk about it, but didn’t want to dishonor his friends. Sunday night, he reached out in his own way to ask them what he should do.
“I kind of had a little prayer meeting with those seven people that were lost in the fire, and I just told them that I was gonna get word out of what they were like, how they impacted my life, people’s lives, tell how great people they really were,” he said.

His anguish was evident, the words coming slowly and painfully, one at a time and in brief clusters rather than in sentences.
“They were your best friends in the world,” Lauer observed.
“Exactly,” Wylie confirmed. “Exactly. Toughest thing I’ve ever dealt with, without a doubt.”
And then he talked of those people who had been at the center of his life and now were gone.
“Justin — Justin Anderson, his smile. Big, white teeth,” he began. “Big, huge smile you could pick out of a crowd. Personality that really — grab any stranger off the street, Justin could talk to anybody.”
Then there was Travis Cale. “Just the same, very engaging personality,” Wylie said. “These are my best friends. Travis — everything was a friendly competition between us. We’d get to each other, just messing with each other — [I’ll] definitely miss that.”
Emily Yelton had been his girlfriend, a pretty blonde with a big smile. “Just really the life of the party,” Wylie continued. “If you were out having a good time Friday, Saturday night, chances are Emily was there. Huge, huge heart. A very caring person. Loved life.”
Finally he spoke of Cassie Pendley, the young woman he had fallen for just a few months earlier
“We met the first day of classes, which was my birthday,” he recalled. “Me being stupid, walked into a class of about 400 people and just kind of yelled out, ‘Who wants to sit by me?’ and just happened to sit by her. The rest is history. Great girl. I keep telling people [it was] pretty amazing to walk into a room with her and watch all the heads turn to see who she was.”

The other three students who died in the tragedy were Lauren Mahon, Allison Walden and Will Rhea, whose brother, Andrew, escaped the flames. Most of the men were members of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and the women were from Delta Delta Delta.
Ocean Isle Beach is a tight-knit community of just 500 residents, and the mayor there called the tragedy “the worst thing to ever happen here.”
Searching for the cause
Fire officials haven’t determined a cause for the fire, which quickly engulfed the house, leaving a gutted shell in its wake, but believe it was accidental and started on the deck that overlooks the canal.
Wylie has no idea what woke him early Sunday morning. In previous interviews, he said he just woke up, opened the door to his room, and saw a hall filled with smoke and the roar and crackle of fire. He realized he couldn’t get down the stairs and out that way, so he tore the blinds off the window and kicked it in.
He had no idea if anyone else was even in the house. “I called out hoping someone would hear," he told Lauer. "[I] didn’t have any idea at the time who was in, who was out, who was safe, who was not.”
He tore the blinds off the window and kicked the window out. “I could see flames at that point and could see how serious it really was,” he said.
Telling Pendley to follow him, he climbed on the window ledge, saw the flames shooting out of the back of the house, and leaped sideways, turning to land on his back in the water. He scraped the backs of his legs on a concrete retaining wall on the canal, but was otherwise physically uninjured.

“The only option you really had was just to jump out,” he said in a previous interview. “I couldn’t really breathe. I just had to make a quick decision.”
It saved Wylie’s life. Now he must figure out how to live it without the people who had shared it with him.
“I reach out to them,” he told Lauer. “I hope they know that I’m here for them. They’re in my prayers.”

Tripp Wylie on the Today Show.

A friend "was yelling, ‘Jump! You’ve got to jump'," survivor says
Tripp Wylie recalls how he escaped from death early Sunday morning

Published: Tuesday, October 30, 2007 - 2:00 am

By Jeanne Brooks
STAFF WRITER
jmbrooks@greenvillenews.com

Tripp Wylie doesn’t know what woke him up in the predawn Sunday at Ocean Isle Beach.
"I didn’t smell smoke," he recalled Monday afternoon. "I didn’t hear any alarm," not then anyway.
Wylie, 20, a Greenville native and a sophomore at the University of South Carolina, had gone with a group of friends to stay at a beach house owned by the family of one of them.
The trip, he said, "was really just kind of a last-minute thing. A friend had a house. It was available." Three cars left the Columbia campus late Friday and arrived at the house around 6 p.m. A fourth car came separately.
Thirteen students in all were in the house early Sunday morning, most from USC and at least one from Clemson University, when a consuming fire overswept it, killing seven.
Wylie remembers getting up and opening the door to his room on the top floor of the three level house. Then he smelled smoke. He looked down into the living room below. "I could see clear as day," he said, perhaps from street lights outside. He didn’t see flames.
Wylie went back into his room and closed his door. By then, "I could hear very clearly popping sounds, very loudly," he said. He knew he was hearing fire. But "I didn’t know how bad it was."
After looking out his window, Wylie opened the door a second time. Not 30 seconds had gone by, he estimated. But this time black smoke poured in fast and thick -- so thick, he said, it was like "you could almost grab it with your hand." It was hard to breathe. He realized he wouldn’t be able to get out through the house.
Wylie ripped the blinds off the window, opened it and kicked out the screen. He looked to his right and saw flames were about 20 feet away.
He couldn’t drop straight down. Under his window was what he guessed was 10-20 feet of concrete bank along a canal. "I had to jump out" and away from the house, Wylie said. "I had to jump out very far to make sure I didn’t hit the concrete."
A friend who was one of the house party had made it out and was standing below. "He was yelling, ‘Jump! You’ve got to jump!"
Wylie’s leap carried him into the water in the canal. His injuries were minor, mostly cuts but also small burns from hot cinders falling from the house.
When he looked up, the flames had already made their way almost to his window and the house was engulfed. There was no way to re-enter it.
Emergency responders took Wylie and the other survivors to the hospital. His father, Rick, was away on a mountain biking trip. His mother, Sydna, drove from Greenville to Ocean Isle Beach to bring him home.
Since then, Wylie said, he deals with the experience "minute by minute. It’s not something you can get your mind off of." But "it helps to have friends and family around."
Those at the beach house were all his friends, he said. "Some were my best friends." Some he’d known since first grade.
Sydna Wylie said the drive back to Greenville gave her five hours alone with her son that "I could just have him and love him and talk to him and listen to him."
She has thought since then, "Dear Lord, forgive me for taking (life) for granted."

Tripp Wylie On WYFF.

Please pray for the victims and survivors and their families during this time of tragedy. Please continue to keep them in your thoughts and prayers this upcoming week as people start getting back to normal again.

God Bless Every1! I love every1 of you and I am praying for you, my friends, always,

Christian L.

Greenville, SC Life Chain A Success!!!!!

2007-11-02T20:13:00.000-07:00

The Greenville, SC Life Chain was a success this year on Woodruff Road on October 6, 2007. Much more positive responses were given this year along with no negative comments in site from passerby in Greenville. The crowd in Greenville totaled over 1,000 people making it the the Life Chain with the most people in the state. WAY TO GO GREENVILLE! Along with the the Life Chain Greenville SC made it all the way to YouTube with the help of www.lifechain.net.

Here is the video for your viewing pleasure. If you see yourself, well, here you go.

Hope every1's weekend is going well.

Have a good one!
Christian L.

Brienna Jones Wins Homecoming Queen!

2007-11-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

Homecoming week was an interesting week for Mann students. Very unforgettable and one to remember. From Hillbilly Day to Costume Day, Mann students had a lot to share during this amazing week.

The game, however, was the highlight of the week. Well, not the game in total, but halftime. The Mann Patriots lost to Union County 14-0, but that did not damper to search for the 2007-2008 Homecoming Queen.

The following were this year's homecoming court winners!!!!!!

Freshman Princess: Bria Starks
Sophomore Princess: Whitley Kelly
Junior Princess: Ashley Brown
Senior Princess: Katie Sikkelee

AND HOMECOMING QUEEN 2007-2008 IS....................................................
Brienna Jones!!!!

Congratulations to Brienna Jones for winning this year's 2007 Homecoming Queen!

From left to right: Freshman Bria Starks, Junior Ashley Brown, Homecoming Queen Brienna Jones, Senior Katie Sikkelee, and Sophomore Whitley Kelly.

By unfortunate circumstances at the end of the week, the Homecoming 2007 dance was not held this year due to many complaints of its location. Since Mann students are moving to their new school at the end of Christmas break, the administration decided to have the dance in the school's cafeteria. The dance in previous years had been held at McAllister's Square near Downtown Greenville. The main reason, given by the administration, to have the dance in the cafeteria came from the theme of "Save The Last Dance At The Old Mann." They wanted to celebrate the old school before going to the new school. This, however, did not sit well with many students. Only seven tickets were sold throughout the four days of Homecoming for the dance. It was then canceled completely before the actually date of the dance.The original reason for the cancellation was due to 'bad weather' as reported on Thursday's announcements. The dance and game were held the next day of Friday due to a teacher workday. The game went on as planned despite the supposed the 'bad weather' cover up of the dance. The 'Old Mann' theme for this year's Homecoming Dance was a cover up as well due to last year's Homecoming Dance events, which occur everywhere else, even at birthday parties and cruises. The decision to move the dance from McAllister's Square to the cafeteria was thoughtless and a failure. Hopefully next year will be better for the 2009 seniors. Student Council worked very hard to change the fact, but are highly commended by the students and teachers for their hard work.

I am personally proud that Miss Brienna Jones won Homecoming Queen at Mann this year. She is an amazing young woman with much to offer our school. She has gone far to reach her goals and I wish her the best as this year's Homecoming Queen.

That's a Homecoming 2007 wrap up for now. Hope all is well with every1.

Have a good one,
Christian L.

Pray for the Cothran Family

2007-10-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

Taylor Cothran, a 2007 JL Mann senior has passed on after a fall from his dorm room from about a week ago. Please keep Tara and the family in your prayers this month.

Here's the complete story from Live Five News:

Student Dies After Fall From Dorm Room Window

Live 5 News

The 19-year-old University of South Carolina student has died nearly a week after he crashed through a glass window and fell four stories of his dorm room.

Taylor Cothran fell from his Capstone dorm window early Friday morning. The Greenville native had been in intensive care at Palmetto Richland hospital since the incident a week ago.

The Richland County coroner's office confirms that Taylor Cothran died.

University spokesman Russ McKinney says authorities are still investigating the death.

The freshman apparently went through the window during the early morning hours last Friday and hit a first-floor roof. McKinney says Cothran was alone in the room when he fell.

Cothran was a graduate of J.L. Mann High School where he had been a member of the lacrosse team. He was a Capstone Scholar at USC.

On a website maintained by his family, a post made on Wednesday indicated that Cothran had taken a "drastic turn for the worse" and that his family was preparing to say their goodbyes.

In an updated posting following his death, his family thanked well-wishers and asked for continued prayers.

© 2007 WCSC, Inc. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

If you are on Facebook, please add the Taylor Cothran Support Group at http://hs.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5261799813.

Here is the family site for the guestbook: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/taylorcothran.

Tara and family: The prayers of the Mann family and surrounding communities are with you. God bless you all.

Christian.

So What's New

2007-09-22T18:10:00.000-07:00

This seems to be the question on everyone's mind lately, What's new? I guess alot is, which is why I haven't been writing much lately. Ive been up and over my head these past few months with a whole lot of things.

Just to let you all know, my brother Michael is still at AIT and will not be back until late October, as of a week ago. So please continue your prayers that all is going well for him.

Spirit Week was held the first week of school this year and went pretty well.
J.L. Mann raised $80,002.02 while Greenville High School raised $106,530.60 to beat our butts. It's pretty embarrassing but still a great competition. As you can see by the picture I was Dance Mann for the last time doing such fun songs as Crank That and Tempted To Touch among others. I am sad to say that this was my last year and I will greatly miss Spirit Week and all the fun that I had. Thanks again to the Patriots for all that you do. This year I raised over $1,000 for charity. The combined total for these three years is around $8,000 for our various charities. This could not have been done for them without YOUR support! Again, Thank you!

I forgot to tell you guys about my summer. In short, it was awesome!!!!! The cruise was awesome and I will never forget the Garden City Beach Bums. Cruise Group. The Greatest Garden City Beach Bums!!!!!! Everyone had fun on both trips as you can see. :)

The fall retreat for the YG was held the first weekend after the first week of school. I think every YG member that went had a great enrichment of faith and new frienships made. I went Saturday morning, instead of Friday night to attend the Greenville-Mann game. There you go. Anyways, the retreat was a blast. Andrew Boyd, a guitar player from Austin, Texas, played guitar and did P&W with the YG, and Father Robert Morey from POP did Mass on Saturday evening. Thanks to all YG members who attended.
YG members had fun here.

School is going well so far. Classes are going so fast and Senior year is awesome. I'm in shock because I only have around 8 months until I graduate. It's funny and awesome at the same time to have everyone look up to you and try to see you as a role model. I think it takes respect and self determination to be seen that way. It's hard work, because we all have our faults, but as we work through them we become better people. But it's been an awesome and great experience.

Dance has just started and it's getting off to a great start. B and A are great teachers and I can't wait for the recital in May.

Nikki And Franny's Sweet Sixteen Party was absolutely a blast to remember last night at KOC. I've never had so much fun in a long time. Pictures will be coming soon to Myspace and Facebook. Around 50 guests attended and we partied and dance for over three hours!! I met so many people and had the time of my life. Doing the Crank That with 20 of us was so crazy. I will tell you more as pics are generated.

Well, I guess that's all for now and what's new. So what's new with you guys? Tell me all.

Have a good one every1,

Christian, Dance Mann, The Amazing Christian L.

Idependence Video Blog

2007-07-04T21:50:00.001-07:00

This is my first video blog ever! Enjoy!

Have a good one!

The Amazing Christian L!

South Carolina Amber Alert!!!!!!!!!!!! (SPECIAL REPORT)

2007-07-04T16:04:00.000-07:00

South Carolina Amber Alert

Caroline Reynolds was last seen today at 7pm in Greenville, SC at 118 Parkins M Road.

She is 14 years old, heavyset and was last seen wearing the following:

Orange/Brown Hidden Treasure TShirt
White Skirt
Blue Crocs

Please contact the Greenville Police Department at 864-271-5333 if you have any information on this case.

Please bring our friend home!

Please repost as "South Carolina Amber Alert" if you live in the area

The Long Awaited Moment: Senors '07 Graduate/Dance Recital A Success/ YG Drive Game Is A Blast To Remember

2007-06-05T13:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Every1, Yes it's the long awaited moment and so much to cover.

These past few months have been very busy and productive and only the fun will begin in just a few days when I am off on another two week vacation. I will be away in Europe and the Mediterranean. I will miss every single one of you.

First off let's begin with the UCDC dance recitals a few weeks ago. I am speechless. Every single group at rehearsals and both dance nights did a splendid job. I couldn't have asked for more. About 3,000 showed up for both nights and boy I was way nervous but had tons of fun. I am so proud of our hip hop class. I am, also, very proud of the great performance put on by my sister's jazz class as well. Both were top notch and "two thumbs way up" performances. The Seniors and Elites blew my breath away as usual. Even the preschoolers were a delight. I would like to thank all that came out. This includes Grandfather, Parents, Siblings, Gordon, Rhame, Julia, Nikki, Katy, and so many more. Thanks for all your continued support! :)

The YG field trip to see the Greenville Drive a few days before the recital was a grand success as well. Thank you to all Saint Mary's YG members that showed up for tailgating and the game! We had fun: (trying to get fly balls, tshirts, towels, get on TV) Whatever it was when all had a good time watching the Greenville Drive come up from behind and defeat the Greensboro Grasshoppers.

As most of you may know this was my first end of the year awards show at Mann. I know this has been too long. And now I've made it to the top. :) The one thing I won't forget was getting two awards. Not too bad. The first one was an Academic Letter. The other one was the USC Upstate Scholars Award. Woo Hoo!!!

And now here is your new Student Council officers for 2007-2008!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Student Body
--------------

President: Emily Ayer
Vice President: Alex Roper
Secretary: Taylor Lentz
Treasurer: Jessica Gruchacz
Executive Council: Terrell Davis

Senior Class
------------

President: Michael Johnson
Vice President: Brienna Jones
Secretary And Treasurer: Megan Roben
Executive Council One: Kristen Crawford
Executive Council Two: Shaina Toner

Junior Class
-------------

President: Lizzie Miller
Vice President: Brenda Adimora
Secretary And Treasurer: Elizabeth Jeter
Executive Council One: Cherise Marshall
Executive Council Two: Danielle Meyers
Executive Council Three: Pierce Wylie

Sophomore Class
------------------

President: Maddi Garrett
Vice President: Neely Todd
Secretary And Treasurer: Lexi Vick
Executive Council One: Calvin Hazel III
Executive Council Two: Caroline Wingate

And Here Are Our Top Graduates For 2007 At JL Mann!!!!!!!!!

Student Body President: Kate Phinney

Student Body Vice President: Sumeen Maur

Student Body Executive Council: Lindley Mayer

Senior Class President: Ashley Barksdale

Senior Class Vice President Bryan Freeman

Senior Class Secretary And Treasurer: Jasmine Twitty

Senior Class Executive Council: Wynne Boliek

Valedictorian: Nora Collins

Salutatorian: Amelia Gayle

Third In Senior Class: Kate Phinney

Fourth In Senior Class: Jennifer Tara

Fifth In Senior Class: Emily Greig

Sixth In Senior Class: Rachel Bachtel

Seventh In Senior Class: Jane Killian

Eighth In Senior Class: Kyle Ames

Ninth In Senior Class: Joseph Gilstrap

Tenth In Senior Class: Sumeen Maur

And here our other three star Academic Seniors for 2007!!!:

*Caroline Abbott

*Kevin Bertling

*Elliot Carnevale

*Ben Catt

*Taylor Cothran

*Lauren Evans

*Claudia Garcia

*Sloan Garrett

*Nathan Gibson

*Lee Anne Goforth

*Jordan Green

*Megan Henson

*Emily Herr

*Whitney Kazer

*Katie Keith

*Michelle Mcinnis

*Parker Miller

*Michele Perna

*Sara Reynolds

*Brad Saad

*Denise Sullivan

*Allison Taylor

*Lyndsey Trickett

*Stephanie White

*Jessica Zankman

This years Junior Marshalls included the following:

*Nina Kuo

*Caroline Burdette

*Lindsay Caesar

*Phillip Calvin

*Nathan Bailey

*Andrew Finley

*Collin Sarvis

*Ben Mangelsen

*Elspeth McWaters

*Katie Sikkelee

*Allen Reid

*Josh Bittinger

CONGRATS TO ALL WINNERS AND GRADUATES!!!!!!!

I would like to send a special congratulations to the three coolest graduates in my family. Congrats to Alexandra, my sister, a FNATCS graduate for 2007, Lizzie, my cousin, a 2007 Mann graduate, and Michael, my brother, a 2007 Mann graduate.

Congrats to all, once again.

Well, it's time for me to go again. I hope to have pictures of these events and the cruise when I get back from my LOOONNNNGG and well needed vacation.

Have a great week every1 and a great summer.

Until next time,

Have A Good One,

Christian L, The Amazing Christian L.

Talismann Day/Prom/Youth Group Open House/ETC.... 2007!!!!!!

2007-05-05T19:57:00.000-07:00

Well, we have alot to cover tonight so let's get going!

First off Prom was an excellent night this year. It was held on April 21 at the Hilton. And guess the theme? "A Night In Paris." Get it?? "A Night In Paris Hilton." How terrible it is now that she is going to jail. Hoorah!!!! Anyways, despite the crap theme, prom was the best. :) Amanda came down and we had a blast. The set was better than I had expected and everyone was looking Glamorous. (Im actually listening to that song right now. lol) Pictures are set up at MySpace and Facebook for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

The Youth Group Open House was held two days later after prom. We had over 80 kids show up which I am pleased to say is wonderful. I hope this attendance can keep up for more than that week. Thanks to all that came. Continue to come and learn about and love God.

AND NOW FOR MY BIG PRESENTATION..................... TALISMANN DAY 2007!!!!!

This years Talismann Day went very well for 2007. This yearbook's theme was ReDefining and it truly is the best yearbook that has ever been made at Mann! This was actually the first year that our yearbook was all in color. Yes, ALLLLL COLOR!!!!! I am so proud of our Talismann Yearbook staff! Even though it was only five more dollars than last years yearbook, I think it was worth it. This has been truly a crazy year for everyone. I really can say that this has been one of the most hard working years that I have ever had. I am hopeful that senior year is ten times better.

Congratulations To The Following "Mann In The Spotlights 2007"

*9th: Keiara Beck

*9th: Ollie Burman

*9th: Martakius Dennis

*10th: Sebastian Grier

*10th: AJ Johnson

*10th: Chiquetta Dawkins

*11th: Marcello Milli

*11th: Kae Benton

*11th: Brienna Jones

CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE DISTINGUISHED INDIVIDUALS!!!!!!!!!!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOW TIME FOR SSSSEEEENNNIIIOOORRR SUUUUPPPEEERRRLLLATTTIVVVEEESSS!!!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Best All Around - Male: Elliot Carnevale
Female: Lindley Mayer

Most Intelligent - Male: Stefan Ludlow
Female: Nora Collins

Most Athletic - Male: Harry Cabaniss
Female: Amber Ryals

Most Likely To Brighten Your Day -
Male: Parker Wright Female: LeeAnne Goforth

Best Eyes - Male: Michael Nail
Female: Emily Hall

Best Hair - Male: Eric McLendon
Female: Sully Moore

Best Smile - Male: Andrew Scales
Female: Morgan Garrett

Best Dressed - Male: Jhami Sullivan
Female: Emily Greig

Most School Spirited - Male: Rob Coleman
Female: Emily Wivell

Most Likely To Be Late To Graduation -
Male: Blaine Pelanda
Female: Sumeen Maur

Most Unforgettable - Male: Josh Payton
Female: Whitney Kazer

Worst Driver - Male: Roger Diggelmann
Female: Beth Thompson

Most Dramatic - Male: Wynne Boliek
Female: Megan VanGieson

Most Sarcastic - Male: Bryan Freeman
Female: Amelia Gayle

Class Clown - Male: Mac Todd
Female: Sydney Erwin

Best To Take Home To Mom And Dad -
Male: David Randolph
Female: Lauren Evans

Most Likely To Take Over The World -
Male: Kyle Ames
Female: Jessica Zankman

Most Dependable - Male: Adam Dankovich
Female: Katie Keith

Biggest Heart - Male: Jorge Santander
Female: Christina Devon

Best Looking - Male: David Sikkelee
Female: Caroline Abbott

Most Huggable - Male: Harry Williamson
Female: Jenny Fuller

Most Flirtacious - Male: Hershell Crisp
Female: Sarah Borowicz

Most Likely To Succeed - Male: Joseph Gilstrap
Female: Kate Phinney

Most Time Spent In Front Of A Mirror -
Male: Brian Hickerson
Female: Courtney Steading

CONGRATULATIONS TO THESE AMAZING SENIORS!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
And now time to present the Senior Hall Of Fame Winners!!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The following Seniors were nominated to the Senior Hall Of Fame by their teachers!!! Congrats go to the following!

*Daniel Cooper

* Sam Dubose

*Elliot Carnevale

*Kate Phinney

*Erin James

*Emily Herr

*Kyle Ames

*Nora Collins

*Tommy Greer

*James Brock

*Rachel Bachtel

*Michelle McInnis

*Brad Saad

*Tiffany Shipley

*Jacquelline Wazir

*Brennan West

*Michele Perna

*Sumeen Maur

*Lizzie Smith

*Kate Witowski

CONGRATS TO THE GREAT AND HARDWORKING SENIORS!!!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

And last but not least, I would like to personally thank the students and faculty and staff of JL Mann for another awesome school year!!! Without all your help this yearbook would not be possible.

Thanks for all you do.

I'm signing off for now and hope to get back at you all before the end of the year.

Have a good one every1,

The Amazing Christian L.

Bears Roam Inside New York Middle School

2007-03-31T12:24:00.000-07:00

I couldn't believe it either when I read this story from Yahoo News..... Read On.

Bears Roam Inside New York Middle School

By Sharon Hagahanes (AP) New York -

"WATCH OUT MISS SHARON! THERE'S A GRIZZLY BEHIND YOU!" shouts a young sixth grader at Grasslands Middle School in New York City. His name is James Lostigan. He fears for my life. I duck under a desk to hide from this huge bear standing over me, while the teachers keep on teaching. It's quite odd but I accept it. The teachers tell me this has been going on since March 13 and that they have set traps around the school to help prevent the bears from disrupting classes. They have worked so far. "When I first saw the grizzlies I freaked but I knew we had to keep teaching so that the school could not be shut down," said Physics teacher Hannah Joleky. Superintent of New York City Schools Gregory Thomason says, "We realize that the bears are a threat, but since no students have been killed or injured we are continuing classes." Jacob Weslar, a seventh grader, said that he is 'very scared' of the bears, but he continues to go to class because it is important for his education. "I make the best of what I can," Jacob said. The only major incident with the bears was about a few days ago when an Algebra teacher Yavonne Brendza took out her umbrella and tried to hit a 14 foot grizzly in the belly. The grizzly tried to swip, but Ms. Brendza took out a can of Axe Body Spray and used it on the grizzly. The bear was overcome by the aroma. The bears have not been let out of the school due to their immense size. The cause of how they got in remains a mystery.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well I go on my cruise for nine days tommorow!!!!!!!!! I will report on it when I get back. Yes, prom is only a few weeks away!! :) I am so excited as with all our other Patriots!!
Thanks for all your continued support. I have been working hard these past few weeks, which explains why I might seem distant to you. Hopefully I will be 'clicking' normally after Break. I hope it helps.

Well, Gotta go and pack!

Have a great spring break every1!!!!

The Amazing Christian L.

*New Tetris game is now available below, ENJOY!!!*

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::Carnival Legend::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::;
::::::::::::::::::::

By the way.......
****APRIL FOOL'S TO THE FIRST STORY*******

Mann Girls Win Back To Back State Basketball Campionships/ Dennis Wins "Idol"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-03-03T23:58:00.000-08:00

Yes this has been quite an exciting weekend so far with many amazing and awesome things that occurred in just such a short time.

Here is the news of the weekend!......................
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MARTAKIUS DENNIS WINS PATRIOT IDOL!!!!!!

Patriot Idol was held on Friday night. There was about 400 students in attendance which is outstanding. Congratulations to all contestants for participating. They were all amazing this year!
Contestants included Seniors 07, dance group; Kelsey Bailey, rock singer; 5 Figure, dance group; Daniel Myles, guitarist; Star, tap dancer; DGG, dance group; Martakius, soul singer; and Leah's Gurlz, dance group. Yep there were many dance groups indeed. The winners of the talent show were as follows:

3rd Place = dance group 5 Figure!

2nd Place = dance group DGG!!

1st Place and Patriot Idol 2007 = soul singer Martakius Dennis!!!

Congratulations to all!!!!!!!!!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

MANN GIRLS WIN BACK TO BACK STATE BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

The Mann girls basketball team did it again!!! They won another state basketball championship this past Saturday at the Colonial Center in Columbia. Thousands of Patriot fans were in attendance and many cheering excitement throughout the game. The Lady Patriots beat the North Charleston Cougars 51-45. Congrats go out to all team member which included Ally Wolff, Cassidy Clayton, Keisha Drummond, Tylia Henley, Kristin Burton, Jasmine Hawthorne, Camille Glymph, Kiki Rutledge, Labarbara Martin, Amber Ryals, Lesile Jury, Jill Sheppard, Renee Welfare, and Melissa Billups. WAY TO GO LADIES!!!!!! :)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And that will conclude our weekend at Mann for now.

Have a great rest of the weekend every1! and a great week.

The Amazing Christian L.

MANN GIRLS ARE GOING TO STATE!!!!!!!!!

2007-02-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

Girls: Mann 63, A.C. Flora 47!!!!!!!!!

WAY TO GO GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE U DARRAH! But I Love Amanda More! :) :) :) :) XOXOXOXO

State Game is next Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Colonial Center in Columbia.

B THERE AND SUPPORT OUR GIRLS!!!!!!!! WE WANT A 2PEAT!!!!!!!!
WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

The Amazing Christian L.

Data Match Results Are In!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-02-17T18:52:00.000-08:00

Hello everybody!

Valentine's Day was the best this year. I called Amanda and we talked for over an hour. I loved it. I got like 45 Valentine Cards and so on and so forth. I would like to say that last night's Winter Jam at the BiLo Center was the best yet. I'm so sad that next year might be the last one. :( But Its only a month until DYC and we have a three day weekend this weekend! :).

But back to the good stuff........... HERE ARE THE DATA MATCH RESULTS FOR MY CLASS AND OTHER CLASSES!!!!!!! No best friends this year. :(

These are the luckiest ladies in my class this year! :

1. Brienna Jones
2. Emily Ayer
3. Tyler Bennet
4. Logan Greene
5. Kathryn Ethridge

Congrats to these ladies!!!!!!!

And now for the rest of the best!!!!!!

1. Danisha Croft
2. Lauren Evans
3. Brittany Green
4. Emily Herr
5. Kayla Curry
6. Angelina Acevedo
7. Laura Boehm
8. Melissa Billups
9. Emily Greig
10. Megan Henson
11. Kristina Lockwood
12. Jasmine Hawthorne
13. Kayla Stewart
14. Shelby Steck
15. Kristen Smith
16. Miahia Mansell
17. Ashley Maggio
18. Noelle Lai
19. Madeline Graham
20. Jessica Davidson
21. Lindsay Brown
22. Marypage Bostian
23. Chelsea Fowler
24. Lacey Cook
25. Ashley Austin
26. Alisha Tricoche
27. Shannon Luttrell

CONGRATS TO ALL OF YOU LUCKY LADIES!!!!!!!! :) :) :) :)

Have a great weekend every!

The Amazing Christian L.

The Wild And Fun Life

2007-02-10T17:48:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone I think it's time for another message.

I hope you all have had a great weekend so far. So much has happened with me these past few days. Yes, days.

************************************************************************************
First off, I did not sign up for the Talent Show this year. Maybe this comment I left for a friend can help explain:

"Well, IDK. I tried out for the Show Of Plenty in the fall and I wasn't able to be in it because I was in last years Talent Show. I think my chances are less likely to be in it this year since I've already been a 'winner' and the fine arts teachers at this school might think it would be unfair if i tried to 'win' again. But I may still come and watch. :) The good news is that I have a dance 'performance' coming up in May. I can give you the details when it comes closer. Maybe you can come and watch. I'm more focused on that than the talent show right now and I think that would be better for me. Everyone else in the school wants me in it, but I can't fight the teacher's beliefs. I kinda agree. I guess I need to give other people a shot at it. I might be back next year. We will have too see."

And as for that shows dates and times in May they will be up as soon as I get them. But I am still coming to the Talent Show to watch. I will also try to attend Treasure Island when it comes around! I can't wait for both I am so excited!

***************************************************************************************
The French kids have arrived at Mann!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes that was their welcoming scene at our school on Friday. Yes, that's my sister and her pink book bag at the front. lol. Anyways their really cool kids and fun to hang out with. I met Sarah on Friday and she is one of the coolest French kids I have met so far! :) Today is actually her 17th BDay!! HAPPY BDAY SARAH!!!!!! Anyways the plans are that the French kids will be at Mann Monday through Wednesday. They are then going on the Freshman class trip to Florida on Thursday which should be allot of fun for them to see one of America's greatest states!

****************************************************************************************

As of 8:30 pm tonight I reached 8,000 Myspace views since its debut. 8,000!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's just crazy cool. It's really cool to see that so many people have encouraged me through the good times and the bad with Myspace. I can never thank all of you for all your support and friendships!!! Much love to all!!! Along with that Happy Valentines Day! XO!!!!

***************************************************************************************

I am now working on writing a short play as a project for Drama class. My partner is Sierra and she has been great with helping with the ideas and the flow! But the script and plot is very creepy and almost coincidental with an event that occurred a few days ago. The plot is about a model/actress who's very pretty and ditsy at the same time. First she does a photo shoot, then she meets up with her agent and then she goes to her opening night. The funny thing is, is that she is shot by a stalker on a red carpet and is dead instantly. Does this sound familiar? The agent is Thomas Cortezia and the model/actress is Angelica Smith. Any bells ringing? Yes I wrote this the night before Anna Nicole Smith died. May God bless her soul and her family. This play since it was written the night before she died will be dedicated in her memory because of this very sad occurrence. I am not mocking her death, but memorializing it, in a way, through this short play. It was never about her and will never be so. This play will debut in two weeks! WOO HOO!!!

**************************************************************************************
That's all for now!

The Amazing Christian L

Myspace/Facebook friends: UPDATE

2007-01-26T14:29:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: Please if you don't remember meeting me someplace, either a cruise, vacation, at school, football games, dances, youth group, etc, please do not add me and waste my time by asking "Who r u?" and "I don't remember u." From now on I will delete those comments and block you.

Thanks for all your support,

The Amazing Christian L.

Ps. If you don't remember me, there's always something new to look forward to! :)

Friends From Nine Years Ago FOUND!!!!!!!

2007-01-20T19:12:00.000-08:00

Hello every1,

I guess I haven't talked to all of you in a while so that's my headline and yes it's been quite an exciting week.

Well I have to say that finding these two friends of mine has been quite an adventure these past few years. There have been so many ups along with so many downs in trying to find them. But last Saturday I finally succeeded!!!

The first one I found was Joe, whom left for Ohio after 2nd grade which was nine years ago this date. So yeah it's been nine years since I've talked to him. We had been best buds back then, going to sleepovers, playing on the same church soccer and basketball teams, and going to the same classes. We were thick as thieves. But when he left after 2nd grade I had found a new best friend, Kyle, whom I'm still good friends with today! Joe was always such a joker when we hung out back then in the 90's. Yeah, the 90's! We go back that far. (lol) Yeah and I love his local radio station Q104 in Cleveland, Ohio. You guys rock!!! You're so much better than B937 here!! No kidding. Anyways, yeah the 90's were awesome. Joe is still the same and still best friends like it was back in 98'.

The second old bud I found was Adam. It's been 7 years since I last saw him before he moved to Texas. He's changed a little bit. He seems to be more reclusive and more 'hard working' than he used to be. But then again he was always like that with Boy Scouts and school. (Yes, I was a Boy Scout, and quit cause, IDK) Anyway, I found him about an hour after Joe, but, Joe actually found him, to tell the truth. But I haven't heard as much from him as I have from Joe.

As of today I finally found two friends that I have been looking for for almost a decade. Yeah, a decade! I am so excited that I finally did what I had to do! Myspace is genius!!! THANK YOU MYSPACE FOR ALL U DO!!! THANK YOU FACEBOOK FOR ALL THAT YOU DO TOO!!! I would never have found my old buds without you!

= Joe
= Adam

*In other news, Mann beat Riverside to a pulp last night by winning both the boy's and the girl's BBall game!!!! Here are the scores:
**Boy's = Mann 70 Riverside 54
**Girl's = Mann 69 Riverside 47
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()
Yeah Riverside Sucks
()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

*My Friend Cammy D. made All State Orchesta this afternoon! WAY TO GO CAMMY!!!!!

Happy Two Year Anniversary To Amanda And I !!!!!!

2007-01-10T18:49:00.000-08:00

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!! :) As of today Amanda and I have been going out for over two years now! WOOH! Time sure does fly by!

Have a great day every1!!!

The Amazing Christian L

Congrats To Mr. And Mrs. Smith!!!!!!!!

2007-01-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

Audience gets surprise Christmas gift

Published: Thursday, December 28, 2006 - 6:00 am The Greenville News!!!!!

OK, a few people were suspicious. Anyway, afterwards they said they were. If only because of the invitations.

"It was a little bit out of character for us to have a big party and send out invitations," Meredith Bridwell concedes.

But hey, it was Christmas.

In early November, Bill Smith told his father he wanted to reserve the Cafe and Then Some's last performance before Christmas. He wanted to invite all his friends and family.

Bill's parents, Bill and Susan Smith, own the cafe in downtown Greenville. Its specialty, besides dinner, is original musical comedy about local people.

The Smiths marked Saturday, Dec. 23, as booked and that was that. "We really didn't think anything about it," Bill Sr. recalls.

A couple weeks ago, Bill asked his grandmother for the diamond from the ring that had been her grandmother's.

Usually the cafe seats about 120. But on Saturday, because the audience was all family and friends, and festive, some table space was set aside for mixing drinks. There were about 110 that night.

The show was "Miracle on 291 By-Pass." Bill, a science teacher by profession, was called on to take an absent cast member's part. Act I was warmly received.

Shortly before the intermission, hardly noticed, Meredith left her table.

When the applause at the end of the first act subsided, and the lights came up, people began to visit and talk. Bill fetched his suit coat and put it on. He went back out on the stage.

As his father remembers it, Bill said it just seemed like such a great day for a wedding. Bill remembers announcing, "We've decided to get married."

And the whole room rose to their feet, clapping, smiling broadly. But "they didn't realize," he says, "that we meant right now."

Then Meredith walked back in. Friends and family looked astonished. She was wearing a wedding gown.

It must have taken her 10 minutes to cross the short distance to the stage. "People were stopping me and hugging me."

From the stage, the couple asked various people to join them as wedding attendants. They had bouquets of red roses for the bridesmaids. They called in Timothy Dombek, rector at St. James Episcopal Church, who'd been waiting outside.

There was going to be a surprise wedding.

Bill remembers looking at Meredith during the ceremony, and her looking at him, and the feeling of happiness.

They were colleagues and friends at J.L. Mann High School for five years before they began dating last spring. Then, she says, "It was like why didn't we think of this before?"

The newlyweds' first dance was to "What a Wonderful World."

Congrats again to both these Mann Teachers!!!!!!!!!! :)

"Fab Five" Ringleader REVEALED!!!!!!!!!!

2007-01-03T14:38:00.000-08:00

As if you may have heard, a few cheerleaders thought that they could be bitchy "Mean Girls" at their local high school (Cheerleaders Run Amok In Texas) Well, I just found the ringleader of the gang here!!!!! Her name is Karrissa Theret.

Here is her Myspace pic!!!

And the link......... The Ringleader

Oh boy...... :( And people thought things like that didn't happen.)
well they do.............

(On a Happier Note: Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Smith!!!!!!!!!)

The Amazing Christian L.

The Amazing Christian L's TOP 40 OF TOP 40 2006!!!!!

2007-01-01T20:16:00.000-08:00

Well another year of the hits has gone by and it's time to release another year end chart. Here we go:........................

1. Hip's Don't Lie - Shakira
2. Promiscuous - Nelly Furtado
3. Sexyback - Justin Timberlake
4. Bad Day - Daniel Powter
5. Temperature - Sean Paul
6. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
7. Buttons - Pussycat Dolls
8. SOS - Rihanna
9. You're Beautiful - James Blunt
10. Check On It - Beyonce
11. Be Without You - Mary J. Blige
12. Unfaitful - Rihanna
13. Me And U - Cassie
14. So Sick - Ne-Yo
15. Stickwitu - Pussycat Dolls
16. London Bridge - Fergie
17. Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield
18. Over My Head - The Fray
19. Because Of You - Kelly Clarkson
20. I Write Sins Not Tragedies - Panic At The Disco
21. Aint No Other Man - Christina Aguilera
22. Run It - Chris Brown
23. Lips Of An Angel - Hinder
24. Dance Dance - Fall Out Boy
25. Chasing Cars - Snow Patrol
26. Dani California - Red Hot Chili Peppers
27. My Love - Justin Timberlake
28. Ridin - Chamillionaire
29. Walk Away - Kelly Clarkson
30. Too Little Too Late - JoJo
31. Far Away - Nickleback
32. Grillz - Nelly
33. Where'd You Go - Fort Minor
34. How To Save A Life - The Fray
35. Savin' Me - Nickleback
36. Dirty Little Secret - All American Rejects
37. What's Left Of Me - Nick Lachey
38. Move Along - All American Rejects
39. Right Here - Staind
40. Beep - Pussycat Dolls

AND THAT'S IT!!!!!! Ur hits are here!!!!!!!

Cruise news coming soon......... stay tuned............. Happy New Years every1!!!!!!!!

The Amazing Christian L!

Mann Of The Year 2006 is.............................................................

2006-12-22T20:43:00.000-08:00

MANN OF THE YEAR 2006 IS..................................................................
=============================

KATE PHINNEY!!!!!! 86.5% Way to go Kate!!!!!!

2nd Place ===============================
Natalie Coones = 8.1%

and 3rd Place went to============================

Kos Benham = 5.4%

CONGRATS TO ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!!!!!!

Miss Talismann Catch Up

2006-12-17T08:44:00.000-08:00

OK, so I should have made this post a week ago, but its time to announce the winners of the Miss Talismann pageant at JL Mann!!!!!!!!

Miss Freshman: Amber Frazier
Miss Freshman Attendant: Betsy Barnes
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miss Sophomore: Danielle Meyers
Miss Sophomore Attendant: Annie Hickerson
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miss Junior: Logan Greene
Miss Junior Attendant: Collin Sarvis
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miss Senior: Lauren Evans
Miss Senior Attendant: LeeAnne Goforth
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miss Talismann: Lindley Mayer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONGRATS TO ALL THESE LADIES WHO WON IN THE MISS TALISMANN PAGEANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MANN WINS.............. MANN WINS!!!!!!!!

2006-12-08T19:23:00.000-08:00

Way to go Basketball Patriots for defeating Greenville Tonight!!!!!!!! 60-51 for the guys and 81-43 for the girls!!!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO PATRIOTS!!!!!!!!!!! We are truly rockin' and rollin' this year!!!

and again,

GO PATS!!!!!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!!

Hopefully, Rant coming soon....................

The Amazing Christian L.

Happy BDay Amanda

2006-11-22T15:27:00.000-08:00

I LOVE YOU AMANDA!!!!!!!!!

HAVE AN AWESOME BDAY TURNING THE BIG 2-0!!!!!!!

The Amazing Christian L loves ya!!!!!!!!

View Latest News and Weather

2006-11-22T14:38:00.001-08:00

I now offer the Latest News and Weather Reports on this blog!!!!!! Enjoy!!!!

Mann Of The Year 2006 Nominees!!!!!!!

2006-11-21T21:08:00.000-08:00

The nominees for Mann Of The Year 2006 are:

*Kos Benham

*Martakius Dennis

*Natalie Coones

*Kate Hudson

*Jeb Wallace

*Alex Born

*Alex Brown

*Lizzie Miller

*Sally Haltiwanger

*Kym Day

*Logan Vanzura

*Knox White

*Katie Sikkelee

*Nicole Schmidt

*Emily Ayer

*Kate Phinney

*Alicia Bennet

*Kyle Ames

*Brad Saad

*Ashley Barksdale

Congrats to all nominees!!!!!!!!

Go vote now at JL Mann Spirit Week Group On Myspace

Eliminations each week until final two. Vote to get your favorites in!!!!!

The Amazing Christian L!!!!!

The Show Of Plenty was awesome!!!!

2006-11-18T16:39:00.000-08:00

This was one of the best talent shows at Mann! I just can't wait for more!!!!

Congrats to all of the following people that were involved:

*Jeb Wallace
*Kelsey Bailey
*Wesley Swank
*Kellie Warth
*Katie Scardo
*Merritt Clark
*Luke Douglas
*Alex Brown
*Sally Haltwanger
*Amanda Shevey
*Renee Shevey
*Shawn Darnall
*Pearl Gambrell
*Jennifer Davis
*Bradley Phillips
*Allen Reid
*Martakius Dennis
*Roosevelt Legget
*Kyle Dalton
*Kyle Ames
*Genna Buckner
*Daniel Cooper
*Brennan West
*Kate Witowski
*Jay Bridgeman
*Michael Jenkins
*Dylan Marler
*Bethany Williams
*Michael Realmuto
*Phillip Calvin

CONGRATS AGAIN TO ALL THESE AMAZING MANN STUDENTS!!!!!!!!

Hope you guys enjoyed the show and Have A Great Day!!!!!

The Amazing Christian L!!!!

YouTube Channel is up!!!!!!!!!

2006-11-11T22:21:00.000-08:00

Check out my YouTube channel at The Amazing Christian L's YouTube Extravangza
Or you can check it out at www.youtube.com/christiantheamazing. Yes, its pretty much the same address as my MySpace. I just recently uploaded Promiscuous Brenn and Christian for you to watch. It's silent, though. I, also, have Dance It Up JL Mann on there two from the pep rally a year ago of 05!!! Its pretty fun to watch. I will post the new Promiscuous Brenn and Christian video on here for you to watch!!!

ENJOY AND HAVE FUN!!! Look at my favorites while you're at it!

The Amazing Christian L!

NHS Induction Ceremony and Local Election!!!

2006-11-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

Well this has been one crazy week! We had NHS and local elections the same week. I have decided to not do the Spirit Week rant and instead find another topic. But here is today and now, so here's the news...........

Congrats to Bob Inglis who won Congress for our district and Mark Sanford for being reelected as our 'amazing' governor. (Well, not exactly) Also, VERY BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Megan Hickerson who won the School Board seat over David Vickery!!!! WAY TO GO MEGAN!!!!!!!

The NHS Induction Ceremony went well Monday night and Mann. Here we would like to congratulate the Junior and Senior inductees.

Congrats to the following Junior National Honor Society Inductees!!!!!!!!

*Emily Ayer
*Nathan Bailey
*Jay Bridgeman
*Caroline Burdette
*Lindsay Caesar
*Phillip Calvin
*Jamaal Cox
*Laurel Crout
*Shawna Darnell
*Luke Douglas
*Arthur Ellison
*Kathryn Ethridge
*Andrew Finley
*Austin Finley
*Danielle Gianakas
*Nicole Girard
*Kyle Griffin
*Jessica Gruchacz
*Patrick Haarsgard
*Charlie Humphreys
*Michael Johnson
*Nina Kuo
*Lauren Lea
*Christian LeBlanc
*Andreina Malki
*Tiffany Marino
*Scott McAbee
*Elizabeth McAfee
*Elspeth McWaters
*Rebecca Mercer
*Sarah Miller
*Victor Orozco
*Bradley Phillips
*Allen Reid
*Chris Reinke
*Ariana Renrick
*Alex Roper
*Blake Sanders
*Katie Scardo
*Stacey Schutzman
*Riley Seaver
*Katie Sikkelee
*Tom Smith
*Lisa Sutch
*Page Tarleton
*Jessica Todd
*Allison Truitt
*Logan Vanzura
*Renee Welfare
*Knox White

Congrats to the following Senior Inductees:

*Taylor Cothran
*Shannez Herazo
*Andy Merline
*Ashley Wells
*Jessica Zankman

CONGRATS TO YOU ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That's all for now!!

Have a good day everyone!

The Amazing Christian L

4 Day Weekend!!!!!!!!

2006-10-20T18:56:00.000-07:00

Im not ready to do the rant just yet. Im still working on it! I hope all the Mann students are enjoying their 4 day holiday.

How is every1?

Have a great day yall!

Blanc

Homecoming Winners Announced!!!!!!!!!!

2006-10-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

The following young ladies won Homecoming awards tonight at the game against Eastside, which Mann won 48-7!!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO PATS!!!!!!!!!

Here are the Homecoming WINNERS!!!!!!!!!:

Freshman Princess: Natalie Coones!

Sophomore Princess: Lizzie Miller!

Junior Princess: Katie Sikkelee!

Senior Princess: Lindley Mayer!

Homecoming Queen: Alicia Bennet!

WAY TO GO GIRLS!!!!!!!!

C U At the dance tommorow!!!

The Amazing Christian L.

(Next Week: Fake People At Mann: A RANT!!!!!!!) (Why we lost Spirit Week and other things!)

Mac Allen Obituary- The Greenville News

2006-09-24T13:59:00.000-07:00

McGregor 'Mac' Douglas Allen

Greer

McGregor "Mac" Douglas Allen, 12, of 107 Dellany Court, Greer, died Thursday, September 21, 2006 at Greenville Memorial Hospital.

Mac was the son of Ronald Presley and Vickie Brown Allen. He was in the 7th grade at Beck Academy and attended Brookwood Church. Mac was a great athlete who played in the CESA Soccer League since he was four years old. He was currently a member of the CESA Premier 93 team. He also played golf and tennis at Holly Tree Country Club. He loved to bowl, swim, play games and spend time with friends.

In addition to his parents, he is survived by two brothers, Jordan Allen, who attends Coastal Carolina University, and Mitch Allen of the home; three dogs, Striker, Zeus, and Cocoa, all of the home; maternal grandparents, Earl and Roselyn Brown of Johnson City, Tenn.; paternal grandparents, Jim Allen and Jean Hackbarth, both of Johnson City, Tenn.; and a great-grandmother, Ruth Jordan of Bristol, Tenn.

Funeral services will be conducted at 12 noon on Monday, September 25, 2006, at Brookwood Church. Visitation will follow the service at the church until 4 p.m. The family will be at the residence.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Mac Allen Memorial Fund, c/o Greenville First Bank, 112 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29607. Funds will be used for a local soccer-oriented endeavor in Mac's memory.

Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting www.thomasmcafee.com.

Thomas McAfee Funeral Home, Downtown.

Published in The Greenville News: 09-24-2006

Mac Allen Memorial

2006-09-22T21:16:00.000-07:00

If you would like to leave a message for Mac Allen and his family. Please go ahead and leave it with this message:........

here is his picture!

Thank you.

Latest Update: Mac Allen Tragedy

2006-09-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

This is from the Greenville News....................

Greer youth's death under investigation
Relative found boy, 12, hanging in his bedroom, authorities say

Published: Friday, September 22, 2006 - 7:28 pm

By E. Richard Walton and Claire Anderson
STAFF WRITERS
rwalton@greenvillenews.com

What's your view? Click here to add your comment to this story.

Greenville sheriff’s investigators and the coroner are investigating the death of a 12-year-old boy who was found Tuesday hanging in his bedroom in Greer, authorities said Friday.

The youth died about 1:20 p.m. Thursday at Greenville Memorial Hospital, said Ken Coppins, a Greenville County deputy coroner. An autopsy was performed Friday. “The results are pending,” he said.

Coppins said the youth’s name hasn’t been released.

The boy was found about 4:15 p.m. at his home on Dellany Court in Greer, said investigator Tony Lee, a Greenville County Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

Advertisement

Coppins said he was found by a relative.

Lt. Shea Smith, a Greenville County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, said, “There’s no indication that there was any foul play. In any investigation, we’ll look at everything.”

Mac Allen, RIP!!!!!!!!

2006-09-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

To All JL Mann Students,

via Myspace........

(Wanted to let yall know Mac passed away today at 1:20 today. Please just continue praying for The Allens.. Mitch and Jordan are his brother and just keep them in your prayers!

R.I.P Mac)

This has been a difficult time for the student body of JL Mann. We have suffered a great loss of Jordan and Mitch Allen's brother Mac today.

I am greatful to all that went to the candlelit vigil last night at Oakview and thank you for wearing your '19' shirts today. They have been very inspiring to our local community here in Greenville. I,also, would like to thank everyone for praying for the Allen family as they go through this very difficult time.

This is not a tragedy that ONLY affects Oakview. It effects everyone who knows and is involved with the family. It is a universal tragedy of how your most precious gifts can always be taken from in you in an instant. Things and life are not taken for granted. Life is something we cherish and should believe in each and everyday of our lives. We should live it to the fullest. We never know when the Lord will take us up. It could be today or many years from now. We will never know completely.

All we know is that we are living now, and should never take it for granted at any moment in time.

To Mac: Rest In Peace.
From: JL Mann and the local community.

The Amazing Christian L.

DON'T MESS WITH MANN!!!!!!!!!!

2006-09-08T22:50:00.000-07:00

These are the last two games we've had!!!!!!!!!! 31-0 BOTH GAMES!!!!!!!!!!

WE ARE WOOPING BUTT!!!!!!!

WAY TO GO PATRIOTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great day!

The Amazing Christian L!

Sep. 1 Mauldin 0, Mann 31
Sep. 8 Mann 31, Southside 0

4,000 VIEWS- THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!

2006-09-08T20:43:00.000-07:00

This website has finally reached 4,000 views today!!!!!

Thank you so much for your support!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a good day everyone and keep on bloggin'!!!!!!!!!

I AM OFFICIALLY ON YOU TUBE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-09-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

HOORAH!!!!!!!!!! I finally got my first video on You Tube loaded!!!!!!! Click here to watch, if you have not already, and give me lots of views!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks for the support!!!!!!!!

Dance Mann!!!!!!!!

HERE IT IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!..........................

Spirit Week/Date With Amanda

2006-09-02T20:49:00.000-07:00

Well, It's time for an update!!!

Spirit Week was aweome this year!!!!!!!

Boogie For Charity was back for a second time and this year a new alias was born!

DANCE MANN WAS BACK!!!!!!!! Yes, that's me, Dance Mann!!! Check out the photos and videos of performances on my Facebook and Myspace! The Promiscuous Brenn video has had over 100 views in less than a week after its release!!!! WAY TO GO EVERYONE!!! Throughout the week I raised a total of $3,000!!!! SOOOO, in the past two years Boogie For Charity has raised over $7,000!!!!!!!! I am impressed by all of your enthusiasm these past two years!

I did dance at the pep rally again! This year it was with Spanish teacher Miss Hiers at Mann! What fun it was doing it in 90 degree weather on the football field to Sexyback by Justin Timberlake! Talk about wild!

Two days during Spirit Week I did some performances in the Cafeteria to much enthusiasm and shouting! Well, the good kind. As you can all tell I am very excited as I am writing this because I am!

I did do the Date Auction this year and yes I did, to some disappointment and shock, take my shirt off. AHHHHH! I lost my mind, I think. I was kinda pissed too because they did the wrong song, but no biggie I still raised alot!

Although we lost the Greenville game and the money, we still raised $95,000 while Greenville raised $97,000. That, in short, means that if I didn't dance then we would have lost by $5,000 instead of $2,000. WOW!!!!!!

I recenly went on a date with Amanda to the lake. It as SOOOO MUCH FUN!!!!!!!!! We went out to eat and she had some friends come over. they sang and danced for me too! They were very talented!

Yes, my schedule was fixed so that I can take all the classes that I wanted to take. Although I switched from Lawson's 7th period English 3 Honors to Doc Loch's, at least I'll have more FUN now! Plus, too, Id rather have a teacher who mispronounces my name than one who calls me the wrong one, even when I tell her the right one repeatedly. (OOOHHH!!!) jk.

On Friday I finally got the Patriot Idol video that is 7 months old! It was great! Danae and I were awesome at the show!!!!!!

I, also, saw my Who's Who entry on Friday, courtesy of another student in it, and was so crazy about it. It was neat seeing my name in a book like that. I should get a copy of it on Tuesday.

Anyways, nothing much else has happened.

Keeping you all in touch!

Dance Mann!

Listen To Christian L's TOP BLOG Radio!!!!!

2006-08-19T12:50:00.000-07:00

We now offer Christian L's TOP BLOG Radio!!!!!!

Check out the playist for this week at the bottom of this page. We offer the Top 20 Pop songs in the world for your pleasure to listen anytime you want. Keep enjoying the games!

ENJOY Christian L's TOP BLOG Radio!!!!!!!
Christian L.

THE GREAT CRUISE EMAIL!!!!!!!!!!

2006-08-07T17:35:00.000-07:00

To: All The World's Greatest Cruise Mates!!!!! From:Christian

Hello to all from Splendor Of The Seas with the sail date of July 31 2006, or somewhere around there. I'm very glad to have received all your email addresses throughout the week! It was very exciting to meet all of you from all over the world!!!!!

I hope that all of you enjoyed your cruise vacation to the fullest! I DID!!!! What was the best? What was the worst? I really enjoyed the shore excursions, the teen club, and all the food with the waiters included. I, also, enjoyed the room service too! I guess I did not like the low participation in activities, adult and non adult. I, also, did not like how some people treated our cruise director, Leo, at some shows. Some was good and some was bad.

Well, I wont be blabbing on for much longer, since I just got back from Venice, Italy a day ago. I really hoped you enjoyed all the dancing. It seems that's what most people liked to see me do.

Here's a little brief history about that...........

I found this talent in the Fourth Grade and have been doing ever since. I had won a dance competition and it went on from there. During middle school, I gained more spotlight at my school dances, with at one time having over 300 people watching me fly. It was kinda crazy, but interesting at the same time. It only gets better.......... At our school we have something called Spirit Week. We compete against another school and see who can raise more money than the other for charities during the week. This is not as easy as it sounds. It takes much planning,patience, and participation. Or simply, the 3 P's. To keep a long story short, our school had been losing this competition for the last 8 years. This year we had to when. That's where I came in. We had Homecoming in October and I was looking fresh once again. My talent literally exploded. On the Friday before Spirit Week began, which was a month later, a fellow peer of mine wanted me to teach them how to dance. Many had been asking after Homecoming. My teacher at that time stated, "Wait, and ask him during Spirit Week." I thought for a minute and registered it as a very strange comment. But it gave me a great idea, a big one. a big BIG one! I wanted to raise money for Spirit Week by dancing anywhere and at anytime for a dollar a piece. I raised about $500 throughout the week doing that myself. The Friday of Spirit Week was a big day for me. Three young ladies had seen me dance for one of their classes and asked if I would dance with our female principal who is about 55 years old. Strange question, right? Well, I thought so too. I twisted this thought through my head for a while and said "YES." Many thought I was crazy, but it was a decision that I will never regret. This was done around third period. Our Spirit Week pep rally was not until 7th so we had a while to rehearse. That's why I love 1,2,Step by Ciara so much. That is the song that helped our school win Spirit Week!!! I had to teach it to her during 5th Period. 7th would be show time. Our school had to raise a lot of money though to have it happen! WE SUCCEEDED!!!!!!!! WE RAISED OVER $3,500 FOR THE SHOW!!!!!!!!! I was quite impressed. So in total I raised $4,000 for my school by dancing. How crazy is that? Well, not too crazy. We won the competition by $3,000 because of it. If I never danced, we would have lost by a mere $1,000. We won with $123,000 to the other $120,000 raised by the other school. It was a victory we will never forget. So I guess living my dream is worth it.

I hope you all have been living your dreams as well. Cruising and traveling are dreams too and I hope that they are on the tops of your lists too! With all that going on, I went on to two feature interviews with the school paper and yearbook. During that year, I was the only student in the school to accomplish both!!!!! It was quite an accomplishment. I had many dreams in my future and I just can't wait for more. What are you dreams for the future? Was cruising and traveling one of them?

I hope that we all keep in touch throughout these next few years. Through the ups and downs. Successes and failures. I am glad to know you all and hope that you all have a great future ahead of you!!!!!!!

My email address is: Writrboy42@aol.com

My AIM is: Writrboy42

My Myspace address is: www.myspace.com/christiantheamazing

My blog address is: http://www.christianlblog.blogspot.com/

To see the video of the Spirit Week Pep Rally Dance see: http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=598205445&n=2
(you need Adobe Flash Player 9 to view the video)

****If you have any other email address from other people on the cruise, go ahead and email them to me.
*****If you know someone who should have received this email and did not send their correct email address to me.
****If not, then direct them to the blog where this message will be posted.
****If you have AIM, send me your screen name.
****If you have a Myspace, Bebo, Facebook, Xanga, Livejournal, blog, etc., please send it to me.

I will try to start adding people to my Myspace with whom I can find, along with AIM. I hope that we can all keep in touch soon!!!!!!!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!

Christian

NEW FEATURE---------Weekly TOP 24!!!!!!!!

2006-07-07T15:43:00.000-07:00

HOORAH, Now you have the chance to check out the Weekly TOP 24 Myspace friends of The Amazing Christian L. in the 'FUN' section!!!!!!!!!! Check this week out now!!!!!!!!

New updates every Friday!!!!!

Have a great day,
The Amazing Christian L.

'Gower Girl' Nikki goes solo.... CHECK OUT THE NEW VIDEOS!!!!!

2006-07-06T14:00:00.000-07:00

This first song is about a guitar being out of tune.....

This second video is about Staplers???!!!!!.......

ENJOY THE VIDEOS!!!!!!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!! :)

The Amazing Christian L.

Forget the Dormitory Boys......... THE WORLD'S BEST LIP SYNCING VIDEO EVER!!!!!!

2006-07-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

I was searching the web and found this hillarious music video on Photobucket. It is the funniest thing that I have ever seen. Check out the girl on the left's expressions. WOW!!! They are called "Gower Girls". This is great! ENJOY! :)

The Amazing Christian L.!!!!!

Thanks 2 U!

2006-06-30T23:30:00.000-07:00

I would like to thank the following people who have made my day the best that it could be today! :)

Francesca
Alexandra
Marjy
Nikki
Cammy
Braxton
Megan
Roger
Will W.
Paul
Luke O.
Gordon
Rhame
Lawson Ba.

THANKS TO ALL OF YOU!!! :) YOU MAKE ME SMILE!!!!!------ AMANDA, I LOVE YOU THE MOST!!!!!!!

CHRISTIAN L!!!!

A Myspace Petition

2006-06-28T15:33:00.000-07:00

Well this is not apart of it, but still cool!

HERE'S THE PETITION.........

I AM TIRED OF PEOPLE BADMOUTHING MYSPACE. It is only safe if you use it for the right reasons. Those who do not use it the right way should be banned from Myspace........

If you agree you can sign after me!!!!! :)

Christian L.

NEW ST. MARY'S YOUTH GROUP G'VEGAS group ON MYSPACE!!!!!!!

2006-06-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

Hey! Did YOU ever go to St. Mary's in G'Vegas SC or you are.... then join St. Mary's Youth Group G'Vegas SC Now!!!!!!! This is the Group Pic if you get lost = . Yes it is the Sistine Chapel!!!!

Enjoy and have a great day,
The Amazing Christian L.

Myspace is in deep waters.........

2006-06-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

This is the first big story from Yahoo News this morning..........

MySpace plans new restrictions for youths
By ANICK JESDANUN, AP Internet Writer
Wed Jun 21, 12:55 AM ET

NEW YORK - MySpace.com is planning new restrictions on how adults may contact its younger users in response to growing concerns about the safety of teenagers who frequent the popular online social networking site.
The site already prohibits kids 13 and under from setting up accounts and displays only partial profiles for those registered as 14 or 15 years old unless the person viewing the profile is already on the teen's list of friends.
Under the changes, expected to be announced Wednesday and taking effect next week, MySpace users who are 18 or over could no longer request to be on a 14- or 15-year-old's friends' list unless they already know either the youth's e-mail address or full name.
Any user will still be able to get a partial profile of younger users by searching for other attributes, such as display name. The difference is that currently, adults can then request to be added to a youth's list to view the full profile; that option will disappear for adults registered as 18 and over.
However, users under 18 can still make such contact, and MySpace has no mechanism for verifying that users submit their true age when registering. That means adults can sign up as teens and request to join a 14-year-old's list of friends, which would enable the full profiles.
The partial profiles display gender, age and city. Full profiles describe hobbies, schools and any other personal details a user may provide.
Driven largely by word of mouth, MySpace has grown astronomically since its launch in January 2004 and is now second in the United States among all Web sites by total page views, behind only Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news), according to comScore Media Metrix. The site currently has some 87 million users, about a quarter registered as minors, according to the company.
At MySpace, which was bought last year by News Corp. for $580 million, users can expand their circles of friends by exploiting existing connections, rather than meeting randomly or by keyword matches alone.
It offers a mix of features — message boards, games, Web journals — designed to keep its youth-oriented visitors clicking on its advertising-supported pages.
MySpace has recently become a target of parents, schools and law enforcement officials concerned that teens who hang out at MySpace can fall victim to sexual predators.
Just this week, a 14-year-old girl who says she was sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old user sued MySpace and News Corp., seeking $30 million in damages. And earlier this month, a 16-year-old girl who tricked her parents into getting her a passport flew to the Mideast to be with a 20-year-old man she met through MySpace. U.S. officials in Jordan persuaded the teen to turn around and go home.
MySpace officials say the new restrictions have been long planned and are unrelated to recent events.
Besides the contact restrictions, all users — not just those 14 and 15 — will have the option to make only partial profiles available to those not already on their friends list.
All users also will get an option to prevent contact from people outside their age group. Currently, they may only choose to require that a person know their e-mail or last name first; that will remain an option to those 16 and over, even as it becomes mandatory for those younger.
MySpace also will beef up its ad-targeting technology, so that it can avoid displaying gambling and other adult-themed sites on minors' profile pages and target special public-service announcements to them.
The changes follow a number of safety-related measures that includes the hiring of a former federal prosecutor and Microsoft Corp. executive as its online safety chief. MySpace already has developed safety tips for parents and children and devotes scores of employees to monitoring the site around the clock.

Good start but.........

Mich. teen said hiding after Mideast trip
By BRIAN CHARLTON, Associated Press Writer
Mon Jun 12, 7:14 PM ET

CARO, Mich. - A 16-year-old girl who flew to the Middle East to visit a man she met on MySpace.com was in seclusion to escape the attention surrounding her travels, an attorney for the girl's family said Monday.
Lawyer Renee Wood said Katherine R. Lester reunited with her family after she arrived in Flint on a plane late Friday, then went with her father to an undisclosed location.
"Katherine does not want the media attention. The parents don't want the media attention on their daughter," Wood said.
The girl, who turns 17 on June 21, apparently planned to visit a man whose MySpace account describes him as a 25-year-old from Jericho on the West Bank, authorities have said. After the FBI helped track her to the airport in Amman, Jordan, U.S. authorities persuaded her to board a return flight.
MySpace.com is a social networking Web site with more than 72 million members that lets users post photos, blogs and journals. There have been scattered accounts of sexual predators targeting minors they met through the site.
The girl seems to be fine, Wood said at a news conference Monday. The teen's mother, Shawn Lester, and her sister, 19-year-old Mary, stood with Wood at the news conference but did not speak to reporters.
"You will not hear from the family today because they are so traumatized by this incident," Wood said. "They are unable to really talk about it and are still putting it together."
Katherine Lester disappeared June 5 from the house where she lives with her mother in Gilford, a hamlet about 80 miles north of Detroit in Michigan's agricultural Thumb region. Her father lives in Grand Blanc Township.
Wood said the girl called her mother that day and the next to say she was OK and promised each time that she'd be home the following day, but she wouldn't say where she was. Her mother called police Wednesday.
Lester apparently stayed at hotels in Bay City and New York before boarding a flight to Tel Aviv, Israel, with a stop in Amman, but other details about her travels were still unclear, Wood said.
"How does a 16-year-old fly to another country without parental permission? How does she get the money, the tickets? How does she check into a hotel, as we know that she did?" Wood said.
Tuscola County Sheriff Tom Kern said the girl did not want to return home when authorities approached her at the airport in Amman, but once they realized she was 16 and her mother wanted her back, they seized her passport.
Authorities were trying to determine whether any laws were broken. The age of sexual consent in Michigan is 16.
Wood said the FBI is investigating the man and his background. The FBI and sheriff's investigators also said they were interested in a television station's tape of a purported interview with the man.
WNEM-TV in Saginaw broadcast a telephone interview with a man who said he actually was 20 and identified himself only as Abdullah.
In the interview Saturday, he said he was a wealthy businessman who met the teen on MySpace seven months ago. He said he wanted to marry her and sent her money for a plane ticket to visit him.
The station said it got the man's MySpace identity from Mary Lester, who found it on a computer they share.
MySpace forbids youngsters 13 and under from joining and provides special protections for those 14 and 15 — only people on their list of friends can view their profiles. Older users also have the option of restricting certain personal data so it can be seen only by people they have identified as friends.
___
Associated Press Writer David N. Goodman in Detroit contributed to this report.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This other story, however, is BS... I checked Miss Katherine Lester's Myspace today and this is what it states....... Last Login: 6/21/2006.
----------------------------------------------
So Much For Wanted 'Privacy' !
-----------------------------------------------
I,also, checked Mr. Abdullah Jinzawi's Myspace, (the one who is dating the girl), and this is what was left by Katherine Lester.....

(((((((you are my 1-MYSPACE NAME.
6/14/2006 9:48 AM
Hi baby!!! I MISS U!!! I swear you are so adorable. I love you and noone will change that ever. You are my hero baby, ..my life and i will always be here for you. You are my husband and no matter what ppl say nothing will change that. You are My habibi, ..and u will aways be my habibi. I love you so much...I cant wait to be with you and to hold your hand and to whisper in your ears that i love you, ...I want to be with you forever and ever, .I love u, .. MWAH))))))))

UH HUH, WE BELIEVE YOU NOW KATHERINE!

This is just one of many whirlwind events with Myspace. You can check out MyCrimeSpace for other interesting stories.

If you want to see the two lover's profile pix, well........... WE HAVE THEM HERE!!!!

This is Katherine Lester's Myspace Profile Pic =

This is Mr. Abdullah Jinzawi's Myspace Profile Pic =
----------------------------------------------
Well, that's our first summer rant of the year!!!! Happy Hunting!

Here is my Myspace for your enjoyment!

Have a good day,
The Amazing Christian L.

Summertime

2006-06-20T16:34:00.000-07:00

Well its officially summer.

I got back from the beach a week ago and it relaxed me quite a bit. How has your summer been?

I am so bored, but I hope to leave a lot more meaningful posts over the summer. This is just for an update!!!!

Have a great day,
Christian L.

TODAYS WAS THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-06-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

Rockin'!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was the last day of school at JL Mann!!!!! I hope everyone at Mann has the best Summer EVER!!!!!!!

ENJOY IT TO THE FULLEST!!!!!!!!!

The Amazing Christian L.

New BDay update

2006-06-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

I just received my 500th friend on Myspace today, WHICH IS MY BDAY at 10:30 PM! How crazy is that?!?!

Leave me a comment on Myspace if you havent already cause im still 17!!!!

With luv and happiness on my special day,

Christian L.

ITS OFFICIALLY MY BDAY!!!!!! I TURNED 17!!!!!!!!

2006-06-06T12:09:00.000-07:00

HELL YEAH!!!! I turned 17 today and lovin' it!!!!!!

I am going out to eat with my family and opening cards tonight!!!!

I am planning on having a small pool party after I get back from the beach. I hope that it will work out this year!!! :)

Don't forget to leave me comments on here and MySpace!!!!

Luv ya and HAVE A GREAT DAY!!! all :)!!!!!!!!

The Amazing Christian L.

HAPPY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!!!!!!!

2006-05-27T22:16:00.000-07:00

Yes Everyone, Yesterday was the one year anniversary of Christian L's TOP BLOG!!! Thank You, especially, to the 3550 people who visited this year! WOW!!!!! This website is going another year!!!!!!! THANKS AGAIN FOR ALL THAT YOU DO!!!!

Luv The Amazing Christian L.

ALL NEW GAMES

2006-05-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!!!!

ALL NEW GAMES AVAILALBE NOW!!!!

CHECK THEM OUT BELOW!!!!

Have a great day!!!!

Christian L.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

2006-05-14T11:17:00.000-07:00

Happy Mother's Day to all mothers around the world!!!!!

Have a good one!!!!!

Christian L.

HERE COMES THE TALISMANN!!!!!- SIMPLY MANN 06!!!!!!

2006-05-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

Yes!!!!!!

JL Mann has finally received their Talismann yearbooks after a long year of waiting! This year is bigger than last years with over 448 pages included!!!!!!!

The pages are endless and the pics capture the essence and excitement of the year!

Here are Senior Superlatives:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Best All Around --
Male - Edward Meyer
Female - Kelly Casebere
------------------------
Most Intelligent --
Male - Daniel Williams
Female - Beth Douglas
---------------------------
Most Athletic --
Male - Karlos Sullivan
Female - Sharniece Wadelington
-------------------------------
Most Likely To Succeed --
Male - Ryan Crull
Female - Whitney Brown
--------------------------------
Most Talented --
Male - James Menezes
Female - Marie McLendon
------------------------------
Best Sense Of Humor --
Male - Brendan Smith
Female - Chelsea Ebert
----------------------------
Best Smile --
Male - Justin Anderson
Female - Stephanie Dawes
----------------------------
Best Eyes --
Male - Beeze Chastain
Female - Michelle Cooper
-----------------------------
Best Dressed --
Male - John Bolton
Female - Becca Miller
------------------------------
Friendliest --
Male - Neel Skelton
Female - Jessie Stevenson
-------------------------------
Most Likely To Take Over The World --
Male - Nicholas Bishop
Female - Alison Feleppa
-----------------------------------
Biggest Flirt --
Male - Zach Hickerson
Female - Emily Yelton
-----------------------------------
Most Dependable --
Male - AJ Shiavone
Female - Anna Kay Johnson
-------------------------------------
Most Sarcastic --
Male - (Does not wish to be named)
Female - Sarah Pirovitz
---------------------------------------
Wittiest --
Male - Jarred Meyers
Female - Kim Young
----------------------------------------
Most School Spirit --
Male - John Holliday
Female - Ginny Crigler
-----------------------------------------
Class Clown --
Male - Brayden Wynn
Female - Blakely Mattern
-----------------------------------------
Most Talkative --
Male - Lawson Ballard
Female - Taylor Baldree
------------------------------------------
Most Likely To Be Late To Graduation --
Male - Pat Jackson
Female - Katrina Downs
--------------------------------------------
Most Likely To Be Asleep At Graduation --
Male - Jimmy Schmitt
Female - Dee White
--------------------------------------------
Clumsiest --
Male - Grayson Glur
Female - Tarrah Casey
--------------------------------------------
Most Likely To Be Famous --
Male - Kenny Carter
Female - Rashonda Greggs
---------------------------------------------
Best Hair --
Male - Eric Chamness
Female - Aresha Means
---------------------------------------------
Best Personality --
Male - Dean Johnson
Female - Melaine Tucker
------------------------------------------------
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE SENIORS WHO WON SENIOR SUPERLATIVES THIS YEAR!!!! GREAT JOB WELL DONE!!!!!!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
====================================================================================
Now time for 'Mann In The Spotlight' winners:

9th - Jon Bagwell
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
9th - Rukey Balogun
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
9th - Carson Perry
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
10th - Alyssa Sullivan
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
10th - Christian LeBlanc
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
11th - Nicole And Monica Jenson
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
11th - Fernando Garcia
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
11th - Ben Catt
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
CONGRATS TO ALL THESE 'MANN IN THE SPOTLIGHT' WINNERS!!!!!
*************************************************************************************
Here Are The Winners For 'SENIOR HALL OF FAME'
=====================================================================================
/*/* Eric Brady
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
/*/* Kenny Carter
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
/*/* Kelly Casebere
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
/*/* Kristyn Edwards
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
/*/* Ingram Dirton
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
/*/* Whitney Brown
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
/*/* Karlos Sullivan
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
/*/* Jaclyn James
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
/*/* Bridney Hunt
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
/*/* Sarah Pirovitz
[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
CONGRATS TO ALL THESE 'Senior Hall Of Fame' WINNERS!!!!
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Yes, those are the highlights of this year's yearbook!!!!

I guess now that you're wondering what pages I am on??????
Well.......
This year I am on 7 pages!!!!
GOT IT!!!! 7 pages!!!!!!!!
Last year I had only 2?!?!?!?!
Isn't that crazy!!!!????!!!!!

Here are the pages and what I am on their for

1. PAGE 70 - Mann In The Spotlight Interview - Here's a sample:::::

Christian LeBlanc certainly is one of a kind. Around Mann, he is well known for his energetic dancing, but outside of school, Christian does much more. He helps out at a
soup kitchen and assists his priest during Mass. When he gets a chance, Christian also enjoys hanging out with his friends, watching movies, and getting on the internet.

1. Q. Which is better: the mountains or the beach?
A. Beach
---------------------------------------------------
2. Q. What's the last book you read?
A. The Lovely Bones
----------------------------------------------------
3. Q. Who's your favorite teacher? Why?
A. Coach Cook, because it's easy to learn the material
the way he presents it.
------------------------------------------------------
4. Q. What animal are you most like? Why?
A. A dog because I like to hang out with people and make
them happy.
---------------------------------------------------------
5. Q. What's your favorite thing about J.L. Mann?
A. The willingness of the students to help each other suceed
and reach their goals, especially during Spirit Week.
-----------------------------------------------------------
6. Q. What is your favorite food?
A. Turkey A La King
------------------------------------------------------------
7. Q. What is your favorite movie?
A. Napoleon Dynamite
------------------------------------------------------------
8. Q. What is your favorite color?
A. Green
--------------------------------------------------------------
9. Q. If you could go on a date with any celebrity, who would it
be and why?
A. Emma Watson, becuase she's charming and intelligent
---------------------------------------------------------------
10. Q. What CD's do you listen to?
A. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
Top 40 Hits
-----------------------------------------------------------------
11. Q. Do you have a special talent?
A. I can sing and dance.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

2. PAGE 72 - Portrait Picture next to Lauren Lea and Arielle Leduc!

3. PAGE 101 - Savannah Holder's academic picture in the left hand corner typing on a computer!

4. PAGE 102 - My own academic picture below Zachary Stephens and left of Arthur Ellison and Ryan Callahan.

5. PAGE 132 - Christian LeBlanc proves he has moves at the Homecoming dance. My black girlfriend, Amanda, is on the left!!!!!!

6. PAGE 137 - Christian LeBlanc and principal Susan Hughes boogie for dollars at the Friday Pep Rally.

7. PAGE 139 - In the top left picture of Blakely Mattern. I am on the bottom right side of her!!!!!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have trouble finding these pictures, find me and I will show you!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I hope everyone enjoyed Talismann Day this year and I hope that you live life to the fullest the rest of the year!!!!!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!!!!

Love You All In Christ,
Christian L.

CONGRATS TO JL MANN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-04-30T12:14:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to JL Mann High School on being named #636 on Newsweek's Top 1,000 High Schools In America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WAY TO GO JL MANN!!!!!!!! YOU GUYS, ALSO, BEAT GREENVILLE WHO DID NOT MAKE THE LIST!!!!!!!!!! GREAT JOB EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!

******From Newsweek.com-
636 Mann Greenville S.C. 1.527 18.0*********

The Complete List: 1,000 Top U.S. Schools - Newsweek America's Best High Schools - MSNBC.com

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a fantabulous weekend!!!!

The Amazing Christian L.

The Wild Week

2006-04-23T13:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this has been a 'wild' week. But, in a good way.

First off, Happy Divine Mercy Sunday to everyone!!!!!

This week has been amazing. On Friday Miss South Carolina, Miss Ericka Grace Powell, came to JL Mann to talk to the students on the topic of "Focus On Your Future." What an amazing young lady this is!!!! She had much to say and entertained the students at the end by singing "Hero" by Mariah Carey. Afterwards she handed out autographs. Miss South Carolina Teen, Lindley Mayer, was on hand as well!

After school on Friday I got on MySpace as usual. I stayed up for hours until about 9PM when my girlfriend from elementary school accepted my friend request from the week before. My heart was jumping like crazy.

My heart was jumping faster than that when I got another letter from my girlfriend, Amanda. The reason this letter was soooo special is because she gave me 'The Key To Her Heart!!!!!' Is that not so wonderful and loving?

On Saturday after mass, Father Newman made a very special announcement. Three sisters from the National Dominican Sisters Of Nashville will be coming to Saint Mary's soon to help out with the facilities and events!!!!!!! One will be a principal and the other two may be teachers at St. Mary's School. A reception for retiring Principal Sister Veronical of the Sisters Of Mercy's order will be held soon.

Today was amazing as well! I just added my 400th friend on MySpace today! Isn't that crazy???? I can't believe it myself.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Love You All In Christ,
Christian L.

We Hit 3000!!!!

2006-04-18T09:48:00.000-07:00

We have 3000 hits today as of 12:16 pm On April 18, 2006!!!

GREAT JOB EVERYONE!!!!

The Amazing Christian L.!!!!!

DC Trip::::::The Full Blast

2006-04-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

Here's my story of my DC Spring Break trip of 06!!!!

----Mostly it was one of the best and interesting trips in my life. SOOO much happened while I was there. We drove down Saturday night and didn’t do much that first night. We stayed at the luxurious Washington Court Hotel the whole week. It was pretty amazing for a hotel. It even had TV’s in the bathrooms. How crazy is that?

On Sunday we went to see the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception which is one of the largest Catholic churches in the world. I mean it was HUGE!! I was so big! I would estimate it to be over 30 stories tall!!! Later we went to the Smithsonian Museum of American History where we saw Seinfeld’s ‘Puffy Shirt’ and Ted Baxter’s coat from The Mary Tyler Moore Show!!!! We, also, saw one of the many columns of the World Trade Center that was burned on 9/11!!!! After that was all done and gone we went to the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art where there was a DADA exhibit. The most famous of which is the LHOOQ drawing by Marcel Duchamp. It features Mona Lisa with a mustache and beard penciled in. We ate dinner at the Dubliner which is an Irish pub in the central part of DC. It was OK, but had a small hometown feel to it.

On Monday we started our day at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum where we saw dinosaur bones the size of our bodies and where we saw “Wild Safari 3-D in the Imax Theater there. The bones were cool, but the movie was the worst I have ever seen. After lunch at the museum we got the chance to see the famous Holocaust Memorial Museum. This place literally brings tears to your eyes from all the videos and pictures of the time period. To free our minds from the horror, we took a small 45 minute Capitol River Cruise before dinner. That helped a lot. We, then, ate dinner at the Amma Indian Vegetarian Kitchen which is a very small Indian restaurant in DC. The food was fine, but I loved the Mango Sala they had. YUMMY!!!!! Do you read the paper on Tuesday April 11th about all the immigration rallies across America? Guess what? We got to see the DC immigration rally at the Mall!!!!! There were over 500,000 people present and it was crazy! It was so exciting to see that many people in one place at one time. Along with that, we rode the Metro to most of the places in DC that week we were there. Because so many people rode the Metro that day to go to the rally, the numbers helped it set the second highest riding day on the metro since its opening in the 70’s!!!!!!! How awesome is that???

Tuesday was Mount Vernon day. MJ, who is Francesca’s friend from California, was there for the week and went up with us that day. The cool thing was that his school was there on the same trip, but not with us. They did Mount Vernon the same way we did. We took a Spirit Cruise back and forth from there. Mount Vernon is such a beautiful estate with amazing, colorful gardens and one the grandest mansions in the United States. I, actually, stole a rare pebble from Mount Vernon. It’s pretty neat looking. I saw George Washington’s gravesite on top of that. Then came our retreat to Arlington National Cemetery where millions of American soldiers are buried today. The main highlight was that we got to see the Guard change. The routine was very precise and reverent. We, also, saw the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and JFK’s tomb. Finally we left the Cemetery and did the ‘Memorial Walk’ where we saw the Washington Monument, the World War Two Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Jefferson Memorial. These were some of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. We then ate at the Capitol City Brewing Company which is one of the best restaurants we ate at while in DC.

Wednesday was Zoo day. First we paid a visit to the Washington National Cathedral which really is talk about nothing while it is the sixth largest cathedral in the world. The National Zoo was better than that. We saw the famous Giant Panda’s and amazingly interactive chimps and orangutans. We then went to Union Station where we watched “Take the Lead” in one of their many gazillion theaters. This movie was explosive and very entertaining with Antonio Banderas as a ballroom instructor trying to teach urban city teens to ballroom dance. He did some interesting thing to make this happen.

My Brother Michael’s birthday was celebrated with a bang on Thursday. We went to the National Gallery of Art’s West Wing to see the Cezanne Exhibition. But, the better part of the day was spent at the National Air and Space Museum where I saw Space Ship One and the Lunar Module from the first Moon landing in the 60’s!!! We went to see “Fighter Pilot” where we learned about the duties of a pilot from a real pilot. We, then, went to see “The Stars Tonight” which was a lecture about the sky held in the Einstein Planetarium. This was fun because we could lie back in our seats while we watched stars move ahead in the dark above us. That was the fun of it all. Last, we went to see the White House!!! The president was there in residence because the flag was there at full staff!!!! I actually had a little scuffle with Secret Service because I wanted to see the White House from a different angle from most people. To end the night we rented “Cheaper by the Dozen 2” which was a very fun movie of two very different lifestyles of families.

Leaving Day was Friday. It was Good Friday by chance. Before we left we made a last minute trip to see the Old Post Office Museum. I made a personal postcard there which is still in my possession. There were many tales of what happened to the local post office of the World Trade Center on 9/11 and a stray dog that became the mascot for the United States Postal Service. After that we left and said our goodbyes to Washington DC.

That pretty much sums up my weeklong trip to DC. It was fun and very interesting!

If you want to ask me more questions about the DC trip----Email, IM, or MySpace me NOW!!!!!

Thank you all for the great support!!!

Christian L.

Easter Time Again

2006-04-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

HAPPY EASTER!!!!
FROM THE AMAZING CHRISTIAN L.!!!!!

*************Have a good one!!!!********

ALL NEW FEATURES NOW!!!!

2006-04-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

Are you having the best Spring Break yet.
If not, it just got alot funner!!!!!
This website now features:
*A link to my MySpace.
*A link to see how Crunk You Are.
*A link to Murdoc Files.
*A link to Rock For Life.
*A link to the JL Mann Spirit Week Group.
*A link to my dance video at JL Mann Spirit Week Web.
*Tic Tac Toe Game.
*Asteroid Game.
*Spaced Invaders Game.
*Mini Put-Put Game.
*A link where you can send me an email!!!
*A link where you can IM me when I am online!!!!!

ENJOY THESE NEW FEATURES!!!!!!!!

*Hello And Goodbye

2006-04-07T09:55:00.000-07:00

Well, It's officially Spring Break now!!!!! HOORAH!!!!

Thanks to everyone who has been so nice this week including:

Brienna J.
William S.
Roosevelt L.
Will D.
Jaimie P.
Madison M.
Brian H.
Nicco D.
Shaina T.
James H.
Patrick H.
Pat H.
Collin S.
Josh E.
Drew B.
Andrew F.
Richard B.
Jorge S.
Anthony K.
Andie T.
Meghan K.
Luke D.
Chris W.
Matt S.
Kyle G.
Nicole G.
Kayla C.
Katherine E.
Tara V.
Will W.
Gordon G.
Tyler A.
Charlie H.
Logan G.
Rett C.
Willy C.
Austin F.
-------------------------------------------------------
******Pimped Out Day Coming Soon!!!!!**************
-------------------------------------------------------
Have a wonderful Spring Break!!!!!
Christian L.

Happy Birthday To Drew B.

2006-04-03T09:48:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTDAY TO DREW B. WHO TURNED 17 TODAY!!!!

HAVE A GOOD ONE,

CHRISTIAN L.!!!!!!!

Teenager Kisses Girlfriend In McDonald's While Flirting With Female Manager!!!!!!

2006-04-01T18:55:00.000-08:00

(AP) March 31 2006-Washington D.C.
By Jennifer Boleant

In this beautiful city of Washington D.C. a young man was seen kissing his girlfriend, while, also, flirting with the nearby female manager. The boy,as seen by witness Michelle Telantancoly, "was severly agressively lip-locking" with his girlfriend, while "making kissy-faces at the female manager." Harry Holimay, another customer at the time said, "I couldn't believe this was happening! What a rude and immature young man THIS IS." "I was eating a Big Mac, when I say this in the starts. It truly shocked the heck out of me." The young man, Graco Tovely, was kissing Jelina Earacome, while flirting with manager Tanisha Trewatsky. A female witness, Jessica Linkadee, went to the young man after the incident and told him to "stop flippin' around with other woment cause it ain't right." The young man heard this and left with his girlfriend. No food was ordered.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do you think? - Comments:

"That young man should be ashamed of himself."- Yourbigmama64563
"This is SICK!"- Ruffhouzer63d6
"Not another one." -Hellwinner3%sf^we5
"This is the worst incident ot ever happen in this town."-MrWaShInGtOn54
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
.
..
...
.....
.................
....................
.......................
.............................
................................
....................................
......................................
............................................
..............................................
................................................
....................................................
.......................................................
..........................................................
...............................................................
...................................................................
........................................................................
..................................................................................

APRIL FOOL'S ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have A Greaty Day,
Uhh I mean Great Day!!!!!
I Love You All In Christo, oh I Mean Christ,
Christiano L.
ughh
Christian L.!!!!!!!!!!

'Bustin It Blue', Mr. Garcia Showcases Family & MUCH MORE!!!!!

2006-03-31T20:38:00.000-08:00

Yes, We have made it through another week ladies and gentleman!!!!

*First off, Congrats to the JL Mann students who tied at 31 with the JL Mann teachers in the Student-Faculty Basketball Game today!!! WAY TO GO TO ALL PARTICIPANTS!!!!!

*Today all Latin and Spanish students of Mr. Garcia's got to see a special showcase of his family from Spain!! YES, FROM SPAIN!!!! The students of all classes were entertained much from the family and culture of Garcia's family and lifestyle in Spain. What an experience for Mann students to cherish forever.

*BLUE ALERT: No kidding. There were over 5 "cool" people wearing blue polos on the same day. Congrats to the following for all wearing blue on the same day!!!!: Christian L., Will D., Michael M., Bradley P.,and Colin R. WOAH!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
****Teenage Drinkers Are Many In Upstate According To Poll*******
A new poll about to be released around the Upstate states that over 60% of teens drink at parties and such. This new update has caused four major high schools including JL Mann, Greenville, St. Joseph's, and Christ Chruch to hold monthly meetings to discuss this alarming and growing problem in our community. The first meeting held Wednesday was packed with over 500 teens and parents in attendance. (In my opinion this is such a bunch of great big crap!! I believe that Teen Drinking is a problem, but if you had good morals in the first place than you shouldn't make those choices in the first place. The parents are the cause too!!! THEY NEED MORALITY LESSONS NOW AND NOT LATER!!!!!! Don't drink and drive and start living your faith to the fullest NOW!!!!)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In response to this, to all the people who have bought the 'Absolut Mann' shirt should take it and either return it, burn it, crap on it, cut it up, or throw it away or whatever. JUST GIVE RID OF IT BECAUSE YOU ONLY INCITE MORE PEOPLE TO DRINK THAT PREVENT IT!!!!!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*This is the last weekend for Stations and for Vespers at St. Mary's!!! Thanks to all who went to Stations tonight and let's have a great big, last turnout for Sunday Vespers!!! See You There!!!!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have A Great Day and I Love You All In Christ,
Christian L.