Wii Will Miss You

Headline: Nintendo Wii moves towards retirement

Say Goodbye to the Wii. Nintendo Co. Ltd said they plan to replace the Wii with a new system in 2012 and it will be shown at the E3 Expo in LA from June 7 to 9th so you can see what it is. The company is going to reveal more information about the new gaming system at that time. I'm shocked because the Wii has done really good... they sold 86 million systems. But, maybe the XBOX beat it out or something I don't know. They are giving themselves the rest of this year, and a few months next year. But, i guess we'll just have to see..

Vegan Magazine Caught with Meat?

Vegan Promoter Uses Photos of Meat and Dairy Items, and Fury Follows

http://www.nytimes.com/

It has recently been reported that VegNews, a vegetarian lifestyle magazine, was caught using pictures of food which contain meat and dairy to go together with vegan articles. Magazine readers are furious after finding out the news and feel as if craving the meals that appeared in the images now make them feel as if they had craved meat. In order to make the pictures appear meat-free, editors admitted to digitally airbrushing out the visible bones. Publishers apologized for the images and said that the magazine will now publish nothing other than vegan photography. Also after giving their word, they don't feel as if they will lose subscribers over the incident.

Although I am nor vegan or vegetarian, reading this articles still extremely irritates me! These poor readers thinking the images are 100% vegan only to discover that the food in the pictures contain either meat or dairy must make them feel horrible for wanting such meals. They can't be blamed though, they had no idea. I feel as if the magazine should have to suffer more than it had considering its readers were awfully upset over the event but that's just me!

Skepticism Streams About Obama’s Birthplace

Obama has served nearly a full term as our president, yet critics are still questioning if he was born in America. There have been numerous investigations to prove Obama was born in Hawaii, making him a rightful candidate for presidency. However, people still believe he was born in Kenya, which is the location of his father’s home. Donald Trump who may be a running candidate for the 2012 election has displayed his own concern about the issue. Trump along with other republicans do not accept he was born in the United States. Many sources such as Stig Waidelich, Dan Nakaso, Neil Abercrombie, and Alice Dewey have reported some evidence/recollections that Obama was clearly born in America. Those who doubt Obama would like to see his vaulted birth certificate, but the likelyhood of that being advertised is slim. On a personal note, I don’t think Obama will show his birth certificate just to seize the crowd. He is being a strong leader and is focusing his time on more important issues needed to get America back on its feet.   

http://www.cnn.com/2011/POLITICS/04/25/birthers.obama.hawaii/index.html?hpt=C2

Date reported: April 25, 2011
Reported by: Gary Truman

Japanese citizens turning in cash found in tsunami zone

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/04/10/japan.lost.cash

Now the Japanese police are working on collecting the cash in the tsunami zones. There are 24 police stations collecting the money.
Japanese children are taught to give back the lost items to the police.
The collected items are stored in a warehouse. If there is no one that takes the cash in three months,  founders can take it.

Superbus

Super-fast 'Superbus' could transform your commute

The superbus could be your new way of getting places. It's 15 meters long(50 feet) and it's capable of holding 23 passengers with a top speed of 155 mph. So, it's kind of like a subway.. but a lot faster. It's like a normal bus it can drive anywhere at anytime. They had a protype in 2011 but they have been working on it since 2004. I'm not exactly sure about it being an actual thing in the US but we will just have to find out. So, this is what the 21st centrury looks like no flying cars yet, just superbuses.

Student killed as friend watches via webcam

Quian Liu, a 23-yearold exchange student from Beijing, was attacked in her Toronto apartment on Friday. She was talking to a friend on her laptop webcam when a man knocked on her door and asked to use her phone. The man then attacked her as her friend watched helplessly from Beijing. Police arrived ten hours later and found her dead, naked from the waist down, and her laptop was missing. There were no obvious signs of sexual assault or severe trauma, but police are still investigating.

This story makes me sick. I feel for the friend who had to watch his friend being attacked, without being able to help. I also feel so bad for the girl because she was unexpectedly attacked, so far away from home! She had no one to help her! I really want to know if she knew the man who attacked her, and that guy better get caught!
article

Knit Your Own!

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/world/20110419_ap_royalknittingbookhaswillsandkateinstitches.html?c=r

It's pretty awesome that you can knit your very own Royal Wedding. You can knit William and Kate, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Prince Harry, the Archbishop Canterbury and even one of the queen's corgi dogs :) I think it's a really unique idea for creating a stitch by stitch guide that creates a royal wedding. The book has sold over 50,000 copies so far. Also, if you can't knit, they have coloring books, paper dolls and a "William and Kate Dress-Up Dolly Book" available.

Did you guys hear that that Abe Lincoln guy was shot?!

Click

The Conspirator, directed by Robert Redford, is a movie detailing the trials of the accused assassins of President Lincoln. The movie focuses on one particular assassin though: Mary Surratt who [SPOILER ALERT] is the first woman that he US ever awarded the death penalty.

I saw this movie on Sunday night. Overall it was just an okay movie. Professionally it was very good; the film's script told the facts very well and the cinematography is the best I've seen all year, but it was missing something. In historical movies, it's difficult to get the audience to relate to the characters, which is really what watching a movie is all about. You want to feel emotionally attached to the main character somehow. This is really where the movie struggled. Overall, I think the reviewer of this article is being a little too harsh though. At the end, he criticizes the film's dialogue, calling it "ham-handed" (whatever that means). The dialogue was one of the strong points if you ask me. It's difficult to make character conversations interesting when the story takes place almost 150 years ago, and I was really never bored watching the movie.

Jawn Head... Babies?

Studies have shown that the widely used in the 80's term "crack babies" is now morphing into a new term "opiate babies". These kids are the babies of parents who use drugs while pregnant, and this is blowing up into  a very large concern throughout the United States. Personally, this makes me want to scream at these "parents" for doing this to a baby. They have them addicted before they even have a chance to live life any other way! They have to ween these babies off drugs, which I'm sure is torturous to them, and even after that I'm sure they go right back to the parents that harmed them in the first place! These babies should be ripped away from their parents from the instant that they find out the parents used while they were pregnant. It is completely ridiculous for this to become a trend in parents and I hope that we will take extreme action to stop it.
http://healthland.time.com/2011/04/11/are-oxycontin-babies-the-new-crack-babies/?xid=rss-topstories&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+time%2Ftopstories+%28TIME%3A+Top+Stories%29

Flyers Win Game 3 in Buffalo

http://www.nhl.com/ice/recap.htm?id=2010030123

Even as the Philadelphia Flyers were in Buffalo to face the Sabres in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, chants of "Boosh" could be heard all the way back to Philly. Flyers coach, Peter Laviolette decided to put the veteran, Brian Boucher in net for Game 3. He relieved rookie, Sergei Bobrovsky after he let in 3 goals on 7 shots in the first period of Game 2. The decision proved to be a great one, as Boucher stopped 35 of 37 to help the Flyers defeat the Sabres, 4 to 2.

The Flyers entered a hostile Buffalo crowd on Monday night with the series tied at one game a piece. Jeff Carter got a lucky bounce off of a Buffalo defender to open the scoring in the first period. It was his first tally of the post-season. This goal was an important one for two reasons. One, it came on the power-play, an area of concern for the Flyers as they entered the play-offs. And two, it is always good for the road team to get the first goal of the game to take the home crowd out of it. Later in the period, Drew Stafford of the Sabres, shot one past Brian Boucher to knot the game at one. The game was tied at one at the end of the first period.

Danny Briere opened the scoring in the second period by firing a rocket past Buffalo goalie, Ryan Miller. It was a huge goal for Briere because he spent four seasons with the Sabres, before signing a contract with Philadelphia. Later in the frame, Kris Versteeg of Philadelphia sent a pass to Flyers captain Mike Richards, who faked a shot and fed a pass to Nikolay Zherdev to tip it home for a 3 1 Flyers lead. With two minutes left in the second, Buffalo's Nathan Gerbe netted a goal to cut the Flyer lead to 3 to 2.

Brian Boucher took over the game in the third period. He stopped all 11 shots from the Sabres and as time winded down, Kimmo Timonen iced the game with an empty net goal.

Game 4 is Wednesday night in Buffalo at 7:30.

In Honor of the Day of Silence. . .

Around the US gays and lesbians are coming out of the closet in intensely religious schools. Most of these schools are homophobic, and think that homosexuality is a sin. They are suggesting therapy for kids that have homosexual tendencies! Most of these kids have been repressed their whole lives, because they lived in a intensely christian homes. It was only when they went to college that they developed their feelings. They're all worried that scholarships will be taken away or they could be expelled but they want their voices to be heard in places where they need voices the most.

I think that anyone should be anything they want to, and I'm sure that God never said, "Hey, no gays." That's a erroneous assumption and is just homophobic people using the bible as an excuse to voice their opinions.



article here

Raising the age to buy cigarettes....to 21!

Basically, this article is about the fact that the number of teen smokers has not declined in recent years, and it may even be rising. Some believe that they will be able to limit teen access to cigarettes by raising the legal age to purchase cigarettes to 21 years instead of 18 years old. They want to do this because smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. Also, more than 40% of today's high school students have tried smoking before they graduate and more than a third of individuals who start smoking as teenagers become daily smokers by the time they turn 18.

Personally, I do not think this is a good idea. If a teen chooses to smoke, that is their choice. A person is legally an adult when they become 18, and they should have the freedom to purchase cigarettes if they choose to. At 18, a person can vote, be tried as an adult, play lottery, go to a club, buy porn, have no restrictions on working, buy rifles and shotguns, sign contracts, join the military, and get any piercing or tattoo. So how would it make sense to take away cigarettes simply because teens can get a hold of them? The legal drinking age of 21 is already very high and it would only make people very angry if they had to be 21 to buy cigarettes. Some people have their own house and kids at 21, and they wouldn't be able to buy cigarettes if they choose? I do not smoke but I think that taking this right away from other people would be a VERY bad idea.

Find the article here :)

Charlie Sheen is a nut.

TMZ just reported Charlie Sheen wants full custody of his two young twins. Check it out here.
Sheen's estranged wife, Brook Mueller, entered rehab  the other day and now Charlie wants the twins. Mueller reported she entered rehab just in case Sheen's lawyer wanted a drug test.

Sheen's lawyer is asking for physical and legal custody to Sheen, and wants the judge to allow him to not have to pay $55,000 in child support to Mueller.

As of right now, unlikely ally Denise Richards offered to have the twins stay with her for the period of Sheen's tour, Torpedo of Truth. Sheen apparently said he would "keep her posted"

How would any judge on this planet allow an unstable man like Charlie Sheen to have sole custody of two children. I don't know how reliable these sources are, but many others are saying it is true, and if it is I am actually disheartened by this. Charlie Sheen has shown many signs of a possible mental illness and is clearly unreliable, and unstable. I just cannot believe someone would even consider giving him full custody.

The Future Kings and Queens

On the other side of the pond, the royal wedding is quickly closing in. What is different about this one, though, is that there are two queens in waiting, rather than one; a divorcee of Prince Charles will be in attendance, alongside the coming bride of Prince William. As William is the son of Charles and Lady Diana, there is a great deal of controversy surrounding any interaction Camilla, Charles' second wife, divorced, has with the royal family. More importantly, though, is the matter of succession, as many think the succession should skip Charles entirely and pass directly to William, when the current queen passes. Personally, I think that there is no reason for such an avoidance of Charles' being king, as he is of the line and has been more active in politics and other areas than any of the living royal family members. At once, though, there is a movement for Camilla to become queen, should Charles take the position of King; this would serve to restore the proper passage of the titles, and possibly mend the monarchy. Until any decision is made on Charles and Camilla, though, the world must sit tight and watch a joyous ceremony of two who may very well come to restore the monarchy to its past glories. Have a look at the article here.

Cops Get the Bad Dude in Darby

Police in Upper Darby shot and killed a man accused of stealing from five to six gas stations last night. They said the man reached into his shirt when they found him at the Sunoco. I don't know why they HAD to shoot him. The guy was stealing, yes. And he was suspiciously reaching into his shirt. But still, I think they could have handled this situation differently. Also, the reporter for this story is a total magoo.

94 year old woman to give birth (sort of)

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2011/04/14/2011-04-14_zsa_zsa_gabor_94_to_have_baby_via_surrogate_claims_husband_frederic_prinz_von_an.html


Anyone who knows me knows I'm not an age discriminator. I love old people. I love my grandparents, I love the old ladies in the "Life Alert" commercials, I love Mr. Rogers from Mr. Rogers Neighborhood (or, I guess I loved Mr. Rogers since he, like so many old people before him, has passed away). The point is I enjoy senior citizens and I fully believe that they are still entitled to all of the rights they were given by the constitution because freedom has no age limit. Procreation, however, does. Or at least I think it should. Apparently Zsa Zsa Gabor, 94, doesn't seem to agree with me as recent reports have been saying that she and her 67 year old German husband are trying to have a baby (via surrogate, of course, but still). Now, this is wrong for several reasons. And by several, I mean a million. But for now I'll just list a few.
1. Biologically- The average age of a woman undergoing the process of menopause and thus losing the ability to naturally give birth is 51. Frankly speaking, Zsa Zsa Gabor is too old. About 43 years too old. The average age of a woman giving birth for the first time is 25 which means Zsa Zsa missed that cut by 69 years.

2. It's not fair to the child- When her child starts preschool she'll be about 98. When he or she starts high school, she'll be 108. When he or she graduates from college she'll be 116 which incidentally is two years older than the current oldest man in the world so...

3. She's way too old (have I mentioned that?)- When Zsa Zsa Gabor was born, Woodrow Wilson was President. The first World War was just ending. The NHL was just forming. Zsa Zsa Gabor is so old, her Bible is autographed. (That last one was just a yo mama joke I heard the other day but one that her son/daughter will likely hear for the rest of their life)

In order to make this nonsense happen Zsa Zsa and her husband are planning on using a surrogate, some frozen eggs and donated sperm so good luck explaining to your 5 year old son where babies come from. And why you're 70 years older than all his friends' moms.

Smelly flower

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/weird_news/20110416_ap_stinky8footcorpseflowersettobloominohio.html

At ohio state university, an 8-foot tall plant known as the "corpse flower" is blooming. Being almost spring, it is ready to unravel it's umbrella sized petals. the greenhouse coordinator Joan Leanord has been growing five since 2001 and this one will be the first to bloom. It is called the "corpse flower" because it literally smells like a corpse. a rotting corpse. and they will have visiting hours for it. yum. and the thing dies after two days so all that work and growing for just a nasty smelling plant thats huge and dies after two days?

The "Big 3" of Poker Seized by F.B.I

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/861154-fbi-shuts-down-full-tilt-poker-pokerstars-and-absolute-poker-in-clampdown
http://www.wreckedmagazine.com/blog/2011/04/15/bergenholtz-racing-might-be-on-full-tilt/

11 people, including the founders of Full Tilt Poker, Pokerstars, and Absolute Poker, are being charged with money laundering and illegal gambling. According to this article, "It is currently against the law for US citizens to gamble online." That surprised me; online poker tournaments seem to be fairly popular in this country, and many of the top poker players started playing online.

The only reason I learned of this was through Wrecked Magazine (second link) and their post about Bergenholtz Racing possibly losing their main sponsor. The Bergenholtz Racing team is a great bunch of people, and the driver, Joon Maeng, is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. We talked for a bit at Formula D last year in New Jersey, and I can clearly see why everyone calls him Joon "Gentle" Maeng. Best of luck to Joon in finding a new sponsor.

Red dresses rock !

Prom Junk

This article literally is just about how prom dresses that are red are very nice. I completely concur, because a particularly classy red prom dress made me a very happy lass. However, I do disagree that red was the hot color of the year. I chose red because I look good in red ( I think so, at least ) and it's my boyfriend's favorite color. If I'm going to drag him, I might as well try to work any advantage I've got. This year, the hot colors were ironically the cooler colors - purples and blues, in various patterns. Red doesn't traditionally fall into the category of cool colors. Oh, well, promgirl.net can't be too reliable anyway - it was somehow hosted by yahoo.net.
And now, here are the pictures that Miss Mo said to post:

...Okay due to technical difficulties, no pictures are available at this time. However, I shall fix that very soon.

Dolphin Killers

Pink dolphins along the rivers of the Amazon rain forest are being killed and used for bait. Pink dolphins,who were known once magical creatures that could turn into men and impregnate women, are protected by law, but yet fisherman all over the Amazon are killing them because they go after the same fish that we as humans eat. One fisherman, Ronan Benico Rego, believes that these killings are justified as he "wanted to make money." He also harpoons the dolphins "just to be mean." A Portuguese researcher, Miguel Migueis, believes that the killings are ruining the culture and the Amazon. He thinks that if the law does not come in and help the dolphins out, pink dolphins could be no more.
It is tough to not feel bad for the dolphins in this case. Imagine if we were just living our life and aliens come down and start killing us because we both share the same love for cheeseburgers. I am pretty sure we would not enjoy that.

Article here.

World's Tallest Teen; Taller than LeBron!

Malee Duangdee, from Thailand, is 6 foot 10 inches and is only 19 years old. She ranks in as the world's tallest teen. She is even taller than LeBron James! Duangdee remembers having a tough childhood and having to leave school because the kids were so nasty.

"I used to feel like a freak, school children used to bully me and call me names," she said, according to The Telegraph.

If I was Malee I would definitely feel like an outsider. The constant hovering over my family and friends would be a little uncomfortable. Overtime, I suppose I would be used to it. However, having the title "World's Tallest Teen" would be pretty cool!

Read More Here:

http://www.aolnews.com/2011/04/15/worlds-tallest-teen-malee-duangdee-of-thailand-2-inches-taller/

Nicholas Cage Bailed Out of Jail in New Orleans

http://www.cnn.com/2011/SHOWBIZ/celebrity.news.gossip/04/16/louisiana.nicolas.cage.arrest/index.html

Personally, I am not as shocked that Nicholas Cage was charged for domestic violence, as I am shocked that Dog the Bounty Hunter bailed him out of jail. Dog called himself "a truly dedicated fan of Mr. Cage,". Mr. Cage was on a drunken rampage that involved his wife. It is hard to tell how serious of an offense this really is. When the police arrived, Cage was yelling at them. Therefore he was arrested. He was released this past Saturday. Even though I am not a fan of his work, I did not expect Nicholas Cage had this side to his personality. I just hope he doesn't get off too easy for this...

Today is our last full day in New Orleans. We're going to grab breakfast (cafe au lait and beninets at Cafe du Monde) and eat it sitting by the Mississippi River.

Also, I found a Kane grave near the voodoo queen. Does that make me a voodoo princess?

I saw the grave of a voodoo queen in this cemetery. Then I saw Trent Reznor's house. New Orleans is fascinating!

St. Joan-y on the Pony in the center of the French Quarter.

The French Quarter is beautiful. There's live jazz everywhere and everyone is happy and wearing flip flops. How are things in Horsham?

Drugs are really bad for you.

Headline: Drug store thief comes after pills, gets beans

Source: Check it out!

Some drug store pharmacists in southeastern Mississippi says a drug addict broke in to take pain medication drugs, but they were replaced with beans. The store has been robbed numerous times but this time Mac Clark (the pharmacists) decided that he needed a decoy. Funny that the decoy was beans though? The beans that he put in the bottle were kidney beans..YUM

The robbers were said to leave a trail of blood, meaning that they got cut or something. It is crazy the things people will do for another taste of drugs. The robbery happened 6:30am Wednesday morning. Over and out, Montague.

Another week, another attempt to shield factory farms from public scrutiny

Check out this article by Tom Laskawy here. Published on March 14, 2011 by Grist

This photo was found on the Florida article
and the caption was "If we just don't look at what's
going on inside factory farms, everything
 will be fine. Right?"

Basically, this article is following up about a bill passed in Florida that makes "it a first-degree felony to photograph a farm without first obtaining written permission from the owner." You can check that out here. The lawmakers in Iowa are now trying to pass a bill that makes it illegal to aquire a job to research it or write about it. While a law like this does not seem as bad as the Florida one (because I mean come on, who bans you from taking pictures?) it does however take a huge toll on journalists and activists. This all started when videos of factory farms and their wrong-doing was released by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Humane Society. Big Agriculture is trying to help their cause by saying these videos weren't release right away and that the activists are just trying to get attention. People have reported that the likelihood of the Iowa bill passing is not sure yet due to the Democratic control over there.

In my opinion, these laws are absurd. They wouldn't need to be made if Factory Farms didn't have anything to cover up. I find it crazy to believe that people are now being banned from photographing and videotaping the inside of Factory Farms! If something bad is happening, we should know! we should be able to understand what atrocities are going on behind the walls and the food we eat. My personal connection to all this is that my father owns a seafood restaurant down the shore, and all of the fish we buy is freshly caught and local. I'm afriad people won't be able to get this later on down the line due to GMOs and trying to make fish "better."

I Heart Boobies Ban

Headline: School ban 'boobie' bracelets

So, we all remember how Silly Bandz were being banned at schools last year.. right? Well this is sorta the same thing.

A high school sophomore could be suspended because he wouldn't hand over his black ' i heart boobies' bracelet that we was wearing because his grandmother had passed away due to breast cancer and he collects them because of that. Another school district says it has "sexually suggestive language", the word "boobies" isn't that bad, it could say worse things on it. The bracelets are just helping a great cause, the organization has sold more than 2 million bracelets. So, banning them is just really stupid in my opinion.

Rich Going Down With Us!

With this "government shutdown" threat, it's a surprise that we're all not panicking. To get out of our little deficit, Obama wants to cut the taxes on the rich folk. It probably is the best plan I have heard in the longest time. My global studies teacher Mr. Maley has been ranting repeatedly about how corrupt our government officials are. When officials can take bribes and do all the things that they are paid to keep other people from doing, then you know that our government is corrupt. But anyway, the rich haven't had tax cuts because the rich pay the government to influence things like tax cuts. Mr. Maley also says that the top 5% of the population controls 25% of the salary and the top 10% controls 50%. So the rest of us 90% have to split the rest. This never made sense to be, and at least someone has realized this. Obama has a lot of little tricks up his sleeve and now more than ever are the democrats and the republicans at odds. I don't think I've ever noticed more extremists than as of late. I'm an intense liberal, if it hasn't been noticed and I am absolutely for Obama's latest little scheme.

What is wrong with Philly?

Headline: Three Women Stabbed in Strawberry Mansion

Source: Check it out!

An enraged man stabbed his ex-girlfriend and her two sisters in Strawberry Mansion on Tuesday night. It happened on 30th and diamond street, one of the worst streets in Philadelphia. The three woman were 24, 26, and 31. All three were admitted to Temple University Hospital and are said to be stable as of now. The attacker was identified as Maurice Young, 36, and was stabbed in the head during the attack and is in stable condition. He was arrested and bail was not set yet.

I just can't believe after all the city does to try to protect it's people, there are still attacks like this going on daily. I know that this is a negative current event, but i felt that it needed to get brought up. What kind of world is it if you cant go out without worrying about your ex stabbing you and your siblings. Over and out, Montague.

Happy Birthday to the lovely ladies of Red Journalism!

Comedy Central Surviving through the ages

article here
First off, this article is written by Brian Stelter. That's positively scary. Every time I glace at this article I feel like I wrote it. But anyway, the article. Comedy Central just celebrated their twentieth year of life last this past April Fool's. They didn't have a big celebration saying that “Next year, we’ll be 21, we’ll be legal, maybe we’ll have a party then, that’s more in the spirit of Comedy Central.” It's more of the people than the actual shows that seem to spur fans. People like Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert or Daniel Tosh or Sarah Silverman, they all have been major parts of Comedy Central's success. They say they mostly target men from ages 18 to 35, anyone older or younger would find humor elsewhere. Though it seems odd because I can't imagine 35 year old intensely watching South Park. To me the show is strictly teenage boy. All of their reality and sitcom shows have seemed to fail, I mean whens the last time you flipped to Comedy Central and saw one of their original sitcoms? They're best rated shows are The Colbert Report, The Daily Show, South Park, and Tosh.0. All shows we've seen at some point in our lives.

Great. Now I feel REAL comfortable about my upcoming flights

Headline: 6 Places Germs Breed in Airplanes
Publication: AARP Magazine

While double checking all of my travel info this afternoon, I stumbled across this article about germs (specifically e.coli) in airplanes.  I'm sure everyone has read articles like this before - they're written in such a way as to TERRIFY readers.  I'm not personally all that upset about the majority of them because my flights are short, but I am a really big fan of chewing ice and this article says that I should never get a drink with ice in it on a plane.  But I HATE warm drinks.  So do I succumb to the scary sounding article and ignore the ice or do I get the ice and take a risk? 

Black Day Group Portrait

As promised, here is the portrait that Bridget did of the Black Day Journalism class.  If you click on the image, it will open in a separate tab as a much larger image.

Red Class, I think we need one of you too!!  (I'll bet Duke will draw one if we ask nicely!)

Grandmother changes lives

A grandmother has dedicated her life to helping young people in Roseland, one of Chicago's most dangerous neighborhoods. It's so dangerous that according to Chicago Public Schools, 140 of its students have been shot since the school year started in September.

Diane started her program, Kids Off the Block, in her own living room, with only a dozen kids in the beginning. She wanted to create a safe place where anyone could come in, at any hour of day. People ages 11-24 come in for food, to talk, tutoring sessions, job interview training and opportunities to play football, basketball and soccer. Eventually the program grew enough for volunteers to take the kids on field trips to museums, movies, skating rinks, water parks and professional sports games.

When her home became to small to house the number of people, volunteers raised enough money to buy a new house for the program. The house really is a safe place! Different gang members, drug dealers, and homeless people are all welcome, and everyone feels safe.

What amazes me about this article is that the kids really want to change. They all have goals to be doctors, singers, and athletes. They do not want to be on the streets for the rest of their life. I think it's so inspiring that Diane has created such a safe place full of change and opportunity in a very dangerous area.
Original article

Not Again Butler!

You have got to start feeling bad for the Butler Bulldogs' basketball fans. For two years straight the nation's "Cinderella" team have made it all the way to the NCAA tournament final and both times they fell short. Last year's loss was handed to them by the powerhouse Duke Blue Devils. This year it was the Connecticut Huskies. Butler was an above average 5 seed last year while this year they were a sub par 8 seed. They had come so far in the last two years, they beat number 1 seeded Syracuse last year and this year they defeated number 1 Pittsburgh. Last year star player Gordan Heyward basically carried the team all the way to the finals, however after his departure to the NBA, the Bulldogs were much more balanced and in my mind, they were probably better.

Remember the Phillies World Series run in 2009 when they lost to the Yankees. Remember the heartache and pain. Now times that by 2 to feel what the Butler fans are feeling after Monday's loss to the Huskies. The fans have to start almost getting annoyed. When you get so far and you do not totally make it, its got to be somewhat tiring and annoying.

Well there is always next year for the Butler fans. Hopefully if they can get as far as they have been, they win it or else there could be some riots on Butler's campus.










Article found here.

Strip Search for Traffic Violation!

Albert Florence was driving with his wife and 4 year old son to dinner, when his wife was pulled over for speeding. The police ran the registration for his car, and found an arrest warrant for Florence based on a supposedly unpaid traffic fine. The next thing he knew, he was handcuffed and hauled off to jail for 7 days!

During this time he was strip-searched twice! All this for a traffic fine that he already paid! He even carried the documentation from the court to prove he paid! But that didn't save him.

Now there is a huge debate on whether to permit blanket strip searches in jails. Some, including his lawyer, argue that it is unconstitutional for everyone entering jail (even for minor offenses) to be strip se

Publish Post

arched. Others say strip searches are used in order for jail officials to maintain security and prevent dangerous weapons.

Personally, I think strip searches are too invasive to be used on everyone entering jail. Although they can prevent weapons and communicable diseases from entering the jails, it can be humiliating and a complete violation of privacy. Too many officers abuse this power for it to be allowed as a blanket policy.

Uhh. . . Grandpa's stabbing neighbors

Yes, here
WHATT? A poor old man is stabbing perfectly innocent people because they have a dog and he has kittens? what erroneous judgement. Its this age old fight, which is better cats or dogs but on the biggest scale, like EVER. I . . . don't even know how to feel about that.

Barefoot!

Headline: Students put their best feet forward
Check out this article here.

This article wasn't super informative, but basically tells you a story about a family and schools who go one day without shoes. This, in my opinion, is one of the coolest things ever. TOMS shoes have hundreds of different kinds and what they do is every time you buy a product they give a pair to a kid in need. The founder, Blake Mycoskie, decided to do this when he was visiting Argentina and discovered that kids there didn't have shoes.

I receive the TOMS newsletter and knew that today was A Day Without Shoes day. I wanted to participate, but you have to wear shoes in school. I'm mad I didn't think like these people and try to get a whole bunch of people to do it and raise awareness, but they always have at least one a year. 

I am a proud owner of TOMS canvas shoes, and I love them. They are a little pricey but I don't mind because I know I'm helping a kid somewhere who doesn't have shoes.

50,000 new workers at McDonalds in ONE day?

Headline: McDonald's to hire 50,000 workers - in 1 day
McDonald's is planning a one-day hiring working spree of 50,000 new workers on April 19th, just for the US. It's going to include part-time, full-time jobs. The average pay is $8.30 per hour.
They're calling this "Mcjob". Honestly, I think this is really going work out. But, lots of teenagers want jobs and they want GOOD jobs. Some teens are actually afraid to say where they work because saying "I work at McDonald's" is just embarrassing. I really want to see what happens with this and I really want to know if they're really going to get 50,000 new workers in one day because there is a lot of people out there without jobs, but are the qualified for McDonalds? I'm just really curious to see what happens.

Haiti's new President

After an earthquake and cholera epidemic wreaking havoc across Haiti, one might think that the people would look for a leader with experience in rebuilding lives and a nation. Be it for better or for worse, the new president of that nation draws most of his experience from performing on stage. One of the most famous carnival singers in Haiti, assuming that the results of the vote will stand, has to manage politics of his crippled country.
Frankly, I can't imagine how singer Michel Martelly won the election over a former first lady and college professor, but what he says he has planned seems sound. With talks of educational reforms and focuses on delivery of humanitarian aid, I don't see anything inherently wrong with his ideas. He does not yet have the relationships with powerful individuals across the country that other candidates were fortunate enough to have had under their belts, but these surely will develop during his term. If he can lead, as 68% of the voters think he can, then let's hope that he does it well.

Check out the article here.

Help me! ... April Fool's?

Headline: April Fool's prank costs Ill. teen $150 in tickets.


I personally think it's a pretty messed up joke to tell a friend and a cousin, two people in your life who may care for you the most, that you were robbed and shot in the foot. Even if it was only an April Fool's joke, it's a serious issue that I think shouldn't be joked about. And reverse the situation, what if it really happened and your friend and cousin took it as a joke and ended up not doing anything about it? In the end, you joked about being robbed and being seriously injured. That's where karma comes into play, right? Joke's on you now.

Error shaves 5 years off skinhead's sentence

Click This. I dare you.

Skinhead. Shaves. Ha.

This is pretty crazy. I think this article just shows how messed up the American judicial system is. First of all, Gibison definitely killed the guy. He has the gang tattoos to prove it. And the victim was shot straight in the forehead. It's not like it could have been an accident. In addition, a criminal should be charged based on current laws. Not ones that were active in the 80s. Shenanigans. Gibison's lawyer also has absolutely no proof that he did not commit the crime. He says that the web tattoo he has is "completely unrelated to any homicide." Okay...and what proof do you have of that. Maybe it's just the way the article is written, but to me, it's pretty obvious that Gibison killed this guy.

Carnival Musican Now Haiti President?

Michel Martelly is now the new Haiti President as of Monday. He took about 70% of the votes over his competitor, Mirlande Manigat. In the carnival he was "Sweet Mickey", who was known for dropping his pants on stage and other crazy acts among which include wigs and skirts, and now he's the buttoned down president. How did this transition happen? Instead of hiding his past, he embraced it, using it to encourage the younger generations votes. He was the cannidate for change just as Obama was. It seems like everyone wants to change lately. Despite his racy past, he's managed to overcome all obstacles, proving that our pasts do not contain us like most people like to think.


ps, does he look slightly like Obama to anyone else?

Middle East is off its rocker.

If you haven't noticed, this Middle East drama is still going on. Honestly, it seems as if it's catching. All of sudden its like a rebellion fad, "hey, let's all start a riot." Yemen is having a heart attack, at least ten were killed at a protest. Syria cracked down, killed eight and they had a huuuuge protest Douma. I'm not sure why all this is going on, but it's getting ridiculous. I feel like Bahrain, Syria, Lybia, Egypt, and Sudan are all having their revolution at the same time. WHY ARE PEOPLE SO ANGRY? That's my question.

The UConn Girls Basketball Team...Lost?

Headline: Diggins, ND out duel Moore, UConn Source: Check it out! The Notre Dame Girls Basketball led by sophomore sensation Skylar Diggins, upset the 2 time NCAA National Championship UConn Huskies last night at Conseco Field house. The UConn Girls Basketball team led by Maya Moore has been a dominant team over the last two seasons losing only a total of 3 games, and winning two national titles. They were expected to walk their way to another title this year, but ND standout Skylar Diggins had other plans. Maya had a game-high 36pts and Skylar had a season high 28pts on 10-14 shooting the ball. It turned into a head to head shootout between the two standouts, but Skylar prevailed. I think that this is an unbelievable feat because of how good the UConn team was. The Fighting Irish will play Tuesday night against Texas A&M for the National Title. The Irish hope to keep their winning ways, but nothing will feel quite as sweet as taking down the mighty huskies of Connecticut. Over and out, Montague.

First ClubLoose Event!

http://garagespec.net/clubloose-april-event

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gra_freaky/favorites/

Headline: ClubLoose April Event

The first ClubLoose event was held on Saturday the 2nd, and a lot of drivers came out to start off the season. There were a handful of new drivers, including myself, who came out to learn how to drift safely on a closed track. Because of the rainstorm the day before, the track was practically a swap; many of the drivers ended up off track in the mud, which we call "going for a swim". 

The whole event was a ton of fun, and probably one of the best days of my life. After a whole 2010 season of photographing and hanging out, it was great to get on-track and actually drive. I was running extremely well on the beginner section, so I was allowed to drive the front course near the end of the day . My first run on the "big boy" course ended abruptly; on my transition into the second corner, my car snapped back and went head-first into a barrier. 

Regardless of what happened to my car, I had an amazing day and I'll be working hard to get back out for next month's event.

Charlie's torpedo sinks

Headline: Charlie Sheen's live show in Detroit completely fails

Unsurprisingly, Charlie Sheen's road show has been a complete catastrophe. Instead of making the audience roll with unrestrained laughter, he chose to go on more nonsensical rants about...God, does it even matter? The man is nuts.
Audience members from far reaching places, such as Canada, left the show devastated at the loss of about $70 a ticket, retail. Many walked out of the show within minutes - of course, only after booing the Adonis himself off of the stage.
Personally, I think that within the next few days, we will be hearing of the cancellation of the entire tour. Clearly, it was a failure, and those that have already purchased their tickets for future shows probably will not be attending the gig - why would they, after seeing that everyone else in attendance has failed to be wooed?

I do feel that those that purchased their tickets will not, and should not, receive the refund that they are currently demanding. Though they did expect a comedy act, they were not at the show of a decently-sane person. They were at the mercy of a mad man who does not seem to really give about what other people expect. People knew that they were paying $70 to listen to a has-been who has damaged his career and personal life forever. There was zero expectation for an actual comedy show to take place, and those that legitimately expected that Sheen would suddenly become funny should lower their life expectations.

Keyrings to Die For...

Animal lovers beware. There is a newly popular form of animal cruelty and it is completely legal!

Thanks to Chinese street vendors, live animals are being sold as key-rings! You know, the things you shove in your pocket or in your purse and never pay much attention to anyway?

The animals are permanently sealed in a plastic pouch to be hung on your key-chain. Obviously, the animals only live for a short time as they are cut off from air, food/water, or even the ability to move!

Even worse, they are very easy to get. Vendors sell them at very cheap prices.

I can't be the only one who is absolutely disgusted by this! How can someone be okay with the fact that they have a dying animal hanging from their keys? I throw my keys around and I always drop them, so I know keychains are not a safe place to hang a live animal. Hopefully more people realize what is going on so that the sale of these cruel keyrings can stop.

Tweens in turmoil!

Article: 'Breaking Dawn' won't be Rated R, Summit Promises 
Since the book, Twilight, came out, tweens and teens everywhere have been drooling in anticipation of the movie version of this novel. In November 2008, to the dismay of every Harry Potter fan everywhere, their salivating mouths were finally closed when they got to view the famous book on the big screen. For some, the first movie was  poor representation of the words of Stephanie Meyer and for some others, a movie could not get much better than that. For the second movie to be released in November 2009, Summit hired a new director and the movie was a success. It left twi-hards crying for more Edward and Bella action which they recieved on June 30th, 2010 when Eclipse hit theathers. It was a raving success. Even better than the second movie. My mother even bought it for me. Not that i've watched it yet. The problem now is with the fourth installment, Breaking Dawn's ratings. Even those who haven't read the book know that in it, Edward and Bella do IT. And then Bella gives birth. There is also the problem of a bunch of scary vampire and werewolf fights. Robert Pattinson even said he is worried the movie will be too scary for some of twilight's younger fans. "It's a horror movie. i just can't see how it's going to be PG-13. Unless they cut everything out." The last time my mother let me watch a movie where someone gives birth? She hasn't. Especially one where Bella has to give birth to a scary half breed who basically eats its way out of her stomach. The only problem with making it Rated R is that the movie won't make as much money. The main demographic of Twilight is teen girls 12-18. If they make it rated R only 17 and up can go to see it. Therefore, the movie won't make half as much money. In conclusion, i believe mothers everywhere are going to be in for a big surprise when they take their kids to see this movie. And an even longer night when their kid insists on sleeping in their room that night because they are scared.

The Oddly Informative News Quiz

Happy Saturday folks!  I hope you're all enjoying the beautiful day. 

I just wanted to pass along something that I enjoy EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND and that you may not only also enjoy, but also find helpful for the blog project. 

Every Saturday NPR produces a current events quiz show called "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me!."  It profiles both run-of-the mill news stories, but also the weird ones that you can't believe when you hear them.   It's a funny show, but also incredibly informative.

There are a couple of ways that you can access it:

1. "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" airs on our local NPR station, WHYY 90.9 FM, every Saturday at 4PM.  All you need to do is tune your radio dial to WHYY and you can listen FOR FREE!

2. You can download old episodes of Wait Wait via iTunes FOR FREE!  All you have to do is go to the Podcast section of your iTunes store and search for Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me.  Then you can just download them into your iTunes and listen to them through your computer or your MP3 player.

3. You can stream or download episodes of Wait Wait through their website (address above) FOR FREE!

Remember, you don't HAVE to do this, it's just  a suggestion for an alternate way to access news and current events!

Enjoy your weekend, maybe catch a quick nap, just like Loki!! 

Meanwhile, In Libya...

Libyan rebels proposed a cease-fire earlier today and Moammar shot them down. And the Libyan Government spokesman called their conditions "silly!" It's outrageous what is going on in Libya, especially since it should not have evolved to this level of conflict. That is to say, it could have been handled tres different. But with a ruler like Gadhafi, it should be implied hardships will be on the way. The condition of the opposition forces isn't very good right now, though. I am afraid that they won't be able to come out victorious in this battle. I hope that the UN knows what they are doing, but also that none of our boys have to get Libyan sand in their boots.

Those Meddling Sex Pistols!

Anarchists are looking to disrupt the Royal Wedding, and a lot of people aren't pleased. Now, a lot of people wouldn't care about this because we're American(Go Democracy!), but it's still a couple having their wedding threatened. I imagine how I'd feel if on my wedding day, a bunch of riled up folk just start yelling this and that at my bride and me. But then I saw what these people are fighting for and I wanted to throw on black too! They are fighting against a government that wants what THEY WANT, rather than what the average british citizen needs. And this talk of very loud music?? If I can use my loud music and black clothes to fight for the needs of someone who is being oppressed, then SIGN ME UP! I like that they are fighting against something unjust in a hardcore awesome way. Charlie Veitch, I'm with you man.

Years Later and You Find This NOW?

Headline: Baltic Sea letter in a bottle found 24 years later

I am really fascinated by this article. That is just crazy how after 24 years of this bottle with a message inside of it lying on a beach, someone finds it now. You would think that someone would have found it much earlier, especially with the amount of people that have probably walked that beach in a matter of 24 years. The boy and the father that wrote the message said they barely remembered the trip they took that encouraged them to write the message and leave it on the beach. But hey, I still think it'd be cool if I wrote a message when I was 5 and someone replied to me when I was 29.

Google is becoming Facebook?

Headline: With +1, Google really, really wants to be your friend

Like every website on the Web, everyone wants to be just like Facebook. Google decided to make something similar to Facebook's "like" button. They're calling it the +1. So, if you're on Google and you want to "like" an article or something you +1 it? I really doubt anyone is going to do that. We use Google to type in a word we don't know or if we can't remember someone's name. In my opinion, it's really dumb and no one is going to want to +1 anything. But, I could be wrong...

"Betty White's Off Their Rockers"

Betty White's coming back to NBC with a Hidden Camera Reality show. Normally, these shows I save for when I'm dying. Ashton Kutcher? Congrats, you've shown that "That 70s Show" was your life. Jamie Kennedy's Cry For Help? I mean, Experiment? However, this show sounds like it'd be hilarious. I mean, Betty White is funny on her own. And now she gets to prank folks? This will rule soooo hard. Like, how much Quidditch rules harder than Baseball, times Betty White.

Biblical Excuse for Stoning?

John Thomas is crazy. He confessed last month to stuffing a sock with a rock and bashing a mentally handicapped 70 year old over the head until he was dead.

His reason? The man was making "homosexual advances" towards Thomas. He had read in the Old Testament that gay people should be stoned to death. Is that a legitimate reason for murder? No. And, there's a catch! Seidman wasn't gay. He was asexual.

So how did this happen? Thomas became a priest in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was VERY involved in the church when schizophrenia began to control him.

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During one of Thomas' psychotic episodes, he met Seidman, the 70 year old man, at the Mercy Fitzgerald hospital. The two became close, and Seidman agreed to make Thomas the sole beneficiary of his will and gave him power of attorney. So was money the motive?

I think it's more complicated than that. Of course, money probably helped, but Thomas suffered from a mental illness that after so many hospital trips, he should have been watched over more carefully. It's also clear to me that he took religion too far and misinterpreted the Bible.

The Bible is definitely no excuse for a violent murder, and Thomas should pay for his crime. I would not be okay with him walking free in the world!

Article Headline: Defendant in fatal stoning devolved from zealotry to apparent madness
News source: philly.com

Let's All Sue Google!

Headline: Microsoft adds to EU's Google probe

I really don't know how to react to this article. Some of you may not say it's a big deal, and some of you don't really care. I have to say I'm not sure I really care a lot either. I just find it rediculous that Google is getting sued for a "broadening pattern of walling off access to content and data that competitors need to provide search results to consumers and to attract advertisers."

Obviously Google isn't going to advertise it's competitors. Competitive search engines should cut them a break. Google is probably the most widely known search-engine in the world. Microsoft just came out with Bing! but that's not even in the running really.

Google is just too widely known for anyone to catch up, in my opinion. Yahoo!, Bing! and others just can't live up to the expectations people now have for user friendly search engines. Sure, they are good search engines and I can find stuff when I use them. But if I have a gmail account, my subscriptions are on Google reader, I share documents with Google docs and I see everything on iGoogle I am obviously not going to go all the way over to Bing! just to look up a definition, get current events, or find a picture.

Just sayin.

Fukushima Workers Expect To Die

Remember that whole thing in Japan, with the quake and the nuke-ya-lers Plants? The guys working at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant are EXPECTING to die within weeks or months. This is one of the saddest things I think I've ever read. These are people that have now literally devoted their lives to helping this cause. There better be some sort of movie about these guys. Quidditch is better than baseball.

The Voice of Our Mighty Phillies

Headline: Phils say yes to Harry Kalas Statue

Source: Check it out!

The famous voice of the Phillies franchise is finally being honored in a different way. Harry Kalas will be having an all-bronze statue built for him at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia. This statue of course, is to honor and remember HK's time and effort put into Phillies broadcasting for 50 some years.

In May 09' a month after his death, an $80,000 grant was given to the organization to pay for his statue to be put up. The statue has been finished since January, but the date that it will make it's debue is still unknown. For it's location- rumors say, that it could be in Ashburn Alley, in front of the stadium, or somewhere else in or around the stadium.

Being a Phillies fan for my whole life, I really appreciate that he is being honored so greatly. I'll always remember his famous 2008 World Series call, "The 0-2 pitch- swing and a miss, struck him out! The Philadelphia Phillies are 2008 World Champions of baseball!" What a good day to be a Philadelphian... Over and out, Montague