Let it Stay or Let it Go?

As I look around my room to see which items I could throw away and items I could not live without, I discovered many items for both reasons. My T.V is one huge item I absolutely do not need. I barely watch T.V and when I do I am only watching on Sundays for The Walking Dead or when I am bored while eating. I could definitely live without my T.V and throw it out. Although my room is already large, throwing that T.V out could create a much larger space in my room. I would also throw out the giant desk with a desktop computer that is broken. No one is fixing the computer which means we do not need a giant desk or a desktop computer. A smaller desk would be nice though. I looked inside my closet if there were any clothes and shoes I did not need and there were many. There were a few shirts I barely wear. I could easily throw those out, but my dresses I could never throw out. My dresses are always worn and throwing them out has not crossed my mind at all. As for shoes, I would throw out some converse and a pair of wedges I do not wear. The rest I could not imagine living without. My phone is the one thing I could not live without either. I actually need that for communication reasons. I could not live without my laptop either. I need it for school work and such. I would not be able to write this blog any other way. Although most items are not needed, people simply like having them which is completely fine. 

Oil Spill

“Texas oil spill harms wildlife; officials work to reopen ship channel”

By: Michael Muskal

Source: LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-texas-oil-spill-galveston-birds-20140324,0,2914466.story#ixzz2xPCcd5jv

An oil spill that happened over the weekend in Texas in the Houston Ship Channel has harmed wildlife and the local economy. Authorities would have liked to reopen the Houston Ship Channel but it remained closed. The oil spill happened after the collision with a Liberian-flagged ship in Galveston Bay on Saturday. 168,000 gallons of oil spilled, threatening birds at a nearby wildlife sanctuary. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Coast Guard are investigating the incident. Eighty ships are waiting to pass through. They are hoping to have the channel partially open where the ships will be able to pass through but as of now they are trying to determine when is the safest time to have it open, but that is not the main concern. The main concern is the effect on birds and wildlife. There had been investigators sent from the Environmental Protection Division to the spill site. More than three birds had been affected by the oil spill on Monday morning, but some reports say that the number of birds affected was larger, but less than a dozen. Birds have been already affected therefore other animals are in danger such as dolphins and turtles. Officials will continue to work on monitoring the environment, controlling the oil spill, and reopening the channel. According to the Coast Guard, The Houston Ship Channel is one of the world’s busiest waterways for moving petrochemicals. The delay of shipping could increase the price to buyers. There has been oil found in the Gulf of Mexico, twelve miles of shore, on Sunday. The oil spill caused a huge amount of damage, not only closing the channel down, but also to the environment around it. Wildlife is being affected and that is not okay. The economy is being affected also. This spill is affecting the small businesses and interrupting fishing. The increasing of prices is not fair to consumers all because of an oil spill. There needs to be a way to control the amount of oil spills happening. 

Colbert Nation

In this segment of The Colbert Report on Colbert Nation, Stephen Colbert talks about Russian propaganda. Vladimir Putin is using media to brainwash foreigners by using Propaganda. He also mentions a quote by Vladimir Lenin which said “A lie told often enough becomes the truth.” When people lie too much they start believing what they say themselves. One of the channels that are promoting propaganda is RT, Russia Today. CNN said that RT receives 85 million viewers in the US and most Americans do not realize they are watching “Putin TV”. Colbert makes fun of CNN by saying “You heard CNN, 85 million people, that’s like taking CNN’s viewers and multiplying it by 85 million.”  In the Ukraine, all channels have been blocked in Crimea. Colbert is sarcastic here by saying that they cannot watch their favorite shows “So You Think You Can Pierogi” and “The Real Mail Order Wives of Odessa”.  Pierogi’s are dough with fillings like cheese, potato, or fruit and whatever else one would like, which is similar to the Ukrainian varenyky. In the Ukraine, it is common to mail order wives and Odessa is the third largest city in the Ukraine. Colbert uses satire throughout the entire segment by bashing on Putin and Russian propaganda. He is always mentioning stereotypes. One stereotype he mentions is that brainwashing is “America’s thing” and uses American Pie movies as examples of brainwashing. America is the county of couch potatoes and watching TV all day. Colbert makes fun of that aspect in this segment. Colbert basically bashed on two countries and a major news channel in one tiny three minute video which is amazing. My opinion on Colbert’s video is that it was hilarious and only Stephen Colbert could be brutally sarcastic with what he says. 

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/433715/march-12-2014/vladimir-putin-s-propaganda-machine---russia-today---liz-wahl

Satire Blog

"Dog Doesn’t Consider Itself Part Of Family"

Source: The Onion

http://www.theonion.com/articles/dog-doesnt-consider-itself-part-of-family,35532/?ref=auto

In Thomasville, Georgia, a six-year-old golden retriever named Pepper relies on his family for food and shelter. Even though they provide Pepper with food, shelter, water, include him in activities and photos, he does not consider them as his family. Pepper told reporters on Friday “Hey, they’re not bad people, and I appreciate that they let me ride in the car sometimes, but do I think of them as my own family members? God, no”. He said this while scratching his right ear with his leg. He had no involvement of the O’Donnells adopting him and he spends as much time as he can in the backyard to not be around the O’Donnells. Pepper then talks about his family members. He calls them loud and obnoxious and how they are always on the couch and on their phones. He even talks about the family dad, Rob O’Donnell. Apparently he is a mess and cannot take a walk to the park without being tired. Pepper also states that he is not one of them. During press time, Denise O’Donnell made Pepper sit and beg for a while before letting him have the piece of cheese in her hand and that was when Pepper’s stance was reaffirmed. Dogs cannot talk nor express their emotions or how they feel to their family. That is exactly what is being satired. They cannot look one in the eye and say “I’m sad” or “I’m hungry”. Dogs can think a human is annoying as much as a human thinks dogs are annoying but at the end of the day dogs will always be loyal. The news is never 100 percent correct. They will exaggerate to receive the reader’s or viewer’s attention. They will try to make the people talk more about the news to others and then they will turn on the news or read online where the news companies will receive money. The article about Pepper also makes fun of that aspect. The article is 100 percent false and like other news articles. This is hilarious because dogs cannot speak and in this article it talks about what the dog said to the news reporters while scratching his ear. It also makes one think if their dog thinks about them like Pepper does about his family. 

The Economy

The economy is the main factor in our lives. There are days where the economy is wonderful and days where it is absolutely horrible. I do not receive allowance which is fine by me because I do not need money at this day and age but whenever I am hanging out with my friends or if I eat lunch with one of my friends my parents will hand me money of course. I remember December was the rough month where whenever my family wanted an entity my parents would remember that the money that month was not doing fine and we needed to cut back. Although we have had problems with money, food was not an issue. We have always had an abundant amount of food in our house and as of now financing is fine. The economy affects me in positive ways also. When the economy is doing fine, the money is fine therefore my parents will not be frustrated when they pay for my education or worry about finances for college. The economy will hit me hard once I come out of college. I would have to find a job and maintain it to receive money and care for my family and I because my parents will not always look after me and see if I am alright when I have a family. The future is coming soon and there is no time to waste. 

Target Healthcare (Business)

"Target to drop health policies for part-timers"

By:  Ricardo Lopez and Tiffany Hsu

Source: LA Times

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-target-health-insurance-20140123,0,6459410.story#axzz2vQiBolSH

Target Corporation became the recent company to stop providing healthcare to part-time workers. Experts say that Target will now be the last major company to stop providing healthcare. Target announced that they are changing their benefits policy starting on the first of April. The reason of doing this is because the part-time employees could receive cheaper and better coverage through Obamacare. Although this is happening, only a small percentage of part-time workers would be affected. Of the total workforce, only 361,000 are enrolled in part-time decisions. Target is on the list with other restaurants and retailers that are making changes to health benefits throughout Obamacare. In September, Home Depot said that they would discard healthcare in January which would only affect five percent of the workforce. 160,000 employees switched to employer-sponsored coverage with private healthcare at Walgreens. Experts in this field say that employers with large numbers of part-time workers will agree on keeping costs low. Target mentioned how this decision may actually benefit the part-time workers if they look for insurance on their own. Target is providing the part-time workers with $500 in cash to help with the transition. Target has also hired a firm to help people with those transitions. Trader Joe’s also stated in September that its part-time workers would also benefit from this if they looked for health insurance with public exchanges, but Trader Joe’s said that more than 77 percent of its employees would be unaffected. Businesses are asking workers to participate more with their health insurance and possibly accept less benefits. Last year, a quarter of California firms said that they either increased the costs for employees or decreased health benefits. Health insurance seems like a problem in the U.S and needs to be resolved somehow.  

Nature

Sitting outside can actually be relaxing, besides the bugs and such. The warm air on my skin feels amazing after all the cold weather these past few days. The new grass that had been planted is growing out beautifully. There is a water fountain against the wall on the left that has not been used for years is filled up with dirty water that no one bothers to clean. My dog Daisy is outside with me walking around and running in the grass. The huge lemon tree is in front of me. That is useful when it comes to cooking. No one has to take a trip to the store whenever someone needs a lemon. Daisy is now sitting under the sun. She loves to do that all the time. There is also a pomegranate and fig tree that do not grow anymore. I do not know why we still have the trees; I guess it adds a nice touch. It became much more warmer since I came outside. I hope it does not get warmer. Although it is very warm, there is still a little wind blowing by and the leaves on the huge trees moving are beautiful. I can hear birds chirping from all over the place. I honestly do not like the sound of birds "singing". I can hear a baby crying and that is not something I want to hear right now along with the birds chirping. The voices of my neighbors talking very loudly with each other is super annoying at the moment. The sound of cars rushing by on the end of my street sounds pretty cool. Although sitting outside is nice, I really would like to go inside and eat the ice cream in the freezer i have been thinking about the whole time. It got even warmer and I am starting to sweat so I am going to end this blog right now.

Hormones Maybe? Nope, Psychos.

"Police: Oregon teens torture classmate, cut swastika into his head"
Source: CNN
By: Ed Payne

       On February ten in Portland, Oregon, three teens have been arrested for luring a classmate into a shed, using a crowbar to hit him in the head, shooting him with a BB gun and then carving the swastika into his forehead. Authorities have charged these teens with kidnapping, robbery, assault, and menacing. The teens were Jenna Montgomery, fifteen, Blue Christian Kalmbach, fifteen, and Jess Taylor, seventeen, and have been charged as adults and are being placed under a $3 million bail each. A fourteen-year-old is also accused of participating but is not named because they are being tried as juvenile. The victim was sixteen-year-old Dustyn Murrain. Montgomery participated in the assault by luring Murrain to the shed and she was considered the "bait". The teens were apparently after Murrain's skateboard and money. They all attend David Douglas High School. Mark Collins, a senior at that school, spoke out about the incident and said, "I just think the whole idea is just messed up". Murrain's family is hoping that the carving on his forehead does not scar. He is wearing a silicon patch to try to heal the wound. It would be terrible if that carving scars. He is already traumatized and seeing that scar on his forehead every day for the rest of his life would be devastating. He will be reminded of that memory and that will never leave his mind. I am appalled that people my age have done this. What is processing in one's mind to think of doing something like this? All because they wanted Murrain's skateboard and money? That is not an excuse. Most murders and assaults happen because the perpetrator wants money. Money controls people and makes people do the unthinkable. 

Community

Community is all around the world. It could go from fandoms, online, religious, cultural or educational communities. One could be into music groups/singers or movie actors/actresses and for example if people love Christian Bale, they would create a fandom and it would be Christian Bale's fandom and the same applies for music groups or singers. Online would be Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter and such. In religious communities people would attend Church or pray everyday. Cultural would be keeping in touch with one's cultural. Educational could be hospitals and that could be a medical community or a school where students learn would be a educational community. A sense of community could be where one contributes to making the community better or sharing their ideas and beliefs with the others in the community or for fandom one could go the concerts, watch the actors movies, or go to movie premiers. The community I would say I belong would be the fan community. I am fond of singers and actors and have been for many years. Few examples would be Christian Bale, Leonardo DiCaprio, Zac Efron, and Bruno Mars. Those people have made a positive impact in my life and has made me a better person and I definitely belong in that community. I hope to go to concerts and I watch movies that the actors are in. Communities affect people or inspire people to be something. The medical community at hospitals could aspire one to become a doctor or nurse. The fan community could aspire one to be an actor or singer. Communities are important but simply being in one does not count. Everyone needs to have a sense of community.

Speeding Idiot

"San Antonio cops looking for 'catch me if you can' speeding motorcyclist"
By: Faith Karimi
Source: CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/12/justice/san-antonio-motorcyclist-dare/index.html?hpt=ju_c2

In Texas, a motorcyclist posted a video of himself with his helmet camera speeding through rush hour traffic at speeds above 100 mph on Facebook with the caption "catch me if you can". Police plan to do exactly what he said. During the video, the motorcyclist speeds and cuts people off in traffic and drives recklessly. A person posted the video on the San Antonio Police Department's Facebook page. Sgt. Javier Salazar said, "Really all it would have taken was a split second for him to impact the lives of several people, possibly killing someone just by his very actions." He is right. If he hits a car he would fly off the motorcycle and fall down and break his bones severely or possibly die or kill someone else. The motorcyclist is said to be Alberto Rodriguez who is twenty-seven. Rodriguez is also wanted on two felony warrants and one misdemeanor for family violence. Authorities have all his information and are currently looking for him. Officer McManus says, "So if Mr. Rodriguez is watching, he might as well turn himself in because it's only a matter of time before we catch you." If the authorities catch Rodriguez, he should be ready to face charges up to $200 and thirty days in jail. It is people like this in the world that cause accidents and deaths. People need to understand that driving a powerful object is a privilege and they need to not mess around with it. People take driving as a joke and that needs to stop.

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby  book and movie had many similarities but also many differences. Jay Gatsby kept consistent with the phrase "old sport". He would say it numerous of times throughout the movie and in the book. In the chapter where Tom, Daisy, Gatsby, Nick, and Jordan all drive to town with Tom's and Gatsby's cars, they keep the color and who rides in which car the same. Tom, Nick, and Jordan ride in Gatsby's yellow car and Gatsby and Daisy ride in Tom's blue car. The metaphor with the green light was also the same and how it symbolizes hope and the future for Gatsby. It was also shown at the end of Daisy's dock. Although there were many similarities, there many differences. In the beginning of the movie, Nick is talking to a therapist. That never happens in the book. Nick and Jordan have a relationship in the book and there was a chapter where they kissed. There were not many signs of Nick and Jordan being in love in the movie. They did not kiss either. The part where Gatsby and Tom have an argument at the hotel is similar except for the part where Gatsby grabs Tom and yells "shut up" in his face. It did not happen in the book but it was a excellent addition to the scene. Another difference was when Gatsby took Nick to meet Meyer Wolfsheim at the barber and they walk into a under ground bar or what was considered back then in the 1920's as a "speak-easy". One more difference was the last scene where Gatsby is shot by George Wilson. During that scene Gatsby receives a telephone call thinking it was Daisy and Wilson shoots him when it was actually Nick on the phone. The book only tells us that he is shot. It does not mention about a telephone call. In fact, the butler that answers the phone is sleeps in that chapter. Many people in general always say the book is better than the movie, which is true, but in this case the movie and the book were both amazing.

Justice is Always Served

"Arrest in 40-year-old murder case"
By: Mariano Castillo and Marlena Baldacci
Source: CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/06/justice/massachusetts-cold-case-murder/index.html?hpt=ju_t2

Eileen Ferro was stabbed to death forty years ago when she was twenty-one in her home in Shrewsbury. Sixty-nine-year-old Lonzo Guthrie from Georgia was arrested on Tuesday for Ferro's death. Officials finally had a DNA match and the match was Guthrie's DNA. Guthrie worked at Ferro's house as a furniture delivery man the day before she was stabbed. He was never considered a suspect or was suspicious during the time she was killed. Investigators decided to test the evidence from 1974 once more in the lab for any traces of DNA. Coincidentally, Guthrie committed a violated parole for a crime and he had to submit a DNA sample for couple days earlier. The DNA from the lab and the DNA from Guthrie matched and authorities finally solved the case after four decades. Guthrie has committed several crimes. He is a registered sex offender from a rape charge and he has been arrested for driving with a suspended license. Almost all criminals think they can be free after murder or any crime but they are wrong. Guthrie thought he was a free man and that no one would figure out he killed Ferro but there is no fooling science. It can be one year or forty years, justice will always be served.

Ew

"Arizona woman accused of using feces in attempt to kill husband"
By: Michael Martinez
Source: CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/01/justice/arizona-feces-iv-murder-attempt/index.html?hpt=ju_c2

A sixty-six year old man, who authorities are not releasing his name, was in recovery after a surgery when his wife, Rosemary Vogul, injected feces filled liquids into his IV on Thursday. They were alone and the IV monitor rang a warning alarm and was arrested.  She is charged with attempted first-degree murder and vulnerable adult abuse. Her husband is expected to survive while he recovers. Vogul is actually a registered nurse and a hospital employee at one point. "This is the first that I've heard where fecal matter has been injected into an IV system," said Sgt. Joe  Favazzo. Police said that when the IV alarm rang, the hospital staff rushed in and found Vogul messing with her husbands IV. The staff found brown substance in the IV and removed it from Vogul's husband's arm as quickly as possible. Vogul tried to drain the fluid into a trash can but a nurse interposed. When they checked Vogul's purse, there were three more syringes of that liquid, two were simply the fluid and the third one had fecal matter in it. Police did not figure out the motive for Vogul attempting to murder her husband. Seeing this post was repulsive. One cannot fathom why a person would do this to their own husband. The upsetting part is that he was sixty-six and in recovery after a surgery. He was hoping to be safe and healthy after he recovered but only to find out his wife had injected feces into his bloodstream to kill him. 

Mary's Extravaganza

I will have a huge party on my twenty-first birthday. It will be at this extremely huge house in Los Angeles. There will be a pool in front of it where guests can swim. Since there will be alcohol, minimal though, I will cover the pool where guests will not fall in. The food is all finger food or mini sandwiches. The finger foods could be hot dogs in a blanket, guacamole and chips, cheese and crackers, etc. There will be a dessert table of course. There will be different assortments of  cupcakes, fruits on sticks, and a chocolate fountain where people can stick their fruit in or their marshmallows. As for decorations, there will chandeliers hanging, water fountains, balloons on the ceilings and life time supply of confetti falling down slowly. For entertainment I will have the gypsy dancers dancing in the crowd with people, Bruno Mars, Britney Spears, and Justin Timberlake singing. They put on jaw dropping performances and will put on a legendary performance at my party. They will sing all the songs they have but they will not perform in order as in Bruno first and then Britney, no, they will perform mixed up where they will have breaks to relax. As people enter through the door they will be greeted with a glass of champagne. My party is a public party but I have invited certain people. I have invited Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, and Miley Cyrus. They are on the super special guest list. As people leave they will receive $500 as a "goodie" and if they do not leave and wish to stay the night I have plenty of guest rooms and will receive their $500 the next day with hot breakfast.

Japanese Murderers

"Group: 250 dolphins await slaughter, lifetime of captivity at Japan's Taiji Cove"

 By: Laura Smith-Spark

 Source: CNN

 http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/18/world/asia/japan-dolphin-hunt/index.html?hpt=hp_inthenews The

Japanese have rounded up more than 250 bottlenose dolphins. They are wrapping them in nets and dragging them to Taiji Cove (area known for killing dolphins). The dolphins will be killed and butchered either for meat or to be sold. This happens year round at Taiji Cove and people see it as a bloody slaughter but the Japanese defend themselves. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society were first to address this issue and talked about how five separate pods of bottlenose dolphins have been rounded up into the Taiji Cove and warned people that the dolphins will "face a violent and stressful captive selection process." The babies will be taken away from their mothers and many would be killed, taken for captivity, or enter back into sea and would have to live on their own without a mother. By the end of Saturday, already twenty-five dolphins were taken and put into the Taiji Cove. They stay there for the rest of their lives. One of the dolphins died in the process but it will still be butchered. They left the dolphins overnight and are currently repeating this process as of now. They will finish at the end of Sunday. There has been a Oscar-nominated documentary film about this issue and it is called "The Cove" and it came out in 2009. This film portrays the dolphin hunting process and the bloody scenes of dolphin killing. There have also been celebrities who try to stop this. Former drum mate of Guns N' Roses, Matt Sorum, works with the dolphin project. "You could be a world hero if you can put pressure to stop the cruel slaughter in Taiji," said Sorum. There needs to be a stop to this. The Japanese do not only kill dolphins, they also kill whales. Those creatures have not been threat to anyone and are innocent and are being killed and butchered in violent ways. Dolphins and whales are smart and do not need to be killed.

Jazz

Jazz music formed during the 1920's around the end of Word War I. Although African American are credited to creating jazz music, jazz music became huge with the white middle class. Thereby, jazz music has African American traditions but is in white middle class society. New York and Chicago are known for playing  jazz music and it was played numerous of times on the radio. Jazz music influenced people to start a rebellion against the previous generation such as fashion statements and new radio concerts. As jazz began to blossom, those who preferred classical music hoped that jazz would not become too popular and mainstream. A dance called the Charleston, developed by African Americans, became huge instantly. Since radios were playing jazz music people experienced all the styles of jazz music without actually being at a jazz club. Artists like Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Joe "King" Oliver were a huge hit during the Jazz age. Flapper women became popular also. Opportunities for women were higher and available in the entertainment business while being a flapper. Even females became musicians. Bessie Smith had a phenomenal voice and received much attention simply because she was a black woman. It was difficult for female musicians to get recognition during the 1920's but it was not until the 1930-40's that female musicians like Smith and Billie Holiday received the respect and attention they deserved as successful musicians.  

https://www.boundless.com/u-s-history/from-the-new-era-to-the-great-depression-1920-1933/the-culture-of-change/the-jazz-age/

Driverless Car

Driverless car tech gets serious at CES

By: Heather Kelly

Source: CNN

http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/09/tech/innovation/self-driving-cars-ces/index.html

In Las Vegas, there is this technology show held every year called CES (Consumer Electronics Show). They introduce new technology to the audience and let them try it out also. One of the new technology that is out is the BMW and Audi driverless car. It turns out it is illegal to test drive driverless cars but Nevada is one of the few states where it is legal. Although it is driverless, it is required for a person to be sitting in the drivers seat at all times.The BMW can drift by itself and that shows that is has precise control systems and that it can handle itself in dangerous situations. The car can steer, break, speed up, and slow down. There are also many sensors on the car. BMW is currently working on strategy technology. The only problems these car makers have are laws. These cars are seven to ten years away to actually come out and make commercials. It may be developing fast but the companies still need some time to make soft ware and non-hardware problems to be fixed and to be the best it could be. This car is much safer than people driving because apparently the cars know when an accident will happen but that does not make it accident proof. Dr. Werner Huber says "The car is becoming a driving robot, a moving robot."