blog 11 december 16th

On startribune.com their was an article called Man charged in shooting at Minikahda Club. So I read it because I actually know where that is so it made me interested. It explained how Joseph Conrad Rice, drove by the club and fired a total of 6 times at the big glass doors. He is being charged with drive-by shooting and reckless discharge of a felony. Joseph, 63, has been arrested three times in the last week. Once for not paying his cab fare for a bail of $60. Another for making terroristic attacks with a bail for $3000. The last arrest was when he shot the door which he is being housed in jail for and he will have to pay a $100,000 bail. He has been said to have a drinking problem. I think this is sad but somewhat funny. Especially since he shot at Minikahda in a red farrari. Who would risk their life if they could afford a farrari?

Blog 10 December 14th

  I read an article on cnn.com called McCain: I can't promise to support Palin for president. When asked at a press conference after his lose at presidency he responded, "Have no doubt of my admiration and respect for her and my view of her viability, but at this stage, again ... my corpse is still warm, you know?" Meaning he has alot of respect for her but he is very upset about the campaign and can't admit to her winning it because of the pain he feels. Throughout the rest of the interview he never let go of the respect he had for her and her family and how she really helped him in the campaign all the way to the end. He also bashed critics of Obama saying that he was a wonderful man and was a good choice for president even though he didn't win. I didn't really care who won i just hope that they change the bad economy and help out americans.

Blog 9 December 9th

I read an article on cnn.com called Pennsylvania teen charged with plotting to kill school enemies. Richard Yanis, a 15 year old at Pottsworth High School devised a plan where he was going to take his dad's three handguns loaded with extra amunition in his pocket. He would alert the few friends he had to go home and then he was going to enter the school and kill every last person who was in the school. A friend reported this almost attack and stopped it before anything could result of it. Yanis didn't have a record of doing anything bad and seemed to be a somewhat normal kid. I find it scary that a normal kid could do something like this. 

Blog 8 December 7th

I read an article in the People magazine called a Cyberbully Convicted. Its all about the case of Lori Drew who was seen to have led to a teen's suicide by cyberbullying on the site myspace.com. Myspace is a place where anyone can go, make a profile and upload things about themselves, and communicate with they're friends. Lori Drew is the mother of Megans best friend Sarah, created a profile and called herself Josh, pretending to be a boy. Lori could be charged with three Internet related misdemeanors which could lead her to a 3-year sentence and a $300,000 fine. The end result is not yet final. Lori has testified by saying that since Megan suffered with depression she was probably already suicidal which means that she thinks she had nothing to do with Megan's suicide. I believe Lori had a significant part in her suicide and I can't believe that a mother of a friend would go this far with her daughters issue.

Blog 7 December 2nd

I read an article on cnn.com called Guns N' Roses lashes out at Dr Pepper. Now with a title like that wouldn't any one be interested in this article? It was all about how Dr. Pepper promised a "free can of Dr. Pepper" for every single american once Guns N' Roses released their album called Chinese Democracy. The one problem? So many people visited the website that it ended up crashing enabling people to be able to receive this coupon. Guns N' Roses has threatened to sue Dr. Pepper for not keeping their promise. In return Dr. Pepper shot back that they are accepting calls of people who tried to get on the website but couldn't they're also thinking about extending the deadline to 42 hours and also create a hot line in which you can call in to receive your free drink. People who don't receive free things when they are promised often turn bitter as shown in this situation.

Blog 6 November 30th

I read an article on cnn.com called Arms ships owners strike deal with pirates. It's about how Ukraine struck a deal with pirates to get their ships back in the hands of their own country. These ships were headed towards Kenya who paid for artillery shells and grenade launchers. The pirates originally asked for $35 million but compromised for $20 million. Africa has paid a total of $150 million for pirate related crimes off the coast of the Gulf of Aden. I think it is incredible weird that even now in the 21st century we are dealing with pirates. I thought that they were extinct and that they were no longer around in this day in age. Multiple U.S. ships were sent there so that the weapons didn't end up in the hands of terrorists. Other countries other than the U.S. have also helped to provide protection for Africa and it's residents.

Blog 5 November 23rd

I read an article in the People magazine called Maureen McCormick MY LIFE STORY. This article was about Maureen McCormick more widely recognized as Marcia Brady. It shared the struggles that she's had growing up and even in her life presently. Being a childhood star is one of the most difficult jobs in the world. It forces you to grow up faster than you're ready for and it is a very scary experience. While Maureen was on the Brady Bunch her parents left her because they became mentally insane. After returning to high school for her senior year nothing in her life would ever be the same. She started abusing prescription drugs and it eventually led her to Cocaine. This was one of her hardest addictions to break but she eventually did with the introduction of religion into her life. She now has trouble staying in shape but her 19 year old daughter and husband are there for her to guide her and provide the love and support she neds to get better. 

Weekly Reading, November 18th, 2008

This week I read an article on CNN.com called Boy, 8, charged with murder says he came home, found men dead. Its all about an 8 year old boy, whose name is not specified, who is found guilty to killing his father and a man who rented their apartment. In a recorded questioning session the boy admits to killing his father, "After I shot him once he was still moving, I think I shot him again." He says that he shot his father Vincent Romero and the renter Tim Romans with a .22-caliber handgun. After his confession he started bawling and couldn't continue for further questioning. In the first 12 minutes of the interview, the boy exclaims that when he returned home from school after going for a walk he got there and both of the men were dead. He then ran to a neighbors house where they called 911. Although he later admits that he murdered them although police don't know the cause of this. Charges have not yet been pressed especially since defense attorneys bash the police for not giving the boy a lawyer for his questioning session. 

Weekly Reading, November 16th, 2008

I read an article on Startribune.com called Mr Prisident! You must get off the Blackberry! It's all about how Obama is attached to his Blackberry and when he enters the White House this may not be possible. There is a law called the Presidential Records Act that makes it legal for anyone in public to be able to view the presidents emails. With it being the 21st century, it is only going to be harder and harder for presidents because of all the technology they've grown accustomed to. Although Obama wants to keep his blackberry and have a laptop, computer professionals said that it will be hacked into no matter how much they try to prevent that from happening. Many people are upset with the fact that he is trying to impose this and they've stated that they would rather have McCain because if he was the new president there would be no issue of technology.

Weekly Reading, November 11th, 2008

Today I read an article on Startribune.com titled Woodbury woman winning the war at her life. It was all about a woman named Kathy Miller who at the young age of 34 was diagnosed with breast cancer causing her to undergo a double mastectomy and lymph node removal. Kathy has three kids aged 8-months, 2 years old and 4 years old who is also autistic. Kathy was determined through all her surgeries and treatments to stay alive so her children wouldn't have to lose a mother. With her having cancer, her children also have health problem's of their own making their household a busy and hectic place to be. She has been named the "Beautiful Warrior" award from Ford Motor Co. and Reader's Digest, which is an award given to 3 cancer survivors and she will get her picture posted in the newspaper. I think that with everything she's had to overcome she greatly deserves this award.

Weekly Reading, November 9th, 2008

This weekend I read an article in the people magazine called Thirteen is Enough. Its about a family who had five children of their own and decided to add eight brothers and sisters to their already big family. Kathy and Dave Bain heard about this them and decided instead of adopting one to keep them together and adopt them all. These kids were severally abused, both sexually and verbally. With 15 people in one house, things needed for everyday become extremely costly. For example, in one week the Bain's go through 8 boxes of cinnamon toast crunch cereal, 10 gallons of milk, and 42 loads of laundry. Even when they go to McDonalds and order off the dollar menu they end up spending $40. I think the Bain's did an extremely good deed by letting these children into their house and they ended up saving their lives. 

Weekly Reading, November 4nd, 2008

This week I picked up a People magazine and opened to a random article. The article I opened to is titled "Fattened Up For Football." This article is all about how high school students eat enormous amounts of food to become big and be chosen for the football team. The suddenly popular "trend to be big" is taking over the minds of football players around the nation. Last year a survey was conducted with 3600 high school linemen and 45% were found to be overweight for their age group. Even though being big may be an advantage while these players actually play football, when they stop it becomes even more of a health risk. They no longer are motivated to workout and they continue eating food in massive quantities that make them even larger than before. This is what I learned from this article. 

Weekly Reading, November 2nd, 2008

I read an article on cnn.com called Even early risers see long lines for weekend voting. Throughout the US, some states had polling places open early so that people could vote early to make the lines less crowded on election day. In Plantation, Florida, hundreds stood in line waiting to place their vote. Voters came as early as 45 minutes early just to stand in line to vote for presidential candidates. 31 out of the 50 states allowed early voting and by friday almost 23 million people had voted early. The early voting is especially helpful for people who can't afford to miss a half days work on tuesday to vote. The early voting will allow for more people to be able to vote and for more people to voice their choice of a candidate for office. I think that its a good idea to do this because it allows for more people to vote and it makes it more fair for everyone in the country.

Weekly Reading, October 29th, 2008

I read an article on startribune.com called Matthews sentenced to life for former girlfriend's murder. It explained how in December of 2007, Zachery Matthews brutally killed his girlfriend Kristine Larson. Matthews killed her in their apartment right in front of their two year old son. He then shoved her in the trunk of his car and attempted to burn the car and the body. He was convicted of first degree murder, plus two murder accounts and interference with a body. While Kristine's family and friends went up to testify Matthews couldn't look up and even started to plug his ears. Their relationship was abusive right from the start but Larson wanted to try to lure Matthews away from his gang and make him a better person. In the end he received a life sentence and their child was put in the care of family. This is an extremely sad story and i feel badly for their child who will never know who his real parents were.

Weekly Reading, October 26th, 2008

I read another article in the People magazine called "I'm Thankful I'm Still Here." It was all about DJ AM, a deejay and Travis Barkers best friend, who was in a plane crash with Barker, Lil' Chris, and Charles Still. DJ AM, aka Adam Goldstein, and Travis Barker were the only survivors of this deadly crash. Charles Still, Lil' Chris, the pilot and the copilot tragically died as a result of this. Upon exiting the plane, DJ AM and Travis caught on fire and had to stop,drop and roll to stop the flames. Adam had to help Travis which caused him even more burns as a result of taking off a sock that was engulfed with flames on Travis's foot. It was a very slow healing process because he had burns all over his body and he drifted in and out of consciousness daily. He is finally on the track to recover and through this traumatic has realized the thousands of friends he has that care for and love him.

Weekly Reading, October 21th, 2008

This week I read an article called Dealers, Beware in the People's Heroes among us section. This article explained about a man named Lance Merrill who founded an organization called Dads Against Drug Dealers to catch drug dealers and get them off the streets. His purpose of doing this was the death of his 19 year old daughter Jani who died October 1st, 2006. Starting at age 17 she became addicted to painkillers and heroin and it eventually lead to an overdose when she checked out of her third time at a rehabilitation center. This organization has a website where Lance posts addresses, names and other useful information to inform people of these dangerous drug people and a reward of 500 dollars on information about them. Since 2000, the number of people entering rehab centers for drug use has increased greatly. With the help of Lance Merrill, drug dealers are being found and fined and he is helping the community become a better and safer place.

HEROS Assignment: Celebrity Heroes

Celebrity Heroes

In life, my definition of a hero is one that helps the needy in a way that makes the community and globe a better place. It is doing the small things in life that could end up saving someone's life. While the average joe can donate to charity and help make the world a better place, it's the celebrities wealth that can accomplish big scale projects and greatly impact multiple people. It's their millions of dollars that create foundations to serve the people, cure diseases and get rid of poverty to make the world a more equal and peaceful place to life in. Here are just a handful of celebrities who greatly impact the world and are heroes to a large number of people.






Bono and Oprah give to charity by helping stop AIDS in Africa. Here they are working with the foundation RED organized by the store GAP. Since the charity originated just two years ago over 2.5 million people have been impacted by the success of this.

Heroes By: David Bowie

I

I wish you could swim

Like the dolphins

Like dolphins can swim

Though nothing

Will keep us together

We can beat them

For ever and ever

Oh we can be heroes

Just for one day

I

I will be king

And you

You will be queen

Though nothing

Will drive them away

We can be heroes

Just for one day

We can be us

Just for one day

I

I can remember

(I remember)

Standing

By the wall

(By the wall)

And the guards

Shout above our heads

(Over our heads)

And we kissed

As though nothing could fall

(Nothing could fall)

And the shame

Was on the other side

Oh we can beat them

For ever and ever

Then we can be heroes

Just for one day

We can be heroes

We can be heroes

We can be heroes

Just for one day

We can be heroes

We're nothing

And nothing will help us

Maybe we're lying

Then you better not stay

But we could be safer

Just for one day

These lyrics explain how anyone can be a hero. Though the main idea of this research is celebrities this shows that you don't have to be made of millions to be a hero and help someone out.

I'm Like A Lawyer With The Way I'm Always Trying To Get To You By: Fall Out Boy

This music video depicts the war in Africa and the struggles they have to go through every day just to make it. It shows the story of a mother having to give up her son for the war and it shows the relationship of a girl and a boy and how they are reunited when his term to fight is up. This shows how Fall Out Boy contributes to society and is a hero to the people of Africa.

Angelina Jolie is one of the main Celebrity Heroes when it comes to helping people in need. She has adopted two orphaned children from foreign places to help them live a better life. Angelina is extremely involved in the United Nations High Commission for Refugees where she has visited many camps to help out Refugees of other countries. She is a worldwide success and is credited with helping the lives of millions.





Another star greatly involved with charitable things is George Clooney. Along with donating millions of dollars to different charities, he is very involved with helping out victims of the genocide in the Darfur region.


CATEGORIES
Celebrities who help with foreign military crisis's
George Clooney: Darfur
Angelina Jolie: United Nations High Commission for Refugees
Fall Out Boy: www.invisiblechildren.com -helps bring back children lost at war in Uganda


Celebrities who help with foreign sickness/poverty
Jay-Z: UN's water for life, which provides water to poverty strucken people
Bono: Working with GAP for the charity program RED to get rid of Aids in Africa
Madonna: Work with AIDS

Celebrities who help out with World Events
Jamie-Lynn Sigler: National Eating Disorders Association
Huge Jackman: Global Poverty
http://www.looktothestars.org/video/84-global-poverty-project-narrated-by-hugh-jackman



All in all, celebrities are real life heroes that help out the poor and unfortunate people to shape their life for the better. They use their highpower which influences others to do the same which gives people in need even more help. From doing small things such as donating a dollar to charity to big things such as donating 150 million, every penny makes a difference in helping another person's life. Whether you are Fall Out Boy working on a specific project such as helping people return from the war in Uganda to worldwide issues such as Jamie-Lynn Sigler's National Eating Disorders Association project everything makes a difference in one way or another. Thanks to the help of celebrities lives have been changed and safed to make the world a better place. Celebrities are truely one of a kind people who are heroes and influences for the world and its inhabitants.

Weekly Reading, October 19th, 2008

This weekend I read another section in the book The Perks of Being A Wallflower by: Stephen Chbosky. From section 2-half way through section 3 there are many different significant events that occur. To begin the chapter it explains Patrick and Brad's confusing and secretive relationship as well as, how Charlie attends his first showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show which he ends up really liking. During this section, it is around the time of his birthday and Christmas. He has to spend it with extended family whom he does not particularly like and this time is around the time his aunt Helen died which causes him to have a panic attack and be rushed to the hospital. Other important events that occur in section 2 are Charlie gets to drive to his cousin's house, he has a blast at his friends Christmas party and he gets his license. In the first part of section 3: Charlie tries LSD and becomes addicted to cigarettes,  Mary Elizabeth asks him to Sadie's and they begin to like each other and date and his sister becomes pregnant and get's an abortion. This is a very random book and it is one of my all time favorites.

Weekly Reading, October 14th, 2008

For this weeks reading I went to startribune.com and read an article about a shooting settlement about a shooting that occurred in 2005. 3 years ago a 16 year old named Jeff Weise killed his grandfather and his girlfriend, then went to school and killed 7 people and injured many more. The families who lost loved ones received a one million dollar grant back in July 2006 to be split among the families who lost a family member. Recently, they were granted another 1.5 million dollars, which is seen as some as a historic grant from a historic event in history. With this new amount of money, they are questioning how it should be split between families who were injured vs families that had to burry someone. Guidelines on how to split it up evenly according to what they deserve are still in the making. 

Weekly Reading: Sunday, October 12th, 2008

Recently I read an article in the People magazine devoted to explaining the life of Paul Newman who passed away September 26th. Paul was an actor who appeared in many films throughout his life of 83 years. Some include Hud, Cool Hand Luke, Exodus, and the latest film Road To Perdition. Paul Newman who was married to his wife for 50 years had 5 children all of whom range in age from 43-55, which he dearly loved. Throughout his years of being alive, Paul slowly grew into a big wig actor and began creating an estate of millions of dollars. He became the role model of millions of people and many decided to follow in his footsteps. Over the course of his life Paul has done many things to help charity. He created an organization called Newman's One, which has a line of products that's profits go to handpicked charities supported by him. Paul helped raise over 250 million dollars for these charities, 120 million came from 2007 alone. He also created a camp called Hole in the Wall that was created for poor kids who can attend camp free of charge. These camps have been attended by over 135,000 children, who all got to attend free of charge. Paul Newman has done many great deads in his lifetime and he will be greatly missed by family, friends and people who looked up to him as a role model. Paul Newman will always be remembered and he will never be forgotten. 

Weekly Reading: Tuesday October 7th, 2008

Currently, I'm reading a book called The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by: Stephen Chbosky. It's about a guy named Charlie who lives at home with his sister, mom and dad while his brother is playing professional football at college. This novel is written in the form of diary entry's that Charlie writes to a nameless friend. It starts off with him describing the death of his only and closest friend Michael. This makes him extremely sad and he no longer has anyone to hang out with or care for him. Charlie is a very antisocial person who does very well in school because all he does is study's and reads. His english teacher becomes concerned and tells him to start attending social events. One day in his work shop class he is entertained by a guy of the real name of Patrick but everyone calls nobody. While attending a football game, Charlie sees nobody and ends up becoming friends with him and his stepsister. Charlie developes a crush on her and tells her about it while crying because he is very emotionally unstable. I've only completed the first of four sections in the book and I really like it and it should be a very good book.

Weekly Reading: Sunday, October 5th, 2008

Recently I read an article on nytimes.com that explained a new way of measuring how well a teacher teaches. In New York, teachers will be evaluated on the letter grade scale by how much they improve in a certain time period on their standardized test scores. To avoid controversy the City Department of Education has decided to make these private and not available to the public hand. To initiate it they've devised a pilot program of 2500 teachers just to test it out and see what works, what doesn't work, and what needs to be fixed. This new study will provide valuable information for the progression of more intelligent teachers to produce smarter students to populate and maintain the world. One of the things wished to be accomplished by this plan is to close the intellectual gap between minority groups and white students so that everyone will be educated with the same knowledge making it easier for teachers to teach. This is what i've learned in this weeks weekly reading. 

Weekly Reading-People Magazine

I recently read an article in the People Magazine with the title: A Second Chance At Love. This article tells the tale of a woman named Eileen Campbell who got pregnant from a man named Jack Crowley at age 17. After telling the news to her mother she was forced to move to Ireland and gave up her child for adoption. This forced the relationship of Eileen and Jack to crumble. Ever since returning to the USA Eileen put her name on the Massachusetts Adoption & Reunion Registry with hope that her daughter would find her. In 2003, Ann found her mother and they set up a time to meet. Since Eileen knew it was her daughter's birthday soon she decided to find her father, Jack, and reunite all three of them. By being reunited they figured out they still had sparks and ended up getting married with the help of family and friends. They are now happily married and they continue to keep in contact with their daughter and their grandchildren.

Character Comparison

In this novel the two main characters Codi and Hallie have many similarities and differences that help shape the novel and make it interesting to the reader. Codi being the main character shapes the story by following her through the different places she lives while trying to find herself. On the other hand Hallie can feel like she belongs in whatever setting or place she gets herself into. Carrying on a conversation is extremely easy for Hallie who could go up to someone and carry on a conversation like she knew you since birth. Her sister Codi is very shy and has trouble when meeting new people. Commitment is another trait that varies between the two characters. Hallie is very committed and sticks with her goals that she sets for herself where as Codi never seems to have many plans and can't seem to find true identity. Through all the differences comes many similarities. Both of them are very intelligent. Codi almost finished school to become a doctor and currently teaches biology at Grace High School. Hallie used to answer the phone for a hotline and is helping Nicaraguan people with their farmland while being under attack by American troops. Another trait they share is bravery. Hallie is extremely brave by going to Nicaragua while they are in a state of war and she could be killed at any moment of any day. Codi is brave by moving back to grace to help her ailing father and teaching a class in a high school. Between all their differences come many similarities which connect them to a strong sisterly bond.

Million little pieces

One book that I’ve recently read was Million little pieces by James Frey. This novel describes the struggles of a man who suffers through rehab for a severe drug addiction. It shows the deep dark thoughts of what he felt while going through this process and just how hard it was to give it all up to live a sober life. The main theme in this book was overcoming an addiction. The author uses stories of his past and present to present the reader with tons of information about what made him who he was and what caused him to become what he is. Not only does this book focus on the author’s life but it also tells the tale of other people who were in the rehab center for similar and different reasons. I really liked this book and I would definitely recommend this book to a friend or family member.

Outgoing

If there was one word to describe me, I would definitely choose the world outgoing. There are many reasons why I and other people would find this a suitable word choice. One example is the fact that I can meet new people very easily and carry on a conversation with them as if they'd been my friend since I was born. Another reason is I love traveling and learning about the different cultural aspects of this diverse world. Lastly, I enjoy entertaining people such as playing the piano by playing songs by ear or by cracking jokes to make others laugh. These are just a few of the reasons why if I could describe myself in one word it would be outgoing.