A sticky situation
BP needs help, major help. This oil spill is a complete disaster not only for the environment, but how BP is handling the situation. All of these researchers and engineers are trying to figure out the best possible equation to match the best possible equipment to have the best possible plan to stop this mess. Honestly BP there is one solution that fixes every problem: duct tape. If a car door mirror breaks off what do you use to fix it? duct tape. If you lost your old wallet and need to replace what do you make it out of? duck tape. If there is a sudden mysterious gap in your wall and it is leaking out water what do you fix it with? duct tape. Duct tape seems to fix every problem in life and who says it can’t solve the oil spill problem? It’s simple, a team of divers swims down to the bottom of the ocean and uses the best roll of water proof duct tape out there to fix this catastrophe. Obviously I am kidding about this, but my point is BP has used every tacit possible to fix this problem I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t their next one.
Top Ten Most Fascinating People of 2009
After reviewing many news articles, thinking of popular events, and watching Barbara Walter’s top ten show on ABC last week, I have come up with my own top ten of the most fascinating people of 2009. This list, in my mind, was based on people who made an impact on others lives and who made people think, what is that person really like under the surface?
10. Lady Gaga
I agreed with Barabra Walters and I think that this women needs to start off my top ten list as well. I believe that she made a huge impact on the pop music scene in 2009. Her pop single “Poker Face” made huge waves on the radio and she is the first artist to have four number ones on one album, “Fame”. What I like about Lady Gaga as well is she is not afraid to take risks, with her out there outfits, performances, and her music. She likes to over look boundaries and when people see Lady Gaga they want to learn more about the women because of how she presents herself. She still has a huge future ahead of her and I strongly believe that her new album, “The Fame Monster” is even better than “Fame” and she has a great lead into being a pop culture icon.
9. Stephanie Meyer
This women deserves my number nine spot for her writing in the popular book series, Twilight. Twilight is the best selling book of 2008 and sold 85 million copies worldwide of the popular vampire novel series. Meyer, who was a mormon housewife turned best selling author, was ranked in the Forbes 100 most powerful celebrities as #26 and was awarded USA Today’s Author of the Year in 2008. Her books became one of the biggest box office smashes in 2009 with Twilight and her second novel The New Moon making in about 13.9 million on the opening week. Meyer got the idea for Twilight in a dream she had about a girl falling in love with a vampire. I bet Meyer is living in a dream world right now with all the success she has had with the popular book series and the fan base she has built up.
8. Elizabeth Edwards
This woman deserves my number eight spot because of all the grievances and media backlash her family has been through. She is the wife of John Edwards, who in the earlier part of the year revieled that he cheated on his wife with a woman named Rielle Hunter. Recently the media has reported that John Edwards is the father of one of Rielle Hunter’s children. Not only on top of the cheating accusations and confessions, Elizabeth is battling with breast cancer. In the spring she announced her breast cancer is back and in an incurable form. Elizabeth stuck with her husband and they currently are trying to figure out their problems in their home in North Carolina. I respect Elizabeth’s decisions to try to work out problems with her husband and to stick by his side. I believe she is a strong women for battling with breast cancer and then having to deal with the media and a broken heart. Elizabeth Edwards is a smart, strong women and many people should look up to her for her courage and strength.
7. Nadya Suleman
Nadya Suleman goes by many names: crazy, fame seeker, insane, but her most common one is “octomom”. In March 2009, Suleman gave birth to not one, not two, not even three, but EIGHT children. This caused a media stir and many people protested one women have so many children to feed and raise. On top of these eight children, Suleman also has six older children residing with her mom. Many people criticize Suleman for her homemaking ways and question if this woman has enough money and resources to take care of these 14 children. Suleman reportedly signed a contract with a reality television show that will start to air in the fall based off her hectic lifestyle. I picked Suleman as my number seven because of the public’s growing fascination with this women.
6. Taylor Swift
If you havent heard of this girl, I will guarantee you have heard of her number one song “Love Story”. God it’s played on the top 40 radio every other minute. Lets be real, Taylor Swift has it going on. She has a number one hit album Fearless, which has stayed on the billboard top 100 list for 11 consecutive weeks in a row. Love Story and You Belong With Me has blown up on the radio scene and not to mention she is dating hottie Taylor Lauder from Twilight. I picked Swift for number six because of her success on and off the stage. I believe how Swift handled the Kanye West explosion at the VMA’s was pure class and that she did not deserve that. I agree with Kanye a bit, Beyonce’s video was bomb, but Taylor deserved that award as much as Beyonce did. Another aspect that I like about Taylor Swift is that she writes her OWN songs. She can sing too, which is a huge perk in the music business these days(Miley take a hint from Swift). She has had so much success and she is not even 21 yet. Go Taylor and keep up the good work.
5. Ted Kennedy
I will never forget the quote one of my good friends said to me on the day of Ted Kennedy’s death, “Finally, three irish brothers in heaven together, knowing they did good things for their country.” Kennedy was an accomplished Senator from Massachuset. Kennedy is the fourth longest seat holder in Senate history serving 46 years in the democratic party. Known as the “Lion of the Senate” he has passed 300 bills and has fought on many issues including immigration, AIDS, civil rights, and education. His everlasting battle with cancer has brought the aspect of universal health care into the limelight and he fought for every single step of the way. I picked Senator Kennedy as my fifth choice because he shows to the American people that if you want it you fight for it. That’s exactly what Senator Kennedy did.
4. Susan Boyle
I remember the first time I was watching “Britain’s Got Talent” and Susan Boyle walked on the stage, I thought exactly what was going through Simon Cowell’s mind, “oh give me a break.” Than she opened her mouth. She now has a hit album out I Dreamed a Dream, which was the best-selling album of the decade with 701,000 copies sold in its first week. I picked Susan Boyle because I believe she proves a point to the world by not to judge a book by its cover. That is exactly what she did and she proved everybody wrong with her voice and her success. Congrats Susan you deserve this fame!
3. “Balloon Boy”
I remember turning on my television set and seeing an air craft floating around Colorado with a supposedly missing boy cramed in it. A couple of hours later, I learned that this whole drama was a hoax. Falcon Heene, the missing boy who was supposedly in the floating aircraft was found in his attic after his dad, Richard, yelled at him. The family did it for a publicity stunt and a chance to get another reality television spot after their stint in Wife Swap. Now the parents of Falcon are both expecting some jail time. I picked Falcon as my number three because it just goes to show you how much one family can control the media and people’s minds.
2. Michael Jackson
Only a few words can describe Michael Jackson: a legacy during his lifetime and after. He made a scene during his early years becoming the greatest pop icon with his smash hits, Thriller and Beat It. He kept on the media scene in his later life with not so positive accusations about his involvement with teenage boys. The sudden death of Michael Jackson in the summer caused a huge stir in the world. His death became the most popular story of 2009 and the after effects were shocking. A movie, “This Is It” became a box office smash, his music was widely recognized again, and it is reported that Michael Jackson made enough money to recover from his debt for his death. I picked Michael Jackson because I believe that he is a amazement in what he did in his lifetime and the effect he had on people when he passed. People loved him and will always.
1. Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger
On January 15th, across the world nobody could stop talking about Sully and his heroic ways. Chesley Sullenberger safely landed a US Airline jet plane on the Hudson River and saved 155 people lives after striking geese and causing the engines to disable. He truly is an American hero and deserves a lot of recongintion for his quick ways and thinking. Many people’s lives could have been lost. Thankful for a smart pilot and a River, lives were saved and grievances were lost. Thanks Sully.
Change is Good
I am sorry I haven’t updated this in a while. I have decided its time to start something new and change things around. Be expecting a new site layout and new material. I am also deciding to start a new blog relating to my major. These changes are making me excited and I cant wait to share them with you.
In Shock
I dont even know what words to write on this blog post today. Michael Jackson, “the King of Pop”, passed away this afternoon from cardiac arrest. M.J. and I have had a special relationship since my friend Hannah introduced me to his album, Thriller. As I listen to his music, I think to myself he should be remembered for the man he was and the musician he used to be. His songs seriously were one of the greatest songs of all time and not only his music but his dancing. I have his DVD of his greatest music videos and I could watch him do the moonwalk over and over again. What bugs me is the people that are saying oh well he is gone, he is a music legend and he should be remembered for that not for his “affair” with children. Listen to his song Man In the Mirror and you will understand that Michael was not this monster people have pictured, he is a human being. I seriously want to thank you Michael for opening my eyes to what good music is really like and showing me that it doesn’t matter what your personal life is like, all that matters is what you have successfully accomplished that makes people still love you. He is a legend and I will always have him playing in my iPod. Thank you Michael and Rest in Peace.
In Memory
Waking up this morning I turned on my daily newscast, KWWL, and my heart sank. Ed Thomas, the Aplington- Parkersburg football coach was fatally shot this morning in the weight room. A 24 year old former football player came into the weight room, which was filled with about 50 athletes and shot Coach Thomas multiple times with a handgun. The motives of the shooting are still unknown. First of all, why would you take someone’s life for your anger and frustration? I think that is entirely wrong and this certain person belongs to be in jail for the rest of his life. Second of all, I cannot believe what is going through those athletes minds right now by seeing one of their fellow community leaders and beloved coaches get shot.
This is such a terrible tradegy to hit Parkersburg again. About a year ago they got hit by an F5 tornado that left the city in ruins. I remember coming back from my orientation and having to drive through Parkersburg because all the roads to my town were blocked off from the flood. My mom and I drove over the hill and seriously our heart stopped. All we saw were powerlines, houses, and trees toppled down. I live about thirty minutes north of Parkersburg and I know whenever a tornado warning goes off in my area and it looks like its heading south everybody prays that it doesn’t hit Parkersburg. This community will be in everybody’s hearts because of what has happened to it.
It seemed like Parkersburg was coming back on top with the help of Ed Thomas and the community, buildings were started to be built back up and life started to get to back to normal, until this tradegy. Ed Thomas sounded like a great football coach with 300 wins and four players playing in the NFL now. He not only sounded like a great coach, but also a great man. He not only taught his players how to play football, but also to be a better person. What an inspiration to all! I cannot even imagine what this town is going through and I think Parkersburg has really shown the state of Iowa that a community can come together and make something bad into something good. My heart and prayers go out to Ed Thomas’s family, A-P, and the atheltes who witnessed the murder of a great man who helped lead and bring hope back into Parkersburg.
Down With Walmart
One store that really bugs me is Walmart. Walmart is a what some people would consider a “super store”. They sell everything from clothes, pet supplies, to groceries at a low price. What I don’t understand is why do people flock to Walmart to get their everyday needs? Seriously, driving through the parking lot at walmart is in one of my common everyday fears. It’s a madhouse, with people cutting others off for that awesome parking spot or the million workers at Walmart who bring in the line of carts back into the store. Their parking lot is one of the reasons I don’t shop there because there is so many people. Now imagine what their store looks like inside; with all those fellow patrons getting out of their cars and into the store. I refuse to go to Walmart until school supply sales are over with in the fall. It’s like an adaptation of the movie “300” during this crazy time, with the mom’s clinging on to their crying loved ones as they try to get the last 99 cent crayons. Even their prices are considerably the same with other “mega stores”, I searched randomly “flip flop” on http://www.walmart.com and http://www.target.com and target was only a dollar more expensive for a basic clearance flip flop. So people why spend all your energy, patience, and time at a “mega store” that goes into small towns and takes away tons of small local jobs, when you can shop locally or somewhere else? C’mon give Kmart some love.
Coffeehouses
I must say one thing I am addicted to is coffee. To enjoy my coffee to the fullest though, I need to be in the right atmosphere. I love everything about coffeehouses, from the soft indie rock playing in the background to the coffee aroma filled in the air. I would prefer a small unknown coffee shop rather than a cooperation like Starbucks or Caribou Coffee. Unknown coffee shops bring a community together on a Monday morning. If you just walk into one of these secret treasures you can just feel the stories and gossip being told all around. You can see the smiles and laughs on old friend’s faces as they fill their friend in on what has been going on in their life and trying to catch up. You can see the astonishment on the older peoples faces as they tell everyone the latest gossip on who is dating who and who landed in jail this morning. You can see the kind eyes as one tells another about the good old days or what happened to them yesterday. You can see the college hipster bringing in his laptop and frantically trying to get his term paper done the day before it’s due. I believe you have to be in a coffee house at the right time too. In the mornings that is when the old friends get together and chat about the latest topics, while in the afternoon more of the younger crowd come in to enjoy the latest brew and listen to Coldplay in the background. Coffee houses offer everything and anything to a person, if you dont like coffee just go and enjoy the atmosphere. It is something different to experience for sure.
Staying “Hip”
Since more people are reading the news from an online source rather than the papers, I thought I better stay up with the new technology. When I was in middle school I noticed that myspace was the “big” thing, but then facebook came in the picture and myspace fell out of the scene. Now I have noticed that “twitter” is becoming the big social networking site. E! news just released that they will be having a screen on the bottom showing what people are saying on twitter during air time. I decided to get twitter considering my forty eight year old father had it before me, which is embarrassing, I know. The only problem is I don’t know exactly how to use it. I think you just write, or in the twitter world “twat” your thoughts so the whole internet world can see what you are thinking, doing, or feeling at the exact given time. One thought comes to mind as I am trying to figure out this twitter thing, I hope facebook still stays in and that I don’t have to ask my father how to use twitter.
The Online Diaster
This is a typical day for most of us. Our alarm goes off in the morning, we get online to check to see if we have gotten any latest wall posts on facebook, we check our blackberrys quick and text back our moms, and we head out the door to work or school. Society in the age of 2009 runs on technology, some people say they cannot live without their cell phones or labtops. I am not going to lie to you, one of those people is me. I mean I sleep with my cell phone in my hand.( Yes, I know that’s bad) The question is, is technology taking over our lives? Some people cannot even function a day and has cravings if they don’t check facebook or twitter at least three times a day. Social networking sites, text messaging, and Perez Hilton’s blog have consumed so much of my time that I hardly have time to get any of my schoolwork done. But why is technology so addicting when it could be simply avoided? Even meeting people has gone to technology. In the 1990’s to get to know somebody we simply would call them on the phone or meet up with them at the local coffee shop, but is that too much ask now? In the 2000’s we simply add them as a friend on facebook and stalk the crap out of them or we text them day and night. I have no problem with this, considering I do it, but is it truly what their personality is like? I mean my facebook profile is a simplified taste of my likes and dislikes, but I wouldn’t base it off my true personality. Or even texting I can’t tell somebody’s true emotions through texting. Even people’s jobs are going under because of technology. For example, many newspapers are considering or closing down their newspapers because people are getting their information from blogs and online newspapers( I feel like a hypocrite writing right now) Last Christmas season many stores felt a bigger increase in their sales online than in the actual store. Is technology going to rule us so bad that we get to the point where we don’t even leave the house or talk to anybody? We just use the medium of a computer or cell phone to communicate or get our needs done. America, I urge you to turn off your cell phones, don’t turn on your television, and TRY to not check facebook/myspace/twitter for a day. You will realize how much you depend on technology and learn to try lessen your intake on it.
Equal Rights for Everyone
I have always told my friends and family that I was born into the wrong state, that this state isn’t for me, but today I am proud to be an Iowan. On Friday, Iowa was the third state to declare that homosexuals have the right to get married. When I heard this I leaped for joy. I am not gay but I read Perez Hilton’s blog daily and I have gay friends, I couldn’t be more happy for them. This is one step closer for equal rights for all. My biggest pet peave is when people are so close minded about this issue. I got on to facebook the day this happened and I read some people’s statues. Some included Go Iowa..Not or I am proud not to be Iowan. That just makes me mad. Open your eyes, this is the same stuff that African Americans had to go through in the 1960’s. They were trying to get equal rights and to end segeration. Homosexuals are trying to get equal rights so they can get married to their loved ones. These people are in love and they cant get married? I read in the school newspaper that a local gay couple have been together for seventeen years and they are finally getting married. That is such a heartwarming tale and it proves that they are truly in love and not putting on an “act” like some people claim. I am just thinking you cant stop love, it’s ridiculous that we even have laws that forbid homosexuals from getting married. Hopefully America will open their eyes sooner or later and realize that it is time to change and have equal rights for all.
Random thoughts for Random People 