February 2008 Archives

According to an article published on cnn.com, former police officer Bobby Cutts Jr. is awaiting his sentence for the murder of Jessie Marie Davis and her unborn daughter Chloe. After a 10-day intensive search, Davis was nine months pregnant when she was found wrapped in a comforter in a northeastern Ohio park. Because Davis was pregnant at the time of the murder, execution is a punishment option.
Friends and family of Cutts testified in front of a 12-man jury made up of six males and six females, all white. Cutts also sat at the stand, claiming that the murder of his girlfriend was a complete accident. Apparently, Davis came at Cutts and he accidentally elbowed her in the throat. He proceeded to perform CPR and failed.
This story is definitely controversial due to the race of the convicted. Many people believe that Cutts will recieve an unfair punishment because he is black, and all of the jury members are white. Finding a group of 12 completely unbiased, non-racist people is quite a task...and I feel that the judge should call for a new more diverse jury.
In all of the testimonies, Cutts was complimented for how outgoing, friendly, and involved with the community he was. So far, his story has been discredited by the prosecuters who say that his true intentions were to quit paying child support. His mother also begged the jury to spare his life, saying that "she could not go on without him."

(Photo taken via Google Images)

Gas prices are higher than ever these days. A recent article on CNN reported the new national is $3.10. A 16 cent increase from two weeks ago and a whopping 75 cents from this same time last year. Us students are getting it the worst of this. When I got my car on September 16th, 2004, my 16th birthday, my first tank of gas cost 24 dollars. Last week I filled up for 48 dollars. Unfortunately, my car requires premium fuel, so my gas totals are a little more inflated than the average person filling up on regular. Regardless, these days there is not much of a difference. This is becoming increasingly unbearable. For many students with average "college funds", this is an expensive investment. Figure you fill up your tank, from empty to full, every week (obviously this varies depending on your driving, I'm using this figure as an example). Thats 40 dollars a week, thats 160 a month, thats $2080 a year. It is amazing to think about, but that is how much the average persons gas expense is a year, and there are no signs of gas getting any cheaper. The national average has risen an average of 72 cents a year for the past 4 years. By the end of my 4 years of college, I could be filling up my tank at $4.00 a gallon. Hard to believe, but its true. As car companies look for new types of fuel, we can only hope they find a new cache of oil while their at it.

I have spent a majority of my time in a greek organization trying to break down the stereotype that all we do is drink beer, fight and break shit. While there are several people I know that are the poster children for this assumption.
Then when nine members of MY greek organization decide to make national news to further expand on this negative attention.
Nine pledges of The Delta Chi Fraternity at the University of Colorado caused $10,000 worth of damage to one hotel room in Estes Park, CO. The nine pledges had their own keg and several bottles of alcohol were found in the room. HOLY CRAP.
I spent this previous weekend at a greek leadership conference in Chicago and this subject was brought up. We were encouraged to try and distance ourselves and not put ourselves in these types of situations. Easier said than done.
What sucks is that this is what most often gets published about greek organizations. There are very few instances where you see an article talking about a positive impact made by a greek organization, because that is not interesting and won't keep people reading. No one wants to read that the KU greek organizations have had a higher GPA average than non greek students for the past 25 years. Or the over 100 charity events that KU greek organizations put on each year.
As a member of The Delta Chi Fraternity at KU we have received several emails from our national chapter on the situation. They have also expressed their frustration and said that former members were questioning if fraternities were even still relevant on a college campus. It is frustrating to realize that a couple of bad apples do spoil the whole bunch and coming to the realization that no matter how hard we try the stereotype for us "frat guys" will most likely always stay the same. Thanks brothers.

I'm sure by now that everyone has heard about the beef recall. If not the USDA recalled 143 million pounds of beef from a southern California slaughterhouse. This beef was sent to fast food restaurants and schools mostly. The other issue is that most of this beef has been consumed already. This slaughterhouse was using cows that were sick and no longer able to walk. There were many people outraged by this which is understandable but that probably did not stop them from buying beef at the grocery store. The reason behind this is that people have a disconnect when it comes to food. Most people don't know where their food comes from and they don't care. When you eat a Burger King do you know where that beef comes from? How about restaurants like Chili's or Applebee's? Food is no longer a focus. We eat it because we have to but we do not really think about it. This is not good because we have no idea what we are eating, where it came from or if it is going to make us sick. Luckily the U.S. has standards that seem to work pretty well because we do not have lots of people getting sick from food. The problem is when people break the rules and we do not know if our food came from there because we do not know where any of our food comes from. This problem speaks to the fact that our culture is so busy and worried about other things that we have forgotten a basic thing we all need which is food.

I have been waiting quite a while to watch the movie "Rendition" with Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gylenhaal and Tuesday it finally came out. The movie is based on the realism of the term Rendition that is used by the US. According to David Ignatius from the Washingtonpost.com, rendition is the CIA's antiseptic term for its practice of sending captured terrorists suspects to other countries for interrogation.
This is exactly what the movie is about. A terrorist attack (caused by Egyptian terrorists) ocurred in a different country and an American man was killed along with 19 other people. A random egyptian man (Reese's husband) was just entering the US and was taken and flown to another country and tortured for information about something that he had nothing to do with.

This issue is pretty difficult for me. I am probably about 60/40 when it comes to torture. 60 percent against it and 40 percent for it. The thing is that when a person is suspected of terrorism there is generally a good reason why. Part of me feels like it is our countries responsibility to protect it's citizens and if torturing one person to get information that could possibly save thousands is what it takes then what is the problem? But the problem is that according the Washingtonpost, it is obvious that when under that much intense pain, a person is going to admit to actions or give information even if they have nothing to do with any of it, just so the torture will end. That is exactly what happened in the movie, the man made up some information when in reality he had nothing to do with it. But the biggest problem is the fact that innocent people are being tortured, and we have no idea how many because it's such a big secret.
I feel like torture should only be allowed if there is real proof that the person had something to do with terrorist attacks or is involved in something to do with terrorism. I feel like our country has been through a lot because of 9/11 and since then we have taken more measures for our citizens protection. I believe that there should be a limit to the torture and if it doesn't work then it needs to be discontinued. Like I said i go back and forth on this issue because I know for a fact that I coul never torture a person, or even witness it. But personally, if it's going to save my life, my family's life and everybody i know, then i'm all for it.

Apparently, I am just unlucky.

Not only did I not miss a single class on Thursday's afternoon Snow Day, but I also have never received 100% on an exam for doing no work.

On Monday, February 18, 923 students in a Biology 100 class all received 100% on their exams because the clicker system used to take their exam crashed, erasing all student answers.

Clickers
Photo from Google Images

This is the second time in less than two weeks there has been an article in the University Daily Kansan about clicker systems backfiring on their users.

On Wednesday, February 13, the clickers purchased by Student Senate for almost $5000 didn't work because of technical difficulties. However, the technical difficulties weren't because of problems with the clickers, but with the University-borrowed receiver which required an administrator password.

Clickers, resembling small remote controls, allow students to submit answers to questions via their ‘clicker' and a receiving station that registers student responses.

Each clicker can be assigned to a different student.

According to www.educause.edu clickers have slowly become a part of the academic environment since 1998.

Clickers are intended to make measuring student's learning of concepts easier for teachers. They also gauge student opinion on issues which can enhance a debate or discussion. As intended in the Biology 100 class, they can also be used to eliminate the paper waste of regular exams.

Although I have not used clickers in college, I had some experience with them in high school classes.

Clickers are interesting because they're a completely new learning tool. I can see how clickers make it easier for teachers to determine where students are having difficulties, but like all technology there are problems.

Not just with crashes like in the Biology 100 class, but with accuracy as well. I can't remember completely how they work, but I think it could be easy to accidentally hit the wrong button if you're not paying attention properly. Also, in high school I remember my friends and I would check to see if we were hitting the same buttons as each other. Although I'm sure there's some way to regulate that when taking exams now.

I also don't think that I would like taking an exam via clicker. When I have a paper exam in front of me it seems easier to take since I'm able to write in the margins and it also makes it easier if I need to go back and check answers.
I'm supposed to be part of the technology generation, but sometimes I think the old-fashioned way is just better.

I still keep track of assignments and tests by writing them in my planner rather than putting them in a Blackberry.

But at least my information never gets deleted.

Mark Zuckenburg founder of Facebook

"Look what this bitch wrote on my friend Amy's wall!" said my very offended friend. "Her boyfriend is totally gong to flip out!" At first I was offended too, but then I thought ‘Wait, I don't even know these people, why should I even care.'
What is it about facebook that causes so much social drama? When one terminates their facebook, they must take a survey. One of the questions asks why you are terminating your facebook page. One of the options is "facebook causes me too much social drama." Even with all this social drama, over 60 million people use facebook everyday! Just judging from the drama I hear about in my sorority revolving around facebook, I'm guessing hundreds of relationships are ruined everyday through the social network. Drama on the site is not the only controversy; there is also controversy over who actually founded the web site.

Facebook was founded by a Harvard Sophomore Mark Zuckerburg in 2004. It was first opened just to Harvard Students but has since broadened to other college students and now everyone.
Two or three other Harvard students claim that Facebook was their idea first and Zuckerburg was hired by them to do the web coding. While hired to encode Zuckerburg allegedly stole the idea and has since made billions. Zuckerburg denies these allegations. Facebook has been sued by these three students and the case is currently pending in a federal district court in Boston.

Many college students believe that facebook and hit it's peak and is on the down ward slope. The new features offered, like the applications and availability to everyone has only made it less appealing to the original college users. What will the drama thriving college students do when facebook is gone???

Recently, a sex photos scandal shocked the Hong Kong entertainment industry. Actor Edison Chen had others repair his computer; however, lots of sex photos which he took with other female celebrities were spread on-line. Yesterday, Edison Chen came back to Hong Kong and held a press conference to admit his fault and apologized to the society. However, is that all his fault? And what kind of role does media play in this event?

The scandal began from Chen's sending his laptop computer to be repair. His computer contained almost 1,300 photos of he and many female Chinese celebrities, and after his repairing, those pictures were either sending by email or posting on-line. It caused many female celebrities' damage because they either have got married, engaged, or were famous for their pure image. After those sex photo were published, their family or husbands were mad at them; also, their business and public image were harmed. Also, since the scandal broke out, everybody blamed Edison Chen who went to America and Canada to dodge the media, and sympathized with those female celebrities and their family.

Edison did do something wrong which was not face to the public. However, is that right to impute all the fault to him? He did have special sex habits to take picture after or before sex; but those pictures should be private and self-using, who make them be published? Is Edison Chen? No, it was done by others.

After the incident, the police is trying to capture the origin of spreading the photos;yet, whenever they announced that they solved the criminal case, there are more pictures put on-line and spread to China and Taiwan. And at the same time, what are the media doing? Except reporting the details of the case, most of them are trying to find out "Who was the next female celebrity put on-line?"

Hong Kong's "paparazzi culture" has a long history, which focus on the sensational, sexual, picture of nude people or bodies, and the privacy of the celebrities. However, in these year, this kind of culture was wide-spread to Taiwan and China.


Edison Chen apologized for his fault and failed to be a model of youth. Retrieved from CNN website.

After the event, it is sad that there were only few media mention about the security of computer using, others put more attention on the affair. Is this kind of stories can be called news? Who care about it? If you though there are nobody care about that, you may be wrong. Take Taiwan's Apple Daily originated from Hong Kong for example. It inherited the sensation from Hong Kong's Apple Daily, and while it first come to Taiwan, many people blamed them for their sensational coverages. However, according to the survey done by AC Nelson, they has more than 16% audience rate, which is the best one in Taiwan. The result showed that people's "desire of peep" need to be satisfied, and they make their choice by choosing to see that kind of news. Also, after Apple Daily invaded into Taiwan, the "main media" are all changing their style to cater to the publics' tastes and report the same way as Apple Daily. We are sometimes taught that "media's responsibility is to satisfy the audience," but is it right anytime?

I didn't know that is there any similar situations in western media, but it is a current serious problem in Hong Kong and Taiwan.

And, is that the end of the sex photo scandal? I have no idea, and maybe one day some other media find other pictures unpublished...or others computer be hacked... Who knows?

Image from Smurfs cartoon.
Photo: I.M.P.S.

I don't want to end up being the Resident Smurf Expert, but I couldn't resist posting one more about my fantastic blue friends from long ago. It looks like the Smurfs are soon to be revived, revamped and revived.

The original series will soon be out on DVD and a 3-D movie can be expected out next year. The Smurfs' global marketer doesn't seem to think the idyllic nature of the series will detract from a new generation of kids being charmed again. The Smurfs' revivers hope that people will want to spend time in the laid back, peaceful world of blue once again.

The first reports from Germany is a mixture of sentimentality and fun from old and new viewers. Children seem to appreciate the productive nature of the Smurfs and revel in the creativity of an old cartoon.

The Smurfs did require some adjustments after it's hiatus. Smurfette, the resident female, will finally have some same sex companions. Hopefully some of the old gender roles will be updated as well. That Papa Smurf should probably take some courses in delegation and women's suffrage in order for the Smurfs to work in today's society.

Needless to say, I am definitely looking forward to the Smurfs' revival. This might be more exciting to me than when they finally released Fraggle Rock on DVD. Well, it's a toss up.

I know it seems a little premature for us to be talking about protecting our careers. Particularly since most of us haven't even gotten our first real job. But the idea caught my attention after watching an ABC news broadcast on the topic. How can we obtain our dream job and how can we insure our future with the company?

According to ABC obtaining the job of our dreams is still a situation of who you know rather than what you know. The good thing about our generation is that we have online networks that enable us to connect with people from all over the world. ABC recommends becoming a part of facebook.com or linked.com. Here, businesses all over the country actively recruit new hires. Anyone with a valid email address can make a profile, join a group and make connections.

Once you have the dream job there are a few things, according to ABC, you should do to ensure job security. First, don't be modest. They said you should voice your accomplishments and let people know the wonderful asset that you are to them. Also don't be a "paycheck player". This means you should be passionate about your job. If the only reason you show up to work is so that you can get a paycheck on Friday, maybe you should consider a career change. However, they also said you should recognize that no job is perfect. Whatever you do in life there will be aspects of the job that you don't fully enjoy. Lastly, no job is safe; so be a competitive worker and put in the extra time and care in the beginning to let your company know you're worth it.

Last November, 13 year old Megan Meier committed suicide because of cruel harassment under a fake my-space page. Her harasser was the mother of one of her former friends. After an argument between the girls the 47 year old mother took it upon herself to create a my-space profile under the name Josh Evans. She befriended Megan online in the attempt to later hurt her emotionally. The young teenager was found hung in her closet the next day and headlines of her death were everywhere.

Recently a new victim of cyber bulling, a 16 year old boy whose name has not been disclosed, has attempted suicide. He was rushed to the emergency room after taking 60 painkillers. Police said the incident was not a cry for help but a genuine attempt on his life. The harasser in this case was a former friend pulling a "practical joke" on his buddy. The bully created a fake profile of a boy named Callum on the internet site Bebo. The bully then lured his former friend into a romantic relationship with the character. In the event explicit sexual content was exchanged online. This content was shared with the boys' friends and even teachers. The sophisticated prank went on for months and when the victim finally found out the truth he attempted to take his own life.

This story particularly hits home for me because I know someone who has been bullied in this same manner. I was friends with a group of guys I met in the dorms my freshman year. One of the guys was very socially awkward and was always kind of picked on by the other guys. One night a group of them were over at a girl friends house and singed onto her AIM account and pretended to be her. They then confronted the ‘socially awkward' friend and lured him into cyber sex. They tried to get him to say really awkward things. For six months after this they would repeat lines from the conversation in front of him, got him to admit that he had cyber sex with the girl and then announced that it was all a practical joke in front of the girl and a room full of other friends.

The sad thing is that these guys thought the whole ordeal was so funny. What if this friend of ours committed suicide? What would those boys do then? How would they ever forgive themselves? I too have said things I shouldn't in blogs or through AIM. This kind of thing is a wake up call to our generation. We never know what kind of problems people have. Practical jokes like this should not happen. Also we should never vent about the people we love online. Friends, Co-workers, family… we should keep our negative feelings or daily frustrations about them in our private journals, not on the web for all to see!

Burger King Logo

This story was featured on the CNN Newsroom today. There was a family of five in Boise, Idaho that visited Burger King for dinner and was charged $2,243.00 for their meal. How did five people rack up such a bill? Well, they didn't. They were only supposed to be charged $22.43 but somehow two extra zeros got added on.

The family is very upset; the husband showed CNN reporters his bank statement and told them of the very large overdraft fee he would soon be getting because of it. He would be getting a $75 charge because of this transaction and another fee just like it for each of the seven purchases he had made right after that.

How did this happen? Was the cashier just inexperienced with a cash register, or could it be a larger problem that affects all Burger Kings nation-wide? Either way, I will definitely be checking my receipts very carefully from now on.

Did you read University Daily Kansan Opinion Editor Matt Hirschfield's Feb. 18 article about the Lawrence trend of a "greener lifestyle?" I will admit that I didn't read through the entire story, but I thought it interesting that someone would deem efforts to make the Earth greener a "trend." I will agree with Matt that because celebrities and public figures decided to promote environmentalism based on scientific research that supports global warming and that consequentially the youth culture has grasped onto this concept.
Human beings can help improve the environment by recycling, driving less, using energy efficiently and retaining from using toxic cleaning supplies. I personally realized the harm household cleaning supply fumes can have on one's lungs. Early February I decided I'd try to clean the bathroom because I had some spare time and it was unlivable. One problem: I've never had to clean a bathroom in my life! This is an embarrassing fact, but we discussed in class today that our generation had a fairly easy childhood compared to previous generations.

The picture shows the five cleaning supplies that I used simultaneously, cleaning the bathtub, toilet, sink and floors for approximately one hour. Several "googled" health articles stated the harm that mixing chlorine and toilet bowl cleaner can do to one's lungs, eyes and skin if ingested. The toxic gas that these cleaning supplies, when mixed together, form is similar to chlorine gas, which the Nazi's used in the gas chambers during WWII! Last week and still today I have a tight chest and cannot breathe easily.

My friend and I were sitting in the back of the room in Budig 120 and she asked me if I felt safe. I don't know. I haven't even really thought about it. But shouldn't I? I bet students, teachers, and whoever else on the campus at Northern Illinois University though they were safe. I guess none of us should ever really feel safe because anything could happen at any time. But I know I don't want to live in fear so what am I supposed to do? II'm pretty positive that I've never done anything mean enough to piss somebody off that bad, but honestly... do the shooters plan who they are going to kill or do they just go crazy and want to kill anybody they can? The scariest thing about the whole situation is that we don't know who we can trust because we don't know who is going to snap at any second. But also, we have no idea what was going on in the mind of the shooter. How can somebody just shoot people like that? I know I never could but that doesn't mean that 1 out of the 10-20 people that are surrounding you couldn't.
I personally feel safe on the campus at KU. I have no idea why. Maybe I'm just too trusting of a person, or maybe it's because these shootings have never effected me personally. I mean, of course school shootings and 9/11 and everything else we've witnessed has effected me but I haven't personally known anybody and I live in Kansas.
All I'm saying is that I know there are other people like me who feel as though nothing could happen to them. I'm naive. Anything could happen at anytime, we've just been lucky I guess. Our generation has been through a lot and it seems that everytime we start to get over something, another thing happens that shakes us all up. Will we ever be able to be on campus and no that we are absolutely safe or will we have to question our safety not only on campus but everywhere for the rest of our lives? I wish people could grow up and deal with their problems themselves instead of needing to kill people in order to feel better about themselves and take care of their problems.
Right now it seems as though things will stay the way the are. As sad as it is, shootings will continue down the road and honestly... what is there that we can do about it? I guess I will just try to continue to live my life the best I can without the fear and just hope and pray for the best!

Bees at work.
Photo: cnn.com

Who knew that honey bees had such a huge impact on one of my favorite things - ice cream. I have heard over the past several years that the honey bee population in North America has dwindled significantly, and it is interesting to discover how many things honey bees, or the lack thereof, affect.

Many varieties of fruits, vegetables and nuts depend on the pollination of bees for survival. This could potentially affect far more than just Haagen-Dazs' favorite flavors. Last year studies were done linking the destruction of bee colonies to the radiation from cell phones. Apiarists in the UK have also noticed changes in their colonies.

It's sad to think we may be the cause of the disappearance of insects that make the natural world work, and in turn, nourish us and keep us healthy and well fed. It is certainly something to think about everytime we answer our cell phones.

On a slightly different note, I was surprised to hear that this is the first time that Haagen-Dazs has adopted a cause of this nature. It kind of makes me only want to eat Ben & Jerry's from here on out. Anyway, just something to think about. Honey bees, who knew?

By now I am sure that most of you have heard that Congress has just passed a bill that will be sending most Americans an extra refund check this spring. This is President Bush's way of helping stop the recession. Basically they are giving us money that we are supposed to go spend and help the economy. I am all for the idea except I do not know if it is going to save the economy. The plan breaks down basically if you make more than $3000 and you are single then you get $600. If you are married you receive $1200. There are also limits if you make too much money. All you have to do to receive this money is file your 2007 taxes its that simple. I think in ways it will help the economy because people are age will most likely spend the money. Older people will be more likely to save the money or pay down some of their credit card debt. The time of the year that the checks come also means that some people may use the money to go on vacation which would be good for the economy. I know I will use the money to help with moving costs since I am moving halfway across the country in June. Whether it ends up helping the economy or not enjoy your extra money.

Here is the link to get more information.

The subject of Facebook can be heard everyday, almost everywhere. "Everyone" has one. If you don't, you must not be socially "in" right? In the years since Facebook was conjured by Mark Zuckerberg, many new features have been added. It is no longer a college network, a way to keep in touch with your friends across the country, but rather, a social network, which now lets virtually anyone join. Since September 11th, 2006, anyone 13 and older can create a Facebook. It has become a social networking empire. My question is, can it be topped? I suppose most people would say it is the best, most fun way to stay in touch with friends and meet new people, but many sites have popped up in recent years, trying to become the new "Facebook". Myspace, a similar, but more open ended social network is still among the most popular networks. But many, lesser known websites are gaining more attraction lately. MyYearBook, a social network that was recently introduced already has 2 million+ users, and still attracts more. The website allows its members to create new features, a privilege normally reserved for the websites owners and management. This has contributed to MyYearBooks new success, as any member can create new fun features easily. How about Yuwie.com? Ever heard of it? Why not? They pay you to create a profile and use their site. The site follows a similar profile layout to Facebook, but pays its users to change their profile, and use the other features on their site. I have not researched what it is they pay you, though I can assume you wont make much, but why wouldn't people be signing up like crazy to get "free" money. Facebook has already established its dominance. It has taken control of its "market". Million's upon million's of people use Facebook. There are many jokes about it being addicting, and for some people, it is addicting. I know I check my profile every chance I get to my computer. In my opinion, Facebook will not be topped for a good time to come. As we enter an age of computers, it will only be a matter of time before elementary school kids are checking their Facebooks.

I don't know if any of you have been following the steroids case on Roger Clemens, but after the hearing that took place this week I have come to two conclusions: What the F**k is going on; and can Roger Clemens bring anyone else into this completely unnecessary media frenzy? I mean first he accuses his accuser Brain McNamee of lying about his steroid use. Then his fellow teammate, Andy Pettitte, said that Roger used steroids. Roger immediately says Andy mistook the conversation for him talking about his wife taking HGH. (Did he just throw his wife under the bus to try and save himself?) Now he's accusing congress of lying?

As the previous link shows Clemens and his staff have moved their fourth grade argument style from the ever popular did not... did too, with McNamee, to the even more immature, he started it, with Congress. Congress stated that Clemens and his lawyers insisted on having the hearing even though congress thought they had enough information from the depositions. Roger may have a point here because since when does a baseball player have the right to tell congress what to do? Shouldn't congress have the final say whether the hearing should take place and wasted taxpayer money?

To me Roger is guilty because he insists everyone is lying and he is telling the truth. However, I have no idea what the hell is happening and wish it would just end already.

Rumor that Julian Wright's leaving for the NBA has led to decreased business at Jaybowl
Photos from Google images, put together by Kirsten Hudson

As I'm sure many of you read in the University Daily Kansan, a proposal to bring beer sales back to Jaybowl is being considered by the Provost's office.

If approved the proposal would allow 3.2 beer (a lower alcohol content than regular beer) to be sold at Jaybowl. However, beers would be limited to two per person.

As a security measure, Jaybowl would scan ID's then give a wristband and hand stamp to those over 21.

Although according to the UDK, Shawn Bowers, a student member of the committee that reviewed the proposal and director of public relations for Student Union Activities said the purpose of the proposal was to create "an environment where students and professors can come and relax. It would be another option for a mature campus audience," I have heard a different rumor.

According to a friend of mine, decreased business at the Jaybowl may be due to Julian Wright's leaving for the NBA.

He was known to be a regular at Jaybowl.

I believe it considering the two times my friends have ever managed to drag me to bowl, he was there.

Personally, I wouldn't have even noticed he was there (I had to concentrate on my game, I mean I wanted my score to at least get over 50) if my friends hadn't pointed and squeaked "Look it's Julian Wright!"

To which I replied "Who?"

Yes I can feel all you basketball fans cringing, I'm sorry ok! I tried, I really did! I just can't get interested in basketball.

However, I digress. Even the guys in my group stared while Julian bowled, to tell you the truth it creeped me out.

Apparently though compared to the rest of KU, at least those that frequent Jaybowl, I'm the odd-ball.

Now that there's no Julian to stare at, the crowds have cleared out and business for Jaybowl has declined, hence the possibly reinstated beer sales.

I just find it amusing that without Julian they have to pacify everyone with beer.

According to cnn.com, there is a heated debate in Berkeley, California over whether or not the city council has the right to kick marine recruiters out of their city. A marine recruiting office resides a block away from the college's campus where anti-war peace protests frequently are held. Apparently, these protests were taken seriously because a bill was passed to the council, and a law was eventually made stating that, "If recruiters choose to stay, they do so as uninvited and unwelcome intruders". This new law led to a showdown between pro-war and anti-war groups. The pro-war rioters claim that the actions of the council are "treasonous". Republican lawmakers in Washington have also threatened to withhold funds from the college and city.
I guess I was under the impression that this sort of lawmaking was protected by the constitution. Obviously, the marine recruiting office probably isn't doing too well if it is stationed a block away from Berkeley...one of the most stereotypically liberal colleges in America. How can withholding 2 million dollars of federal funding be justified? Why should a city and college simultaneously be punished for thinking differently than the politicians in the white house? If a citizen truly wanted to join the Marine Corps, Berkeley is in no way stopping them, just making it a little more difficult to get to the sign-up sheet. Americans should have to right to be pro-war or anti-war without fear of having their beliefs threatened.

Picture: Perezhilton.com
It has happened again! Another Hollywood socialite has been arrested for a DUI. Barron Hilton, Paris Hilton's 18 year old brother, was arrested early Tuesday morning for driving under the influence. According to Perezhilton.com little Barron blew almost double the legal limit. Has he not learned from his older sister's jail time?
I just find it ridiculous that these celebrities and socialites keep getting DUIs! In the past two years Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and Mischa Barton all were caught driving under the influence. I understand that they want to go out and party with their friends, who wouldn't? Drinking is not the problem here. Driving while drinking is the problem. Each one of these girls are worth millions of dollars. Why can't they call a cab home? Better yet, why don't they call a limo or a helicopter to take them home? We all know that they could afford any of the above. I find it annoying because if college students can afford to take a cab home, why can't they do the same?
Its not only young Hollywood who are getting DUIs. Mel Gibson, Ty Pennington, and Kiefer Sutherland have all recently been arrested for driving drunk. These men are all over 40 years old! I would hope that by 40 you would know right from wrong. Right: calling a cab to bring your drunken self home. Wrong: driving while drunk and risking your lives and others.
I know that all these people are just living their lives and might not want to be considered "role models". As a 21 year old I definitely do not consider Paris Hilton or any of her friends my role model. There are many 16 year olds around the nation that are starting to drive, and possibly starting to drink. Watching their favorite celebrities getting DUIs is giving them the wrong idea. Aside from that, drinking and driving is very dangerous to yourself and others. Thank God that none of these people have hurt anyone else.
All I am saying is that it is ridiculous with all the money that these people are making that they cant pay $20 for a simple cab ride! Stop driving drunk, mug shots are just getting old.

The New York Time's website recently published an article stating that due to a recent increase in the strictness of health codes, several companies such as General Mills, McDonalds, and Coca-cola have agreed to stop advertising to children under 12. Eventually, the Department of Health and Human Services hopes to make this type of advertising illegal. Trix, the fun fruity cereal we all used to love, will no longer advertise to children with the frustrated bunny. What I don't understand about this whole dilemma is why so much attention is focused on the advertisement of junk food and not on how much time children in this age group spend watching television. You don't lose weight sitting on the couch eating an apple. You lose weight by watching your calorie intake and playing soccer with your buddies in the backyard. Stopping these advertisements takes money away from our economy, and puts advertisers out of work. Perhaps I am just a little partial towards the advertisers because I hope to become one when I graduate, but aren't the parents the ones going out and buying groceries? If I had an obese child, I would unplug the television and stock the fridge with healthy food. If the junk food isn't in the house, 12-year old Johnny can't go out to the grocery store and buy it. There is a lot of blame placed on the wrong people in this situation, and I am a little peeved that the active kids don't get their cocoa-puffs.

Picture: CNN.com

Two weeks ago footage appeared with new evidence in the Natalee Holloway mystery. Hidden cameras caught Joran Van der Sloot explaining what really happened the night that Natalee went missing. The question now is if the evidence is enough to convict him. I understand that there are legal issues that could prohibit his arrest, but come on! He describes the whole situation in great detail, and the worst part was that he didnt even show any remorse for his actions. Patrick, his "friend" who videotaped him, recently got emotional while talking about Joran. He could understand how someone could be so cruel. All he wanted was to hear Joran show remorse for what he did. Not only does he have no emotions about the situation, but he was practically bragging about it. Before the tape was released he called a Holland news station and told them that he knew about the hidden cameras. He also said that he was only saying what he did to impress his new friend. What kind of person thinks that killing someone is "impressive?"
Natalee's mom recently spoke with Dateline about the new evidence. She told Dateline that "she wasnt surprised by Joran's behavior." This poor mother has been back and forth to Aruba for the past 2 1/2 years and this is the first piece of evidence that has brought her closure. She told Dateline that even if nothing happens to him legally he will eventually pay for what he did. She also said that she could finally find closure from this evidence.
The question now is what's next? Will Joran be convicted? Will the case even be reopened? Even if the story he told was not completely true it is very obvious that Joran had a big part in Natalee's disappearance. He needs to pay for what he did to her and everyone who loved her.

A report on etonline says that the writers strike will most likely come to an end on Sunday putting the writers back to work on Monday.
I remember back when the whole strike started in November thinking 'This is not that big of a deal.' Boy was I wrong. I never thought that I would be so affected by not being able to see new episodes of my favorite shows. I felt lost an not in touch with the world because I couldn't get new episodes of 'The Daily Show.' I didn't know where else to go for my news. "Tom" Stewart has been doing his show for about a week and a half now and it has really taken me back to the good ol' days where I got new episodes of my favorite programs.
I've been able to hold off with new episodes of "Rob and Big," but I need the final season of "Scrubs" and new episodes of "Family Guy." I think I have seen every syndicated episode of both of these shows since November.
But now it seems like the strike is finally over and my life can return to normal.

The online magazine, Smith, has been collecting people's memoirs. These are not one's typical lengthy, sometimes journal-like memoirs though. Smith challenged people to give their personal memoir in just six words. Apparently, people were up to the challenge.

Not Quite What I Was Planning is a collection of these six word memoirs written by celebrities and the "regular Joes" if you will. Some of them are poignant, some are quite funny, others are self-deprecating - but they are all to the point. For instance, Stephen Colbert wrote, "Well, I thought it was funny."

On NPR yesterday, Neal Conan challenged his listeners to call in with their own memoirs, and I was amazed at how quickly people called in with their ideas. This does not seem like a simple accomplishment to me. It's like being in an interview and asking to sum up your personality or strengths in three words. You want to pick three really good words - really telling words. It was really interesting to see how incredibly honest people were. For instance, Robin Templeton wrote, "After Harvard, had baby with crackhead."

The editors said the number six seemed magical when it came to this project. There's something nice about using the triplet or couplet word sequence that just clicked. The idea supposedly stemmed from Ernest Hemingway who was asked to write a novel in only six words. Hemingway, being the literary genius that he is, had a great response. "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

I have yet to write mine, but it is certainly interesting to think about. If I come up with something brilliant, I'll post it. Anyone else ready to be succinct?

I was inspired to write my thoughts on the shooting generation after the two recent shootings. Last night a man killed five people and injured two more at a city council meeting in Kirkwood, MO. He was then shot and killed by the police. Just a few hours ago a woman killed herself and two other women at a Louisiana college. It makes me wonder how all of these violent acts are going to affect our generation. The majority of this violence started almost 10 years ago with the Columbine shootings. Since then there have been 18 major school shootings and that is not all of them I'm sure. We were in high school when schools started to implement special id's and metal detectors. Now that we are in college we are seeing more shootings at colleges. Now it seems that people are taking violence out of schools and bringing it into public places like the city council meeting or the Omaha mall shooting. What about our generation makes us so violent? I do not understand what goes through these shooters minds. Not only have we lived through school shootings we have also lived through 9/11 and plenty more acts of violence.

It makes me wonder when our generation decided that the way to solve our problems was to shoot innocent people. It also makes me wonder how this is going to affect our generation in the future and the generations to come. It is a scary time to live in this country because you never know when someone is going to start shooting. What are your thoughts on why this is happening or how it can be stopped? I know I can not figure it out.

Sometimes big hits start with people our age.

CBS recently picked up a T.V. show called "We Need Girlfriends."

"We Need Girlfriends" Episode 1
Photo: www.weneedgirlfriends.tv

The show based on its makers, Angel Acevedo, 25, Steven Tsapelas, 26, and Brian Amyot, 26, is about three geeky friends, Henry, Tom and Rod, who live in Queens and bond over their mutual cluelessness about the opposite sex.

The three, recently out of college and all film majors started the show when for the first time since college all three were single.

The idea came to them after many hours spent watching "Entourage" when they decided to basically make an anti-Entourage show based on them.

When entering short film contests and attending small film festivals became costly for the little amount of attention gained, they decided to post the show on the web.

After posting the show to their website, MySpace.com and YouTube.com it became a hit.

Last July the three traveled to Los Angeles to pitch their show to several networks that had contacted them, CBS wanted it.

Since then the three worked on the show up until the writer's strike, which has temporarily put the show on hold.

Unsurprisingly the show is a hit among the under 30 crowd.

Not only I feel, because of its placement on YouTube and MySpace, but being based on real people, the characters are completely relatable to their audience.

The series also shows a side of guys rarely portrayed on T.V.

"We Need Girlfriends" demonstrates the crazy fun friendship between guys and that girls aren't the only ones who get shot down in the game of love.

The show is not only unique because of its content, but because of its creators as well.

Three average guys went from filming a show set in the streets of their town Astoria, NY with their actors working for free to supervising producers and writers of their on show for CBS.

The Real "We Need Girlfriends"
Photo: Donna Alberico for the New York Times

These three guys show how one unique idea can explode.

I love that our generation is influencing and changing the mass media and I hope to be watching "We Need Girlfriends" on my living room couch soon.

(Information about "We Need Girlfriends" found at: click here.)

Lean red meat is benefitial to your health
Photo: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/diet.fitness/01/09/healthmag.bad.foods/index.html

When you think of the words hamburger, ice cream, and pizza the last thing that come to mind is weight loss. But in reality weight loss could be a prospect when eating these foods correctly.

Red meat is definitely not considered a key component to loosing weight, but studies have shown that by eating lean red meat in a low calorie diet can actually help you loose weight. Since meat is so full of protein the hunger subsides after eating a serving of red meat and stays away until the next appropriate meal time. By choosing "extra-lean" meat and lower fat cuts, you can actually do your body a favor by eating a steak or hamburger.

A recent Swedish study has shown that by eating one serving of ice cream a day can actually help you loose weight. There are not any proven speculations to why, but one reason may be due to the combination of the milk and fat in ice cream; helping in weight loss. Not all studies prove the "diary helps weight loss" theory, but there is more positive evidence than negative evidence.

"Many women find that low-fat versions of dairy products like ice cream and cheese just aren't satisfying," she says, "so they may eat a lot of them -- downing hundreds of calories in the process, trying to fulfill their craving -- when just a little bit of the full-fat stuff would have done the trick," says Bonnie Gluck, M.S., R.D., a clinical dietitian at New York Methodist Hospital in New York City.

Normal pizza from the corporate pizza companies is not the only way you can eat pizza. In order to fulfill your guilty craving for pizza, you can make it healthy! Instead of dousing your pizza in mozzarella and pepperoni you can make it with a wheat crust and top it with veggies instead of the normal pepperoni.

So next time you eliminate the idea of eating red meat, ice cream or pizza because of the dreaded calories you can remember there is some positive outcomes for being "unhealthy" once in a while.

They tell you that a full time student is twelve credit hours. So then how come, if you take twelve hours a semester, it can take you five years to graduate? Why are there so many requirements? The load keeps getting heavier and the pressure to graduate increases as the tuition goes up. Am I really going to have to pay back student loans forever? It seems a little ridiculous to me.
If I would not have gone to college, I could have stayed in my home town and worked for my mom as a Farm Bureau Agent and could have been making bank after a while. So why am I spending my money instead of making money? Yes, a college education is important to me, and that's why I'm here. But not only are we paying for all of it but we are being thrown into a win- lose situation. Either you take a ton of hours and work your butt off to graduate on time, or you take time to breathe and take around 12-15 hours a semester and then end up spending more money just so you can graduate in five years, who knows maybe more.

Older adults tell you that these are the best years of your life, but how can you have the time to enjoy them when you are crammed with required homework everynight? If, God forbid, you don't complete it, and do what's expected, then you join quite a bit of people on academic probation and waste either you or your parents money.

I started this semester with seventeen credit hours. I haven't taken spanish in five years and I was thrown into the second spanish class and was told not to get out. Spanish is one of my requirements so I just have to deal with it. But I am definitely no genius and it has been kicking my butt since the first day. I knew right away that if I was going to stick with this class then I was going to end up slacking in other classes, so I dropped a psych 300 class and I now have fourteen hours. Is this going to come back and kick me in the end? Am I going to regret this decision? Am I, along with many other seniors I know, going to have to kill myself with eighteen to twenty-one hours my last semester as a senior just so I don't have to spend all that money the following year?

The requirements are going up every year and the tuition is too. According to http://tuition.ku.edu/ ,over the past 30 years, tuition has increased an average of 9 percent a year. Why does education have to be so expensive? If you have experience in the field, is the education really worth it? In J101, I've listened to a few speakers announce that if they have two people up for a position in their company, they are going to consider a person's personality over their GPA. So maybe I should work on my personality to get that great job and load up the hours, never caring about the grades, and just get school over with.

I decided to write about something that I, along with many others, are very passionate about. Bad drivers. And not just bad drivers, but awful drivers. My inspiration behind this came tonight, when my boyfriend and I were on Highway 10, on our way back from Wal-Mart, and a van pulled right in front of us, causing Eric to slam on the breaks. Keep in mind all of this happened as the heavy snow came down, the roads were slick, and we were going around seventy miles per hour. Not only did this van pull right in front of us and almost cause a wreck but then they preceeded to drive fourty miles per hour. All I can say is Wow! That just made me mad! Why does this happen? I never fail to have a fit of road rage on any given day. Most mornings as I start off on my way to campus, I am calm. But five out of seven mornings, I come home grumpy.

I am not the worlds best driver, I can definitely admit that. I've had my share of bad decisions. But at no point in my life have I just been completely stupid behind the wheel. My 87 year old grandad, who has a handicap license, believes he is capable of driving. Is he? NO! My family knows that. I'm from a small town and there have been a couple times in the past when I have passed him on the road and been frustrated. It is not safe for him, but even more for anybody else in a 100 yrd. radius of him. So guess what? We took his keys! He will no longer drive.

When I become frustrated with a vehicle because, oh I don't know, they try to switch into my lane while I'm right beside them, I try to tell myself that I'm not a perfect driver. But then, if I look and see that they just don't care or didn't even realize what they did, I ask myself "How many people have they almost killed today?" Careless drivers, is maybe a better word for them. I know it's not safe for anybody to text behind the wheel, but there are some people that I would rather have on the road, texting the entire time, then some of the drivers I've come across.

Is there anything that can be done? Probably not. Old people, with keys, are going to drive if they want to, whether I like it or not. And accidents happen at any time to anybody. So maybe I should just get over myself and learn to deal with it, just like everybody else. But I know that at one time or another you have all thought "Who put them behind the wheel?"

My boyfriend goes to K-State (I know, I know, boo on him) and as such, reads the K-State newspaper, the Collegian, regularly. He told me about this article that appeared in Monday, February 4's edition of the paper on page 7. Headline: Pleasures of anal sex outweigh potential health risk.

Basically, the writer, Matt Combes, goes into great detail about the safety issues involved with anal, and then talks about the best methods to act this out. He doesn't hesitate to admit that he is gay, and is a sexual-health educator. He is also very candid in his description of the safest way to go about doing this. My favorite line reads: "...buy a large stock in a lube company because you are going to be using a lot. I suggest brands with numbing agents to help your partner along." So, how is this stepping outside the box for him, or pushing the envelope as a journalist might say? Actually, it would probably be going farther in his envelope.

I was personally shocked that an article like this got put into the Kansas State University newspaper, or any collegiate newspaper for that matter. Manhattan residents are known to be quite conservative, so I don't see this article being very popular among the masses. But beyond that, I don't think this article would be very popular anywhere. Even though one may not be fully knowledgeable about what makes a good news story in college, most people have a general idea, and this is not it. How the editors of this paper thought that a story educating the public about anal sex was a worthy, let alone acceptable, topic is truly beyond me. It seems to me that an article promoting safe sex is still promoting sex, and if I'm not mistaken, most people still think that sex is a private matter, whether or not one is engaging in it.

My big issue with this article is this: why do we need to read about something that most people consider a personal issue in a journalism venue that is supposed to be for "youth" aged 18-24 when most people already know the information that was written anyway and choose rarely to talk and never to write about? Is this really appropriate? Is it "good journalism"?