I don't really use the mail a lot, for the obvious reasons, so the other day when I read an article about stamp prices I was really surprised. Stamp prices are going up to 42 cents this month. This seems so high to me, because I feel like it was just a few years ago that stamps were only like 32 cents (I'm sure my perception is a little off though). The article said that decreased use of the mail system and increased fuel prices are the cause of this rise in stamp prices. I just found this interesting...I wonder how much stamps will be when we are all old or if mail is still even used...
Recently by Sarah Hockel
A few weeks ago, when I was on the verge of a breakdown due to the immense pile of schoolwork and papers and readings, etc. I found myself under, I had a long conversation with my Dad about whether or not a college degree is necessary to get a job. Of course I knew it was, but due to my mental state, I would have argued just about anything to defend my wanting to quit school statement. My thinking was that any job you get will teach you what you need to do to be able to perform your job as they want you to so why do you need to suffer through so much schooling??
My Dad told me that while you might be able to get a job under these premises, you would not really have much room to move in the job world, as most places when hiring will hire the applicant with the college degree. I knew this.
However, I just read an article that claims you can get a job without a degree, the author say that if you just are very specific in your resume and demonstrate past performance and proven results in your work, you will be okay. The author, Joe Turner (a job recruiter) says "You can outweigh the formal education by showing exactly how your specific work has benefited your previous employer. The bottom line is that employers today, more than ever, want to have problem-solvers on board. Though you may have no degree, you can prove yourself a resource that fits into their larger profit and loss picture. If you can demonstrate that, you can get hired."
I just thought all of this was interesting...I think it can work both ways, it just depends on how far you want to go in your career and how prestigious of a job you want.
I just recently read an article about how Miley Cyrus did a photo shoot with Vanity Fair, and one of the photos she chose is actually quite scandalous (it is a picture of her satin bed sheet, looking over her shoulder with her back exposed.). Miley claims that she didn't realize how the picture would turn out and regrets taking it and choosing it for the spread. Her "people" say that she was manipulated into taking these photos by photographer Annie Leibovitz.
Leibovitz says "I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted. Miley and I looked at fashion photographs together and we discussed the picture in that context before we shot it. The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful."
I think that Miley probably should have been more careful when doing this photo shoot, because if the pictures are in fact more adult that things she has previously done, it will probably cause an uprising among the parents of the young children who watch her show. Miley is a huge role model for many young girls, and I can really see this blowing up in her face. She probably should have waited until she was a little older and the Hannah Montana phase is over with to do something like this.
Today in the Kansas City Star, I read an article about how text shortcuts "OMG", "R U busy?" "Wuz up" "lol" "jk"…you get the point…are showing up more and more in students' schoolwork. Duh. This would obviously happen due to the fact that we are a generation based on shortcuts and getting things faster and quicker. What surprised me about this article was that the teacher interviewed for it stated that he and his school and the parents are not worried about the fact that these shortcuts are showing up in schoolwork. I would have thought that this would be a much bigger deal, but apparently it's not. They say that the students say they still place the same value on writing and know how important it is to write correctly. I found this interesting because I thought that this would have been more of a concern.
Just recently, I watched a video on YouTube called "The Church of Oprah Exposed". This video showed how Oprah believes that there is more than one way to heaven. The video shows how she came to this conclusion, and shows that she is kind of redefining Christianity and making it into kind of her own religion.
I think this is interesting because many, many people like live by Oprah, they trust her and believe just about anything she says or does. Because of this, I am wondering if people will allow their thoughts on what they believe in (Christian people that is) be altered just because of something Oprah believes in. I think it is interesting that Oprah is doing this- redefining Christianity. I hope that people don't follow what she says just because it is Oprah saying it, that they don't just conform to HER thoughts and beliefs.
I recently came across an article that talked about how some people in Missouri wanted to ban cage fighting for children...I was not aware that children were cage fighting. The article stated that Youth MMA, instead of banning youth cage fighting, just renewed some of the rules and regulations. They require padded head gear, shin guards, groin protectors and gloves and for the new league chest and stomach protectors were added for fighters younger than 14 and a rule allowing referees to stop a match if they see the danger of a joint injury. The cage part was also taken away.
I find it interesting that parents would allow their children to cage fight at such a young age, because I don't know if any of you have watched any cage fighting but it can be very brutal.
