007 Quantum of Solace

This years james bond movie was absolutely mind blowing! Some said it was the worst they had ever seen and others said it was breath taking. I have been a huge james bond fan over the years and I was not about to let some bad reviews stop me from seeing it. After varied responses I decided I would go see the movie myself and make my own review about the film.

The movie starts out in a brutal car chase scene where bond manages to get out of a tight situation while still catching the bad guy. I thought it was a great opener! From car chase to boat chase to even a plane chase the movie was nonstop action as bond attempted to find the truth behind a secret society, Quantum. To be honest the plot was a bit confusing as bond was trying to get revenge for his girlfriends death while also trying to figure out the truth behind the secret group. I didnt really care because I go bond movies to see action, not to analyze some meaningless plot.

Check out this website for more details about the movie and let me know what you thought of it
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/london_film_festival/article4965892.ece

Thanksgiving!

This festive season we travel long distances from school, work, or other activities to be close with our friends and family. Some fly half way across the world to be home for this special evening because it has a very important history for americans. Each family may have different traditions for what they do on thanksgiving, whether it be watching football or eating pizza instead of turkey, but they all share the same meaning. Thanksgiving is a time to spend with the family and converse on past times and enjoy the present. It is a time to be thankful for what you have and what you don't have. But do most americans know the true history of the first thanksgiving?

Back in 1621 the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast which is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies.This harvest meal has become a symbol of cooperation and interaction between English colonists and Native Americans. Although this feast is considered by many to the very first Thanksgiving celebration, it was actually in keeping with a long tradition of celebrating the harvest and giving thanks for a successful bounty of crops. Native American groups throughout the Americas, including the Pueblo, Cherokee, Creek and many others organized harvest festivals, ceremonial dances, and other celebrations of thanks for centuries before the arrival of Europeans in North America.

If the colonists had not started this great tradition hundreds of years ago this holiday would not exist. My thanksgiving break was terrific. I came home after a hard math test ready to relax. I saw the new james bond with my brother and sister and thought it was great! Then on thanksgiving day both of my grandmothers came over along with my dads college roomate. We talked over a great turkey dinner and enjoyed each others presence. During the weekend I was able to see alot of my friends from high school and talk about each others college experience so far. Then sunday I hopped back to dallas for the end of the semester. Overall i would say my break was great and couldn't hoped for more.

check out this website for some more infor on the history of thanksgiving http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=minisite_generic&content_type_id=872&display_order=1&mini_id=1083

Boarding School

I wanted to do something life changing, so at the age of sixteen I moved away from California and changed schools. Not that I didn’t like my school or that I had to leave it but I had attended the same high school with the same people doing the same things for the past four years and I knew I still had two more years to go. Searching for a new challenge, I chose an east coast private boarding school called The Hill School. Coming from sunny southern California to cold Pottstown, Pennsylvania was a dramatic change. However it helped me understand the importance of a foreign climate and the effect it had on me. I learned a tremendous amount about myself and I have grown from this learning experience.
I arrived at The Hill School two weeks early for preseason soccer and was excited to meet people and become part of the boarding school community. After rooming with the team and getting to know them better, I acquired the nickname of Sunshine as a result of my Californian beach blonde hair. The season went well and I bonded with my team. We won often, and I had the opportunity to see a lot of the east coast when we traveled to games.
Before arriving at The Hill School, I had heard that my roommate was from Hawaii and I was fascinated to find out what he would be like. I imagined visits with him to the tropical island, Kauai. However when he arrived, he was not the true islander that I had expected. Nevertheless we became friends. On our first night together we ordered pizza, splitting the cost, and we laid out some basic rules in order to make living together as comfortable as possible.
Learning to live with another person was one of the hardest tasks I faced in the beginning of my boarding school life, and I was very proud of the fact that I had successfully managed to maintain a friendly, working relationship with Gordon. Dorm life is one of boarding schools unique learning experiences and I found it to be the best part about the school. I gained a deeper insight into both students and teachers and found that my relationships with my peers echoed the feelings I had towards my family members.
From the first day I realized that The Hill School was very different from the public school that I had left behind. The average class size consisted of only about five to ten people, whereas in public high school in California there were as many a thirty students per class. As a result, I was able to connect with my teachers for the first time in a way I never thought would have been possible. Because the class sizes were smaller my teacher was also my coach, dorm parent, and friend. I could ask for help regarding any topic and he was always available. The relationship between student and teacher was close and comforting to me being in this new situation.
However, after living back east for three months I became homesick, which made my return at Thanksgiving deeply meaningful. When I arrived home it was as though I had never left, I saw all my old friends and told them all the things I had done at boarding school and how different the east coast was from the west coast. I realize how good life is in California and have learned to appreciate the lifestyle. When I came home organized family beach days in order to rekindle my surfing skills, and spent time together since I knew I would miss my family once the break was over.
My first winter on the east coast was a dramatic shock! It is impossible to compare the cold of California to the cold of Pennsylvania. In the end the weather drove me back home. Boarding school taught me a lot of lessons that I will take with me for the rest of my life. I was forced to adapt to living with strangers for the first time. I had never really appreciated my home and family until I moved away. I discovered loneliness for the first time and learned to cope with it. Although I was on the east coast for only seven and a half months, it was an exciting time and I am glad I was given the opportunity to taste a different lifestyle. I would not be the person I am today had I not taken a chance and attended The Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Marijuana...Gateway drug...or not?

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States, with well over 83 million Americans having tried it over the age of twelve. It is enjoyable pastime that alters reality making the user experience a sense of well-being or euphoria and increased talkativeness and laughter alternating with periods of introspective dreaminess followed by lethargy and sleepiness. Several things are thought to be correlated with marijuana use. One main example is that marijuana is a gateway drug to more “hardcore” drugs such as heroine, cocaine, methamphetamines, and ecstasy which is a false thought.

It is hypothesized that marijuana consumers over the age of twelve, will not have the tendency to experiment with other more harmful drugs. Even though their may be more of an association between pot smokers moving on, it cannot be assumed that it is a gateway drug because it could be more accessible; also only 24 percent of people over the age of 21 had the possibility of experimenting shown by the surveys. People who are nonusers showed that they rarely experimented with more impacting drugs. Marijuana smokers input their results and recorded that they went through a generally in a good mood. Those under medically diagnosed usage confirmed that it takes away their pain and actually helped them. Only real possible negative affect was an acute panic attack (rare). They were unable to produce longitudinal results which were assumed to be possible cancers primarily affecting the lungs and respiratory system.

Marijuana does not lead to other hardcore drugs primarily because it does not produce many negative side affects which could ultimately lead to a course in harder drugs. Users went through periods of relaxation with little thoughts of going to look for the next high they could find.

Do you think marijuana is a gateway drug?
http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/study-say-marijuana-no-gateway-drug-12116.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_drug_theory

Dallas Cowboys... where to go from here

This week after a devastating loss to the Arizona Cardinals, major catastrophes occured to the Dallas Cowboys. Now with a 4-2 record the Cowboys have learned they'll have to play without their punter for the rest of the season, due to the block that lead the dowboys defeat. Starting cornerback Terence Newman will be out for at least a month. On third down Quarterback Tony Romo was sacked and will be out on injury for his finger for probably a month. Now with the suspension of cornerback Pacman the team will be down four players for at least four games. This is a major upset for the cowboys as their team is dissolving. They need to really train hard and come back this week with a win. The manager of the cowboys acquired wide reciever Jerry Jones as a hopeful prospect for this week and the rest of the season. This will hopefully provide the backup quarterback with some more options other than Terrel Owens and Marion Barber to run the team. I am personally very upset with the results of this week and hope the cowboys can pull through the hard times. Time will tell as the Cowboys play the St. Louis Cardinals this week. Get Em Boys!!!
Check out this website for some more news about the Cowboys
http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/

Fall Break 2008

This fall break I was planning to go visit some of my friends from home at their new college in Boulder, CO. I was going to attend a Buff's football game where a friend of mine plays on the team and cheer the team on while they play Kansas. I would maybe get to see some snow until a horrible present came my way. I didnt buy my tickets in time and was not ablt to go to Boulder over my fall break. Instead I stayed here this weekend and had the time of my life. I slept for many hours, watched loads of television, and spent quality time with friends. I had no routine schedule whatsoever and it was amazing. With no obligations I found myself playing sports at the Dedman Center, and eating at Umphrey Lee all day long. It was really a great time to spend with others on campus, because we were all in it together and were making the best of it. I assumed that I would have a boring weekend in my dorm all by myself studying my brains out, however it is Tuesday night and I am just now sitting down to start my work. Suprisingly this has been one of my most fun weekends although I did not visit my family and friends at home, and I hope all who went home had a great time.

Here is what students at USC did, and have some suggestions about what you should do on your fall break. http://media.www.dailygamecock.com/media/storage/paper247/news/2008/10/07/Viewpoints/Dos-And.Donts.For.Fall.Break-3473114.shtml

JFK...assasination or conspiracy?

The death of our thirty-fifth president was on Nov. 22,1963 here in Dallas, Texas. Kennedy was finishing his drive through the city when he was shot three times. One in the back, one in his neck, and the worst one fataly went through his head. Kennedy was pronounced dead once he was at the hospital. Who would kill the president of the United States and think that they would get away with it. Many believe the governments version of the story where Harvey Lee Oswald, was the lone assasin who murdered President Kennedy from a fourth story room in a book building along the street. He was murdered two days later and many questions were to remain unanswered. The other side of the story continues to be controversial as the idea that the government itself ordered the president to be killed rattles and scares many citizens. The idea that the CIA had two men on the grassy knoll and were the ones who shot and killed kennedy was very suprising to the public. This theory is more realistic as the shots were fired in different directions and is more likely than a single shooter from different places. Kennedy was cracking down on the Mafia and the CIA wanted the mafia to assasinate a world leader. So who is really behind the death of the president? These questions may never be answered for it is the biggest mystery in the United States history and we may never find out the answer.

check out this website for more conspiracy theories and ideas of what really happened.
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/electronic-publications/stay-free/4/jfk.htm