Holocaust Survivors

No matter how many times I hear it, it never ceases to horrify me what those people went through. It is ridiculous and atrocious how inhumanely the Jews were treated just because they were Jewish. I just don't understand how anyone could be that cruel and evil towards another human being. However, I know that as awful as it sounds, this kind of behavior still goes on today in different parts of the world. I admire the survivors and the victims of the concentration camps for their courage and sticking to their beliefs even in the face of death. I cannot possibly imagine what Jews went through in the camps. It boggles my mind and makes me feel extraordinarily grateful for the family I have and the life I have.

Gossip

I believe that gossip is not a good thing. More often than not, the things said are not true and end up hurting people. Do I gossip? I try not to but I do. Do I listen to gossip? I guess you could say it's a guilty pleasure of mine I should get rid of. When I hear gossip I don't believe it's true but normally laugh at the absurdity of it. Some people come up with really outrageous stories that I wouldn't think anyone would take seriously. However, as long as there are people to gossip, there will be people to listen to it. When you spread gossip, you will often get a bad reputation and will be deemed an untrustworthy person. I have been on the other side of gossip many times, but the difference is I don't care. I know its not true and that's good enough for me, people can say whatever they want. I will, of coarse, defend myself if I overhear it but I definitely wont loose any sleep over what other people think about me.

Genome Project

The project I am currently working on is the Music Genome Project on Garageband. I am really into this project because I think it's amazing and a lot of fun. Also, putting the music together is a skill I am very interested in so that makes it easier to concentrate and stay on track. However, I am a little bit of a perfectionist when it comes to these projects. I'm trying the best I can to get it done and get it done right. The topic of my project is American Broadway. This was a great and not so great choice. It is great because I think Broadway is spectacular so I had a lot of enthusiasm for the project. However, it is not so great because narrowing down the topic was a huge, time-consuming challenge. Also, finding information about the roots and things like that was difficult. I did finally narrow it down to power solos, though, and have been working my hardest ever since. I just hope it turns out like I want it to.

Easter Break

This Easter Break has to be one of my greatest ever! However, it did not start out too great. My flight out of Chicago was delayed for 8 HOURS! It was crazy and incredibly boring. Although, during this time I discovered my new love for Starbucks! Once I finally got on the plane my vacation was amazing. The first part consisted of college visits which were actually fun and really interesting. I visited Villa Nova University, Boston College, Yale University, and Columbia University. My favorites are my dream schools, Yale University and Columbia University. Also, while in Boston, I got to go to a Red Sox game! Then I went to New York City for the first time which was a tremendous experience. I got to see all the sights such as the Statue of Liberty as well as attending four Broadway shows. The shows I saw were The Little Mermaid, Shrek the Musical, Chicago, and Wicked! Wicked is my all-time favorite musical so that was spectacular! So all in all this was one of my top vacations!

Lent

In years past, my Lenten promises have rarely lasted the entire season. This year, however, I was/am determined to keep it till the very end. I have been doing great this year. I have only slipped up once this year and that time was today coincidently. Now I wish I would have written this yesterday so I could say I hadn't broken it yet. But today the retreat was long, the prayer/meditation/reflection period was much longer than I originally thought, and I was hungry. I keep on talking about my Lenten promise without revealing what it is. This year my Lenten promise is no junk food during lunch. Previous years I have tried to do too much such as no junk food ever. However, now I am determined that today will be the only slip-up for the season!

Future Career

When I grow up, I am going to be a psychiatrist. I have wanted to be a psychiatrist since the 3rd grade and I am determined to become one. I am interested in becoming a psychiatrist because I like to help people, I like to give advice, and I like to listen to people's problems. I do not know anyone who is a psychiatrist but I think it would be really cool if I could meet one. In order to become a psychiatrist, I will need to attend college and then medical school. Being a psychiatrist is my dream job and I am positive I can achieve it.

Service Project

One upcoming service project that I am particularly excited to start is at Springhill Camp. During this project, I will be helping the campers and the camp staff. I learned about it from my cousins who live in Michigan. They had been going there since they were in 3rd grade so I started going when I was in the 3rd grade. I used to go just as a camper but now that I am in high school I am part of the TST (Teen Service Team) program. I go for 2 weeks in a row. Part of the time I do fun camp activities, and the rest of the time I work around the camp lifting logs, staining cabins, mowing the grass, working in the kitchen, etc. It was great because as much as I impacted their lives, they impacted my life even more. I get 75 service hours for going to camp. I can honestly say it changed my life and I can't wait to go back.

Late Post!

The project I was working on when this post was originally due was the Name Picture Project. This project was fun but a little bit difficult. Mainly because I was having difficulty finding pictures that even remotely resemble some of the letters in my name, such as J, E, and G. It took me a while but I finally found pictures that worked! There wasn't really a theme to the pictures however there were a couple of roller coasters and animals within the pictures. It was frustrating trying to find the pictures but gratifying when the project all came together. I was fairly pleased with the ultimate result.

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey was probably the greatest radio personality of our time. He started working with radios when he was just a kid. After that he got his first job at KVOO. After that he got a job as newsman at KXOK. Then Paul got the job that made him famous across the nation. He got the 10 p.m. time-slot for news! Because of the popularity of his time-slot, Paul also became famous and eventually got his own television series. He recieved multiple honors throughout his career from many corporations, the highest of which being the Presidential Medal of Honor in 2005. My life is not really similar to Paul Harvey's but we do both like to talk and persevere! Paul was a respectable man who contributed to society with his radio personality and opinions. He will be dearly missed.

Explanation: The first APOD appeared eleven years ago today, on 1995 June 16. Although garnering only 14 page views on that day, we are proud to estimate that APOD has now served over 400 million space-related images over the last eleven years. That early beginning, along with a nearly unchanging format, has allowed APOD to be a consistent and familiar site on a web frequently filled with change. Many people don't know, though, that APOD is now translated daily into many major languages. We again thank our readers and NASA for their continued support, but ask that any potentially congratulatory e-mail go to the folks who created the great pictures -- many times with considerable effort -- that APOD has been fortunate enough to feature over the past year. Many can be contacted by following links found in the credit line under the image. Some of these images are featured in the above spectacular collage of a fantasy sky above Mars submitted by an enthusiastic APOD reader skilled in digital image manipulation. How many APOD images can you identify?

Works Cited 

Serrano, Herman. “APOD Turns Eleven.” Asronomy Picture of the Day. Ed. Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell. NASA.  18 Feb. 2009 .

I located the picture overhead on the Astronomy Picture of the Day website via the link on the Weekly Blog Assignments page. It was the Picture of the Day for June 16, 2006. That date in particular was my 13th birthday. Out of all the pictures taken on my birthday from 1995 untill now, I chose this picture for a specific reason. The image above is not an authentic image but more like a colage of many photos taken of spectacular sights in space. This portrait stood out to me because of the message it sends. To me, this photograph captures the wonder and splendor of all we have found in space while conveying the possibility of greater things in the future. Also, it shows how far we have come in terms of space travel while reminding us of how much is still unexplored. As you can see, a lot of things can be said about this one image.

24 Season 7

The seventh season started in January after over a year due to the writer's strike. This season promises to be incredible but there are some downsides as well as upsides. First with the positive, I like a lot of the new characters: FBI agent Renee Walker, FBI computer analysis Janice, Prime Minister Matobo of Sangala, the wife of Matobo, President Taylor, and First Gentleman Taylor (although he might be dead, he was shot at the end of the most recent episode). The plot is riveting and some of my favorite character's, such as Jack Bauer, Chloe O'Brien, Tony Almeida, and Bill Buchanan, have returned. However, there are cons to accompany the pros. I do not like the fact that there is no more CTU (Counter Terrorist Unit), I think that Chloe should be in more episodes, I think more characters from previous seasons should return, and I do not like some of the new characters like FBI agent Larry Moss and the FBI computer analysis who looks like Tobey Maguire. In conclusion, I really like this season but hope there will be some differences later in the season.

Foreclosure

Foreclosure, according to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, is a legal proceeding that bars or extinguishes a mortgager's right of redeeming a mortgaged estate. This is a scary thing and is quickly becoming a looming problem in America. It is awful because for a lot of people, home is a place of security and comfort, something they can always come back to. This is not the case, however, for more and more Americans everyday. It has hit my aunt especially hard because she has recently gone through a divorce and had to downsize her house and start a career as a real estate agent. However, with the current economy and foreclosures, not many people want to buy a house so it is extremely hard on her and her 15-year-old son, Drew.

Grammy Awards

Tonight was the 51st Grammy Awards. It was three and a half hours of musical splendor. There were great duets such as Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift, celebrity presenters such as Jack Black and Dwayne Johnson, and outstanding solo perfomances such as Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson. I was also very pleased with the winners of the awards. I was estatic when both Carrie Underwood and Jennifer Hudson took home a Grammy. Also I was glad that Coldplay won many of the awards it was nominated for. I thought this year's Grammy Awards was much better than last year's Grammy Awards. I did not appreciate it when Amy Winehouse swept the competition. I do not think she should have been able to win due to her past behavior and excessive drug use. She is definitely not a good role model and I was very happy that she did not participate in this year's festivities.

Michael Phelps and Athletes on Drugs

When it comes to steroids, I believe that it is never acceptable for athletes to use them to enhance their performance. In that instance, it is not a test of what you can do anymore. It has become a test of how well your drugs work. That is morally wrong and can be harmful and punish those who took the pure route. Under these circumstances, I believe it was appropriate to publish A-Rod's steroid use in the media. This means that his MVP season is fake and undeserved. He took that spot away from a deserving athlete and that should have consequences and be publicized. On the other side, Michael Phelps was not using those drugs to improve his swimming. He was just trying it, and even though I do not agree with his choice at all, it is his life and his choice and as long as it doesn't become an addiction, it should not be publicized as much.

Politics

While writing my post about Obama's inauguration, I thought about my opinion of politics and what I believe about them. My standing for a long time has been that I do not like politics. At all. I believe that it causes unnecessary stress and I wouldn't want to lose a friendship with someone because I am from a different party or I voted for a different candidate. Also politics can get extremely personal and bring out the worst in people. Politics can corrupt a persons morals and consume them so much that they will stop at nothing to win. I prefer to steer clear of politics. However, this unfortunately is easier said than done. Actually it is quite impossible because politics are everywhere. As much as we do not want to believe it, politics are apart of the classroom and extra curricular activities such as sports and theater at every age level. You can't control or stop politics, the only thing you can control is yourself and how you respond. If something is not to a person's liking, that person has the choice to let it happen or get up and do something about it. 

Inaugural Events

Less than a week ago, Barrack Obama was sworn in as the first African American president. This inauguration was a tremendous occasion that attracted millions of citizens and celebrities to the capital to witness history in the making. However as eventful as this day was, it did not help our already bad economy in any way. All the festivities cost millions upon millions of dollars that we really don't have. I think that from what I've seen and heard, which is not much, that Barrack Obama is a nice person and the entire first family are nice people. However, I do not agree with his position on pressing matters, such as abortion.

Golden Globe Awards

The Golden Globe Awards were last night, January 11. I unfortunately did not have time to watch it seeing as I was watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition and the 7th season premiere of 24. However, I recorded the awards show on my DVR and I plan to watch it tonight or sometime later this week. After looking at the results on the Internet, it seems like the big winner was Slumdog Millionaire. I haven't seen this movie but it won for "Best Movie- Drama", "Best Director", "Best Screenplay", and "Best Original Score". The biggest surprise for me was "Best Actor in a Drama". The winner was Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler. I was hoping Brad Pitt would win for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I saw that movie and I found it outstanding, a great movie that I want to watch again. It was very well done. I also wanted Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married to win "Best Actress". But the winner was instead Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road. However, it's okay because I really wanna see Revolutionary Road.