Here's to 2007!

I’d like to end the year on a positive and more personal note- and I can do that seeing how it’s my blog. 2006 for me was the Year of the Movies. And I’m not talking about going to movies but about making movies. This year due to a lack of creative thought and time it became the Year of the Blog. But hopefully next year will be even more creative as I figure a way of combing both, while I pull out the inner journalist/ film maker/ animator in me. So let me share with you some of the highlights for me in 2007.

Media
Top 3 Movies of 2007:

1. The Bourne Ultimatum
2. Transformers
3. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Top 3 Albums of 2007:

1. Brad Paisley- 5th Gear
2. Chris Rice- What a Heart is Beating For
3. Casting Crowns- The Alter and the Door

Favorite New Shows of 2007:

• Chuck
• Life
• Burn Notice
• The Big Bang Theory

Alright so now you have a better taste of what I like in entertainment. Just for the record I want to state that I do read books, but with school and being forced to read, I haven’t set aside time for what I want to read. But for Christmas I did get a couple of books I will be starting in the New Year.

Highpoints of 2007: Brad Paisley Concert & Junior Class- Boston Trip
Shock of 2007: Taking in a now 70 lbs. Sharpei named Ginger
Low-points of 2007: Final Episodes of Stargate: SG-1

And with today marking the close of 2007 I could tell you what I hope to achieve next year, but I don’t want to look back on un-kept resolutions. So for now I look back on an ok year and hope for even better new one….and hoping to rid myself of my Algebra book. So here’s to 2007!

Wake Up. Get Real. Move On.

It’s New Year’s Eve and that means it’s time to get ready for a whole new year! But of course you can’t think about the future without thinking a little about the past. 2007 was certainly an eventful year but that doesn’t mean it was a good one when it comes to what was reported.

You probably recall Don Imus getting in trouble for a racial remark he made. But here’s the thing, he was known for making rude comments- it’s who he is. So why did he get in trouble? Because some folks just have to go and pull out the Race Card. Yes I believe he did go a little to far in his personal comment but it’s not like he’s the only person to make such a rude comment about someone. As for Miss South Carolina, while we all got a chuckle out of her answer, we all have at some point done something to embarrass ourselves.

One reason for making this blog is to express my opinions on events in the world, while also killing time. Currently I want to go into Broadcast Journalism, but now at the end of 2007 part of me feels ehhh because of all the stupid reports made by the media. So let me introduce you to what I call The Moron Report.

The Moron Report of 2007:

1. Paris Hilton was in jail and out of jail. People cheered and people cried. She read the Bible in prison and said she’d change. Now whether she meant that in this lifetime nobody knows?
2. Anna Nichole Smith- why anyone would care about her remains a mystery to me.
3. Rosie vs. Trump- who cares.
4. Michael Vick
5. Barry Bonds
6. Vanessa Hudgens likes her privacy but has apparently no protection against online theft.
7. Marie Osmond fell on live television. Is something wrong with her? No. But there is with us? Yes, because for some reason people actually care.
8. Lindsay and Britney have no talent and their lives are going down the drain. So why is that we hear so much about them?
9. Jamie Lynn Spears- 16 and pregnant. Jamie hopes that what has happened to her will be a message to all teens- as if she’s the first girl to wind up in this situation.
   

Yes it was reports like these that made up the headlines of 2007. And sadly it took the loss of lives to draw our attention away from that of troubled lives. America certainly saw its fair share of tragedy. From Virginia Tech, the fires in California, the Omaha Mall Shootings, to the fall of the I-35 bridge in Minneapolis. And in case you ever forgot we're still in a war. But were not alone in the suffering, earthquakes, hurricanes, riots, and assassinations haunt others in the world around us.

2007 has hopefully shown us the world we live, and how it’s about time that we do something about it. Parents shouldn’t have to worry about sending their kids to school. People shouldn’t have to be scared of someone hurting them in a mall. And we shouldn’t have to question the stability of the bridge beneath us. And we certainly don’t have to hear about other people messing up their own lives. We’ve been given life to make something of it, it may not be a perfect world and it may never be one, but we can try. So in 2008 let’s wake up, get real, and move on.

The Loss of Benazir Bhutto

It’s been the number one story across the world and one that many had hoped would never be reported. Benazir Bhutto, former prime minister of Pakistan, was killed by a suicide bomber. Bhutto had just finished speaking at a rally and had made it into her vehicle when the assassin struck, killing at least twenty other people.

Bhutto’s death comes two weeks before scheduled elections where she was a leading opposition candidate. Al-Qaida, along with the Taliban, has declared responsibility for the murder of Benazir Bhutto, and Pakistan officials have stated that they hold evidence to back this claim. However, many of Bhutto’s supporters have blamed President Pervez Musharraf’s government for the attack, what with Bhutto being Musharraf’s most powerful opponent. Back in September Bhutto accused Musharraf’s allies of pushing Pakistan to crisis by refusal to restore democracy and share power- this making her a key ally to the U.S.

In his response to the news of her death President Bush condemned the assassination as a cowardly act and urged the killers to be brought to justice. Bhutto survived the attack on her life back in October when she returned from exile. Knowing what she faced continued to put her life on the line. Offering words of encouragement President Bush said to honor Bhutto's memory by continuing with the democratic process for which she so bravely gave her life. "She knew that her return to Pakistan earlier this year put her life at risk. Yet she refused to let assassins to dictate the course of her country."

Today the interior ministry released a transcript of a supposed conversation between militant leader Baitullah Mehsud and another militant talking about Bhutto’s assassination. “It was a spectacular job. They were very brave boys who killed her," said Mehsud. Never have I found the word “brave” to have been so misused. Brave is how you would describe Benazir Bhutto.

Her memory and the love for her can definitely be seen in the faces of the people who supported her, but their response is probably not in the best fashion. Ransacking banks, waging shootouts with police, burning trains and destroying buses, are most likely not considered to be the must civilized of ways in dealing with death. But who do these people have to turn to? What is their future? Its painful thoughts like these that haunt the people of Pakistan who mourn the loss of Benazir Bhutto.

Earlier post on Benazir Bhutto after the Karachi Bombings

Crown a Basket-Case?

Add a little pepper and you have a recipe for- confusion? That’s the case with Ingrid Marie Rivera, Miss Universe Puerto Rico, who claims she’s a victim of sabotage. Before winning the crown on Nov. 23, Rivera revealed that after refreshing her makeup during the contest preliminary on Nov. 18, she experienced redness, itching and swelling of her face and broke out in hives. She also said she experienced severe itching around the edges of her evening gown towards the end of the event. The substance- pepper spray.

At first you might ask yourself how someone could do such a thing, and then you might ask why Rivera was targeted. The answer…there isn’t one. Upon viewing video of the pageant, you, like me, might realize that there are no signs of redness or swelling on Rivera. Signs of severe itching or hives would surely be a dead give away when it’s custom in a beauty pageant to wear swimsuits and gowns. So this leaves us with three questions:

1. Why was Rivera targeted?
   
2. Who targeted her?


3. Where are these symptoms she speaks about?

These three questions come together to make one big question- is Rivera making the whole thing up? This whole thing would be a little more believable if she was one of the top few girls chosen days ahead of the finals. And to top this whole tale off, forensic investigators have found no shred of evidence to prove Rivera’s story. Plus she continued to wear the “uncomfortable” dress long after she was required to.

And as of recent news, Miss Puerto Rico has stated she is willing to take a polygraph. If she does take the lie detector test we will learn only two things:

1. She stands by her story.


2. She’s an idiot.

I want to know why she even cares since she’s already won. Whatever the case may be, Ingrid Marie Rivera has faith in God that the truth will come out. So in closing I would like to leave you readers with this final question- did Puerto Rico crown a basket-case?