Monday

Do people change?

A class discussion today was about whether or not we are the same people that we were when we were five years old. I dont believe i am the same person becasue of my needs and watns, outlook on life, and belief in God hace changed greatly as my life as pregressed. In addition I feel that i am now not the same person because i strongly belive thta yo learn., grow, and change only through your life experiences.

One reason why i feel i am a different person today is because my needs and wants as a 5 yars old differed greatly from my needs now. When i was 5 my needs were less demadning and easier to obtain. For example, if i wanted a toy i would almost always recieve that toy from a family member on different occations. If i threw a tenpur tantrome id most likely get what i wanted right then and there. now if i want something i have to work to gte it myself. my responsiblities are greater and things arent as easy to get anymore.

My whole outlook on life now is different. As a five year old, the biggest problem that you face is if someone tells you that your imaginary friend isnt real. today, people are suffering from debt, sicknesses, and heartache. you start to learn the problems with the world such as economy and politics. Everything seems to be a big issue now a days.

Living Forever: A Curse or a Blessing?

Today my friends and I were talking and somehow the topic of living forever was brought up. We all had different opinions, and this was my stand on the topic:

I feel that living forever would be a curse. The main reason why i think this is because if you know you have forever you would not have a purpose in live. Like Aristole said, in order to loive a successful life you must haev a a drive or purpose. Without this how can you have any goals and ambitions that you want to achieve. It would also be a curse because you would be extremely lonely without your family and friends. Personally, i would not want to see all my friends and family suffer and die.

In a way death gives your life meaning becasue it sets limits on you. with limits people often strive to achieve that msot and do good throughout their everyday lives because they never know when theyre no longer going to be here. The though of death often scraes people so they try to make a differentce and do as many things as possible while theyre alive.

Friends

Since my favorite show of all time is Friends, last Christmas my sister got me the complete 10 session DVD set. This entire week i've had a sinus infection and swollen glands, so i've been home doing nothing but watching the whole set from the first dvd untill the last. The show is basically about 6 friends who live in the city and they hang out at this coffee shoppe called the Central Perk. The story line is based on love interest between eachother and outsiders, and the strong bond between the friends. For the most part the show is a comedy, with some dramatic points during the 10 seasons. As you watch the 10 seasons your able to see how they grow over time and how all their lives come together.

One of my favorite things to do after watching the show is watching the bloppers. Heres a clip from some of my favorite shows.

"Young Sherlock Holmes"

Today I saw the movie "Young Sherlock Holmes". I enjoyed this movie very much so I decided to write a blog about it.

A simple adventure film is made into much more in “Young Sherlock Holmes.” The special effects employed accentuate the escapist qualities that exist within the movie. The mystery begins when a few certain men are injected with a hallucinogen and they imagine inanimate objects coming alive and trying to kill them. Among other things, a man imagines his dinner attacking him and another sees a stained glass figure come alive and try to kill him. All of the men injected with the hallucinogen end up dead. This results from their reactions to the drug. Throughout the movie, not only are these men targeted and attacked with the drug, but so are the three main characters: Holmes, Watson and Elizabeth. All three experience delusions that are very real to them. The viewer can also see what the men are seeing.

What makes the film more fantastic is the scenery. It is set in London in the 19th century; the streets, shops, and buildings all have a Victorian quality to them. The clothing is also in a distinct Victorian fashion. All this makes it possible for the viewer to get lost within the world the film creates. The unrealistic plot line and implausibility of any real life situation do not detract from the film; it makes it more enjoyable.

“Young Sherlock Holmes” is an adventure movie, but also a fantasy. It is obviously unrealistic, but that is not what is most important. A movie thrives on flights of the imagination. It is not to be analyzed; else, it loses its appeal. It is likable, charming and engaging. It takes hold of the viewer’s attention and holds it by whimsical effects, scenery and dialogue.

Knicks

Yesterday I surprised Saverio with Knicks tickets. They were playing Pheonix at Madison Square Garden. He was so excited because his brother was originally supposed to get him the tickets and ended up not being able to. We had pretty good seats, but they were high up and far back. It turns at that one of my patients at my job is a security guard a the Garden, and he was able to move us to like 6th row back. Saverio was so excited and I was so happy to make him happy. We were about 4 yards behing the side line where the team was sitting. Although they ending up losing, he had such a great time and i was happy for him.

The Knicks started off the game hot and kept it close for three quarters. it seemed like every time Pheonix scored a point, the Knicks were right behind. At the start of the fourth quarter the score was 95-91 knicks. It seemed like the Knicks were going to upset the Suns for the first time in many years. As the fourth quarter went by, Pheonix went on a run scoring 12 points to the Knicks.

Friday

Picturess to make you feel happy =]

I LOVE THESEE

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hope they made you smile =]

Enchanted

Last night my sorority and I went to go see the movie Enchanted. It was about a fairy tale cartoon princess that was sent to the real world in New York City and awaits for her prince to go rescue her. I thought it was the cutest idea for a movie and I liked it alot. It was in a way like Snow White with a twist. The way they made the characters look in real life was amazing compared to the way they look in cartoon form. They looked exactly like them!

I would recommend this movie to people of any age. It teaches a moral that every story has a happy ending and to not take your home for granted.

Thursday

A Parrot with a Brooklyn Accent?

Today I read an article about the search for a parrot that talks with a Brooklyn accent.Thres an offer of 10,000 dollars to the person who has the parrot. The parrot is grey with a black beak.

A woman named Leigh Ann Frankel says that her 18- year old parrot named Franklin rfits the desctiption of what they are looking for. The parrot is grey with a black beak.The woman says that her parrot dissapeared from a Manhattanpet boarding faculty on Thanksgiving eve.

If anyone finds this parrot it would be a good thing to return it. The 10,000 dollar reward can be useful to anyone, so I suggest everyone keeps there eye out for this missing parrot. My advice is to listen for "Fuggedaboutit" and you will know that it is him.

Tuesday

Fred Clause

I recently saw the movie Fred Clause. It was about a man named Fred Clause, played by Vince Voughn, who was a debt and had a gambling problem. He would bet a lot and lose all of his money. He had an offer to open up an OTB if he could come up with a certain amount of money by december 24. His brother, Santa Clause, said that he would give him the money if he went up to the North Pole to help out before Christmas.
I really liked this movie. I thought it was cute even for someone my age. I didnt like that the comercials played all the funny parts of the movie because then when you actually watch the movie and see those parts its not as funny as it was the first time you saw it. I would recomment this movie to anyone.

Ninja Strikes Again!

Today I found out that for the first time in a month the "ninja" struck again. Last night at around 12:30 the ninja burglar robbed another household on Staten Island. The last time the ninja burglar struck was on October 29th, about a month from now. The ninja has become imfamous around the area and the news reporters are urging residents to be careful.

I believe that the ninja burglar needs to be put to a halt. A month ago, when the ninja was hitting house after house,was when the athorities had to step in. Obviously the athorities did not find him over the course of the last month and this has affected our community greatly. It is really time for the police in our area to make sure that the robberies stop and to catch this man of mystery.

Identity Theft on Staten Island?

Today I read an article about the search for a woman in identity theft. This article talked about how the police have been looking for a woman who is involved in identity theft.Police have been asking the public to help find the woman who stole a Staten Islanders identity. A woman stole the islanders identity and then went on to use it to withdraw a great amount of money from a bank in Queens.

I believe that identity theft has become a big problem in todays society. Every day we hear a story of someone who had their identity stolen or someone who was a victim of fraud. The only way to correct this problem is to set new rules in for stores to accept credit cards or etc. For example, it may be a good idea for cashiers to start checking more than one form of id. This would make it more difficult for identity theft to occur.

Nonno Silence

So, this is what silence feels like.



Like an extra empty glass sitting at a widows table.

I walked into the room and was blinded by the dark shades of red and brown. The smell, a scent yet indescribable, a mixture of flowers and tears. It was somehow familiar to me, I guess that's what sorrow smells like.



I glanced over at the casket, just for a moment, I hoped to find it vacant. The coffin was made of Cherry wood, embellished with shiny gold and bronze trim to fabricate the truth.



I had to walk over to him but how could I?



The silence is softly slithering through my veins. I wanted to scream so that I wouldn't hear my heart beat. Like an African drum, my emotions where singing a terrifically horrifying rhythm.



My legs start moving to the beat, I get closer but I don't want to. And then I see him, I cant help but stare.



I softly kissed his forehead. He was cold, like a frostbitten child. And that's when I started to feel the silence. I stopped hearing. No one said a word, or maybe they did? I just didn't hear them.



In a world where I am the only one who speaks, there is no movement. No words are spoken yet I understand the banter. The silence was in my bones now, deep in the apex of my heart there was nothing. In a room full of hugs and shoulders to rest on, I was alone, completely alone. Minutes felt like hours, Hours felt like days, the days never ended.



Throughout that time I watched my child hood flash before my face. It was buried with him, sealed up in his airtight bed.



My childhood, my grandpa, my nonno, is gone forever. And I am left empty, feeling only what I can describe as silent.

Underaged drinking

High school drinking is very common in the world today. It only gets worse as you get older, especially with college students. I know someone who had a very negative experience with alcohol. My good friend Michelle was at her 21 year old boyfriend’s college for the weekend. She attended one of the local parties with him and was influenced by him his friends to drink, even though they knew she was underage. They began playing a drinking game and it ended up lasting about an hour straight. Since she was not used to that much alcohol consumption, she vomited and passed out. She, like the boy in the story, got rushed to the hospital and had to get her stomach pumped. Like that wasn’t punishment enough, she was in so much trouble with her parents that even her best friends couldn’t talk to her. She hasn’t used alcohol at all after that incident, in fact, just the smell of it makes her queasy. Seeing her like that in the hospital made me never want to be in that position. Alcohol should only be used responsibly and for people who are of age. It should be drank socially, and not to get drunk.

Regrets

Everyone has regrets about certain things that they should have done one point or another in their lives. Although the reason for not doing something may vary, the regret is always agonizing. In the article Anxiety: Challenge by another Name, the reason why the person didn’t do things that he wanted was because he was afraid of change.

When deciding what college I was going to attend, I had the opportunity to go to Boston University. I always like that area, and dreamed of going to that school. There are several different reasons why I didn’t go. First is because of the amount of money that the school cost, and the amount of money they offered me. If I was going to go there, I had to be sure that that was what I wanted because I would be paying it off for a very long time. The second reason why I didn’t go was because of the distance it is away from home. Although I really wanted to go away because I feel like its time for me to spend some time away from home, I didn’t know how I felt being away from my family for such long periods of time, especially because I have a newborn nephew. Also, I wasn’t sure how I would adjust to the new environment and the people.

Now that I’ve started here at St. John’s University, there is some sense of regret tht I didn’t take the opportunity to go to Boston. It’s not that I don’t like St. John’s, but it’s the thought that I didn’t follow my dream of going to Boston. I sometimes wish I would have taken advantage of going away to school, and thing I may do it in the future.

The Quiet Hour

In my last class we had to read a selection called "The Quiet Hour". It was about adopting a new tradition where there would be a full hour that t.v. stations would not broadcast any shows or movies so that this way families can spend time together and grow closer.

While reading the story, I kept thinking to myself, “Families are NOT like this”. They over emphasized every little detail about watching television or spending time to sit and talk to each other, and personally I think it made families look bad. To me, the story was making it seem the television was the reason why people get divorced and mental illnesses begin. Their reason for this analysis was that we spend more time watching television than we do actually communication with each other. Mayer includes that if families spend the “Quiet Hour” to sit and talk about their problems, that the divorce and mental illness rate will go down.

Personally, I wouldn’t care if they made it mandated that television programs couldn’t play for an hour. I have a good relationship with my family and taking an hour away from T.V. wouldn’t make a difference. I only watch television on rare occasion, and for the most part during that time my family watches with me. Taking television away wouldn’t affect our lives.

Monday

cancer rate dropping =]

i recently read an article in the advance about how cancer rates have dropped by an average 2.1% per year since 2002. The reason for this is because of a new found diagnosis for colorectal cancer, which is the 2ed leading cancer killer. There are screening tests that can spot precancerous polyps in time to remove them and thus prevent cancer from forming. The article also said that the smoking rate in men decreased, which made it more likely for girls to get lung cancer than boys. Also that breast cancer rates are going down due to postmenopausal hormone therapy.

I was so happy after reading this article. I feel more secure knowing that there are certain ways to detect and maybe even prevent certain types of cancer. By taking precautions cancer rates are decreasing each day. There is still no cure for cancer, however, taking care of yourself can lower the risk.

$40 a day

I was clicking through the channels one day when I came across a show called $40 a day. It's a show in which Rachael Ray (a cook from the food network) travels to many different locations all over the world and shows you how you can have great meals without spending any more than $40 a day, even in the most popular areas. The episode I saw was when she traveled to Miami, Florida. She ate at these places where you never would have thought would be good but turned out to be amazing. At night she went to some bar where she ordered a large portion of food for so cheap which also included live entertainment.
I never would have thought that this show would "tickle my fancy" yet I was very intrigued. I've never been to any of the places she traveled to , but some day I would love to just travel the world. The hardest part about traveling is being a tourist and not knowing any of the hot spots. There are so many times I went to an area so simple like the city ,and wound up eating at what I thought is a typical Italian restaurant, yet my order of chicken parm is just fried chicken with a sauce that tastes like they mixed ketchup with some spices, and cheese melted on top. Now, if I ever travel, I will know where I can get good food for cheap.

Spitzers illegal license

I recently read an article on how Gov. Spitzer wants to give illegal immigrants the opportunity to obtain their drivers licences. All the need for the application is a passport as their form of identification. They dont even need a valid yearlong visa or other evidence of legal immigration. Some reasons why Spitzer wants to give them licenses include what he feels is "one step closer to eliminating exploitation". This means that it will be easier for immigrants who want to work in this country to get around, probably meaning from work to home and back. He also feels that it will improve traffic safety and lower insurance costs for all New Yorkers by ensuring that more immigrants have valid licenses and auto insurance. Republicans in the Democratic-controlled State Assembly feel that it is unlawful. “Handing licenses out like lollipops to illegal immigrants is an affront to those who are in our country legally and puts our communities at risk".
I can understand some points Spitzer is making such as it benifiting the government because of the money we'd be getting from the taxes and insurance that the new drivers would be paying.
I feel that its not a good idea to give illigal immigrants licences for several reason. One being that it completely reverses the law that Gov. Pataki made four years ago that made it impossible for illegal immigrants to get their drivers license. I also feel that it would put Americans in danger because whose to say that one of these illegal immigrants isnt planning to use their license in some shape or form for a terrorist attack. Not saying that they cant do that anyway because they get licenses other ways, such as using another persons identity or going to another state where it is legal to get their license.
I hope the republicans bill that will hopefully be passed next month will put a stop to Spitzers ignorance.

Tuesday

Iranian President

I don t know how I feel about this whole Iranian President speaking at Columbia University tomorrow. People are debated on whether or not he should even have the right for him to speak, and on top of that, he wants to visit the World Trade Center site. Is he insane? Does he realize how awkward that would be for us Americans?

On Monday, September 24, 2007, Iranian President Mohmoud Ahmeinejad will speak at Colombia University after being invited to do so by President Bollinger.

President M.A. has called the Holocaust “a myth” and called for Israel to be “wiped off the map”. Iran sponsors terrorism and is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Who’s to say that if President M.A. gets his hands on a bomb, he won’t take action against America?

I feel that he should be allowed to speak at Columbia, not because I agree with what he stands for, but because I would like to hear what kind of answers he comes up with for the questions that are asked of him. I feel that his stand oh denying the Holocaust [of ever happening] is completely absurd and him thinking that Americans would actually allow him to visit ground zero is totally crazy and morally wrong.

Hearing his answers and his lecture will give Iranians and others the opportunity to see that it’s not only the Bush administration that oppose him, but the American people as well and that democracy is about debate and the open exchange of ideas.

Stressssed outt =[

These two weeks are the closest to being the worst two weeks of my entire life. I knew that college life would be stressful; trying to balance class, homework, and two jobs; but I never expected it to be this much of a challenge. Evidently, school work is the most important aspect of my busy life and I try to put my school work first. I’ve been trying to balance my time and do my homework during my breaks, and in between school and work. I also keep my syllabus in handy, this way I can get a head start on homework that I have due in the future. Even with my free time and head start on homework, I still feel like I am falling behind in school. All my work and tests and catching up with me, and work has just become a burden on my life. It is very hard to stay 100% focused on school when I work two jobs, in addition to coaching a youth soccer team. After school, I go to work, and try to finish my homework and study when I get home, but I often find myself waking up with my face in the book that I began to read to a fell asleep on it. I find this happening increasingly each week. Maybe I really should take into consideration quitting one of my jobs to relieve some stress from my life. I know school is the most important thing but I somewhat feel obligated to working.

Monday

poor britney =[

Last night was the MTV Video Music Awards. I really wasn’t interested in watching it, but my family was, so as I was doing my homework I'd catch some tid bits here and there. I couldn’t help but watch Britney Spears' performance, knowing that this was supposed to be her "big comeback" after all this time. I noticed that she wasn’t as in shape as she used to be, wasn’t dancing as well as we as the audience are used to seeing, and really wasn’t trying as hard as she could. I really felt bad for her during her performance and especially afterwards, when this so called "comedian" came on stage and insulted her and her family on live television. She said really terrible things about Britney Spears, and even though I don’t know her on a personal level, I felt horrible for her and couldn’t believe that someone actually would have the audacity to say such things about someone, especially since that person was in the same building, and more importantly, on live television. Today everyone is talking about it. The stories are in the papers, are being talked about on the radio, and are even being shown again on television. I really hope someone puts the "comedian" in her place for trying to be funny and insulting someone who did absolutely nothing to her. And I also really hope that Britney gets her life back on track and can maybe have a second come back performance, to show the world that she’s not going to be influenced negatively by the people whose opinion means nothing.