Another national disease....

Another day, another disease. It seems like America is no longer the melting pot of the world, but now the center of disease control. From West Nile, to bird flu, to peanut butter contamination and now to the Swine flu. It's funny though because compared to the other diseases, it is almost as if America is not scared. I mean obviously they are scared, but it does not seem as if there is near as much hype about this disease as all other diseases, when this disease probably could affect Americans the most. I watched a segment on CNN last night about the Swine flu and how these pig farmers are denying the infection of their own pigs. What was most disturbing to me is how the pigs were kept. There were over thousands of pigs pinned up in cages where they could not even turn their heads. The thought of it makes my stomach curdle. Maybe American officials should worry about how these pigs are kept! Besides that, it is no wonder that this disease is spreading. The show explained that because these pigs are kept so tightly in cages, they have very weak immune systems and when one pig gets a cold or any sort of sickness, more than likely every pig will get it simply because they are kept so tightly and close together.
I have grown to have feelings for pigs and set aside their ugliness and the smell. My dad works for a pig corporation in my home town, so there is sensitivity for pigs. But after seeing the show last night, I was disgusted.
First thing is first, officials need to reorganize how these farmers keep these pigs and this would solve the whole problem.
I don't think disease is the only problem we have on our hands here. Anyone who would watch this clip would be amazed and probably change their eating habits fast.

Jon and Kate + Eight-1?

Jon and Kate + Eight-1? I recently read an article on yahoo.com about Jon from the infamous Jon and Kate plus eight "showing poor judgement." It is so funny because the web address it www.omg.yahoo.com OH MY GOSH! Apparently, Jon went out on a night on the town and was seen with another women in the car, her driving. Jon admits to this, but claims that he does have male and female friends and one of his female friends wanted to drive his car....no shame there. I think this can go three ways 1. typical guy behavior, needs a break from the wife, so hangs out with another women to boost his ego a little---no problem, 2. sick of Kate (with all of her nagging that is obvious on the show) so decides to go a different route, or 3. WANTS TO HAVE A NIGHT OF FUN AWAY FROM HIS EIGHT CHILDREN! BIG DEAL! This is so ridiculous. No, I will not say that he can be trusted, but I will say this, any man who sticks through it with his wife after eight children all very close in age, is a keeper and entitled to at least one night on the town without being ridiculed. The sad part about this is that he actually feels bad, he says, ""Like most people, I have male and female friends, and I'm not going to end my friendships just because I'm on TV," the dad of 8 tells Extra. "However, being out with them late at night showed poor judgment on my part." There is no shame in what he did and no reason he should feel bad that is if he is telling the truth.
Do I feel sorry for the guy? Not really, he and his wife chose to do the show that revolved around their lives and Jon going out to all hours in the morning was part of his life, this is exactly what he asked for. But, in all consideration, he deserves to have fun and take a break from his huge family, as does Kate, that is if his true confession is only that he feels bad for "staying out late."

Slumdog Millionaire Review

A Free America?

One of the hottest topics in today's society is same sex marriage. Although I personally am very liberal about the subject, some are not and that is their prerogative. For example, Miss California Carrie Prejean states her thoughts about same sex marriage openly on national television saying, "We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite. And you know what, I think in my country, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody out there, but that's how I was raised." Should we criticize her? Absolutely not. Apparently this is why Miss California did not take home the crown. Ridiculous. Although we are suppose to be living in a open society, criticizing someone for their beliefs is not something that should reflect them as people. According to a FOX News story, Keith Lewis who runs the Miss California pageant was "As co-director of the Miss California USA, I am personally saddened and hurt that Miss California believes marriage rights belong only to a man and a woman." I believe in one of two things here: 1. we live in a free society which can mean that same sex marriage should be allowed to give people rights and also that people opposing this should be able to voice their opinion, especially according to the First Amendment. 2. how come the judges and the whole nation judge Miss California calling her a "stupid b****" and that be okay, but Miss California herself cannot voice HER OPINION, not judging on anything else? Does not sound like a fair society to me.
Another thing that concerns me is the fact that we have a swarm of media around this topic. You hear more about the runner-up than you do about Miss USA herself. And instead of proposing objectivity, the media decides to interview every gay man or woman in the audience to talk about the subject, making it seem worse than it is. One statement in the FOX news article stated, "I think it's ridiculous that she got first runner-up. That is not the value of 95 percent of the people in this audience. Look around this audience and tell me how many gay men there are.""I think it's ridiculous that she got first runner-up. That is not the value of 95 percent of the people in this audience. Look around this audience and tell me how many gay men there are.""I think it's ridiculous that she got first runner-up. That is not the value of 95 percent of the people in this audience. Look around this audience and tell me how many gay men there are." Yes, I am sure there are a lot of gay men in the audience, but whats better: a dishonest person or a strong person?
In conclusion, this is ridiculous. I do not even think that pageants should be able to ask such controversial issues. Why? Because the contestants are going to do one of two things: 1. lie to please the audience or 2. be honest and get accused of discrimination or racism, or just in general being a bad person.
Personally, I am proud of Miss California. I respect her honesty and most of all I respect that she has "no regrets" about the pageant. How come I can accept this, but no one else can? I believe in society today, people gay, straight, or whatever, can be and do whatever they please, including Miss California.

Go Big Red

Drinking at football games seems like a trend for most. Most of the time people go to sports games simply for the drinking, even if they have no idea who is playing. Except for NCAA/college games. For example, Nebraska football games. People go tailgating outside of the games in parking lots, but no alcohol allowed in the stadium. Which is weird, because more than likely a person going to a game is already 10 sheets to the wind by the time the game starts, so basically, the game itself is just a ticket to being "cut off." I agree that alcohol should not be served at Husker football games because we all know how crazy they are already. People and Nebraska football are like anyone from Texas and the state alone. I remember one year listening to the radio about 4 or 5 different people calling in and complaining about weddings on Nebraska Husker Saturdays! Really? No one in Nebraska can get married from Sept. until Dec. because the Huskers play? Or are they just suppose to be sure if they do get married in these months it is between Sunday and Friday? Ridiculous.
Anyway, back to the drinking. April 23 marked the day when those privileged die-hard Husker fans that get to sit in the sky boxes can no longer drink in the boxes. According to an article in the Omaha World Herald, there was a case last season of alcohol poisoning, so Tom Osborne announced yesterday, that those in the boxes could no longer drink and officials would be more strict.
Thank you Tom Osborne. I mean really, these people have the cake and get to eat it too? They get the best seats in the house and get to drink while watching. More than likely half of them are too intoxicated to know what is going on anyway, so they may as well sit in the nose bleed sections, but hey, this is what money can do for you.
Go Big Red!

Is this for real?

A story that I have been following for some time is the story of pirates capturing a U.S. ship. Today, the captain finally came home. When I first heard of the story, I was astounded and felt like I was in some kind of movie, Hook or something. I guess I always thought that Pirates were some sort of imaginary villain. Last night when I was watching the news, it became reality. One rescued coast guard said, "We all had knives and they had AK 47's." My stomach immediately got sick. I could not imagine being captured by pirates, not because it would be terrifying but because it seems so fictional. What seems even more surreal is that in order to get the captain home, Navy snipers had to kill three pirates. The whole story seems make-believe, yet was so appalling to me. I only wish that I would get to see a picture of the actual "pirate." I know that seems odd, but I wonder what classifies them as pirates and if they look as we all would assume. Hooks on their hands, bandannas in their hair, and mean as hell. When I heard the news that the captain was to return, it was like I finally got to breathe for the first time. It was the never ending bizarre story to me. No, I am not ignorant, but it is not as if these stories pop up all the time. It had the works-the villain and the hero, and thank goodness the hero came out on top.
My only amazement with the story concerning the press is that they did not have a hay day. Perhaps because information was so limited, but I did not hear any false stories or fictional statistics, just the facts, which was nice for a change.
I think the best aspect of the story is that the captain said, " I am not a hero, the military is." He is grateful to be home and very modest.
In conclusion, this bizarre story finally came to an end and really it is like watching your favorite movie and the star of the show coming out on top. Amazing.

Kutcher v. CNN

Another new technology, that is just what we need. First it was Facebook, then MySpace, and now Twitter. All greats to electronically communicate, but what ever happened to traditional communications. One of two things are happening, everyone is becoming a write and social face-to-face communication is declining. But obviously, this Twitter thing is a hit-recent member, Oprah! Last night at 2:13 a.m. Ashton Kutcher got over 1 million tweets! Wooohoooo! According to CNN Kutcher and CNN had a deal that Kutcher would donate over 10,000 mosquito bed nets if he beat CNN and 1,000 if he did not, fortunately he did. I have heard so much about Twitter and can be honest, do not know much about it, but if the Web site will be used for more causes as this, I am all for it! If these Web sites could be more for good causes rather than just for communication, I believe they could be held much more credible and useful. Right now, people use Facebook simply for communicating, whatever happened to calling your friend or running over to their house and talking to them. Why not starting a group of Facebook and taking donations for a good cause? There are so many possibilities with sites like this, especially because they reach such a vast amount of people. The capabilities are amazing-it even got the current President in office.
Many may think I am a hypocrit for talking trash about social networking especially as I am blogging and am currently a member of Facebook. But Facebook is no source of communication for me, a hi here and hi there that is it. Social networking sites could be so useful. For example, I recently posted a blog about how irritating Charter Communication can be. A few days later, the manager out of Missouri wrote me back apologizing for bad service. He has also been e-mailing to fix the situation and to be honest with you, it gave me a whole new perspective of the business. So I will not say there are no good things that come out of networks such as these, but I do believe that they should be used more for changing the world and less for personal communication.

Pondering on Eating Out....Random

This week I went out to eat with my boyfriend and his family....interesting. I have much respect for waiters and waitress because I used to work at a coffee shop and tips were a great source of money for me. However, one question? Why is that cooks/waiters/waitresses whoever it might be always bring your food all at one time? I understand it is not the waiters or waitresses fault, but it is really confusing to me. We all ordered side salads before the meal and a tray of chips and salsa. We waited about a half hour or so before we even got the side salads and FINALLY they brought them out. Approximately 3-3 1/2 minutes later, five huge plates with the entree plus side plates with dressing were brought out. We ended up wasting a lot of food because we simply could not fit it on our tables. I understand that restaurants are busy especially in a town as small as this where as there are only a limited amount of places to go and sit down and eat. But if you are going to bring out the appetizers late (which we specifically told the waitress the salads and chips were) why not just wait 15 minutes or so to bring the actual dinner out? Again, I am not "bitching" I am just saying, it does not make much sense to me. Why the rush? not only that, but when the staff does this, especially this waitress, she actually got upset with us because we had too many plates. Regardless, we were paying for the plates so we can have as many as we want right? I guess not. I respect staff at restaurants and again, have been in the position. As irritated as I was, I left a good tip and smiled the whole time. It was actually more funny to me than anything, because when the waitress brought the plates she looked at us as if we were suppose to immediately swallow all the plates in front of us. No apology, no explanation. I understand she was more than likely overwhelmed, but hell, I would rather the food be cold then it go to waste. I know whoever is reading this will probably just say, "and if the food was cold, you would complain about that too," but you are absolutely wrong.
I have never been rude to a waiter/waitress because I understand, not completely, but somewhat. I am not blaming them for what happened, it was just something that got my blood going, I hate wasting things!
Anyway, aside from my eating out experience and the clutter of plates hanging over our table which eventually just got threw to the strays, the food was great!

Biden v. PETA

Getting an animal from a shelter could be condemned as "the right" thing to do, but for some people, it just isn't. It brings many risks such a behavioral and social problems, especially for families with children. Getting a dog from a shelter is a great idea, but it also limits a person to only certain breeds of dogs, for example. For some people, if they are going to spend the money on an animal such as a dog, why not get one that accommodates to them?
I read a recent story from yahoo online about a dog breeder selling a German Shepard dog to the notorious Biden family last December. Today, she says she will "Never, never, never again," sell a dog to someone with a high profile. The Bidens are being criticized by places such as PETA for not buying a dog from a shelter, so for not saving a dog. Then after that, the lady who sold the dog ended up paying $4,000 for court fines when she tried to fight the citations such as pieces of dog hair on the floor, against her. This is absolutely ridiculous. I understand that dog activist want to help and save animals, but not everyone needs to take their point of view. Plus, what is it any one's business how someone makes a living or how someone chooses to purchase an animal? Sometimes I feel like activist organizations such as PETA are trying to force a belief on people that they don't choose to side with. Personally, I would choose to adopt and save an animal before i would buy one from a breeder, but again, that is MY choice, would you scorn me? No, probably not because I am not a high profile individual.
In conclusion, leave the two involved parties alone. They live in a free society and can choose to live their live and spend their money which ever way they want. PETA should not force their beliefs on anyone, just be happy for the believes they have already.

Dear Pauly...

Dear Paul Montgomery Shore,
Your behaviors and the words that come out of your mouth brought laughter to my life. I still remember the first time I saw you in the 1992 movie Encino Man. Your comical views and corky behaviors brought a new meaning of “funny” to my life. You were the legendary “weasel” of Hollywood when you faked your own death in “Pauly Shore is dead.” How genius. But that night, you gave support to the stereotype that illustrious people are haughty, and you left everyone disappointed.
As you were crawling your way up the food chain, cracking jokes and initiating laughs, I was just a college student working long hour shifts at the local coffee shop, Scooters. I know, I define the word pity. I had been there for two and half years and it was the same routine every day. Except for that one night, the door opened and it was just like a movie in itself. Customers froze in their place, but not me, the coffee making process never stops. No one could move or breathe until you had made your entrance. As you took your first step, the glow around you darkened and everyone exhaled. Not one person spoke to you whether it was because they were in awe or only anxious. But I knew, I knew from the moment you stepped through those glass doors.
“I need a double espresso with milk.”
I stood there, staring, covered in chai tea syrup and vitamin D milk as if I had no idea what two shots of coffee with a touch of milk was. I still am not sure how long it took for me to process what you said but I do remember the look on your face and the feeling in my stomach. Even after you gave me that, “are you stupid” look, I still did not judge you. However, it only took a few s words to change my mind. Judging by your attitude on screen, you seemed care-free, friendly, and very approachable. I imagined telling jokes with you and laughing until my abdomen hurt and my eyes watered, but you surprised me.
Someone else recognized you and was not going to let you walk out of that coffee shop without confirmation that you were in fact “The Pauly Shore.”
“Pauly Shore? Are you Pauly Shore?”
“Um…no, no I am not.”
At first I smiled, because you are notorious for your humor and I was sure it was a joke. But then you abruptly took your coffee and faded into the dust.
I was flabbergasted. You were not different from any one of us, other than the fact that your wittiness took you somewhere beyond the local comedy venue. Your fans support you and your career. Don’t you at least owe us a hello, “Hey Buuuuudy,” anything?
I was disheartened, astonished, and most of all embarrassed. You did not reflect your on-screen characters even slightly. How does a person act as another, yet in reality become so different?
The disappointment lingered in the store after you left and then…you were forgotten. I attended your comedy show that next night, but it was not the same. You were just another arrogant luminary with hordes of green paper.
I hope as you read this you will consider my plea. Acknowledge those who look up to you, even if it means slapping on a phony smile and only saying “hello.” Don’t give evidence to the stereotype that those who are prominent are also arrogant.
Let yourself be known for your humorous competence, not your discourteous attitude.

Sincerely,
Your Faded Fan

Dear Britney....

Okay Britney, I felt sorry for you the first time and now you are doing it all over again. Just when you started reliving your life the way you should and needed too! You were getting better and back at what you do best...singing, and now he has sucked you into his trans again.

First of all, why? What is it about him? Before he met you, he was a nobody. I commend you for not judging people and following your heart, but you deserve better than that. He has taken everything you have worked so hard for since you were 17, even your children.

Now I do not know if the rumors are true, but an "anonymous insider" has spilled some information about this. You and K-Fed together again? I thought you would be smarter this time through. I thought for sure that after all you went through, shaving your head, losing your kids, in and out of rehab, not even having control over your own finances, you would have learned. He is not good for you or for your career or for your health. I know maybe right now it seems logical to be with him, I mean he is your baby's daddy, but reconcile, that's it, that's as far as it needs to go.

An article posted on MSN, shows you and K-Fed together and a source says, "It's like they're newlyweds all over again. Brit and Kevin can't keep their hands off each other! The flings have made them both a lot happier." Of course he cannot keep his hands off you, you are back in the limelight! "The center of the ring just like a circus!" If he really loved you, he would have been there for you when you lost your hair, your estate, and family....but he wasn't. He was only there for the court appearances when he was taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from you monthly.

This is your last chance Britney. Your fans stood by you once through thick and thin, but your relapse was not easy on anyone. If you fall back into his trans, you might lose everything...for good this time. Think about it.

Charter versus......ME

Charter Communications files for bankruptcy....Charter Communications going out of business....I have heard many different rumors about Charter Communications and to be honest, I hope they are true and as far as I am concerned they are. According to Stock News, Charter filed for bankruptcy on March 27, so is this why they decided to raise their prices $20? Because they are going out of business and want to screw their customers over once more before they do? Maybe that was a little harsh, but since I moved here two years ago, I have had only bad experiences with Charter and my experience two days ago put the cherry on top.
It was a typical day for me, got up, went to work, came home, ran outside to get the mail, sit down, and look at the mail. But, looking at the mail was not that exciting that day, to be honest with you, I think that I may have had water streaming down my face from my eyes. I go to school full-time and work full-time. Yeah, I make money, but not enough. Last month, we decided to get an upgrade with our cable but adding a new addition, the DVR. Genius, I must say. This was only a $15 upgrade, which we could afford. I got my bill yesterday and the total bill for ONE MONTH REGULAR CABLE SERVICE PLUS A $15 UPGRADE WAS $160! At first I thought maybe it was an April Fool's joke played on by Charter and they just got the bill sent out late missing the actual April Fools day. So I called them, basically laughing through the whole discussion thinking that it would for sure be mistake.
"Well mam, actually our prices have raised $20," said the associate.
I said, "Well, were you going to make us aware of this? Did Charter also decide to add two movies, Showtime, and a big package plus upgrade on? Is this part of the price change too? Because I do not want any of this."
Of course, no answer, no explanation, NOTHING. Then looking for the bill a little more thoroughly I realized, they also threw on a random $35 service charge. What the hell?!
The associate was nice, decided to take Showtime off and one movie: $160-$5-$11= $144
I hung up the phone, but realized he did not take the random service charge off. So we called back and talked to a women representative. She said no problem, I will take the fee off. My thoughts...144-135=$109--this should be our bill which is at regular price as always, therefore prices did not go up $20.
"Okay mam your total now is going to be $129 for the month of March," she said.
I laughed and my boyfriend stared at me. Really?
In conclusion, someone is getting screwed over here and it is me. Get it together Charter.

Scams: Beware!

As any other consumer, I get wrapped into infomercials and any diet pill I see on television. Approximately 2 weeks ago, Oprah featured Dr.Oz on her show to promote his new diet pill: a colon cleanse plus acai berry pill. The cleanse is suppose to detoxify your body while the acai berry, a super fruit from the Amazon, is suppose to increase energy and suppress your appetite. Unlike any other fad diet, I figured, well it's on Oprah it has to be pretty legitimate right? So what do I do, rush to the Internet to get my "two free trial bottles, money back guaranteed!"
I mean, I get a full dose of this fabulous, weight loss pill and only have to pay shipping and handling, a measly $5.95! Wrong! As I went to order it, I could only order 1 bottle and after looking up reviews, I also found an article saying, "read the fine print." I am always very skeptical about ordering products online, but most of my friends always tell me to "lighten up, everyone does it."
The article posted by this lady stated that she ordered the exact same product and after 13 days still did not receive the pills. On the 14th day, her credit card was charged $80. Turned out the fine print said after the 13 trial day period, you will be charged. In the end, the lady had a whole hell of a lot of depth and no weight loss.
The point of this blog entry is 1. to warn you about Internet scams and 2. to warn you about fad diet pills.
Internet scams are occurring all over the net and millions of people are getting their identify stolen and racking up massive charges on their accounts. I have read a numerous amount of tutorials about consumers who buy products online, especially trial products, and if you do not cancel within a certain amount of days (usually written in the fine print) you get charged a lot more than expected. These companies are clever, because then when you try to cancel, you are on hold FOREVER and when you finally get through, they pass you off to another representative who again puts you on hold FOREVER. There are many articles in which I have provided links to that you can read about scare ware, phishing, and other scams by companies.
As for this breakthrough diet pill, first of all you cannot find the ingredients in it ANYWHERE, why because there are the exact same products on the market for about half the price. After hearing about the Dr.Oz diet, I called Complete Nutrition in Omaha and GNC right here in Kearney and was told that basically this is a marketing strategy for this company, they do not want you to know the ingredients because it is so similar and they want you to buy it online so they can screw you over. You cannot buy these two pills in stores, because they want to charge you twice the price, plus more after they screw you over, and make consumers buy it online.
After going to GNC, I got 2 similar products for less than $50 when the online companies were expected over $80 plus the shipping and handling. Moral of the story: NEVER buy "free trials" online and always search in stores for the products you are wanting, usually you get them cheaper and don't have to take a chance at losing money.
As for Oprah, being a credible source, she should think twice about every featuring fad diets on her show, so far no results for me (so far), and the reviews about the product are very negative, making her look bad!

Twilight Review: Typical or Brilliant?

The time of day immediately following the sunset, when skin turns to crystals, and all immortal beings must bring their days to an end, twilight. The definition gives a preview to this awaited vampire movie written by director Catherine Hardwicke. In conclusion, a gloomy, unfit girl Bella played Kristen Stewart is protected from evil by the hearth robbing, yet mysterious vampire Edward played by Robert Pattinson. Peter Bradshaw says, "Twilight is mad, bad and deeply unwholesome to know, and perhaps, in its serious way, the most entertaining teen film since 10 Things I Hate About You. It is certainly a new twist on the time-honoured nice-girl-bad-boy storyline." A movie released in 2008 directed at the audience of teenagers, is not so young at heart while at the same time promoting the ever ending movie trend of the power of men. In general the story plot is simple: Young girl is forced to move to a new town, young girl meets mysterious vampire. Girl falls in love with crazed vampire, who shows no interest in here other than the fact that he cannot resist her smell....of blood that is, and finally girl wants to become vampire solely to please her man. Typical? Not really, realistic? According to most other movies, yes. Entertainment Weekly says, "For girls, the intense, ego-stroking appeal of Meyer's novel was the way that Bella becomes this undead Byronic stud's soul mate without quite knowing why she's worthy." Through out the movie, Edward treats Bella with no respect, yet she longs to be with him allow for the longest time not knowing why. Numerously, Edward opts to leave the girl, but she does not allow this. This says a lot about her character, demonstrating a girl who is desperate and longs for the love of someone whose only interest is the hunger for her blood.
The movie is well-written and nontraditional, allow does not teach good morals especially for teenage girls. The red lips, pale skin, and high cheek bones of Robert Pattinson could reel any human girl in, but the desperateness and unworthiness consumed by Bella is pitiful. As a love story, the spark and chemistry of the two lovers is only in the hands of Bella. Jake Wilson says, "In a film of this kind a great deal depends on the chemistry between the lead actors, and here Twilight falls especially short."
"Dumbest vampire movie ever," said Rob Grimm, however, not quite. The movie was well directed and actors well picked. Grimm explains the movie lacks reality, "Why make a vampire movie when you can't see any real vampire action?" Why? Because the movie is directed toward young adults and because this movie throws a twist on vampires. An animal blood sucking vampire, not human. Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp suck blood, Robert Pattinson longs for only one humans blood, Bella, which brings a whole new perspective to vampire movies.
In conclusion, this is a movie that "sucks" any audience into it. Allow it is far fetched and not your typical love story, the mystery and twists is sensational.