MSN

My computer always opens MSN when I open my internet and these two articals have come up the last few times and caught my attention. I really liked them so i thought id share.

This one is about Nohas Arc
http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/04/27/2280442.aspx?GT1=43001

This one is about Steven Hawkings
http://cbs5.com/national/Steven.Hawking.aliens.2.1655388.html

Dead Week

Even though we are in "dead week," i know of three students who have tests this week regardless of the ideas behind the week.

Many students have become upset with their teachers because they are angry at their students for doing so bad on tests and the things that take place during finals week.

The point of dead week is to not have any homework and to study for exams. These exams are the things we have been working for all year and it seems that we don't have time to study for them with the quiz's and other homework we get assigned during this time.

I also know of plenty of students who's teachers cancel class for the week so that there students can study.

Dead week is for studying. Not for homework. If this is not what teachers are going by then we might as well move finals week up and get done a week early.

These are the things that people said to me while i sat in the cafeteria and talked to them about there finals. Hopefully the teachers will listen to there students eventually and change up some of there habits. Dead week...please be a good one!

Nancy

Sorry for the lateness on my video!

Had problems with my computer earlier

Also sorry bout the face! lol

Memento

For one of my classes this week, my teacher decided that we all needed to watch the movie "Memento." Mind you, this movie is played backwards so it took me awhile to understand everything.
Needless to say, the main character, Lenoard, has a memory problem. His wife was raped and murdered and in his attempt to save her was hit on the head, loosing his short term memory. Everything starts with a scene, and then plays what has happened before it. This way you see the effects of things but it keeps you surprised. So far you know who killed his wife, but not how he got there, what the facts are or how things have unfolded to bring him to the killer.
Ill finish the movie tomorrow and i want to tell you all about it but know its better seen then explained.

I hope you see this movie

Book Review-Raquel Welch: Beyond the Clevege

This is Jo Raquel Tejada. Also known as Raquel Welch. All of her life she has lived behind her big hair, makeup, high heals and clevege.
In Miss Raquels new book "beyond the clevege" she explains to the world what its like to live beyond the beauty and the kind of life a movie star leads with two children breaking into the business.

The book is fabulous becuase it explains all of her highs and lows. It sheds light onto her struggles with life and the hardest choices she ever made.


I recomend people read the book because it gives people another look at movie stars. She is one of the oldest and truley beautiful people of her generation that still shines through. She worked for her money and nothing was ever handed to her. She is not like the other so called "celeberties" that roam hollywood these days. She is a true hollywood star.






This video of Miss Raquel was taken shortly after her film of 100 BC left theaters. At this time she was 20 years old, a single mother with 2 kids, and no money in her pocket. She is now 70 years old and looks 50.
She came from nothing to achieve everything. That is what makes her and her book so worth reading.

Tom (Final)

Ever since I was a child, my father and my grandfather have always been like superman. I never once saw them cry, fall down and rock themselves, or beg for the mothers. Instead I saw them yell profanity, put duck tap on something or simply “power through.”

When my sister came back for her spring break she told me something that I never really thought I would hear. “Grandpa Tom has cancer,” she said almost without flinching. She had time to absorb the information before she told me and it was more of a kick in the face then anything. To me I could help but start to cry. My grandfather and I have always been close, I know he’s only human, but when you’re a child, they really are Superman.

This past weekend I decided to come home and see my family. Sitting there with my family I realized for the first time what it meant to cherish loved ones. When I was 14 my mother was diagnosed with MS or Multiple Sclerosis. Back then I knew my mother would be ok. Growing up I had seen her fall to pieces, call her own mother for advice and weep when the tears needed to fall. I knew that she was only human. Five years later I can say that my mother is MS free and helping other MS people as well. Yet that was the difference.

As I sat with my parents and grandparents, I couldn’t help but look at Tom and see the fear on his face. To see a man of that stature and grace seem too small and frail really took me back. It was at this moment that I started to question the concepts of maturity that girls and boys face when growing up. My mother let me cry when I needed to when I was young. My father however would tell me never to cry because it makes you look weak. Men it seems grow up with the mindset that babies cry, not boys, not men. Women however cry in movies, books, songs, etc. So I couldn’t help but see the correlation between it all when watching my grandfather sit there.

All of my life Tom has been that echo in the back of my head telling me to do better be better, and act stronger. Just like my father, Tom was the male figure who reminded me that life is only so long, that one day all of this will be lost forever. I know he told me that a hundred times, but as he sat there knowing that he was now a number like all the other cancer patients of the world, I’m not sure he believed his own logic.

As I hugged my grandparent’s goodbye after dinner that night, my heart sank a little. I know Tom will fight for his life to the very end. He’s been fighting for things harder than anyone I know. Yet I know, like most people, most humans, we can only fight so long.

Since I heard the news I’ve done my best to ask how he’s doing every day. I am not by any means giving up on Tom, because I know he has yet to give up on himself. I just know that if one day the fight gives out on him the world will be a little less bright.

To each lesson we are faced with, we are to learn. Through each of our heartache, we are to love, with each death we are to live.

PROM

I never understood the concept of Prom. To me, it was just one more excuse to find an acceptable place to grind your butt on however many men you can find. And vise-verse. I was never a fan of homecoming or winter ball but the rest of the world seemed to love them. I always found it funny how you get all dolled up in your new dress and shoes. Eat a nice dinner with friends or a date. And hug your parents goodbye as you head off for the dance. Only to come back a hot mess.

As prom gets closer for my high school I can only laugh at all of my guy friends who say they would rather die then go to prom or another dance. I cant really blame them. One of my best friends who is a senior this year asked if I would go to prom with him. I just looked at him and laughed. No i said. I would be fine not experiencing hell again.

Weapons of Mass Distruction

President Barack Obama's pledge to one day rid the world of nuclear weapons runs up against global realities this week when representatives from 47 countries try to craft an agreement on keeping nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands.

As much of the world knows Iran and North Korea are not allowed to build WMD as agreed under Bushes presidency. Yet Iran's perceived attempts to build a nuclear weapon in violation of the global Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and North Korea's nuclear weapons stockpile and exports of nuclear materials and technology has become a red flag for the United Sates.

The President has promised many things during his term and people are starting to question him. I am curious as to how he plans to hold the promise to stop the production of nuclear weapons when many others before him have tried and failed.

Obama invited the swarm of world leaders as an important step to intensify global focus on one of the most serious nuclear threats: a world in which non-state actors, like the al-Qaida terrorist organizations, obtain nuclear materials.

If Obama wants to change the threat of weapons he needs to find out who is selling them the materials or where they are getting any of there supplies from and shut down the trade. Are military can go in time and time again but unless they find the real problem, it will only keep getting bigger.

The Oldies-Three Dog Night

Growing up my family has always been about sharing the past with the present. If you were to turn on 98.9 or any other "Oldies" radio station, I'm positive that i would know the words to every song and who sings it. Because of this exposure to oldies music from my parents i was so excited when "Three Dog Night" came to Grand Island.
The concert was so good, and they sounded amazing. One of the lead singers stopped at one point at told the audience that this was the first time that all of them had been together on the same stage in over 40 years. They played there popular music and some of the songs that were never released. The concert was perfect except for one small thing. The audience.

Granted i knew going to it that i was going to be one of the youngest people there but i had no idea that "older folks" could get so...nasty. I have never seen old people dumb and grind, or that many at one place. It was very disturbing.

Yet besides the crazy messy dancing, flying beer, and screaming, that concert was very well put together. They played the music and entertained the audience like they would have back in the prime (the 60-70s).

They are the kind of band that's music will forever live through history as "rememberal" tunes. Songs like "One, Black and White, Momma told me not to come, Never been to Spain, and An old fashioned love song."

If you don't know there music, take the time to go back through history and understand why they made that older generation feel like they were back in the 70s.

Voices

When you sit alone, you begin to hear the things that you other wise wouldn't have listened to. Its in those moments that i am able to really look at myself and reflect on who i am. When i sit alone the voices of intuition, doubt, and hope come forward. Its an interesting thing really.
Ever since i came to school Ive been amazed at how many people don't listen to the voices of intuition and instead turn to other people. If you really want the answers to your personal question turn inward and look and you'll be amazed at how you know the right answers.

Easter-Final Draft

When it comes to Holidays people seem to have no problem celebrating them no matter what religion they are. As Easter Sunday came and went, I decided it was time to ask my own mother about the concept of Easter and the ideas behind religion. For my family, being Catholic, I never branched off into exploring the ideas and concepts behind other religions. You forget sometimes that people don’t view the world the same way as you.
Easter Sunday represents the foundational claim of Christian faith, the highest day of the Christian year as celebration of Jesus' resurrection. But many Christians are unsure what the claim that Jesus had been raised to new life after being crucified actually means—while non-Christians often find the whole idea of resurrection bemusing and even ridiculous.
Yet how can people not find the Easter holiday ridiculous. Where on earth did the idea of a Bunny delivering eggs come from?? Chickens lay eggs not bunnies. Yet like most holidays, some happy go lucky character delivers presents to the children of the earth and they wake up to find colored eggs hidden around there home. Along with those beautiful eggs are chocolate bunnies, peeps, and other crazy assortments. So like I said before how can it not be considered ridiculous?
I will admit, this Easter, once again, my mother woke me up and told me the Easter bunny had come to our house. I really did wonder how much longer I could get her to do that. I looked around the house, found my eggs, and ate the breakfast she made for me. Yet as I sat and talked with my parents I realized that all my life that was how it had been. Easter consisted of candy. Growing up no one ever sat down and explained the concept behind Easter, so like me, thousands of other children woke up Easter morning and went searching. Not for the truth but for eggs. I wonder if they too will one day question the fundamentals of Easter and the world like I have so many times over.

Russ and Nancy

On Monday nights i have meetings for my house and this Monday it was a PACE meeting. This means that i was supposed to bring in someone to talk and inform the girls about information. I brought in my parents. I had them talk to the girls about interviews and how to dress in the situation. The girls loved it. My parents were funny and they had a blast. I had no idea that my parents could be like that to be honest. Both of my parents opened the own business and the told the girls all the tips they needed for the interviews. Alto of the girls were motivated by there speech and asked me to bring them back.
Growing up in that house i never thought that people didn't think like my family did. When i watched those girls i couldn't help but smile and think that i was so proud of my parents. They even asked me later (the girls) if they would come back. Because of this they are coming back again next week. I'm proud to share my parents with people and the things that they have to offer. I'm glad I'm there daughter.

Summer

For me, this year has flown by. Since i first arrived at Kearney a week ahead of everyone else for RUSH, i have loved the being here. For many of us we cannot wait for summer to come take us away from school in a matter of 4 weeks. I'm very excited for summer to come but i know i will miss Kearney very much. I will miss the girls and all the crazy late night antics that seem to happen before you know it. I know i will see a lot of my friends but i cant help but think of all the things that will change next year when i come back. So many things will change along with peoples habits and peoples ideas. I will miss the seniors and i will miss the people that move out. Yet change is unavoidable and the new things that come into play will bring in a new life to the girls that RUSH for 2010. I'm excited about the future but i think I'm more scared. Ill wish for the best.

Two-Network

When the credits started to roll at the end of the movie of Network, i was very upset with the ending. I don't really know how i expected it to end but the ending diffidently caught me by surprise. Faye Dunaway who had the leading lady roll was, i must say, i complete bitch. However I do believe that Howard's character was amazing. He had a beautiful personality which lit up the screen with each take. Yet it was almost expected that his character would die from the beginning. Each characters endings were almost predicted ahead of time. You knew from the first time Max and Diana were in the same room that there relationship was going to end in disaster. You knew that the CEOS and TV writers jobs were at risk and they would end up doing anything drastic. After Howard was fired you knew that his life was slowly going in a downward spiral and would end in death. Yet you kept hoping, like in all of the movie scripts that there would be a happy ending.
Like most people who watch TV shows we know that the movie will start somewhat happy, have a tragic accident, and end in happy bliss. So when we watched a movie that started sad, had several tragic accidents, a love affair, no happy parts, and a death. For many of us, or maybe just me, it pissed me off. I love happy endings like any Disney baby would, so I wanted to protest during class and ask to see the REAL ending.
Yet i did not because i knew that this was the real ending. Not every story concludes with "they lived happily ever after." So i will leave the story with its crappy ending and tragedy so that, for others, they can enjoy it. For many this end was probably very suitable and likable, but i was not one of them.
I am as Howard said, attached to the tube and believe that happy endings do happen. Silly me...

The Tale of Two Sisters

Since i was little my mother always taught my sister and i, to watch out for each other. She knew that because we were sisters we would always have each other. So unlike most siblings we became best friends. Since my sisters graduation three years ago she has moved to Boston and is attending Wellesley College, an all girls school. My sister always felt the need to prove herself to my parents, as well has prove her independence. The move was good thing for her. Yet for me, it was hard. For 18 years i wok up everyday and went to bed knowing my best friend would be there in the room next to me tomorrow. Since her move i have seen her grow, learn, and become one of the most amazing people I've had the pleasure to meet.
Her spring break is after UNK's so she decided to come home, see her parents and come up to UNK for the weekend. I have had Morgan here before but each time I'm equally as excited. Since are worlds our worlds are so far apart, whenever we get together we cant wait to share are new stories with one another. Shes met my friends, seen what my friends are like, and has opened up to the idea of Greek life. Yet my sister and don't agree on one things. Boys
Since her move to Boston she has had an on and off again romance with a boy from MIT. His name is Taylor. Taylor, in my opinion long stream of bad words id rather not repeat. Like any relationship he has played stupid mind games with her and led her on. They stopped talking for a year.
Then about a month ago Morgan calls me to tell me she has a boyfriend. "Its um...Taylor." I almost lost it to say the least. For me this meant that my sister was once again with the man that i hated. Yet she assured me that things would be different this time around and that. So like my mother taught me I respected my sisters wishes and agreed not to talk shit every time she spoke his name. Despite my love for her and respect for choices, i cant help but disagree with her choices, kinda like she would for mine. So how do you tell your sister that shes dating a complete idiot who will only break her heart and leave her a mess, without sounding like our mother?

The F-Bomb

As many of you know, the Healthcare bill was passed this week due to the chicken shit money grobling politicians that are supposed to vote for what the STATE wants not what THEY want, or how much money they will get out of it. Regardless, as vic president Joe Biden introduced the President he gave him a man hug smiled and said, "this is a big fucking deal." People were shocked by this. I was not. Incase no one as has noticed, Biden doesnt do speaking campaings anymore. Why? becuase hes not smart enough to keep his mouth shut and not say stupid things. Here is the clip of him being...well, a fucken idiot.

Old Times

Since Ive been home Ive noticed a few things that have changed. One would be the green grass trying to come through as spring approaches, Two how much the town has changed and the roads seem to be worse, and Three how much people changed and don't change.
When i was in high school i was the first one to be ready to walk away from all of the people i graduated with and never look back. I was perfectly happy with the idea of never seeing them again. Most of my high school friends ventured off to Lincoln and i was happy with the go the opposite direction to Kearney. Then over spring break i agreed to see my friend Alaina for coffee and ran into another mutual friend from high school that i had known for a long time, Eryn. As i sat and talked to the girls i was amazed at how much life had changed them and molded them into the people they were. Eryn had become much more daring and courageous, while Alaina had put up the walls to the world that everything was fine. Knowing both of them as well as i do it wasn't hard to see the difference in either of them and all i could do was smile. They decided that we needed to hang out for St. Patricks day and I agreed. I spent that night with friends from school that i was very happy never looking back on and i was very surprised at how much i loved being around them again. To me it was like being in high school again, in a way it was fun to laugh and talk about the new stories we had to share with each other. So when I left are gathering i called my best friend/boy friend Zach.
I talked to him about my night and was sad that he hadn't been there. I talked to him about my feelings towards my friends and why i felt so utterly confused about life after seeing them. He laughed and reminded me that its natural to feel confused or afraid of life. We talked about were life was going for the two of us and how it was different from everyone else. I came to the conclusion that before I know it ill be 20, so will my friends. Before i know it one of them will be married, one of them will go to jail, and one of them might die. Before i know it, life will change and there is nothing any of us can do about it. Its part of there lives and part of there paths. I hope that each of the them stays out of trouble. The good old times will always be fun to look back and talk about but the process of moving on, growing up and living your life meeting new people is the real joy in life. I wish them all the best of luck in there New times.

Column One-Ralph

My great grandmother is 98 years old and currently lives at one of Kearney’s Catholic nursing homes. Last thanksgiving I went with my family to see her for the first time in months and we sat with her as she ate her lunch. As the lunch crowd rolled in, a short bald man was wheeled to are table. He looked tired, like death was knocking at his door and he was going to answer any minute. Yet as we opened his eyes and looked around a smile bloomed across his face and his eyes began to sparkle. It was on this day that i met one of the most extraordinary people I’ve had the pleasure to meet. His name was Ralph. Even though Ralph had just turned 91, he had only been living in the home for 6 months, before that he lived at home with a nurse. As I started to talk and get to know him I was amazed by the stories he told. In are day and age Ralph would have been known as a player, he was only married once but lived freely through his young age and chose not to have any children. He went to hundreds of dances and informed me that when he lived in California he was involved with some pretty naughty things. I didn’t ask for details. He asked my sister if she was married or if she wanted to be to him probably ten times while we were there, he also told my aunt that he would like to ride her, but then decided it was better if they forgot he ever made that remark. Compared to many of the people in the home, Ralph was full of life. He loved the company of younger people and cherished every moment he had with us.

It wasn’t until I sat down to play the piano for my grandmother that I realized how lonely Ralph was. I started to play a song, and a few seconds into it I heard Ralph singing along. When I was done and returned to my seat, he was crying. It was after this moment that Ralph opened up to me and told me about how he used to play the trumpet, all the artists he met down in Memphis and the concerts he had been to. As I got up leave with my family I promised Ralph I would be back again. And I did, I came back once more with my grandma for my great grandmothers birthday. I immediately went and found Ralph. He reminded me while I was there that he didn’t have a lot of time left and after you come to the homes like these it’s all downhill. I did my best to reassure him but we both knew he was right. I promised him I would bring my sorority sister by to meet him and spend the afternoon with him. It was a promise I never kept to Ralph. On Thursday after class my mother called me to tell me that Ralph had passed away. I wanted to cry. When I called my grandma to tell her, she only sighed and gave me a piece of advice. “Hope, don’t take anything in this world for granted, when you’re young, time is on your side. You forget that not everyone has that. Each moment is precious and you only get to live in that moment once. He came into your life for a reason. Figure out why he was there.” I sat with this page for hours, blank, trying to figure out what to say about the man that had touched me so much, and that I hardly knew. Finally as I started to write I realized what that was.

My whole life I have been living for the future. Living for what was going to happen. I was always trying to speed up time, to race ahead of the clock to see what was on the other side. I never once lived in the moment. If I could take anything from meeting Ralph it is this. Life is happening now. Tomorrow will be whatever it will be whether your there to rush it along or not. Live for the moments because they are what really matter. It’s really the only thing you have in this life. When I return to Kearney after Spring break I plan on going and visiting Ralph’s stone. Ill thank him for everything he taught me in are short time together and pray that he’s off playing and singing with the angles.

People like Ralph are scattered among are lives to remind us to stop and smell the roses, because of Ralph I will do that. Because of Ralph I will remember each day why im here in this moment and not trying to jump ahead to the future.
So to Mr. Ralph, one of the funniest, kindest men I have had the pleasure to meet. Thank you for reminding me what life is truly about. I hope that I to can touch someone someday the way you have touched me, rest in peace.

Hope

Alice in Wonderland

From the childhood story of Alice and Wonderland comes Tim Burtons version of the cartoon in a movie based form. Many people are very exctied to see it, inculding myself, others are not so sure. Two of my friends told me this moring that it had a good ending but defedintly wasnt what they expected. The story doesnt fallow the orginal outline, but anymore does it ever?

Some say it was terrible some say it was great...i guess only a trip to the theater will tell..

exploration

If anyone is a Star Trek fan then they know this introduction that started every episode of the Next Generation series. "To seek out new life and new civilizations," this line reminded me of are guest speaker who came and talked to us Tuesday during class. He truly has an amazing story and will have an incredible life. Yet i got me thinking about Star Trek, we are always exploring the earth but we have yet to go into space. Our society has yet to send a ship capable of carrying human life into space. With all of are technology we are able to detect hundreds of other galaxies in the universe, how in the world could we ever really believe that we are the only ones out there? Also if there are other species of life in the universe why haven't they found us yet? Or if they have, communicated with us? Life is a beautiful thing, and if there is other life out there, i hope I'm around to see it.