Polls

As you are probably aware, most other blogs have polls on them. I thought it would be cool to add polls on our blog. The only reason I don't have one up now is because I can never think of any good questions.... What are your thoughts? Is a poll a good idea or is it boring? If we got a poll, would you all spam the inbox of gwebbies@gmail.com with your creative questions? Please?

Weekly Weird- Yearbook Signing

Who ever thought that it would be a good idea to write in the pages of a shiny book that costs like $60? I mean, I think it's a great idea and all my friends signed my yearbook, but really? People normally don't write in books much less big fancy ones like lots of schools have. What did people do to stay in touch before? There is always a nice hand written letter, or you can assume that the people you want to stay in touch with you will but yearbook signing? It just seems peculiar. It's often turned into such a weirdly competitive social thing. I mean, why are you special if someone writes HAGS on your year book, just like they did on everyone elses? Overall I think signing is a great way to remember the good times but why sign the book as opposed to like something else?

Rest in Peace

Three days ago Michael Jackson the "King of Pop" died of cardiac arrest at age 50. Within the next few hours 28 of my friends status's were about him, the first time since the inauguration that they all had the same thing one their minds. Mostly "RIP MJ, I'll dance thriller in your honor" with the occasionally "The creeper is dead." No one could quite seem to believe that this seemingly immortal star had died so young. Now I agree that a life is a life and death is tragic especially with his three young kids still around, however what has he been doing to himself over the past few decades? No one quite knows but he can't have been healthy. He went from this strong dark teenager to a bleached white figure. He has had numerous plastic surgeries. Is it because of health reasons or simply because he was never happy enough with how he looked?

Death does funny things to the world. Before MJ died, most people I knew believed him to be a terribly sick minded person. Yes, they liked his music but no one supported him or called them selves a fan. Yet as soon as he dies, they all start thinking about how sad it was, and how tragic it is for him to die so young. They can't believe that this child prodigy turned world famous star could possibly die. Are they just trying to make up for years of slamming his mistakes or did they always feel this way and its just starting to get out? But this isn't unusual. It seems to me that when ever some one dies people always jump aboard the sympathy train like they were behind them from the start.

A little digression: When someone commits suicide it is often because people treat them terribly. Yet as soon as the person is dead, everyone was their best friend. They talk about how much the person influenced them and how they looked up to this person. Why couldn't we just realize that if we were all kind to them before hand, another life wouldn't have been lost? Be kind to everyone. Please.

Recently I feel everyone is dying or becoming pregnant. (No I'm serious, it feels that way!)

Farrah Fawcett passed away in the hospital surrounded by her friends and family the same day Jackson died. For quite some time she has been battling cancer, but that doesn't make her death less devastating. She is best known for being in the TV series Charlie's Angels. Very recently she made documentary Farrah's Story about her battles with cancer. It seems that she was always loved, so it's sad that her death was almost shadowed by MJ's death. We'll miss you Farrah!

This morning TV salesmen Billy Mays was found dead at home. No one is quite sure of the cause yet, though the autopsy should be complete by tomorrow. He too was only 50. He was known for his "boisterous hawking" of things such as OxiClean and Orange Glo.

Netflix Watch Instantly

Netflix has a selection on movies that you can watch online with just a click of your mouse. Though it's a relatively old feature of netflix, only recently has it become available for macs and only more recently have I started using it.

The Pros

-You can pick what you watch

-Like the normal netflix, it recommends things it thinks you would like

- It works where ever you have a computer

-The movie loads within 5 minutes

The Cons

-If you have slower internet, it often stalls out in the middle

-The quality isn't supreme, especially if you want to watch it in full screen

-There are no chapters or ways to move it efficiently

-The movie options that play instantly are limited

Overall, though I feel like it is flawed, the option to watch instantly is great. I'm not a particularly patient person so if there is a movie I want to watch or if I'm just home alone, I put on a movie. Though it sometimes takes a while to load, it's a nice thing to have while I'm doing other things online (such as blogging...). I also don't have television which makes this seem a whole lot better. If you do have TV, I would probably just stick to your shows and movies that don't stall out in the middle. Otherwise, I would definitely recommend that you give Netflix Instant Movies a try.

Neda

Hi girls! Long time no see. I wish I could say that I just popped in to catch up, but there's something that's been on my mind a lot that I wanted to make sure you're all aware of. (Not to say that I don't want to catch up! I'm one exam away from being done with tenth grade - yahoo! - and so I should have some more free time for a while.) I'm sure you've all heard a bit about the elections that recently took place in Iran. Here's a quick background from NYTimes.com:

Iran has had a quasi theocracy since the ouster of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in the Islamic Revolution of 1979. In June 2009, widespread protests over the results of a presidential election grew into the greatest challenge to its authority that the Shiite regime has faced.

On June 13, 2009, after an unusually bitter campaign, the authorities announced that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been reelected. The announcement of his victory -- in which it was said that he had received more than 60 percent of the vote -- prompted mass protests by demonstrators who claimed that he had stolen the election. Mr. Admadinejad's main challenger, Mir Hussein Moussavi, a former prime minister with a reputation for honesty and competence, rejected the results and called on supporters and fellow clerics to fight them. In the final weeks of the race, Mr. Moussavi's campaign had gained tremendous energy, and huge rallies by his supporters had packed the streets of Tehran day and night.

Initially, Mr. Ahmadinejad and the country's supreme ruler, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, brushed off the outraged reaction to the results. But in the face of massive demonstrations, two days later Mr. Khamenei called for a high-level inquiry into accusations of election irregularities. But that failed to appease the protesters, as did an offer the next day to conduct a partial recount. Thousands of both pro- and anti-government demonstrators gathered in the streets, increasing tensions. Clashes with members of the Revolutionary Guards and their militia supporters left at least seven people dead during the largest antigovernment demonstrations since the Iranian revolution.

The country is, to say the least, a mess at the moment. The protests were initially nonviolent, but the conflict has been escalating. Khamenei is calling for increased opposition to the protesters and promising bloodshed if demonstrations continue, and according to unverifiable accounts (in other words, take this with a grain of salt because I can't vouch for its accuracy), a young woman named Neda was killed today while simply watching what was going on with her father.
From Twitter:

Who are you, Neda ?

Neda, the girl murdered by Basij today, and now the voice of the new revolution.

Neda's life was ended so that Iran's children might live free.

May she rest in peace, the rest of us can´t. Let´s make sure she didn´t die in vain.

Neda (voice).Those beautiful eys..Nedaye Iran.. The new voice of Freedom...

Neda's life today was not lost in vain. Non-violent movement of Iran will b victorious.

The world looked a girl in the eyes as she died tonight. Remember Neda.

Her name was ندا #Neda. It means voice or call in Farsi. She is the voice of the pple, a call to freedom.

(You may have heard of what's being called a Twitter Revolution: people in Iran are trying to get the truth about what's happening out using sites like Twitter. Iranian authorities have been trying to crack down on these people, leading thousands of users in other countries to change their location on Twitter to Tehran in order to throw them off, as well as tinting their Twitter icons green in a show of solidarity.)

It all boils down to this: It's a difficult time for Iran, right now, and as far away as Iran is from where we are, we need to remember that there are real people, including real girls just like us, who are being affected.

One last "Tweet":
In land where women lost their voice, appropriate that woman named Neda --Voice-- should become symbol that topples regime.

I ask one thing of you, girls: Remember that we are important. Remember that we have our own voices. Remember Neda.


(other sources: NYTimes.com: Violence Grips Tehran Amid Crackdown, Daily Kos: Her Name Was Neda, Life.com: Eyewitness: From Tehran's Streets)

The Great Debate: Video Games

There have been many studies showing that children who play violent video games grow up to be more violent. But why all the fuss over video games? It's not often that that you hear about books or movies causing kids to fight, so why would video games be different? Even before all these graphics people played violent games involving killing people to rise to different levels.

However, not being a gamer myself or knowing much on the topic I can't say much. What do you think? Do video games influence how kids act? Why is this any different from playing D&D with friends?

My Greatest Apologies!

I am so so so sorry I have taken such a long pause from you all. I wish I could say it will not happen again, but with busy lives I'm sure that it will. What have I been doing? Let's see. I took 6 finals (the last of which finish at 2:15 yesterday), organizing a camp I am running for kids this summer, filling out varies application and still trying to sleep.

Now that I'm back, I was looking around my friends' blogs to see if they had any creative ideas. A funny idea I saw was a weekly WTF. He takes some weird food or idea or something and just talks about how random it is.

Weekly WTF- Crocs

Who ever thought to take foam, pock holes in it and call it a shoe? I mean, I think they're really comfortable and I do wear them on occasion. But really? They come in almost every color and style ever thought of. You can get flats, flip flops, rain boots, even high heels? There are even going around that crocs are edible (though I wouldn't recommend eating them...).

What are your thoughts on Crocs? Pretty, Comfortable, Tasty?