Parents doing the time for kids not going to school.

             If you don't attend school on a regular basis or know someone that doesn't attend school then this could be an important notice. In Palm Beach, Fl there has been a new law passed stating that parents of children under 16 who allow their children to miss 15 or more days of school in a 3 month time period receive 2 months in jail. Going to jail is a last resort after the court and social workers do whatever they can to fix the problem. This law has been passed in other countys across the US such as Baltimore and in Orange County. Parents have suffered the consequences for their children by going to jail.

           

 This could be a huge deal to parents and children across the nation. I know a lot of people at my school who miss at least one day a week if not more. This year my school started bribing us with donuts by giving out donuts to every class that had everyone there that day.
         Hopefully parents will get the message that attendance to school is a serious thing. Not going to school, especially if your child is in high school can mess up their life big time.

Santa leaving broken hearts.

              Everyone in America is well aware of the hard economic times we are facing. Even the Santa's at the malls are in the zone with this as well. The Santa's at Department stores and Malls have been trained this year to not get kids hopes up for gifts this year. Instead of telling them that they will get the present they want, they will tell them that they probably won't get that and will tell them to ask for something else.
       I know we are in hard times, but I don't think we need to start letting kids hopes up. At the Brandon Mall; the Santa this year has been known to send every kid back to their parents in tears. He tells those kids that they won't be getting the present they want this year. That's just terrible. It's a killer to the Christmas spirit and is diminishing the belief in those kids of Santa.

       At this rate, we might as well just tell children that there is no Santa Claus and we are suffering from a terrible economic depression.

Pizza now a vegetable? Really?

        "Kids, eat your vegetables", a common quote that has been said by millions of parents world wide, that is now an understatement. American Congress has ruled pizza as being a vegetable. Their reason why is because the tomato sauce/paste counts as a vegetable serving. Just cause there is one serving of a vegetable on a food doesn't make it a vegetable. There is cheese and bread as well.
         Obviously the Congress has never eaten a slice of pizza before beacause they would realize that it is not a vegetable. Only about 31% of the tomato sauce/paste is actually tomato the rest is a bunch of chemicals and unnatural ingredients. Then there is the yeast for the bread and mozzerala cheese. Any person can tell that it is not a vegetable. I thought Congress was supposed to be looking out for the children and doing what is best for them, in this case it's not. Now studies have proven that 1 out 5 children is obese. That is a problem, and we're not doing anything to solve it by ruling pizza as a vegetable.

 Well here's another cause for obesity, making pizza a vegetable. So all the fast food places selling pizza; their rates are going to sky rocket up like the next rocket to the moon. Our obesity rates might as well go up too. It's like telling children that a box of twizzlers and a can of orange soda counts as two fruit servings. Really America? Our fast food rate is already becoming out of hand, now pizza a vegetable. I thought we were trying to become a more healthier country. But in the eyes of the Congress Pizza and a box of twizzlers is healthy.

Movies coming in two not just one anymore.

          Recently the big film companys have decided in making end of series movies into two parts such as the 7th Harry Potter movie; The Deathly Hallows which released Part one November 2010 and Part two July 2011. Along with Twilight's Breaking Dawn which is releasing Part one this week November 18. There are a lot of mixed emotions on these types of movies being broken into two parts.
          The film companys do it for the money obviously because they know everyone is going to see both parts either way. I like it because I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and the more you can drag on the series; props to you. I saw both parts at midnight and got both dvds at midnight. That tells you I'm a Potterhead. I will be seeing Breaking Dawn at midnight, but I'm not all that geeked up about it as I was with Harry Potter.

        The two parts idea is a great idea along with a money maker to the film company along with all the actors and actresses. Some people may not like it, but to me it makes life just a little bit more awesome.

Tangled up in Rapunzel.

Watching disney movies, isn't my typical way to spend a Saturday night. Although last saturday, that is what I spent my night doing rather than going out and spending time with friends. 

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel let down your hair!" That famous quote is from the fairytale Rapunzel. Disney recently made a movie called Tangled based off of the the fairytale. Most people assume that since it's a fairy tale that it'll be your mushy love story movie with a Princess and Prince falling madly in love and living happily ever after. That's not necessarily the case in this movie. It's full of action, adventure, love, sorrow, and happiness. It's over all a phenomenal movie. 

Tangled stays with the basic plot of the fairytale with a girl locked away from all humanity in a tower by an evil witch. Disney does add a few twists to the movie making it suspenseful and enjoyable for it's viewers. Tangled is the perfect title for this movie because it unravels a tangle of events that all get uncovered within the movie. It targets a wide variety of viewers including boys and girls of all ages. 

The movie starts off with Rapunzel being taken away from her family the King and Queen by an evil witch who then locks her away in a tower. By the age of 18, she finally escapes with the town thief; Flynn Ridder who himself needs his own rescuing. Rapunzel and Flynn then venture on their own escapade running into all sorts of trouble, but always managing to succeed in the long run. 

All the characters are full of personality that add their own spice to the movie. Rapunzul being the spunky beautiful teen girl that is so happy to be out on her own finally. Flynn Ridder not your typical prince charming, but also sarcastic and really gets to know Rapunzel before he falls in love with her. There's Rapunzel's over protective chameleon friend who is her greatest aly within the movie and the palace horse Max adding tons of personality to the movie. 

Overall it's an exceptionally well made movie that will definitely leave you feeling satisfied. 

Have a say in who you are.

"The last of the human freedoms is to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances." - Victor E. Franki Holocaust survivor. 
             In our lives we have the choice to be who we are, think what we think, do what we do, etc. In today's society we live with so many influences on our daily decisions it's hard to have a voice for our own selves today. Sometimes the choices you make in your life won't affect you that much and other times they can change your life drastically either in a positive or negative way. We are the living testimony of the choices we make whether we made them on our own or we have influences on them to make them. 
       "We happen to life, life does not happen to us. Life is all about choices and taking responsibility to make those choices." - Neil Farber M.D. Phd from Voice your Choice. 
            It is my junior year of high school and from what people tell me, it is my most important year of high school. Colleges tend to look most at the junior year so this year will either make me or break me. The classes I'm taking this year I have chosen on behalf of them looking good on my college application.  I'm taking the hardest classes I can manage including pre-calc which a lot of students don't even take in high school. I also take part in crew and am co editor in chief of the school newspaper. 
      My life revolves around me making decisions since I have a leadership role to fulfill. I have to make decisions for the whole school paper and the weight is all on my shoulders, if I mess one thing up, the blames on me. Making decisions and choices is a really hard task to accomplish because there are so many options, that's why I always have to think things through thoroughly and make sure I'm doing them for myself and not for anyone else. 

Last night I drunk too much. Ughhh!

        Recently Snooki released to tabloids that she wished her show "Jersey Shore" would show less drinking. She feels that the cast and her have all been labeled as "drunks" and that's all what they are known for. According to Snooki all they air on the show is footage of them drinking, partying, and hooking up. If it was up to her, she would show more footage of them just chilling out and having a good time being sober.
           Snooki does make a valid point with her reasoning. The majority of the viewers are high school and middle schoolers and if they see their favorite cast member getting drunk and hooking up, they will start to think it's okay since they do it. It will have a negative influence on the viewers causing them to start drinking and getting drunk all the time and partying 24/7.

           If the producers actually listen to Snooki and take her advice to heart it could have a lot more positive influence to the show and the viewers in general. Giving the viewers a more positive role model than a negative influence on their life.

Psycho thriller Haunted House.

In New York City, there's a Haunted house named Blackout that isn't your average haunted house. It doesn't offer ghosts, zombies, witches, etc. This house is a psychothriller, by having scare actors that act out real life situations that people seem to fear. If you have experienced sexual abuse, near drowning experience, or afraid of the dark; you'll have a rough time in the house. The main objective of the house is for people to project their own fear. People will say they have heard noises, when there really weren't any or will leave when they see something that makes them think of something fearful of their past.
       There a rules to this haunted house and some of them are you aren't allowed to speak, only to scream as loud as you want, if you want to leave just scream safety as loud as possible, you must be over 18, and you must walk through it alone.

           The haunted house sounds like it would actually be really scary. I'm not one to get scared of zombies, werewolves, and vampires, but if it's a psychothriller where they leave you to do the thinking it can get really scary.

A vision. To Write Love on Her Arms.

           "The stars are always there, but we miss them in the dirt and clouds. We miss them in the storms. Tell them to remember hope. We have hope." 
                  
http://www.twloha.com/vision/
         When I hear people joke around about cutting and killing themselves, it’s almost like a pierce to the heart. What most people don’t know about me and would have never guessed was, that just one year ago, I was in a dark place. I suffered with what psychologists call “Major Suicidal Depression”. People at school would have never guessed. I put on the fake smile and acted like my life was perfect when it was the exact opposite.

          There's an organization designed to help people who suffer with depression, addiction, self- harm, and suicide; it's name is To Write Love on Her Arms. There are 121 million people worldwide that suffer from depression and I'm not afraid to say that I was one of them. The past couple years, I was in a dark place from experiencing child abuse from my mother. The organization TWLOHA had helped me a lot. With attempts of suicide I was forced to call the suicide hotline and I'm lucky to say I'm still alive today.
         Depression, addiction, self-harm, and suicide can all be serious matters that can cause death one way or another. There was that point in my life where I felt rejected from society and felt that no one cared. I had to remember that God loved me and there were people around me that loved me. Love is the greatest remedy out of all things and can help you get out of your "funk". I encourage you to please talk to someone if you are depressed or struggling with an addiction. Death is not the answer and overcoming your obstacles will just make you that much stronger of a person.

The death of a legendary man.

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” - Steve Jobs
               Recently the world has lost one of it's most influential people of all time, the Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Jobs passed away on October 5,2011 at the not so old age of 56 years old. He had suffered from several health problems with rare pancreatic cancer being one of them. It was noted that he passed away surrounded by his family; the people he loved the most and held onto in life. 
              Jobs was an incredible man with a list of many accomplishments with being the co-founder of Apple at the top of his list. He also worked with lucas film, Pixar, and disney. The man was just a straight up technology genius and was a blessing for everyone else around him.

                It really is such a tragedy that he had to suffer  cancer and pass away. He has definitely left his mark on the whole entire world. We wouldn't be as far as advanced as we are today if it wasn't for him. With the iPod, iPhone, Macbook, and so much more technology from the man. He was a noble man who did not let his achievements and wealth go to his head, he kept it humble and did not deserve to have suffered with cancer.

iPhone 5 announcement

                Today the tech journalists of Apple's headquarters in Cupertino,California; have recently made announcements regarding the iPhone 5. There are a lot of new improvements to the phone and hopefully a lot of people will be pleased with the new and improved phone. It will be a lot lighter and thinner than the iphone 4 and include a better quality camera. There will be a new version of the operating system, iOs 5 which is now PC free meaning you won't have to connect it to a computer to work anymore.
               Safari now includes tabbed browsing on your phone and there is a reader button to allow you to just view text only. In the mail app, there are new formatting tools and you are able to search the text of your email. The camera app is now avaliable from the lock screen, red-eye deduction, auto-enhance, and other improvements have been made to the camera. The iOs 5 system also does notifications and display on your lock screen as well. The text messaging app is improved making them even better than before being 3G and wi-fi. The iPhone is also in sync with the iCloud service from itunes where purchases from one device are an all devices.

               If you have problems losing your phone or misplacing it all the time, well now there is an app for that. It will let you locate your lost phone or macbook on a map so you'll be able to locate it at all times. There have been a lot of new improvements to the phone and just iTunes in general. This shows how techonolgy advanced we are becoming in a short period of time. One big achievement I think is cool, is that pilots are using iPads to replace 40 pound flight plans making them more fuel efficient. It's amazing what we are able to do with technology today.

Palmetto Crew's first 5000 meter Regatta

       This weekend on October 2, Palmetto High School's Rowing crew experienced it's first 5000 meter Regatta at the Sarasota Head Race in Osprey. The total regatta was a huge success for the Novice and Varsity team. The two novice boats brought home a gold and a bronze medal with the womens eight placing first and mens eight placing third. The varsity double got second, the varsity women's four got second, and the varsity women's eight got third.

             The whole day was full of excitement and hype for the whole regatta. Racing in the Varsity women's eight and experiencing my first 5000 meter race was unbelievable. It was even more unbelievable when we placed third.. Last year, during sprint season we had just gotten our team together and were racing with teams with 3 years experience, now that we have trained harder we are all ready to win. I'm thrilled to see what this year will bring Palmetto Crew.

Leaping into the 2012 Olympics.

          Summer is right around the corner, and you know what that means. It is the moment we have all been waiting for, the 2012 Summer Olympics to be held in London, England this year. One of the thousands of contestants this year is British long jumping champion J.J. Jegede.
         Jegede plans to take home the gold this summer for his country and make his country proud. Out of a promotional event for the 2012 mini cooper he jumped over 3 mini coopers which was only 6 meters. His personal best being 8.04 meters, which in the Beijing Olympics would have only earned him 8th place. Jegede will have to keep working really hard if he wants to bring home the gold this year.

       I think that's really cool this guy can jump that far. I can't jump that far so his ability to jump is incredible. I'm also super stoked for the Olympics this year I'll always stay up during the night just to watch the gymnastics and find out who got the gold.

Run your cars on wood and water? Say what?

               A company in Georgia has recently discovered they can make motor fuel from agricultural waste. The company is Renmatix and they have been doing extensive amounts of research on finding alternative ways to fuel our cars. With the way gasoline is priced and our economy is not so hot right now, we could all use a little extra pocket money.
            The company's goal is find a way to make fuel out of materials such as cellulosic biomass, wood chips, switchgrass, and nonedible parts of craps. This could be a major break through for our nation and save us millions of dollars. We've tried to find alternative fuels in the past, and haven't been successful. Hopefully, we can make a huge success this time and help our country save it's money and get out of debt.

Acronyms in our language?

          At school, at the store, or even at home you probably hear people say things like "LOL!" or "TMI! Those are acronyms for laugh out loud and too much information. Those were originally developed for instant messaging and then for text messaging to shorten up the text so you can type more. Now it has been infused into our daily lives and daily spoken language.
          Larry David, a comic who has his own show "Curb Your Enthusiasm" has recently called people out in his show for using Acronyms in their daily language. In the episode he called out his friends wife for using "LOL," in her language when she spoke.

           Using acronyms is the latest trend right now it seems like. There are groups on Facebook like "Stop Saying LOL in real life you sound like an idiot." To some people it is rather annoying and they like to use proper english language. To others, they like to use their slang and don't care how they talk.
          I could really care less, I tend to speak proper English just cause I like to stay proper. One of my best friends says "LOL" all the time, but I think it's funny just cause she's my best friend and I've gotten used to it. Some people probably find it annoying, especially if they don't know her the way I do.

SAT average scores slipping.

            Recently, the average SAT score across the United States has been slipping. In just a year the reading score has dropped three points, the writing two points, and math down one. This has been the record low for the scores recorded in history.
             The College Board says that the reason for the decrease in scores is the amount of diveristy of people that take the test now. An example is about 27% of the test takers come from a home where English is not their first language. About 30% of people who take the SAT are Black, hispanic, or American Indian. Their scores have remained stubbornly lower than the Whites and Asians.

            Personally, I feel like teenagers and young adults that take the SAT just don't really care anymore. It shows how America is becoming illerterate and not number one in the world for education anymore. We're letting Japan, China, and Europe surpass us in these areas. If we started to care again and really started trying we could raise our SAT test score averages instead of lowering them.

Facebook profile redesign?

             Getting tired of all the new layouts and designs facebook is coming up with? There will soon be a new profile design to be out this week. Facebook is launching a new profile that will let you add music and media to your profile. It will also let all your friends know what music you're listening to and the media you're watching. The new redesign of the profile is supposed to be more socially up to date.
        The new facebook profile sounds a lot like myspace and it sounds like facebook is trying to become myspace. I don't like all the new designs facebook is getting, but that's just a part of life. There's always going to be changes and we just can't do anything about them, we just have to get used to them half the time.

Immune system fully loaded to fight off Cancer.

                Recently, scientists have developed an immune system that can kill cancer. It all started a year ago when in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania they began their experiment on a leukemia patient named William Ludwig. The doctors removed a billion of his T cells and replaced them with new genes to attack the cancer. 
               At first, nothing really happened with the alteration of his genes. Then all of a sudden, he got the chills, his blood pressure went down, and got a rapid fever. He soon got better from the fever and all of the leukemia cells were gone and he was perfectly fine. The scientists and doctors are still skeptical on him, but for now he is fine and living his life like he never had cancer.

           This is a remarkable find that the scientists have finally found a cure for cancer. This could be the next big thing to happen for our generation. The new cure could possibly save millions of lives and people wouldn't be dying of cancer anymore. My great aunt died of cancer almost a year ago, she was diagnosed with it five years ago and then it returned to her. She was a very strong woman and believed that she could get through it, but that just wasn't enough because it took her in the end. This new cure will be able to keep families mended together and leave happiness where it should be.

Diana Nyad swimming to her death?

               A 61 year old woman by the name of Diana Nyad, who is a swimmer attempted to swim from Cuba to Florida. She took a tremendous risk swimming in the ocean which is full of dangerous sea creatures that could kill her. The distance from Cuba to Florida is a great distance and she was willing to pursue her dreams. 
               There was a boat that would follow her and a doctor that would keep tabs on her to make sure she was okay. One day she had gotten pain her shoulder and her asthma was acting up. She had to discontinue her strenuous journey since she could no longer swim without dying. She wanted to keep swimming, but she just couldn't anymore.
              She did this because she wanted to show people that you can pursue your dreams no matter how crazy and big they are like swimming across the ocean. It is important to dream big and pursue them and go after them with all you have. She's an inspiring woman and she has inspired me that anything is possible.

Farewell thy sweet Borders.

           The American loved Bookstore Borders has officialy announced that it will be closing. Millions of people world wide were people who went to this bookstore some even religiously. It is a sad thing to see such a beloved bookstore going out of a business. With America's economy the way it is, a lot of businesses are having trouble staying in a good condition and up to standards. 

          I think it is such a tragic occurance that Borders is closing. When I was an elementary school student I lived across the street from a Borders in California. I would spend a lot of time there just reading books and buying books too. I have a lot of childhood memories there and now they are left behind as the store is closing. Recently, I went back to the mall where Borders was located and it is now transformed into an Urban Outfitters. This shows how it is slowly moving on and people are coping with the process.

Potter back again?

                  Over Summer on July 15, the final Harry Potter movie hit the theaters and that was said to be the end of the Harry Potter series. Recently, JK Rowling has come up with a way for her avada kedavra hard fans to always stay in touch with Potter. She has created an interactive Harry Potter website where you can read the novel and interact with the words as well. It is called Pottermore.com. 
               The website Pottermore had early registration for one week starting July 31. There was a magical quest for the fans to do if they wanted to be admitted in early. Each day was a new clue and by day you would get closer and closer to finding that quill and being let in to pottermore. Only around a million people globally were admitted into Pottermore. Some people believed it was not fair because a lot of people stayed up all night and got no sleep that week to get the clues.

             The official opening for the website is in October. I was one of the lucky few to get an account and the website is amazing. It's an interactive way to read the novels over again. I love Harry Potter and have been with him from day one of the first story. Pottermore is the next thing for Harry Potter and I know it will be a while before he dies out.

Toms shoes with a cause

        When we think about shoes, we usually always think about what shoes to wear and which ones will go best with our outfit. We never worry about not having a pair to wear even if it won't go with an outfit. Children in less developed countries like Africa and some parts of China and other parts of the world don't have shoes to wear. Going barefoot in their countries can cause diseases like soil transmitted disease and it also causes cutes and sores on their feet. Another problem is the children can't go to school because shoes are a part of their uniform.

              The toms shoes was created by Blake Mycoskie and you are able to choose from a wide variety of shoes for men, women, and children. When you buy a pair of shoes they will send a pair to a child in need. I have two pairs of toms and they are the most comfortable shoes ever. It's like wearing slippers to school. I have the blue glitters pair and the artist paint splattered ones. I get so many compliments on them and a lot of poeple have never heard of Toms before. Wearing the shoes is also great publicity for the cause and will let the children have more shoes.

Nadal takes home the Victoire française!

        Over the weekend Nadal took home the victory for Spain by winning the French Open, beating his arch nemisis opponent Roger Federer. This was Nadal's record of six championships he has won. He defeated Federer after playing four sets, the scores were 7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1.
         This win for Nadal now ties him with Bjorn Borg for the most ever wins at the French Open. Nadal is young at only 25 years old and can still catch up to Federer with his record of 16 wins. 

        I'm a Nadal fan and very happy he won the French open. He's a great tennis player and has deserved all his wins for his tremendous hard work. He was out a couple of season's ago for his knee injury and has made such a remarkable come back.

Reincarnation of Pro-Life

            Over the years the reincarnation of pro-life for anti-abortionists has become a huge hit. There have now been 64 new anti abortion laws that have been passed in this year alone. There were more than 30 passed in April alone. This campaign against abortion and putting it to a halt is the largest in history and the msot creative.
            People in Virgina are regulating abortion clinics as if they were hospitals. In Utah, Nebraska, and many others have stopped privated health insures from covering abortions with rare exceptions. In South Dakota they tell women to go to a crisis pregnancy center whose mission is to talk them out of it before going to an abortion clinic.

            As you can see, laws are being passed all over the nation. I'm a pro life person and I am all for this campaign and supporting it till the end. I really hope this campaign ends as a success and we put a stop to all the abortions. I believe that if there is something living inside of you and it has a brain then it is a live. It doesn't matter if it is just one month old inside of you, it's still alive and has a purpose for something on earth.

         As quoted from the bible in Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Getting an abortion is ruining those chances for your little girl or boy.

Wildfires of Florida

          Over the past week there have been about 266 Wildfires all across Florida. Most of the fires were extenguished as soon as they started, there were a few in Orlando over the weekend that were not put out right away. The reason for all these wild fires is Florida has not seen enough rain over the past month. It's drought index is at a 551 which is very high.

          It's not good at all that Florida is experiencing these wildfires. It causes more smoke to the air and the lack of rain does not help at all. I've smelled smoke around for the past week and I've wondered what it was from and now I know that it is from the wildfires. Hopefully, we'll get some rain soon and there will be no more wildfires.

A dark mermaid love story

              A new mermaid love story will be hitting theaters soon. It isn't your average mermaid love story. It isn't like the Hans Christian Anderson story or the famous Little Mermaid from Disney. This new movie is a dark twisted love story based of the adaptation from "Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale" written by Carolyn Turgeon.
             The story is about two mermaids who are in a huge catfight to get the affectionate love of Prince Christopher. The two mermaids are rival princesses from different kingdoms and are completely two different girls all together. Mermaid Lenia is the one who rescues the Prince like Ariel did in the Little Mermaid. She gives up the sea, her voice, and health to be with him on dry land. Mermaid Margrethe just thinks that being with the Prince will reunite the two kingdoms together. 

            Personally, I'm really excited for this movie to come out. It sounds like it will be a really good adventurous intense action love movie. I know a lot of girls will be the majority who go see this movie, but I'm sure guys will catch intrest as well in this movie.

$5 gas prices a good thing?

               There has been talk about gas prices rising all the way up to $5 a gallon. That sounds pretty expensive, the average price right now around the country is $3.81. There are a lot of upsides to having gas $5 a gallon. One is, less people would die on the road. Not a lot of people would want to be driving since gas is so expensive, so the less people on the road means fewer accidents and less deaths.
             Demand for high-mileage cars would start to grow since people would want the most of their gas as possible. The security lines at airports would start to drop since airplane tickets will start to increase due to the gas prices. The pollution rate would go down since not as many people would be driving as often and their would be less traffic on the roads as well.

             I'm not too happy about gas going $5 a gallon, I'd rather spend the bulk of my money on a nice beach vacation or shopping. A lot of people aren't too happy if gas prices do take an increase. The positves are good, but money is money and a lot of people love their money.

Tragic Tornados

      It's really sad to see and hear over the news about the tragedy people are facing in Joplin, Missouri right now. This has been the deadliest tornado since 1953; the death toll reaching up to 117. Several people's homes have been destroyed by this terrible destruction of nature. Familys and friends are still searching for their loved ones. It's so sad to see the people on the news talk about their missing loved ones. They have no communication or any sign they are 100% okay. All they can do in a time like this is pray and hope to God that whoever is missing is fine.
    There are people from near by towns reaching out to these people in distress. It still shows that in the midst of a struggle people still care for one another. If they were in that same situation they would want the same for them. There was a newly wed's house that got destroyed by the tornado and the wedding dress was still completely in tact, that was a miracle.

      It will take time for the people to get through this terrible time. With their optimistic attitudes and people helping they are sure to get through this.

Zombie Apocalypse coming soon.

            You've seen the movies now Zombie's are coming to hunt you down. That's right zombie's are soon going to take over the planet and hunt you down. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Zombie's will be coming anytime soon. They are serious, it is not a joke.
          In order to prepare for this outrageous attack you must have a prepartion safety kit at hand. This kit includes a gallon of water per person per day, food, any medications one might need, tools and supplies, sanitation and hygiene, clothing and bedding, important documents, and first aid supplies.
            Don't worry though, when the Zombie's do appear, the CDC will be there to investigate and help put a stop to this Zombie Apocalypse.
          I think this whole thing is pretty hilarious that they are taking this so seriously. I don't ever believe that zombies will ever come to life or they even exist. I don't think this disease will ever happen. If it does, well I'm glad I found this article, because I'll be ready.

High school Refs sporting Pink.

        In the state of Washington, there were a group of high school football officials who thought it would be a nice charity idea to wear pink charity whistles to support breast cancer awareness. They would donate their game checks to the Susan G. Komen foundation.
        This idea didn't get the support it hoped for. The Washington Officials Association threatened to ban two games and even take two of the games checks. The WOA was upset because they didn't ask for permission and didn't want to send the wrong message to kids. 
        I completely disagree with the Washington Officials Association for being angry about this charity event. Breast cancer is a huge risk to women and some men today. Doctors and scientists need all the money they can get to finding a cure for this disease. My great grandma and great aunt both had breast cancer. They both died from this disease. It takes millions of women's lives each year and devestates so many people all around the globe.

Gov. Rick Scott Pro-life?

           Recently there have been two new bills to be passed through the Senate on Abortion. One of the  bills requires all pregnant women  to get an ultrasound before deciding on whether or not they would like an abortion.  Scott declares he is a pro-life Governor and says he aims to stay that way all through his reign. Many people in the Senate are against and want to focus on more important things like jobs for the citizens in Florida.
             I'm a pro-life person and i just think abortion is wrong. If you're pregnant than you have another human living inside of you no matter how small it is. As quoted by Dr. Seuss, "A person's a person no matter how small." More people need to take that into consideration while they are pregnant and deciding whether to go through with an abortion. Maybe if they realize that something is living inside of them they won't go through with it. I don't think any aboriton bills should be passed unless it is outlawing abortions all together. If you want to get an abortion don't have sex or just use protection. It's not that hard.

Lovebugs are in the air.

        Spring Time for Floridians means lovebug infested air swarming around them for about a month. These lovebugs are a very pesty insect and not loved by any of the people. They tend to get all over your house or all over your car and it's a very tedious task in getting all the dead lovebugs off your car. There have been many myths and legends on how lovebugs even came about in Florida.
      The lovebugs were genetically made by the University of Florida in hope they would eat mosquitos. Their science experiment went wrong just like Jurassic Park. Now every Spring Time, Floridians are in for a Lovebug infested air.
       I get very annoyed by lovebugs and don't think they are any fun at all. I step outside my house and they are just everywhere. They will just crawl all over my skin and won't leave me alone. They'll get all over your car and anything that is outside. I just can't wait for Summer to be here and to be done with all the lovebugs.

Osama Bin Laden gone forever.

      On the night of May 1, 2011; ten years after the terrorist attacks on 9/11 at the World Trade Center in New York Osama Bin Laden was finally  killed. America has  made a triumphantal victory with the capture and death of Bin Laden. Obama declared, "Justice has been done." 
        Bin Laden was killed in his huge mansion in Pakistan and three adult males were also killed, one being his son, and a woman who was used as a human shield. The U.S. BlackHawk helicoptors took about two dozen troops from the Navy SEAL Team Six with them. Bin Laden was shot in the head and they were in and out of there within 40 minutes.
        Supposedly, Bin Laden was buried at sea because it was going to be difficult to find a country that would want his remains. Another theory is that they don't want people to build a shrine and worship his dead body. 
       There will be much talk and rejoicing about the death of Bin Laden. Both Bush and Obama played a part in the killing of Bin Laden. Bush was the one who started it and wanted him dead or alive. Then Obama was there to finish the task. He was the one who said it was okay. The Navy SEALS are the real heroes here because they risked their lives for all of America and the rest of the world to capture and kill this terrible man.

Jane Lynch coming to Manatee County

          Lately, there has been much talk about the famous actress Jane Lynch coming to Manatee County. Jane Lynch and her wife Lara Embry made a generous donation of $15,000 to the Palmetto Rowing Crew a few months ago. Lynch and Embry will be coming to Palmetto in May to come support the Rowing Crew's Fundraiser on May 14 and will be attending a Pep Rally at Palmetto as well.
        The Rowing Crew is doing a Chopper Dropper in Rive Isle. There are 2000 golf balls that will be dropped from the helicoptor and which ever one gets in the hole or is closest to the hole will win the grand prize of $25,000.  The crew is selling tickets for these golf balls at $50. It is a little expensive, but they need all the money they can get.

        Being on the team I know first hand that it is hard to get the money and we are doing whatever it takes to raise the money needed. Everyone on the team is so thankful for Lynch's and Embry's donation, without them we probably wouldn't have another boat.

The Final Harry Potter

     This summer on the date of July 15th, 2011. The final and last part of the Harry Potter series will hit theater's world wide. It is Part two to the 7th movie; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. All over the world fans go crazy over Harry Potter. From the first book and movie J.K. Rowling has captivated minds of all ages across the globe.
         I'm very sad that this is going to be the last of the Harry Potter series. I have read all the books more than five times and I have seen all the movies at least three times. There are more die-hard fans then I will ever be and that's okay.
     For this last movie, a lot of people are going to dress up and go all out since it is the last Harry Potter movie. I saw the first part to the Deathly Hallows at midnight and they were all sorts of people dressed up. There were young people and there were even older people dressed up. It doesn't matter what your age is, Harry Potter makes anyone young at heart again.

        To see trailer go here :  http://www.moviefone.com/movie/harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-part-ii/34955/trailers

Trump for President?

       Recently there has been talk all over the country that Donald Trump has decided to run as a Republican candidate for President in the 2012 elections. The Republican party is  looking for a powerful forceful candidate to overthrow Obama and the rest of the Democratic party with their health care, spending, and other issues.

      Personally, I think Trump would make a pretty good President. He has made billions of dollars over his course of time. He obviously knows what he's doing in a running a business and has become a very successful man. He may just be what America needs to get out of this terrible economic crisis.

Drive on for ur school

Imagine being paid to test-drive a brand new car to raise money for your school. Sounds like just another dream that won’t ever happen. It’s not anymore, thanks to Ford and Lincoln Mercury Dealerships across the nation. They have developed a new way to help high schools raise money to support the schools sports and extracurricular activities. The dealership allows students who have their license, to test-drive brand new cars in order to raise money for their school.

            Palmetto High School is happy to be apart of this amazing opportunity. For every student that drives one of their cars they will pay them $20 and the maximum limit is $6000. Palmetto’s goal is to have at least 300 students drive their cars, so far we’ve had 250 students.

            One of the coaches and teachers at Palmetto High, Coach Marino had a good relationship with the manager of Ford and decided to give Palmetto a chance at this fundraiser. With the money raised, they hope to redo the score board on the football field and put all of the school’s athletic accomplishment from the past and the present for everyone to see.

Kenneth Ellis Shot to death

    A greatly appreciated teacher at Manatee School for the Arts was shot to death late Tuesday night at his home in North Port. The police had said that Kenneth Ellis answered the door and no one was there. His wife had been home with him as well that night. Although, there had been two people who looked liked ninjas running from the area. Neighbors had reported seeing a dark colored 4 door sedan leaving the area after the shooting occured.  They rushed Ellis to the hospital and was announced dead.
    Kenneth Ellis had been teaching Tae Kwon Do and World History at MSA for 13 years. Everyone at the school has been mourning about his death. I wouldn't even know what to do or how to feel if one of my teachers died. Like my journalism teacher for example, I just don't know how I would take the news hearing one of my teachers is dead. You build a relationship with your teacher in the classroom and it just won't ever feel the same knowing they are gone.

New York Times reporters are freed from Libya

                 On the date of March 15, in the country of Libya, four New York Times reporters were reported as missing. There was a reporter, videographer, and two photographers. The Libyian government finally released the 4 captives after 6 days of being detained. They were taken into custody of the Turkish diplomats who accompanied them out of Libya.
             The reason for them getting captured was  they entered the rebel-controlled eastern region of Libya without visas over the Egyptian border to cover the insurrection against Col. Moamar Ghadafi.
         This is a very scary situation that these four reporters were in. Libya is definitely not the safest place to be at the moment with everything happening in the world. There are several bomb threats and missel threats and bombings go on at that country and just taking one wrong step can lead to something terrible. It wasn't exactly fair that they were held captive just for not having their visas. I think it had to be for personal resentment against Americans because I know a lot of people hate Americans and don't want anything to do with them.
http://www.myfoxorlando.com/dpps/news/new-york-times-confirms-reporters-freed-in-libya-dpgonc-20110321-fc_12416255

NFL player commits suicide to donate brain to science

        Former NFL player Dave Duerson, who was a two-time super bowl champion with the Chicago Bears and New York Giants decided to take his life to donate his brain to science. He was only 50 years old and shot himself in the chest taking his own life. He donated his brain to Boston University so researchers can study and assess the life-long neurological effects of playing in the NFL. 
        Duerson was confident he was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy that many former nfl and college football players suffer from this brain injury. Before he committed suicide he texted his family members and close friends to donate his brain to the University. When police arrived at his apartment after the suicide, the found a hand-written note in has hand that said, "Please, See that my Brain is given to the NFL's Brain Bank." 
       It is such a tragedy that anyone would committ suicide. Suicide is not the answer to your problems it seems like an easy way out of your life, but in reality it's not. You complicate everyone else's lives once you are dead. It was very nice of him that he decided to donate his brain to Boston University. Now they can finally do the research on the brain and the effects of playing in the NFL. Hopefully with their research and Duerson's great sacrifice they will find answers to what causes these brain injuries.

http://www.wired.com/playbook/2011/02/duerson-suicide-brain-study/

One of the women's 8 for Palmetto in the race.

Before the girls took off on their races!

Palmetto High's First Regatta

       Palmetto High's new Rowing Crew celebrated their first regatta invitational on Saturday March 12, 2011. There were 4 boats that competed in the races. The boys 8 raced at a varsity 3 level. The 2 girls 8's raced at the novice level and another boy's 8 raced at a novice level. It was our first race after being on the water after 5 weeks. We all did very good even though we lost the races. The boys ended up doing very good and beat a couple teams and a few racing times.
        Our coaches were all impressed with us, the other day at practice we had a special visitor. Laura Embry, Jane Lynche's wife. She was impressed with as well. She said for only being on the water for 5 weeks and then racing was remarkable. We are all keeping up the hardwork and will soon start winning those medals. "Get it in Get it in. That's the ticket", as coach Jon would say :)

Vanishing village in Japan

      Just a couple days ago there was a terrible earthquake that hit Japan. It was a rate of an 8.9 a very high level earthquake. After the earthquake, a giant tsunami came right along after it wiping out everything in it's path.
      The tsunami managed to make one village disapper completely. The population was only of about 250 people and around 70 homes. The village was named Saito. Now it is just in complete ruins and ash and is not a pretty sight at all. 
       It seriously just breaks my heart to see this on tv and hear all about the sudden earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The tsunami also hit the coastline of California and Oregon as well as Hawaii. All my family is out in those 3 places, I woke up that morning hearing about it and i quickly dialed my phone to call my family. I had to check and see if they were all okay. Thank you God they were fine.
       I can only imagine what the people of Japan are facing right now. They have to be completely devastated if not angry that this happened to them. They had no warning at all that an earthquake was coming. They didn't have time to prepare and get time to flee their country. No. No time at all. They got a rude awakening which wasn't fair at all.
       It seems like it is only getting worse and worse for Japan. I see them on the news every day now since that earthquake. First the earthquake, then a tsunami, then a nuclear powerplant explodes. My heart goes out to the Japanese. You are all in my prayers every single day and night. Things will get better.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110314/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_tsunami_vanished_village

Libya oil supplies in shambles

        The oil industry in Libya has turned to utter chaos. There's no detereming on when this whole fiasco will even end. Armed men are now guarding equipment from oil field installations. This whole thing has turned into  a huge mess. There is no organization at all in Libya right now and with the oil crisis things have begun to escalate real quick.
       The Libyan port workers are even scared to get caught by Moammar Gadhafi's violent crackdown on the protestors. This whole showdown happened this week and things are not expected to get better. If anything, things are going to get worse. It's so sad to watch a country just burn up in flames like this at such excitement of crude oil prices.
       For Americans, this is not good for us at all. Gas barrels are $100 each now and it increases the amount of gas to almost $5 a gallon in some cities like in San Francisco, California. No one is happy about this, I'm sure not happy. With our economy the way it is, we don't need gas to be more expensive or no one is going to want to leave their homes these days.

Gibbs High School Student Arrested for Shooting

         It's really sad to think that just a 16 year old male high school student shot a police officer. It's a good thing Nicholas Lindsey got caught for his terrible actions, no one should have that state in mind to where they want to shoot someone. Hopefully him going to prison or wherever he goes will teach him a lesson. This way he won't make any more mistakes like this later on his life.
        I feel really bad for Officer David Crawford's family. If he had a wife and kids, they must be going through so much pain. It's always so hard to lose a loved one, I've lost many close family members, but never a parent or significant other so the pain they feel must be unbearable right now.
       I do believe it is Nicholas Lindsey's parents fault that he shot the police officer. The parents play a huge role in how they raise their child. If they are constantly argueing and fighting all the time it will really a mess a child up. I don't know how he was raised, but it may not be good if he already shot a guy at the age of 16.
       To prevent this from happening is his parents could have showed him more love and been more understanding to him. David Crawford could have had his bullet proof vest on as well and maybe he would still be a live today.
       My opinion on the 9 fallen police officials in Florida this year is it is just a real tragedy and very sad. It just shows taht due to the economic crisis we are facing the violence rates are increasing. People need some way to let their emotions out, but they choose a negative way like killing people other than a positve factor like kick boxing classes.

International Regatta setting sail this weekend.

      If you are planning on a nice beach vacation this weekend, you may want to think again when you hear there's a regatta coming. The beach will be extra packed with sailors for its 505 MidWinter Championship 2011 Regatta from Pass-a-Grille beach. Sailors will be setting sail Friday through Sunday, pretty much all weekend long. This year is different since Americans have learned to launch their high-performance, lightweight boats directly from a dolly on the beach into the Gulf of Mexico.
      Ethan Bixby and and Lin Robinson of North Sails in St.Petersburg have been organizing, promoting, and hosting these regattas since 1995. There are 12 boats in each International class, the 505, and the Contender. This is all pretty exciting since I'm a rower and that is similar to sailing in some ways. Sailing is also an exciting sport and you must love the water to be interested in it. It would be a great way to spend your weekend if you love sailing and the beach cheering on those sailors.

New Zealand hit by massive earthquake

       Just recently, New Zealand was tragicly hit with a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. It managed to kill 65 people in one of New Zealand's most popular cities. Office workers were trapped underneath fallen buildings and 100 people had been counted as missing. 
        It's sad to think that most of those people now sit in ruined homes and their office buildings or work spaces are in ruins. People are going to have to take action and work together to get through this tough time. It even destroyed great historical buildings like the the downtown ChristChurch. It's always such a shame when great historical buildings are ruined due to earthquakes.

Pirates kill 4 American Hostages.

       On the date of Feb. 15 on a Tuesday, 4 Americans who were sailing off the East Coast of Africa were taken hostage by Pirates. It may seem a little funny that they were attacked Pirates. It may make you think of Peter Pan or Pirates of the Caribbean, but yes there are real life pirates today as you can tell. The pirates shot and killed the 4 Americans for no reason at all. They are the Somali pirates and  have been versing different attacks across The Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. 
         One of the pirates ended up getting killed by a member of the U.S. Special Operations Force and a total of 13 pirates have been captured. This is a little bit scary if you are someone who loves to sail or enjoys boating because you could be the next victim of these fierce pirate attacks. Instead of looking for treasure or burying treasure they are after people and find amusement in killing people.