Our Future Looks Poor

In my future I plan on going to collage. I want to earn a post secondary degree and so do many of my other friends. So naturally we are all excited about our upcoming last year of high school. Then we are off to live in a little cube with a single bed and more then likely a roommate we don’t like. Hold on a second and I am paying $10,341 for just a room and a meal plan, and the worst part is that’s just for one year. Now just think of all the other things I need to buy. I need a laptop, and other equipment for my program, other accessories for my dorm, and then all your school supplies. That’s easily another $3,000 or more just on that. Now we have not even talked about my tuition yet. Tuition is around $2,000 per semester depending on the University, Collage is about the same for a full time student. Then there are book costs which around $200 per textbook and who knows how many of those you will need throughout your education. Of course you will spend money on your own personal things as well. I forgot to mention that the government pays for half of your schooling if you are Canadian. I can’t imagine being a foreign student.

Now can somebody please tell me how we high school graduates are supposed to afford all this with out going majorly in debt? It is almost impossible to avoid. Unless you work all throughout high school, and post secondary school; it’s pretty impossible. This is where the loans come in, but wait not everyone can get a student loan (OSAP). If you or your parents make a certain amount of money you are not eligible. You can see how this financial crisis for students can make a major financial impact on their lives. For a four-year program in University it costs around $80,000 in total. Makes you wonder where all the money goes that they make off students. This is unbelievable, something majorly needs to be done here, or pretty soon everyone will be going into trades because they can’t afford all of this. So unless you are wealthy, you have a lot to worry about.

Is This Goodbye?

Our world is being polluted everyday; from cars, to factory emissions, we our slowly ruining our earth and it’s one hundred percent our fault. We our turning our world in to a land of pollutants and we are slowly discovering the consequences to our actions. Some of these problems include global warming. Global warming has caused our climate to change and has made the average temperature go up year after year; along with the other many effects of global warming.

I am not going to talk about the effects, but the many things we can do to prevent global warming. There are many environmental ways to produce energy such as solar panels, energy producing windmills which have become popular in windy areas such as along the sides of lakes and oceans. There are also nuclear power plants and hydro plants such as Niagara Falls.

Now these solutions are on a much bigger scale, and there is not much your average person can so about them. This in my opinion is more of a governmental issue, and does not mean that we all can’t do our part. There are many things that you can do to help prevent global warming. By turning off the lights when you walk out of a room, you can carpool to work or take the bus, which will save you a lot of money anyway with today’s gas prices. As a family you can replace old incandescent light bulbs to the new fluorescent ones. This can also lower your energy bill and they also last longer than your normal light bulb. You should start changing the temperature of your house to a lower temperature in the winter and higher in the summer. Get new energy efficient appliances, plant a tree, make only one trip to the store not five.

There are so many things we can all do to chip in and do our part. A lot of times when you do this you end up saving money in the long run; which in today’s world, this is what we all need.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_warming

http://globalwarming-facts.info/50-tips.html

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3208/2962550607_1455135686.jpg?v=0

Hockey Team Moving To Hamilton

Jim Balsillie wants to move a NHL team the Phoenix Coyotes to Southern Ontario. Of course it happens to be the town that we live in, Hamilton. This is an exciting time for Hamilton and what it has to offer but also a sad time for Phoenix losing the only NHL team they have. In Phoenix there just simply was not enough fan support. Unlike the Toronto Maple leafs. I say that because the Leafs sell out almost every home game and they have not made it to the playoffs for several years now. This makes Hamilton a perfect location to start a new fan base. Toronto is the most valuable team in the NHL. Sure the move of the Coyotes will hinder the crowd in Toronto but it could do wonders for Hamilton.
The recent economy has caused many people to lose there jobs or get laid off, especially since Stelco shutdown. Cops Coliseum well need to be completely renovated, which is estimated at one hundred and fifty million dollars. Which means contractors and workers will have to be hired to do this task. They will also need a bigger staff on hand for home games then before. The Coyotes will draw much more attention to hockey in Hamilton then the bulldogs ever did. This is just another opportunity for the people of Hamilton to get back to work until the economy turns around.
I think it will also be interesting to see Wayne Gretzky the head coach of the Coyotes back in his home country trying to lead his team to the playoffs. But why would the millions of die hard Toronto Maple Leaf fans all of a sudden support another team. Lets face it all of our parents or maybe even us have loved the leafs at one point. Well the Coyotes not only have Gretzky as their coach but they also have a solid leader, Shane Doan which is something that Toronto does not have at this point. Also in the 2008 – 2009 season Toronto had 81 and Phoenix had 79. All in all I feel this is a great opportunity for both the city of Hamilton and the Coyotes. Currently Jim Balsillie is in court trying to get permission to move the team. If he can he plans on having them playing next season in Hamilton.

http://blogues.cyberpresse.ca/lapresseaffaires/cousineau/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/balsillie.jpg

http://www.thehockeyprogram.net/2009/05/jim-balsillie-unveils-copps-coliseum.html

http://coyotes.nhl.com/

Miley Cyrus in “Racist” photo?

This teen pop sensation has made a huge success. From starting out at the age of 13, to now at the age of 16, she has made it to the top of the charts. She has made a few minor mistakes on her way, but nothing major like some of the other stars have made in their past. Paparazzi follow her every move making sure they catch that moment she makes a mistake. Since Britney is back on top of her game again, they need something to talk about so, why not talk about Miley. Is this the kind of idol that we want our kids looking up to? Almost every little girl knows who Miley Cyrus is, and could probably sing you one of her songs. She is arguably one of the most famous people the last 2-3 years. But not all of this popularity has been good as seen in this photo; along with her partially nude photos from 2008.

The recent photo of Miley shown with her friends slanting their eyes has been found offensive to the Asian Pacific American community.

Miley wrote in a posting on her official website “In NO way was I making fun of any ethnicity!” “I was simply making a goofy face. When did that become newsworthy? It seems someone is trying to make something out of nothing to me”

Miley’s Asian friend sits next to her in the photo, and he seems fine with what is going on, is this just a simple joke between friends?

The OCA says “this is a terrible example for her many young fans, by mocking and denigrating individuals of Asian descent.” The OCA executive director George Wu hopes Cyrus will apologize to her fans.

“Well, (I’m) sorry if those people looked at those pics and took them wrong and out of context!” Cyrus wrote.

A lot of people have made this face during sometime of their life, and a lot of people really don’t care, but when a star does it, it becomes a big deal. That like if you wear a shirt and everyone says it looks really bad, and the next day a famous person wears that shirt and it instantly becomes the most popular shirt. It’s just a simple goofy face. She obviously doesn’t have anything against the Asian race; because there is one sitting right beside her, so what does it matter. Just a bunch of friends getting together having a good time, we all do it. We all make mistakes, just ours don’t get publicized.

All information was taken from the handout we got in class.“Cyrus Defends Herself in “Racist” Photo Fracas”

Are They Texting or "Sexting"?

Cell phones; are for the use of calling someone, or texting, so maybe snapping a picture of your self nude would be okay right? Well no, it’s not okay, a lot of pre-teens and teenagers (mostly girls) are being charged with child pornography. They have been taking a picture of themselves with their cell phone and then sending it to a boy. Than that boy would think “wow, wait till the guys see this” and that picture gets sent to multiple guys, and then before you know it the whole school has seen it, and could end up on the internet.

In the summer of 2007, two 13-year-old Pennsylvania girls decided to strip down to their bra and panties to beat the heat. As Marissa Miller talked on the phone and Grace Kelly held up a peace sign, a third girl took a candid shot of the teens in their white bras. [1]

“It was harmless, innocent fun”, the teens say. [2]

This picture somehow ended up on classmates' cell phones, and a prosecutor has threatened to charge Miller and Kelly with child pornography or open lewdness unless they participate in a five-week after-school program followed by probation.[3]

"There was absolutely nothing wrong with that photograph," said Marissa's mother, MaryJo Miller, 44. "I certainly don't want pedophiles looking at my daughter in her bra, but I don't think that was the intention to begin with," she said in an interview with The Associated Press. "This is absolutely wrong on his part. It's abuse of his authority." [4]

I think that having these girls charged with child pornography is a good idea, because they are advertising their body to “turn on” guys. It’s all for the guy’s attention and maybe she hope once he see’s a part of her that is usually covered up, that he would want to get with her. There are so many young people getting sexually active these days and they really shouldn't be because they should save themselves for that special someone whom they would like to spend the rest of their lives with. You don't need to get a guys attention by strutting your stuff in your pictures, there are many other ways to get guys to notice you; try talking to them, which might just help.

CBS News. Sexting Girls Facing Porn Charge Sue D.A. 27 Mar. 2009. 29 Apr. 2009

Close Your Eyes Little Ones

Your at Shoppers Drug Mart with your young child and you get inline to pay for the items that you pick out,  and you see all the racks of this weeks new magazines. The magazine that catches your attention is the bright colored Cosmopolitan with the word Sex written all over the front of the magazine. 

Do you really want your child reading out loud "Have Orgasms more easily" and then asking you what that means?

This magazine promotes sex right away, and you haven't even opened the magazine yet. 

I buy this magazine every month, because it talks about things that some women may not know about, and it also has stories from its readers, that are actually pretty funny. Positive things about this magazine are that it gives advice on topics that some women may want to talk about with someone else. So Cosmo answers questions for women. It also has the thoughts of what men are thinking, and every woman would love to know the answer to that. The Negative things about this magazine are that it is a little expensive, it only comes out once a month, and it shows sex to younger audiences. Teens and pre teens see ads for sex everywhere. 

Example; commercials, magazines, news ads, ect. 

Personally, I like this magazine because I'm not one to talk about issues that might be going on, so by reading Cosmo it answers questions, and teaches you things that you will need to know in the future. It also has a lot of ads for make-up, condoms and other sex related products. 

Should Cosmo be hidden away from young children and pre-teens?

Does this magazine make the young teen pregnancy records higher?

Cosmopolitan Reviews, March 30, 2009

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews62147.html

Cosmopolitan February Issue 2009, March 30, 2009

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpnT_WjQJ2N3fJI9ooRW85aXg1wJTCd_heKtbY7E4w5PN8bmkbuQ1lFrP4YYcl7nEK_okuElvOPImnWMJMp-7iWbDliTi5BkCcgyKOJ3J_2UPWjJFozONnb3MAa7zFVEJHjQ9TLoJzu2Bu/s400/ali-larter-cosmopolitan-us-february-2009-cover.jpg

Whats with the pig?

Okay so I was watching TV a few days back, and I saw a commercial for Axe shampoo.
There is a pig in the commercial, I'm just not sure of why they think they need to have a pig in it.
The pig looks clean, did he use the shampoo too?
The pig also runs through garbage, is that what guys should do also?
Note the pig jumps off the top floor, is he trying to say when pigs fly?

To me, this commercial is terrible. They said "94% of girls agree dirty greasy hair on a guy is a turn off ", how can we be sure that statement is true. We don't know if they took a poll, or if they just made it up. I agree greasy hair isn't attractive, but what about the guys who do have naturally greasy hair, or the ones who keep their hair greasy for their image. They aren't going to be to happy with this commercial.

Also, Axe DOESN'T have this commercial on their website, they made a whole new website for this ad,
http://www.axehaircrisisrelief.org/

Watch this and comment on what you think of this commercial.

Song-sharing

Copyright-the exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit a literary, musical, or artistic work, whether printed, audio, video, etc.: works granted such right by law on or after January 1, 1978, are protected for the lifetime of the author or creator and for a period of 50 years after his or her death. [1]

*Note, this case is from October 26, 2004

An Australian song-sharing website offered a board of free music downloads. This site was one of the biggest copyright cases in the world. Many international record companies have brought a $500 million lawsuit against the man who owned the site that offered links to downloadable songs.

Will this case end music piracy?
No I don’t think it will, because there are so many different downloading sites out there, like LimeWire and Kazaa. The sites have so many illegal downloads; it would cause so much drama in this world. People rely on these sites to listen to music. Some people can’t afford to buy from iTunes, or to go out and buy Cd’s so this makes it all easier.

This website wasn’t only available in Australia; it was available worldwide and was represented as one of the main sources of infringing copies of music recordings on the internet.
“The website offered a "smorgasbord of sound recordings" to the seven million individual users who visited the site each year. There were 191 million hits and more than 136 million files requested between November 2002 and October 2003” [2]

The lawyer said the website was only a search engine and was successful because it provided a “seamless transaction” by using hyperlinks. There was also a catalogue of MP3’s that could be downloaded by a click of a button.

"There are no millions of dollars stashed away anywhere, no secret garages full of Porsches and Ferraris," [3] Tony Morris, the lawyer called the legal action “absurd” and that his client had done nothing to break the copyright law. "All he has done is put in a set of pointers which link to websites around the world," Morris said. [4]

The website, set up in 1998, and was shut down late last year. “The action, launched in October 2003, is being brought by six Australian companies, including Sony and Universal, and 25 international companies.” [5] The internet providers, E-Talk and Com-Cen, and two provider employees also will be liable as hosts, but their lawyers said the providers offered "mere provision of services". [6]

Does this man who created this website, win the case or loose it?
I do not know if he has won or lost. The case was said to be finished that Friday, but there is no continuation of this case. I believe this man had won his case, because he wasn’t making money off of the website, he was just giving people links to click on and take them to sites where they can illegally download sound recordings.
So why weren’t the websites that offered the downloading feature targeted in this case?
I have no idea why they weren’t but I believe that they should have been because if it weren’t for those websites then the website leading to the others wouldn’t have existed.




[1] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/copyright?qsrc=2888

[2-6] Man in court over music copyright case. October 26,2004. March 7,2009.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/10/26/1098667724542.html

Does Britney Belong In the Circus?

Everyone knows Britney Spears, if you don't I'm not sure where you have been for the last 10 years.
Britney Spears, the one we all want to hear more about.
We've all seen the headlines on the magazines, "She's too big, now she's too thin". We all tend to automatically go towards the one with Britney on it.
Why Britney Spears?
When you read an article about a bad incident that happened in someones life, it makes you feel better about your life. You think that you have got it bad when really someone else out there has it worse. This is called schadenfreude.

Is it fair to criticize Britney’s body? And how does it make today’s young teenagers feel?
No, it is not fair to criticize her body, she has had two children. So what if she gains weight, we all do. Her body before was putting out a bad influence on the people who look at her as a role model. Whatever Britney does her role models will follow. Teenage girls feel the need to stay skinny and not eat right because that's what the media is putting out there. If a celebrity weighs 120lbs and then gains 10lbs, they are considered "fat." If a teenager gains 10lbs they will loose 15 just to feel better about themselves.

"Someone needs to tell Ms. Spears to grow up. If she thinks she has the talent to sing adult themed songs for an adult audience, then she needs to go for it. However, feigning an extended immature adolescence in an effort to appeal to teenage, and younger, listeners is as seedy as it is disingenuous." [1]

If I was a celebrity and my every move was being watched, i would definitely fight back. Just like a lot of them are doing now. Who would want all that attention every minute of their life. Every person needs to have their own space, and the paparazzi is right in their bubble. There are pictures of celebrities just going out to get a coffee, does that really need to be publicized? Honestly you don't see an average person in a magazine out getting a coffee, but if a celebrity does it, the world needs to know. When the paparazzi park outside of a celebrities house all day and night, waiting for them to come out, is just too far. They aren't going to come out because they know paparazzi are out there. The paparazzi should be charged for stalking.

The Britney Law is to give celebrities a "safety bubble." In the city of Los Angeles, officials are debating the implementation of a 20-yard “personal safety bubble”, to be created around celebrities that are “paparazzi targets.”[2]

I think the "Britney Law" is a law they should of thought of long ago. There is no need to be so obsessive over a celebrity. Like I said before everyone needs there own space, so the paparazzi should back off a bit and give them some room to breath, there only human.

Britney's 2008 MTV appearance gave everyone the sign that Britney was back to her normal self. Everyone had thought that she had made a change for the better and that she was going to be once again successful. My thoughts on this are that yea she may have looked better then she had a little while before, but make-up and clothes cant hide problems. She may have looked well put together but on the inside she was still a mess.

I really hope that the "Britney Law" becomes official because this is getting out of control, someone is going to get hurt one day. That will be the day they think over what they should have done to prevent this.

Britney Spears performs at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas, September 9, 2007. Online Image. February 18, 2009
<http://images.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/09/12/britney_vma/story.jpg>

[1]Kelly Boggs. OPINION: New Britney Spears Song Indecent and Outrageous. January 31,2009. February 19,2009
<http://www.opposingviews.com/articles/opinion-new-britney-spears-song-indecent-and-outrageous>

[2] ‘Britney law’ to give celebrities a safety bubble. February 10, 2008. February 21,2009.
<http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article3341791.ece>