Is Obama too cool ?

This was an article from the New York Times about how Barack Obamas ability to say calm under pressure could be a problem. Many politicians would not have shown such control and would probably show anger. Obama spoke in a conformable tone as he reached the end of his speech Wednesday about government problems with the economy. Two hours after John McCain said he would temporarily stop campaigning because of the economic crisis and his need to be at the senate. Obama looked normal at a news conference, when referring to this week of economic problems and Obama almost called out his rival. Obama said, “Presidents are going to have to deal with more than one thing at a time.” I felt this was a great point to bring up showing that McCain needed a break to go and deal with an issue. Obama called out McCain showing that he might be a better candidate because he can multi task and McCain could not.

Nervous Days

American consumers have cut back their spending recently. The months of July and August saw a huge decrease in spending and the numbers for this month are supposed to be really low too. How cna we be blamed though for spending less. Gas prices were out of control over the summer. The article I read said that automobile prices were dropping, stores were seeing less customers, less people are flying and eating out at restaurants. A few of my friends actually got laid off because the stores they worked at went under with having no customers. I used to work as a photographer at a portrait studio. In recent months we had a huge drop in the number of people booking appointments to have pictures taken. My manager had to decrease the number of hours the studio was open because we couldn't afford to have it open as late anymore and also threaten to fire people if we didn't start making better sales and booking appointments. I went shopping for the first time in about a month or so this weekend. Every store I went into was having some sort of sale and a few of them had a person standing at the entrance with coupons that were only valid if I bought something that day. Maybe it was just my mall, but the whole place looked like it was going under, fast, real fast. The article also discussed that more people were buying food from grocery stores and eating at home instead of eating at restaurant. I bet they're not eating more organic though. I feel like we're going to see more and more businesses, stores and restaurants crash and burn. I have a good feeling Wal Mart will still prevail though.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/business/06econ.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp

Fleeing Africa for Sexual Freedom

As our country struggles to establish government in Iraq, and violent massacres such as those in Darfur seem inexorable, it is reassuring to hear a case in which America provides protection to a foreigner in need. Pape Mbaye from Senegal, Africa made his living as a singer and storyteller performing at weddings and parties. His talent provided him with public recognition, but along with his fame came dissaproval. Mbaye is gay and flamboyantly proud of his homosexuality, but he lived in a country which had outlawed “an improper or unnatural act with a person of the same sex,” almost forty-five years ago. The public sentiment against homosexuality is still the same today. When Mbaye performed at a gay marriage, him and many of his gay friends were arrested. Since his release, he has suffered many attacks from angry civilians and Mbaye was forced to flee, but to no avail. His apartment was looted and trashed and he and his friends were severely injured by angry mobs. He spent some time at a safe house in Gambia until the president announced that he was intent on beheading all homosexuals. Finally Mbaye made it to an American Embassay where he was able to apply for refugee status. He acquired this status in July and has been living in Harlem since August. Now Pape Mbaye is an American free from persecution based on sexual orientation. “There’s security, there’s independence, there’s peace.”

The Museum at Bethel Woods

This past weekend I visited The Museum at Bethel Woods, a tribute to the Woodstock Festival of 1969. The museum, held on the same historic grounds as the festival was nearly 40 years ago, chronicles the cultural events and implications that led to the formation of the counter culture. They speak about everything from fashion trends, to politics and of course the stylistic changes in music beginning with the Beach Boy's songs of puppy love in the early 1960's to Bob Dylan's anti-war protest pieces in the late 60's. The museum boasts many short documentary films exploring the planning of the festival and the historical happenings that led to its production. The short films culminated with a 21 minute long documentary which was devoted specifically to the music played during the 3-day festival. I would recommend this day trip for any music lovers out there. The Museum offers a wide variety of colorful exhibits paired with informative texts. There are also multiple listening stations located throughout the grounds where you can hear actual tracks from the festival. If you are interested, you can visit the website for more information at http://www.bethelwoodscenter.org/museum.aspx

Melamine

Remember last year when a bunch of dog food was recalled for contamination? Well, this year it is Chinese made baby formula, as well as some candy, like Chinese Cadbury chocolate bars, and milk products with origins in China that are causing concern. Melamine is the culprit of this year's, and last year's food scares. However, the FDA has declared that small amounts, 2.5 ppm, of it are not harmful to adults, even if they are consumed everyday. 

Melamine, which has a high nitrogen content and fire retardant properties is used in manufacturing items such as dry erase boards, countertops, and concrete. It can also be metabolized my mammals when they consume a pesticide called cryomazine, according to wikipedia.org. 

Protein is high in nitrogen, so it has come out that Chinese manufacturers were adding the compound to baby formula as a way to falsely inflate protein content. It can cause kidney stones and in severe cases kidney failure, but somehow manufacturers didn't see the harm in adding it to baby food of all things! Four children died as a result of the contamination, and over 54000 babies were sickened as a result according to CNN.

Twenty-two companies were involved in the scandal, and one of the dairies, Mengniu Dairy has been suspended from the Hong Kong stock exchange. As of September 17th, four people had been arrested and twenty-two had been questioned according to BBC News.

The FDA says there's no need to worry, just as long as you don't purchase any Chinese made dairy products or candy. 

picture courtesy of BBC

 

Humor Columnist Coming to New Paltz

Dave Barry is a Pulitzer Prize winning humor columnist who has been featured in over 500 newspapers and has written regularly for the Miami Herald since 1983. He is extremely well known for his comic observations on various aspects of American life such as parenting, work, and consumer fads, and he has written many books that have appeared on the New York Times Bestsellers List.

On November 12th, Barry will be the first speaker of SUNY New Paltz's new Distinguished Speakers Series, in which two well known speakers will be featured every year. You can find more information about the event here, and I would encourage everyone to check it out because I've read many of Barry's columns and they are very funny. This is one of my favorites in which he talks about how he got started working for newspapers.

Photo taken from www.greatertalent.com

Young Aussie Boy's Rampage at Zoo

"This 7-year-old boy was caught on a surveillance camera, killing and then
feeding Australian zoo animals to a crocodile. Here, he throws a turtle into the croc enclosure."
Picture & Quote from TheDenverChannel.com

Picture from Parentdish.com

In an article that I found through AOL.Com, I was intrigued to read it because of it's title, 7-year-old goes on zoo rampage. In this story, a young boy snuck into his local zoo in Australia into the reptile area and started to take many reptiles and feeding them to a 440 pound crocodile named Terry. He also killed other several animals by hitting them with rocks. The boy killed 13 animals worth over $5,000.

Because of his young age, no charges were pressed against the child but the zoo will most likely sue his parents. The owner of the zoo was surprised that the little boy did not get hurt himself. But another concern is the child's mental stability, usually kids who start killing animals at a young age have a disturbing adulthood with possibilities of becoming a killer. This story is alarming for the child, his family, and society. Could he become a problem for society in the future?

Pasties & Panties ....

Thursday October 2nd and Friday the 3rd, Toscanis, a restaurant/bar on Main Street hosted a burlesque show. The show was provided by our campus' Burlesque Club. This show had 16 acts with an intermission and a very funny host. This club was founded by a transfer student last year, Jenny Weinbloom. They have had shows in New Paltz, Albany, and even one in New York City. The burlesque club is a great way to express yourself while being able to be sexy and/or humorous.

I was lucky enough to go see their show Thursday night, when it was 21 and under night. I was actually just going to support one of my friends who was in the show but it turns out that it was a lot of fun. I had never been to a burlesque show and had no idea what I had gotten myself into.

Before the show began, girls were outside in short skirts, high heels, and sexy shirts twirling glow sticks. This was a small preview of what would happen inside of the restaurant. The show began and soon enough the performers were either seductively or humorously taking off their clothes to music. It wasn't something skanky though, many of the acts were very artistically thought out. The acts had themes within the larger theme of the whole show which was, Back to School. Males and females would perform to a song and many times ended up in pasties and panties, something that at first seemed very scandalous to me.

By the third act I was used to seeing so much skin and I was so surprised that so many people were comfortable enough to take off their clothes in front of friends and strangers. I was proud of everyone in the show, they were all entertaining and have shown lots of confidence and skill. All in all it was a very fun thing to attend with many talented performers.

Test Taking Strategies

With the middle of the semester arriving, students going nuts with heavy loads of last minute homework assignments, double shifts at work, crazy Thursday (or Tuesday) nights, or just sleeping in way too late and way too much, studying for mid-term exams probably won't or isn't coming as easy as it used to in high school or freshmen year of college. Back in those days, students seemed a little more interested in getting good grades so studying was the "thing to do."
Personally, there is just way too much going on so studying seems new to me. I have no specific approach, no cool learning/studying games, and I get bored very easily. For those of you, like me, who are having trouble getting back into the swing of studying or test taking, or for those who just want to try something new, here are a few studying strategies [I try to use] that could improve your grades.

1. Set realistic priorities for your course work. You may even need or want to write down these priorities and mark them as you go along.

2. Go to a place without distractions, like the library, to study.

3. When working, keep all electronic distractions to a minimum. For example, turn off cellphone (okay, that's a little too much. Maybe put it on silent), do not open any new tabs on the computer (you could even try studying without using a computer), don't bring your mp3 (unless you work well with music playing), and if you're working in a room with a television, keep it off or on low (again, unless of course you work well in that situation).

4. Try speaking out loud to yourself when studying. Sometimes reciting the material in song format (or as rap lyrics, as I like to do because its hilarious when I'm trying to help a friend learn the material) keeps the information retained

5. Once you think you're comfortable enough with the material, practice answering questions with a friend.

Click the following links for more strategies:

Extra Study Strategies 1

Read up on what keeps all of us up late at night, literally.
Extra Study Strategies 2

Concentrating while studying
Extra Study Strategies 3

Another film with Seth Rogen

Picture comes from moviecritic.com

So tomorrow is the last day of the Woodstock Film Festival and for Seth Rogen fans, tomorrow is the last chance to get a preview of his new movie Zack and Miri Make a Porno. The story line is about Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks' characters are facing hard times and debt and inorder to make some money ( they choose the practical route) and decide to make a homemade porno. Im guessing the real story line comes behind the fact that the two characters believe that the sexual relationship they start will not effect their relationship. Obviously thats where the conflict, and hopefully funny lines and good laughs come from.

The last showing time to catch this movie is tomorrow at the Tinker Street Cinema at 9 pm.The movie will then be released to theaters sometime in October.

Here...check out the trailer.

Work and How to Get It.

According to career expert Joe Turner, the financial problems Wall Street has gotten us into, may have very well changed how we now discover financial utopia.

Turner suggest that people in search of careers change their approach by marketing themselves as problem solvers, and ultimately as a profitable “brand.”

In his article, titled "Wall Street Shakeup Changes the Job-Search Game," Turner states three "action steps" for pretty much selling yourself.

It may not necessarily be a change of approach, more than it is keeping up with what career experts and professionals have been saying all along. People should always keep the necessary career-search fundamentals in mind when looking for work that would actually be beneficial for their lives and the lives of those who follow (i.e. family).

Also, check out these relating articles:

Job Hunting in an Unsteady Economy

12 Tips for a Lengthy Job Search

OJ Simpson Guilty One Year Later

In 2007, OJ Simpson was accused of robbing two dealers of sports memorabilia and holding them in a hotel. One year later the former National Football League running back was found guilty of 12 charges of armed robbery, conspiracy to kidnap and assault with a deadly weapon by a court in the US city of Las Vegas.

The armed robbery charges carry a mandatory jail sentence, and kidnapping carries a possible life term. Simpson, 61, who denied these charges, is infamous for the "trial of the century" when he was acquitted in 1995 of murdering his former wife and her friend.

Despite all the fighting to not be incarcerated many years ago, it seems this Ex-football star was bound to end up in jail in only a matter of time.

Madlib Goes Back to his Roots

Madlib(Mind Altering Demented Lessons In Beats), an influencial hip hop beat producer, has dropped another classic album to his already respectable career. WLIB:AM King of the Wigflip plays like you are listening to an old school hip hop vinyl record transmitting crackling noises and switches of the dial.

Madlib has been producing instrumental records for the past couple of years. Mostly, these records have been produced in far away countries, such as India, as he was trying to produce a foreign sound with rare instruments. On this album though, he has returned to America and he is set on bringing back the tunes of early 90's hip hop(which is the best era this genre can speak of) with grimey yet sophistacted beats and lyrics. This is also the first album he has created that features actual lyrics over the beats which is something out of the blue for a producer like Madlib. The beats are still crazy like always, but this album is definitely different from the rest as he tries a new angle and returns to his true passion, classic hip hop.

photo taken from www.cdnow.com

Restaurants serving family farm produce.

The North Dakota Farmers Union has decided that the economy will not effect people eating and buying locally grown foods. The farmers and members of the union are so confident that the trend of organic and local food will still prevail even during times of economic crisis . They have even gone so far as to open a pair of restaurants that specializes in just using food grown on family farms from all ove the United States. One of them is to be opened just blocks away from the White House in Washington DC. They plan on making it "washingtons greenest restaurant". Not only will the focus be on the food, but these restaurants are now complying with LEED standards. This means that the construction and design of the buildings are considered to be green building certified.

I think that by these farmers unions having so much faith in keeping local farms in business, it is helping to "feed" the growing trend. Althought they said the restaurants are still slow to catch on and business is often slow, I think that it still has potential for more and more people to catch on. I mean , since ive lived in New Paltz ( a place defintly big on the green , organice movement) ive tried tofu, tried becoming a vegetarian, eaten at Karma Road, and have purchased food at and visited several local farms. Therefore if i have participated in this, many more people will also.

Here is the article.


Founding Fathers ( the restaurant in Washington D.C)

Maybe People Will Start Voting if Celebrities Tell Them To...

Getting people to vote is significantly harder than it should be. Apathy, indifference, ignorance... whatever the reason, a large portion of the American population seems reluctant to go to the polls. Luckily, concerned voters can urge those apathetic citizens to cast their votes, and hopefully, these efforts will produce changed attitudes.

A video was recently put out to achieve this objective. In it, several different celebrities, such as Leonardi DiCaprio, Halle Berry, Jennifer Aniston, and Dustin Hoffman, are offering commentary on voting in the upcoming election. This video is definitely a must-see. It's very well produced, persuasive, funny, and will be extremely appealing to voters, especially younger voters, who seem the least excited to go to the polls. Check it out, and like the celebs will tell you, please pass it on.

Thunder God's hammer crushes German charts

Amon Amarth's newest release, "Twilight of the Thunder God," has made it to the #6 position on the German Media Control charts.  Additionally, the album made it to #10 in Finland, and to #11 in Sweden, the band's home country.  These statistics were made conveniently available by Blabbermouth.net.

I know what you're thinking: why the hell hasn't the album made its way onto U.S. charts?  Because Americans are too busy buying the new Metallica album, which is currently at the #1 position on the Billboard 200.  

Granted, "Twilight Of The Thunder God" has only been out in the U.S. for three days, it's still kind of infuriating.  I guess we'll have to wait and see how this one does.  For the record, the album is excellent, as the epic cover art suggests.

Power to the People!: Radiohead Chooses Fan Music Video

Radiohead - Reckoner - by Clement Picon

British alternative heroes Radiohead have shaken up the game again, choosing a fan-made creation to be the lead music video for their latest single. Clement Picon was one of many entrants in a contest that allowed fans to create a music video to the track "Reckoner,"off their much-hailed 2007 release In Rainbows.

Believe it or not, Thom Yorke and Co. is not the first band to give fans this kind of opportunity; California quintet Incubus sponsored a similar contest in early 2007 for their single "Dig" off their 2006 album Light Grenades.

Is this a trend that could quite possibly save the struggling music industry, allowing fans to add creative input? Or is this simply just another example in the long-line of musicians using revolutionary technology to advertise a new release (remember Queensryche's PC game?)

Springsteen & Joel

Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel will be playing together for the first time on the same bill in support of Barack Obama. A benefit concert that will take place at NYC's Hammerstein ballroom, it will also be Obama's last New York appearance before the Nov 4th election. I think it is awesome that the two of them will be playing together and really wish I could go see it, but with tickets ranging from $500-God knows how much it is highly unlikely. New York has always been democratic so, it's cool that these two from the tri-state area will be playing a show to support the democratic candidate. A lot of people around the tri-state area really look up to them. Springsteen had announced months ago that he endorses Obama, something that surely can't hurt his campaign. Seeing Joel play to a sold out Shea Stadium over the summer was out of control I can only imagine what it is going to be like to see him playing with Springsteen in a much smaller venue.

A List for the Apocalyp$e

(image courtesy of Gizmodo.com)

Unless you've been living on top of the proverbial Mount Olympus, away from the woes of the common man, you're probably aware of the current national financial crisis that has Americans in absolute paranoia. These are scary times, but the folks at Gizmodo are here to tell you that everything is not lost. The gadget-oriented website posted an article detailing the 10 things you need to survive the hardly-anticipated sequel to the Great Depression of the 1930s. Personally, I'm a sucker for No. 6 on the list: a bucket of 275 meals for a decent $75 dollars. Cacciatore and Western Stew for the end of the world? Sign me up!

Hollywood Film Festival

At the end of this month Clint Eastwood will recieve title of best director during Hollywood Film Festival.

This year festival will have place on 22 of October in the theatre ArtLight in Hollywood but Eastwood will recieve his prize 5 days later in Beverly Hilton hotel.

By the end of the year we will be able to watch two new movies by Clint Eastwood: "Changeling" with Angelina Jolie and "Grand Torino" where director will play one of the major roles.

music festival

photo taken from The New York Times
Over the past weekend, a huge music festival in Austin, Texas known as Austin City Limits took place, where tons of bands/artists ranging from Beck, David Byrne (of the Talking Heads) to Erykah Badu and MGMT played. Consisting of eight stages, the festival has only been around since 2002, and the name Austin City Limits originated from a show on PBS whose focus was on Texas singer/songwriters, and country and folk performers. This year, the attendance averaged daily was 65,000.

Nate Chinen of the New York Times writes more about the 3-day event in the article here.

Women Should Have and Know ...

After random conversations with numerous females about what they expect to get out of life, I came across a poem by Maya Angelou that reminds all women of what they should know and own over the course of their lives.

"A Woman"

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE …

enough money within her control to move out
and rent a place of her own, even if she never wants to or needs to…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
something perfect to wear if the employer, or date of her dreams wants to see her in an hour…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
a youth she’s content to leave behind….

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
a past juicy enough that she’s looking forward to
retelling it in her old age….

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ….
a set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE
one friend who always makes her laugh… and one who lets her cry…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE ..
a good piece of furniture not previously owned by
anyone else in her family…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
eight matching plates, wine glasses with stems, and a recipe for a meal, that will make her guests feel honored…

A WOMAN SHOULD HAVE .
a feeling of control over her destiny.

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to fall in love without losing herself.

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to quit a job, break up with a lover, and confront a friend without; ruining the friendship…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
when to try harder… and WHEN TO WALK AWAY…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
that she can’t change the length of her calves,
the width of her hips, or the nature of her parents..

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
that her childhood may not have been perfect…but its over…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
what she would and wouldn’t do for love or more…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
how to live alone… even if she doesn’t like it…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW..
whom she can trust,
whom she can’t,
and why she shouldn’t take it personally…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
where to go…
be it to her best friend’s kitchen table…
or a charming inn in the woods…
when her soul needs soothing…

EVERY WOMAN SHOULD KNOW…
what she can and can’t accomplish in a day…
a month…and a year…

-Maya Angelou :)

The Worldwide Leaders

The worldwide leader in songs released has teamed up with the worldwide leader in sports. For those of you who don't know, Lil Wayne has teamed up with ESPN.com for a sports blog. There have been two entries so far, and they have been pretty good. I like how he showed love for Jason Campbell (Hail To The Redskins!), and he actually has some good insights on sports. Also, is he running out of ideas for tattoos? He divulged tha he has ESPN tattooed on his arm..... No comment on that. Props to AP photos for the picture.

Born To Run

After recently finishing up their summer U.S. tour, Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band are ready for their next big gig: the 2009 Super Bowl!
According to Billboard.com, the band is set to play during the halftime slot, following 2008's dissapointingly lifeless act, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
In July, Bruce and E-Street played a three hour show at Giant's Stadium... if they can make it to the Super Bowl, maybe the Giants can do it again, too! (Go Big Blue!)

Picture from author's collection: Giants Stadium, 2008