World News Wednesday: Graduation

With the end of school in sight, I thought this article was suitable for this week.

Since my high school graduation took place in a stadium in the rain and had to be cut short, I don't have the best experience with these things. What I do know is that having a public school graduation in a Christian church sanctuary is not exactly the best idea.

I don't know about the legality of this situation, but it seems to get in the way of that whole separation of church and state thing.

It's an interesting article to read through, but I don't think there is much else to say, aside from the fact that whoever came up with the idea to have this graduation in a church... isn't too smart.

Am I missing something? Should this be blown up bigger, or is it being blown out of proportion as is?

World News Wednesday: Supreme Court

I heard this story on NPR this morning and then again this evening.

First of all, I find it interesting that this case has gotten all the way to the Supreme Court. I'm not saying it isn't a valid case, but that's pretty dang big.

Now, I can understand why the case would be filed from the race point of view. The test was biased (although I'm still not really clear on how exactly it is biased) quite obviously considering the results. However, when it comes to the guys who were denied a promotion for the time being, I don't quite understand why they filed the complaint.

Yes, I get that they were passed over for a promotion that they had qualified for, but if they are confident in their abilities, a little bit of patience while the test was redone could have saved a lot of trouble. Perhaps they felt that they were not being recognized for their skill and I understand that, but I don't know if it justifies a court case.

Am I not being sensitive enough to their cause? Should they receive a temporary promotion just until it can be verified by the new test? If you were on the Supreme Court, which way would you vote?

World News Wednesday: Sexting

I think I might have written about this before, but I'm probably just confusing conversations with this blog. Anyway, here's the article.

A lot of this has to do with the increase of not only the sexual activity in our young kids, but the added accessibility of technology. That much is obvious. The problem lies in punishment and restriction.

First of all, steps need to be made to improve sex ed in schools (both private and public) throughout. This would help for a number of reasons. For one, increased knowledge of a subject would hopefully help the dialogue between parents and their children about the good and bad of sex and guide them to better decisions - particularly not taking pictures of yourself to send to your boy/girlfriend.

Alongside this is the technological aspect. Informing kids that what they send to their friends isn't necessarily a private piece of data. It only takes one other person browsing through a phone to happen upon this little illicit exchange for it to get out of hand. Now, I don't know about restricting your children from using their phones if only because that might lead to rebellion, but there definitely need to be parameters set up. Yeah I know I'm stating the obvious for parents out there, but I'm just trying to be somewhat helpful.

Anyway, the article comes down to the main question of punishment. Should a juvenile receive a super harsh punishment for this? Should that 18 year old be on a sex offender list? Am I being naive?

World News Wednesday: Maybe I should change the name

I only really chose World News Wednesday for that alliteration, but since I primarily stay within the realm of the United States, I'm thinking I might have to change. Especially after today, since I'm keeping it within my own state. Here you go.

I'll come out straight and say I'm completely against this measure. It's ridiculous for someone to have to take the written portion of the exam in English for the one reason that if someone already has to take the driving and sign parts of the test in English (and those are the things that you will be seeing on the road), why not allow them to take the main part in the language they understand best?

I know that when I took the written test the wording was confusing enough in English on some of the questions. So, why don't we want people getting licenses to drive? Do we like having unlicensed drivers out there? Does it add up to a significant amount of arrests (I know it does in my area)?

I just don't see the point. The other big thing against this is the incoming companies from out of the country that are coming to the state. In my area, we have a large Korean population as we are building a KIA manufacturing plant. I just don't like forcing newcomers through one more hoop just to feel welcome.

Opinions?

World News Wednesday: Bats in Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaace!

After last week's pretty heavy topic, I thought it would be a bit nicer to go slightly easier today.

Poor, poor Mr. Batty.

That is all.

World News Wednesday: A Hard Story

N'Gai Croal (now formerly) of Newsweek's Level Up blog tweeted this article as an example of what will be missing as print journalism dies. Warning: the story is very emotional and may cause the reader to shed tears.

My only input into this article is why can't we have sensors installed into the back for car seats? I understand the liability argument in a sense, but does that not also apply to seat belts and airbags? If they find defects there, the product is recalled, why would this be different? Yes, it is a child's life at risk and that makes it infinitely harder to place your product into the hands of the masses if you think that something could go wrong, but I think the rewards would help outweigh these risks.

As for the story itself, I know how easy it can be to become distracted and forget something (I've left my lunch at home too many times to count) and on that it is hard to pass judgment on those who have made the mistake. The article does well at showing the struggle that the people have gone through after their situation, and while it might be biased towards them, I find it hard to find fault with the argument that their own pain is more punishment than someone could force them to go through in prison.

Am I wrong for siding with the article? Should these people face punishment from the law? Is there something I'm not taking into account here? What say you?

Gaming Thursday... Kind of

Sorry I haven't updated all week in the normal fashion. I've been sick and while that never really kept me away from the keyboard, it has kept my head pretty muddled and so I haven't been able to compose anything worth reading (not like I ever do anyway).

Anyway, Movie Monday was going to be about Spider-Man 3, which I watched for the first time since theaters while at home sick. Maybe it was the wracking coughs or the fact that I was playing WoW at the same time I watched and therefore only gave it about 30% of my brainpower, but it really wasn't as bad as I remember thinking. Sure, it has some silly parts and a lot of the dialogue is really bad, but put altogether, I don't think it's a bad movie. Maybe I'll give it one more shot with my full attention and a non-fried brain, and we'll see how it holds up. That is, if I can find another 3 hours to sit down and rewatch it.

Bookish Tuesday was going to be about how I ordered tickets to see David Sedaris live this April and wondering exactly what to expect out of that. I love his essays and I've listened to both audiobooks and live performances and have enjoyed them a ton, but I've never been to a "concert" where you go to listen to someone read or tell stories, so I'm definitely hoping it will meet my extremely high expectations.

World News Wednesday would have been about nothing, because I haven't looked at the news all week with everything going on at work and home, so instead of trying to write something intelligent, I would have probably goofed off and written something stupid. Instead of wasting your brain reading it now, I'll give you the opportunity to make up something amazingly stupid that you imagine me to have written. That way we all win (don't question how, just accept it).

Finally, today's Gaming Thursday is about Street Fighter 4. Basically, if you grew up playing Street Fighter 2, it's an amazing game. If you never played SF2, or really couldn't care about fighting games, it's still fun, just not as awesome without all of the nostalgia attached (kind of like the Smash Bros. series). I'm sure once I get some serious time into it, I'll have better and more detailed impressions for you, but for now all I can say is that I love E. Honda (hoot toy!)

There you have it, four posts in one!!! I'll be back tomorrow for real with some religious stuff (well quasi-religious anyway), and next week I'm sure I'll be caught up in all the Watchmen discussions on Monday and Tuesday, so there you have it.

World News Wednesday: A Discussion

I normally try to fly my World News Wednesday posts past one person or another, and this week, I decided to show you a conversation between myself and Rachel for this weeks post. Feel free to join in the discussion in the comments section. Oh, and the opinions expressed in that conversation do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this blog or its authors (that's a joke).

me: gun control yes or no?:

Rachel: ok, this is why i don't talk about my thoughts on it a lot, b/c i hate the thought of hurting someone who's been through something like this

but since it's us...

it's not like it was an accident... that boy grabbed his gun and shot her... that's messed up, but i don't think gun laws would have prevented it... know what i mean?

me: in a sense yes, but if they had an age restriction, or laws about keeping guns locked away, maybe it would have been helped

Rachel: or if his parents weren't morons and kept the gun locked in a gun case...

me: thats my big thing

its the parents responsiblity

Rachel: yeah, i mean you know what pisses me off the most?

any freaking person can have a baby, but you need a license just to drive a car

BUT... i would never want the gov to regulate that mess... it's crazy

and that's how i feel about gun laws... i hate it, but the gov can't fix people who are already broken :(

me: /agree

me: i know that the gov cant really fix people, but guns in particular are such a big danger, that regulation of them should be tightly watched

Rachel: i disagree, b/c people are going to get guns if they want them

the tighter the gov control, the larger the black market and the more crime that arises from it... see "drugs"

but, stories like this one actually put holes in my argument though... this kid wasn't some criminal on the street... so it's definitely different

me: the black market argument is a good one, although im not talking about outlawing guns as a whole (like drugs are), but instead just making it more difficult for people (particularly the young) to get access

yes, there will always be a way to get something if you really want it, but those people are (theoretically) so messed up anyway, that they will do what they were going to do no matter what the laws

so, this is not a punishment type law, but more of a prevention/safety based law

imo

Rachel: yeah, that's a good point too

but is it the gov's job to protect us? i think about that a lot

me: in a sense, yes... isnt that what its there for?

i.e. military, police

Rachel: yeah, that stuff definitely... but there has to be a line

me: yeah

Rachel: it's not the gov's job to enforce morals or rule at such a granular level

me: explain, plz

Rachel: and gun laws are a moral issue... b/c it affects people who buy guns for their 11-year olds to take them hunting (yes, that's the wilmer in me talking)

that's a parent's call, not the gov's

but some parents suck!

me: but we regulate what age you can drive a car, and it's the same sort of thing, why can we not regulate the age of getting a gun?

i know that they'd like to take kids hunting, but take them bow hunting up until that age

because, a lot of kids don't understand the power of their weapon, and parents might not know how to explain it right

Rachel: you drive cars on gov-paid roads ;)

me: you hunt in gov. owned property;)

Rachel: not necessarily

some people hunt in their houses apparently... ok that was morbid, sorry

me: did the gov not technically buy the land (albeit immorally) from the native americans, and other countries?

Rachel: yeah, but you own it to a point...the gov doesn't maintain it like they maintain roads

me: yeah

Rachel: all kidding aside, the driving age requirement is up for grabs too... look at MS - you can drive at 15 there

i think you're right - it's the same kind of argument... the difference is volume... every american owns a car, but not everyone owns a gun

me: yeah, driving ages should be flexible based on a kid's maturity but its hard to measure that

Rachel: definitely

me: especially governmentally... and i think its the same issue between both types of laws

ok, so i think this whole argument just wrote tomorrow's WNW for me

So, what do you think? Do Rachel and I make any valid points, or are we just going in circles?

World News Wednesday: Exotic Pets

Some friends have told me that they listened to the 911 call of this story, but I'm too scared to.

The point that is driven home by this sad story is: don't have exotic pets.

I (just like everyone else) have entertained dreams of having a tiger for a pet, but I also know that there is no way that a tiger belongs in my neighborhood, let alone my country (except for within those special situations like nice zoos). This is because the tiger would likely not know what it was doing and wind up hurting someone.

I'm not trying to say that anyone deserves this sort of incident to happen. I think it was a truly sad thing. I just wish people would understand that keeping pets like apes and big cats is really not a good idea. I know that this ape was a former actor and seemed to be humanized, but animals aren't predictable.

We have a hard enough time with house cats. I'd let them out of the house and back to the wild, but I'm worried about the number of deaths my vicious cats would cause.

World News Wednesday

By now we've all heard/read about Nadya Suleman, the mother of the octuplets and now fourteen total children, and I'm sure everyone has formed opinions. If you haven't read enough, the link goes to her Dateline interview with Ann Curry, and I like it mostly because it gives Suleman the chance to talk for herself, rather than just others doing it for/about her.

Because I'm not a woman and have no children, my opinion really means nothing in this situation. All I have to say is that if she can actually get a good job that works around her schedule and she can provide well for all 14 children, more power to her. On the other hand, children are incredibly time consuming and expensive. I just have a hard time seeing someone being able to work enough to pay for so many children and yet still being able to spend enough time with them.

Maybe I'm just being overly sensitive and naive, but I like to think that kids really need a ton of attention and it's really hard to give it to them when you are busy with work type stuff. At least that's what I keep telling Katie. Again though, it is highly possible that Suleman has everything planned just right and everything will work out.

Thinking about all that makes me stressed, and for that we need Sam the cute koala. Australia is having a tough time of it right now. Sam is about the only happy picture I've seen out of the country all week.

World (Maybe Local) News Wednesday: Slapping

Now this story has a couple of interesting discussion points, but I want to focus mainly on the alleged slap.

To get a couple things out of the way, I understand that she had previous allegations brought against her of a similar event and I also understand that she was working with special needs students, so those are automatically reasons for suspicion and a possible arrest.

However, the question I want to ask has to do with the slap on the wrist. I know a ton of kids who will continue to reach for something no matter how many times you tell them not to, and will basically necessitate you grabbing their hand (not saying it needs to be done in anger or harmfully) to get them to stop. So, should a teacher be allowed to physically stop a student from doing something against the rules.

Since I don't have the full facts on this story, let's make up our own background. The students were having a pizza party and were each only allowed one piece until everyone had eaten. One student came up and was constantly grabbing for the next and not responding to statements to stop and even after being told that they would not be allowed to have another piece if they kept reaching. That is when the teacher grabbed his hand.

Now, I know that I'm probably making this out a lot lighter than it could have actually happened, so I don't think any blanket statements can be made in this matter. But can we say that a teacher might be allowed the opportunity to stop something inappropriate from happening physically? Or am I just being too naive?

World News Wednesday

I know this might be dangerous, but I think it's pretty funny too.

I really don't have anything to say about this aside from: I love zombies.

World News Wednesday: The White House

We've got a new family in the White House, and reading this article made me curious.

Well, maybe curious isn't the right word. Daydream is better methinks. What if you had gotten to grow up in the White House? Spending your free time looking for those hidden passages and whenever you get tired, heading on back to the movie theater to watch High School Musical 3... I mean a super-awesome guy movie. That would be the coolest childhood, matched only by a castle or palace in Europe with similar passages hidden throughout.

Now, I have to dedicate my life to becoming the President of the United States so that I can explore in the middle of the night when everyone else has gone to sleep. I mean, it's not like it would be a stressful job or anything, right?

World News Wednesday: The Price of Virginity

Okay, the video is pretty stupid (particularly the scenery that they show during the talking), but the subject is quite interesting.

So, is this girl evil and wrong or just creative? I've known people who got upset because a guy I knew was thinking about selling his arm space to advertisers (as in tattooing), but I just thought he was doing something different. As such, isn't this girl doing the same? If she has no problem with selling her virginity, why would anyone condemn her? Yeah, it may not go with my particular set of morals, but I can't exactly press my beliefs on anyone else.

Basically, the whole point I'm trying to make is... good for you, girly. You are going to make $3 million for about 20 minutes of work, and I'm completely jealous.

World News Wednesday is changing!

Wednesday is changing to whatever I feel like posting from now on. It's not that I don't like writing about news stories, but I have such a hard time always finding something good to write about. That, plus I read news and write news stories all day at work, so it feels too much like work to do it.

So, if there's a big interesting story, I'll be sure to talk about it. Today, I was going to do something about the UGO buyout of 1up, but you can go to nearly any gaming site and read enough about it without me having to throw myself along in it. That, plus I talked about it a month ago when it was just rumored.

I'll do what I can to keep Wednesdays interesting, I think I'll do some music talk, but we'll see. Stay tuned, sorry for swapping it up on you, but I think its for the best. Who knows, maybe we'll switch up the whole blog.

World News Wednesday: New Years

It's New Year's Eve. Go pop open a bottle of bubbly and enjoy the end of the year.

Or, if you are super awesome, enjoy some time in Amsterdam. That's what makes today World News Wed... the fact that Roger and Rachel are globe-trotting. Be sure to check their site for updates on their trip.

Christmas Week

Since it is Christmas week and I don't know how often I'll have access to a computer or time to think up posts, I thought it would be a good week to take some time off. I might pop up a random post or two, but probably not on topic.

Enjoy your Christmas week!

World News Wednesday: EGM

News link here... I know it's a week old.

This story may not mean too much to many of you, but for me it's a pretty big deal. As I've mentioned before, 1up.com is my favorite site for gaming. The editors are incredibly good, and their podcasts are the only gaming podcasts I listen to now.

So, what makes this news? Well, if UGO buys out 1up (it's probably explained a lot better by former 1up editor Jeff Green on the newest Gamers with Jobs podcast - which I had to listen to because it had both Jeff and Shawn Elliott on it), they could theoretically dump everyone associated with the site and just take the name for their own use as part of their network. While that may not ever happen, even if they cut a few people, it would definitely hurt the games journalist industry. 1up has an amazing staff of writers, and should any be let go the site would suffer at any number of levels from their lack of presence.

I guess it's a similar to changes happening throughout the world as the economic climate worsens. We are learning how to adjust to the many changes that have been happening, and we can only hope that our favorite things survive. That's how I am with 1up, I know that something big could happen, but I just have to hope that it all works out for the best.

World News Wednesday: Self-Embedding

First things first, this is the 200th post of the blog, so yippee!!! Now that we have that out of the way, here is today's article.

I'll admit that I'm kind of an emo kid. Partially because I like the music and partially because I like to cry in a room by myself. Okay, so I'm not really emo, nor have I ever been, I'm more of just a geek or nerd (they are two different things). Having said as much, I honestly don't understand the idea of cutting (supposedly the precursor to this self-embedding in the article)... and yes I'm sorry for lumping emo kids in with people who cut themselves, I just like to make gross over-generalizations to make writing easier.

It seems pretty logical that there is something psychologically (or maybe chemically) different about these teens/young adults. If you take the quote from Allie W. in the article: I was just sitting in class. I was kind of getting the urge to cut, but knew I couldn't leave class right then, there must be something that can be done to help the kids. I know it comes down to more than just finding help, since teenagers would be quite reluctant to divulge personal information such as this.

But let's get back to the article at hand. Self-mutilation is nothing new, nor is the idea of sticking things under the skin. I knew that before even reading the article, but then again,I figured it to be a thing of the past and wouldn't be coming up again within today's youth. As I mentioned above, I think that there must be something different within the make-up of a self-mutilator, if only because I don't understand the need for inflicting pain upon myself.

So, what can be done to help remedy this situation? Should we force all kids to attend a class/seminar during school about these dangers? Would that be effective? I'm pretty sure that teachers are required to report such behavior like this, but what else can teachers and parents do to help the kids?

A lot of it, I would think, comes down to the teen's home and schooling situation. Stress brought about from either of these locations (along with the many social stresses of the teenage years) only serve to exacerbate the situation, making them want to inflict pain more. So, I think maybe something could be introduced to reduce stress within the day of a teenager. Maybe mandatory naptime after lunch? I know that would make my day so much less stressful.

I know I'm making it seem way too simple of a solution, but that's only because of my limited knowledge. Does anyone know more who could offer more insight or a solution? Feel free to leave comments, I think this could be a good discussion.

World News Wednesday

I only have two things to really say about this article.

1: We need to spend more money on our education system. Our kid's deserve the best that we can give them, and looking at some schools recently, it seems as though we aren't paying them too much mind.

2: Teachers deserve to get paid more. This is so obvious. Why are actors and athletes paid so much, when we barely pay those who we expect to raise the future (at least that's what some parents think)?

...That is all.