Day: January 19, 2011

Crying Animals in South Korea

vabenissimo1 Comment

More than 662,647 livestock have been slaughtered and buried, alive.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) has thoroughly pervaded certain areas of South Korea. This disease suffers domesticated animals, mainly including cattle and swine by causing a fever and other biological destruction such as oral blister and internal erosion without any acute vaccination provided to aid their excruciating pain.

Due to its high potential for contamination, the South Korean government ordered the farmers to end the lives of countless livestock.

Unfortunately, this tragedy continues to affect not only the animals but also the humans.

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Tanning Bed for the Notorious Russian Prison

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Prisons in Russia are known to be notorious. But, this particularly infamous Moscow’s Butyrskaya prison has decided to make a significant contribution to the prisoners, a tanning bed.

The origin of this idea is stunning.

After the death of prisoner Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 due to his pancreas disease, federal prisons service Viktor Dezhurov became increasingly concerned about the prisoners’ health, leading to his decision to install tanning beds on the prison’s 240 anniversary celebration day. This plan is also considerably profitable with an estimated cost of $1,000 a month or 33 cents for every minute.

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Space Hotels Make Vacationing Among the Stars Possible!

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The Galactic Suite Space Resort is reported to be on schedule and expected to launch its first guests into space in 2012. Guests would pay roughly $4.4 million for a three night stay at the space resort and an eight week training program on an island. The Virgin Galactic, a space touring company, would launch four lucky guests and two astronaut pilots from a spaceport in New Mexico into the sky to single pod, where the visitors would land alone and not be met up with staff. Each ride would cost each passenger roughly $200,000.

Once at the Galactic Suite, the guests would be harnessed in a velcro suit so they could shift around their rooms by adhering to the velcro walls. The guests will be able to see the sun rise 15 times in 24 hours and circumnavigate around the globe every hour and 20 minutes.

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My OVS Awakening

pikachu041 Comment

Screen shot 2011-01-18 at 8.16.22 PM

Just past the halfway mark in my senior year and reality is starting to kick in. Going into my 11th year at OVS , I have just began to appreciate how greatly it has influenced my life.

The school has been the most steady home I have always had. Who I am today has been developed and impacted from my life at Ojai Valley School, from the people who have shared their knowledge with me, and more than that, their friendship with me.

Coming home from finals last week, I was anxious to see what would come next in all of my classes. I was pulled aside by Mr. Weidlich, who encouraged me to switch out of his English 12 class and into the AP English class. I was happy to challenge myself and move on to a new opportunity for learning. It was that experience, along with several other experiences with faculty members, that made me truly take a moment and think about how lucky I am to be in this place.

I want to thank Mr. Weidlich for being my advisor through my upper campus experience and always pushing me to challenge and tap into my writing abilities. It is to him that I owe my passion for writing because it was created when he shared his passion of writing with me through his English classes.

He has taught me a lot and I really look up to him as a person. Through thick and thin I will always love Ojai Valley School and it will always be a place where I have felt safest and will certainly be a place I will love to visit in the future as my life unfolds.

Eredivisie

therightliberal4 Comments

Dutch football does not receive enough credit. After the trade rumors about Ryan Babel and Luis Suarez I decided that this blog needed to discuss the Dutch Eredivisie (the professional football league in the Netherlands).

The Eredivisie has never been competitive with leagues like the EPL or La Liga in the actual competition between teams. However, Eredivisie is by far the best league for the development of football players.

The Dutch style of training and development is true genius. Youth players do not play 11v11 until they are at least 15 years old. This means that youth get many more touches than if they were playing larger sided games like they do in most countries. The youth learn how to control a game, passing and moving and then are able to better translate that to a game with more players.

Dutch development also focuses on the football psychology of players more than any other country. They work to develop a strong understanding of all the variables in football, an understanding of the cause and effect relationships on the field. This allows for the players to be best suited for intelligent play and use their skills most effectively.

There is a reason that talented Brazilians, Portuguese, Spaniards and players from all around the world go to the Netherlands to develop their football skills. It is the Mecca of football development. Dutch football should get more credit for the great teaching they bring to football.

Apple’s future

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nullApple CEO Steve Jobs is taking his second leave of absence from the company in two years. Due to his medical condition, Steve Jobs has asked the board of directors for granting his request for leave of absence.

However, as he is focusing on his health, he will still serve as CEO and stay involved in major decisions for the company. Tim Cook , who is Apple’s chief operating officer and the genius behind Steve Jobs, will take control of the company while Steve Jobs is absent.

It seems that there is no such a big problem for the world’s largest tech company. However, now there major concerns are whether Apple will still be able to produce innovative products without Steve, and whether will Steve’s health will affect Apple’s Stock or not.

“Tiger Mother”

pikachu041 Comment

chua
Amy Chua has been sparking controversy across the world with what she calls her”Tiger mother” approach on parenting. Her book, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother” describes how she has parented her two daughters. She does not believe in sleepovers, play dates with friends, or activities. Amy has two daughters.

Her publicity began when attention was drawn to her book. An article was written about her book titled “Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior.” In one case, the “Tiger Mother” yelled at her daughter calling her “garbage” and threatened to not give her food and not allow her to have a bathroom break because she was not playing the piano perfectly — this daughter is 7 years old….

Because of such abuse, “Tiger Mother” has gotten death threats from strangers who believe she is am unfit mother. When confronted with the facts, she stated ” My book is a memoir, not a parenting book! I think there are many ways to raise great kids.”

Among the uproar, a woman named Ayelet Waldman wrote a response essay entitled ” In Defense of the Guilty, Ambivalent, Preoccupied Western Mom.” Within this piece , Waldman touches on the fact that she believes “Tiger Mothering” is advocating child abuse.Read More »

Roommates.

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When I first went to OVS I had no idea how I would live with another person in the same room as me. The last time I did that was when I was eight and shared a room with my big brother. It was almost a year and a half ago when I met roommate. I walked into the room, number 207, with no idea of who would be in there or how I would react to them: that was when I met Polina.

She was relatively quiet at first, and I only really heard her talk when she was on her phone at night, speaking rapid Russian to her mother. But we slowly grew closer to one another, starting our conversations about music and then leading them on into the unknown. She became one of my closest friends.

When we had separated from each other at the end of our freshman year, her going to Russia and me staying in southern California, I didn’t know the effect it would have on me. I would be talking to my friends about school and instead of calling Polina, “my roommate,” I called her, “my Russian.” (I later found out that she refers to me as “my Aria” when she’s home in Russia)

This year, I was very grateful to have Polina as a roommate again. We already knew each others likes and dislikes, we never had an argument, and we practically knew what the other one was thinking. We had already been through and gotten over the awkward faze of living with a new person, and I never thought I’d be able to get on so well with someone so different than me.

I don’t know how I would have been able to make it through the long years at OVS without my roommate to help me through them.

Я люблю тебя сосед по комнате!

Stornoway

Yourcupatea1 Comment

Stornoway are a unique and individual folk band. Known for the hit Zorbing they have captured the attention of Indie and Folk lovers all over the globe. With sweet and melodic symphonies the country songs transport the listener to an idyllic spot.

Beachcomber’s windowsill is the perfect album for a sunny day. Reaching number three in the British indie charts, it includes singles such as I heard you Blink and Zorbing.

Classified as British alternative indie folk the band appeal to many. Originating from Oxford they typically portray the sounds of the British countryside. If foreigners want to familiarize with quaint English music this is the album for them.

Signed to the British Label 4AD the friends collaborate with a variety of instruments to create a sublime sound. This is a band to see live. Accompanied by a trumpeter they take to the stage awing the crowds.

With a selection of fast and slow songs their quirky lyrics transform what one would define as classic folk. Debuting at numerous festivals over the summer months including Glastonbury they have captured the hearts of many.

They are a real talent in their own right. Steering away from any real music genre they have managed to create a sound that is truly beautiful.

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Come fly with me.

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Yes Matt Lucas and David Walliams have returned. After the global success of the sketch show Little Britain they have now extended their horizons creating a new comedy to begin 2011.

In the new BBC mockumentary the comedy duo have really pulled out all of the stops to create a hit. Assuming the stereotypical roles of airport staff they mimic classic scenarios and characters.

Yes you heard me right Matt Lucas and David Walliams have created a comedy sketch at an airport. Amazing huh? This program is truly a phenomenon.

As usual the two men play the main roles, dressing up in various costumes to achieve unforgettable characters. The difficult man at customs, the gay flight attendant, and the smiley girls at checkout, to name but a few. Their powers of character observation know no bounds as they accentuate the finite characteristics of the people pleasers they portray.

The show previewed on Christmas day displaying the beginning of what has now blossomed into an outstanding sequel to all that has gone before. The show has really taken off. David Walliams and Matt Lucas are really the stars of their own reality. This is inflight entertainment at it’s very best.

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