Best Day Foundation

yourgingerkidLeave a comment

Not many people are born with what we all take for granted, and we aren’t given many opportunities to remember that. This last weekend a group of five OVS students and I volunteered at the Best Day Foundation’s Ventura Chapter in Oxnard, California where we all worked with children with disabilities ranging from being blind to have cerebral palsy. I’m pretty sure that everyone learned something from that experience.

Best Day Foundation

More than enough volunteers showed up to help and each child had at least one partner. Each station had more than enough helpers to take the children out canoeing, kayaking, body surfing, surfing, and simply spending time in the water. Some kids hadn’t even ever been to the beach. Some hadn’t ever felt sand. Some hadn’t ever experienced a wave.

I joined the canoeing station where we’d all take turn sitting in the bottom of a canoe in the harbor talking children out in groups of five or so. I met a normal boy who was there accompaning his brother who was practically the most social seven year old that I had aver met and a fifth grader from the valley who was partially blind. Even though I wasn’t faced with the most disabled people, just hanging out with them and talking to people who were their buddies made the experience worth while.

For more information visit http://www.BestDayFoundation.org

Football Wednesday

therightliberalLeave a comment

A Wednesday full of football makes it a great day for a blog. Today we saw games with results that were not very surprising. Manchester united tied Manchester City, a result neither side was happy with.

Carlos Tevez and Rafael are kept apart by Chris Foy

As a Manchester United fan, I felt very upset. Not only is Man City our derby rivals, but this tie means that we are now 4 points back of Chelsea after their win over Fulham. We were the better team on the day but we looked as dangerous as a flower in front of the goal. Hopefully Rooney will recover quickly and come back with his vicious striking ability intact.

Arsenal grabbed a 2-0 win over Wolves thanks to a brace scored by their rising hero Chamakh. Chelsea’s win over Fulham keeps them in that top spot, one that they don’t seem like they are ever going to give up.

West Brom 3-2 Arsenal goal

With how the results ended up today, there was not any movement in the table whatsoever. So in the end no big surprises, and I can say that even though Liverpool drew Wigan, that makes my day.

What nobody told you about OVS Football

shredicusmaximusLeave a comment

defeat

Lancaster, California.

As we lined up on the defensive side of the ball to block a field goal, it was the 3rd quarter. The official time stood at 1:44 left to play. We got down in our positions, center hiked the ball, but there was one problem, the game was over. The referees claimed that the 45 point rule was in effect. After shaking the hands of our victors, we walked to the classroom turned dressing room they had given us. On my way, their cheerleaders each gave us a bottle of Gatorade, as if to offer some form of condolence. I got to the classroom first, looked at my drink and threw it to the ground. My words, symbolic of the season, still resignate in my mind, “I went 0-7 and all I get is a damn Gatorade.”

The play that killed us was a 20 yard touch down run turned out to be the last down of football I would ever play, thus ending an eventful High School career. It was their senior day. Before the game, Coach Rob Davis looked at me and told me it was mine. I proceeded to make 26 tackles, force a fumble, catch a pass, and recover a fumble for a touchdown. I gave my all and left it all on the field for my last high school football game.

Read More »

Cruise Gone Wrong: Almost 4,500 Stranded

yrreskrap1 Comment

Cruise Ship

This Wednesday night, a Carnival cruise ship will be expected to pull into a Mexican port in Ensenada, allowing its thousands of passengers access to electricity. An engine fire had broken out on Monday.

Fortunately, none of its 3,299 passengers and 1,167 crew members were injured in putting the fire out. However, electricity, air conditioning, heated water, and phone service were down due to the fire.

The U.S. Coast Guard is in the process of bringing the immobile ship to the port in Mexico and has deployed aircrafts, ships, and alerted the U.S. and Mexican Navy.

Read More »

ROCKY 4

shredicusmaximus1 Comment

Here’s a special review of one of my favorite films of all time, Rocky 4. Now, the movie opens with Rocky defeating Clubber Lang, and Rocky and Apollo’s famous scene in the ring. Rocky is a famous, wealthy boxing legend who has a new friendship with his former rival Apollo Creed. This film starts out with a charming scene with Paulie’s birthday celebration. He get’s a robot who is apparently fully functional and even brings him a cake. It can talk as well. Now that was 1985, it’s 2010. Do you know anyone today who owns a robot?

Read More »

Diwali

delhigossipLeave a comment

The most celebrated festival in India, Deepavali (diwali), was celebrated this Friday with great pride and enjoyment. The festival which is most commonly known for its colors, firecrackers and sweets, was far greatly celebrated this year because of the arrival of President Obama the next day. The festival, which can be considered a Christmas for Indians, includes plenty of lighting in the houses and prayers (poojas) to welcome Goddess Laxmi and Ganesh to bring wealth to the houses. Diwali is a religious as well as fun festival, which tells the story of Lord Ram returning from exile after several years.

Every Indian spends time and  money on celebrating the festival. While some can only afford a small prayer in their houses, other go out of their ways to spend on a large hall which includes plenty of people to pray and burst crackers together. Some even fast on the day to honor and offer tribute to the Lord. While others eat plenty to celebrate. Some  buy new clothing for themselves. While some do not believe in that. By the end of the day it is a festival which brings together people to enjoy, and during the evening the sky is full of firecrackers. Diwali is celebrated by most religions, cultures and states in India.

Ever man in India awaits Diwali the entire year. Some men go to the extent of spending one million dollars on firecrackers. The day of Diwali is hectic for the elders. Most of them, spent the day creating footsteps from the main door to the cupboard to help the Lord find place to sit. They also have to make gujhiya, special Diwali homemade sweet. In the evening, there is as story that the elders of the family tell, and finally the firecrackers are bought out.   Diwali is the funnest festival and loved by most Indians.

LCD. Easy as 123

realtompagnozziLeave a comment

The latest musical phenom i’ve stumbled upon is none other than James Murphy, the renaissance man known in the business as LCD Soundsystem. The man could play all of the instrumentals in his band if only he had enough hands. But what’s really spectacular about him is that he can rock them all harder than most everybody.

Most of his songs start out with a grungy, Pavement style couple of verses that bring “lo-fi” back in to your vocab. But just when you think that he’s another ambiguous modern indie artist, his true skills as a producer take over. This guy can hold his own with some of the greatest electronic music producers out there if he had the drive. Clearly what is important to him, however, is creating original music in one of the most distinctly vague genres there is.

kill two birds with one stone

weirdjennyLeave a comment

Recently, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power(LADWP) has come up an idea to reduce the severe dust storm in Owens Valley: Build a massive solar power plant there.

This project would have two major benefits. The power plants will cover over 600 acres of the dry lake bed, which creates the dust storm when the wind blows. Before, LADWP has to let some water flow into the valley in order to control the dust storm. However, most of the dry lake bed will be covered by the solar panels. Which can prevent the wind from blowing the dust up.

Moreover, LADWP calculated that the power plants will generate over 10% electricity of California, which can support 1.5 million of houses.

Unguaranteed Success

vabenissimoLeave a comment

Of course, a mother would want her child to receive an excellent education

However, in South Korea, this desire is taken far too extreme.

South Korean “Children” are forcefully sent abroad without any guaranteed success.

Often times, these students end up in committing unethical behaviors such as underage drinking and substance abuse and become anxious and obfuscated with their conflicting cultural identities; to simply put, unhappy.

Exceptions exist. They can benefit from the early experiences of independence and cultural diversity and possess careers within international range.

My point is not about tilting onto one side of this global study overseas issue. It is about recommending much more careful judgment about this experience and not merely following a trend based on an obscure success.

Check out this New York Times article, “For English Studies, Koreans say Goodbye to Dad” by Norimitsu Onishi.

Mauritania Wants Obesity

vabenissimoLeave a comment

“You are fat.”

I am almost certain that most women around the world want to avoid this title except for the ones in the northwestern region of Africa.

Fascinatingly, Mauritania considers obesity as an intricate beauty symbol.

Since young age, females from this place are pressured to stuff themselves with fattening foods. Their parents encourage them to gain weight constantly. Believe or not, vomit is even considered to be “natural” and “good.” They also intentionally increase their weight before marriage to satiate their “lovers’” taste.

This practice seems odd. However, this tradition is something to be reflected much more gravely.

An increasing number of these women are experiencing health threats and are becoming mentally traumatized by the societal demands.

Thankfully, younger generation seems to be less committed to this practice and some organizations initiated their help to educate these victims the healthy ways to live.

Unfortunately, this case divulges no vast difference from the case of most young women from other nations where the desire to thin out is choking numerous women out of their lives.

Please girls and women,  you decide the right ways to live.