Strength of Friendship

I've been sitting here trying to come up with a topic that pertains to mass media but nothing comes to mind. So instead tonight I am going to talk about whats been weighing on my heart. The past few weeks have been ridiculously crazy and it seems to me the pace won't be slowing down any time soon. I understand that college life but sometimes you just need a little bit of encouragement to keep going. I found that this Tuesday in my best friend from home Cristina. Thinking about it today I realize I'm ridiculously blessed in having someone that will listen to me no matter how retarded I sound. How is it that a single human being can have such a dramatic affect on another persons life? I can't answer that question but I'm so glad that they can even if it happens to be for the worst. Friendship in my mind has to be one of the strongest bonds we can create. A strong friendship can see you through all the hills and Vallie's of life and still consider you to be one of the most amazing people on earth. Could we make it through life without a connection such as this? What kind of people would we be without the aid of another?

Reaction to Monday's Discussion on the Hit and Run

What are the chances of capturing the footage shown on Monday? Talk about right place right time. The same couldn’t be said for the people involved. The question proposed to the class was what exactly she should do with the footage. In my mind the action that should be taken is exactly what happened. If it were me who happened to film the accident I would have turned it into the authorities in hopes that it could be of some help to them. As far as the publicity of this event goes, I think it’s ridiculous that there was none. I just don't understand how the only coverage on this issue was a simple paragraph. Are the lives of these people not significant enough to be reported on? Out of respect I think they should have at least reported on the conditions of the people involved. All in all, this is just a jacked up situation.

IOUSA

Tonight the movie IOUSA, a documentary on the fiscal responsibilities of our nation, took the big screen at the Abby theatre. The movie pin pointed the faults of the American government and ways we in which we as individuals can aid in the relief effort. By using detailed graphs and charts I learned how social security, health care, and taxes are draining our governmental profits. Taking this more detailed look into the problem at hand I realized how ridiculous the problem really is. It's sad to look at this countries financial profile and see the direction we are headed. Walking out of that theatre I felt empowered and inspired that I can make a difference in this financial crisis. One educated voice can lead to the land slide of thousands of others bringing together a united front that can't be over looked by the government.

McCain Comes to Durango

After campaigning in Denver Friday morning Senator John McCain plans on continuing his campaign here in Durango. He will speak at Durango High School football field 5p.m with doors opening at 3 p.m. This Durango stop will be the first one by a major party presidential candidate since John F. Kennedy in 1960. With Durango being a part of the Albuquerque media market McCain gains two-for-one media coverage in both Colorado and New Mexico. In addition to advantage in media coverage Durango is home to about 12,000 unaffiliated voters which both campaigns have been targeting.

Belly-busting 20 lb burger

Brad Sciullo, a five-foot-11, 180 pound western Pennsylvania chef is the first person in the history of Denny's Beer Barrel Pub to completely finish eating their famous Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser: a 15-pound burger with toppings and a bun that brought the total weight to 20.2 pounds. For finishing this massive burger under the five hour time limit Sciullo received $400, three T-shirts, a certificate, and a "burger hangover." When asked why he would attempt such a stunt Sciullo said that he just wanted to see if he could do it. Included in the burger were a bun, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese onions, mild banana peppers, and a cup each of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and relish.

Plant-Derived Gasoline

The so called "green" gasoline is chemically derived from corn and other grains or from cellulose found in tough, woody parts of plants. Unlike most other biofuel, this new form of gasoline requires no change in your car’s engine. The National Science Foundation has aided in several projects developing green gasoline. These projects found that by just a simple difference in the creation process you can produce gasoline components out of wood chips and other plant refuse. Doing so involves a chemical agent called catalysts which reformulates plant sugars into energy packed molecules. Making hydrocarbons from plat materials is more efficient than making ethanol. This is because hydrocarbons separate themselves from water automatically, compared to ethanol which requires energy-intensive distillation. This efficiency will translate into lower costs estimated at 20% lower than a gallon of ethanol produced from corn.

Topless Activists Protest Bull Fighting

In Brussles, Belgium animal rights activists staged a topless protest outside the European Parliament on Thursday, against the union supporting and aiding bull fighting. They laid on sidewalks covered in face blood accompanied with spears sticking out of their backs, highlighting their opposition. These protestors planned on putting new pressure on lawmakers at the European Parliament. I thought this was cool and funny. I thought others might too.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Lately it seems the movies released to the big screan keep deteriorating. Completely falling below the bar. Never satisfy the ten bucks I spend on a movie. Time and time again I go to movies with hollow acting and no plot and i am tired of it. Just when I am about to get fed up with going to sub-par holywood bs I found Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. This movie isn't like the movie's of today with their predictable endings. Instead, throughout the entire movie I was on edge guessing the next direction of the movie. I highly recomend this movie but if your looking for something other than a chick flick this movie isn't it. If you have time and feel like catching a movie this should deffinately be the one.

Vice Presidental Debate

Tonight at 7 o'clock Mountain Time Senator Joe Biden and Governor Sarah Palin faced off in the first and only Vice Presidential debate. I had the opportunity of watching this debate on campus with a group of students and professors all brought together by their yearn for wanting to become a better informed voter. When I walked into this room tonight I was both exited and anxious for what the night held in store and for also being able to talk about the debate logically afterward. Sadly, this excitement began to diminish when I realized that I had walked into a room that was completely one sided. They didn't take into consideration that there might be opinions other than their own sitting right next to them. It was hilarious to listen to the outburst responding to the answers given. For example, Sarah Palin was so wrapped up in her rebuttal that she forgot to answer the original question asked. The whole class then proceeded to grill her on this issue. Then, not two questions later Senator Joe Biden did the same and you heard no outburst stating that he forgot to answer the question. I just believe that if you hold one person to a certain standard isn't it right to hold others to that standard as well.

Financial Crisis

As many know the economic rescue bill of a $700 billion failed to pass Monday morning sending Wall Street crashing. Since then, many people have been working to reconstruct the bill and it’s said to have found new life Wednesday pressing toward speedy passage through the senate come Friday. This new bill added $100 billion in tax breaks for business and middle class but, the heart of the opposition remains the same. It would enable the government to spend billions of dollars to buy bad mortgages held by troubled financial institutions.