Is Digital Art really a form of art?

Digital Art is still art, despite being created electronically. It is ultimately only a different way of being creative. Digital art is a term used for a range of artistic works and practices that use digital technology as an essential part of the creative/presentation process. In my opinion, I believe digital art is a form of art! Although it is a much cheaper alternative to traditional art, the use of it allows the artist to not be limited as to what they create.

NATO (aka United States) Warns Rebels Against Attacking Civilians or face bombing! WTF?

We might as well call this the Keystone Kops of kinetic engagement. Do you think it would’ve been much wiser to really investigate exactly who the heck these so-called rebels are? Maybe their mercenaries who used to kill Americans?

Does this mean the U.S. …er…Nato is on both sides of this civil war?

New York Times reports that members of the NATO alliance have sternly warned the rebels in Libya not to attack civilians as they push against the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, according to senior military and government officials.

As NATO takes over control of airstrikes in Libya, and the Obama administration considers new steps to tip the balance of power there, the coalition has told the rebels that if they endanger civilians, they will not be shielded from possible bombardment by NATO planes and missiles, just as the government’s forces have been punished.

“We’ve been conveying a message to the rebels that we will be compelled to defend civilians, whether pro-Qaddafi or pro-opposition,” said a senior Obama administration official. “We are working very hard behind the scenes with the rebels so we don’t confront a situation where we face a decision to strike the rebels to defend civilians.”


More details here

I like how the Times reports the story so seriously without a hint of alluding to the total ridiculousness of it all. There’s another word this, its “quagmire”. Maybe the Times has forgotten that they use to use the Q-word quite often during Viet Nam and under the George W. Bush administration.

Memeorandun

How does Hate Crime laws jib with equal protection under the law?

In New York City a 12 year old hoodlum boy and a female accomplice allegedly beat up on a 13 year old Muslim girl.

News reports say that the boy asked the Muslim girl, who was wearing a hijab, a head scarf Muslim females wear to honor Islam, if she was a Muslim. Afterwards the beating began with punches until the Muslim girl collapsed to the ground.

It was a viscous act of violence and the boy, who is in police custody, should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. However, the boy faces additional charges under Hate crime legislation, and this is where the justice system is running off the rails.

Why is this boy being charged with a hate crime and how did we get here as a society?

Who cares what the boy was thinking at the time he beat up the girl? The cuts and bruises on her face is enough evidence for me that he beat her up and should be dealt with on that basis alone.

However, Liberals, who invented the concept of Hate Crimes as a political tool to convert political correctness into votes, crossed the line into persecuting people for how they think-thought crimes. Further, the concept of equal protection under the law gets thrown on its head in favor of special protection for certain groups.

Have you ever heard of a white person being a victim of a Hate crime?

Under the law white people are not a special group. So where is the equal protection for them?

George Orwell’s 1984 has arrived and we’ll all suffer for it in one way or another if we don’t repeal hate crimes legislation.

If Liberals can push for the repeal of Rockefeller drug laws in New York, I as a conservative am calling for the repeal of hate crimes legislation. These mind-probing laws won’t be missed. People who commit murder, assault, battery, or rape can still be prosecuted for committing murder, assault, battery, and rape. That’s the way it ought to be, equal justice for bad acts instead of bad thoughts.

Video: Annoyed Tennis Player David Ferrer Launches Ball at Crying Baby during match

I thought tennis was supposed to be the gentile sport?

The Blaze reports a baby was bawling, and Sony Ericsson Open quarterfinalist David Ferrer wasn’t too happy, either.
Trailing in his match and annoyed by the crying, Ferrer directed a forehand lob toward the infant after losing his serve midway through the second set Wednesday.



I guess you find the biggest jerks on the tennis court as well. If I was the kid’s father and the ball hit the baby, there would be one less tennis player in the world.

It’s time for Boehner and the GOPers to show Scott Walker courage, stop fearing govt shutdown!

The time for acting like men is now!

John Boehner needs to grow a pair, get an injection of Scott Walker courage flown in from Wisconsin if necessary. Acting timidly, afraid of imaginary shadows will not get it done for the taxpayers of the United States. If the govt has to be shut down in order to get those real cuts the people expect, so be it.

I don’t wanna see tears, Johnny! Show that you have a backbone instead and millions will support you who love this country!

Memeorandum

Page 3 of yesterday's Evening Standard was a pioneering exercise in journalistic integrity. It seems that topless pictures of an art teacher named Miss Salley had been spread among students at Harrow, a public boy's school. The coverage dwelled simultaneously on Miss Salley's distress at the sharing of the pictures among pupils, and her status as a former model and 'Miss Ireland'. In other words, first, Miss Salley is a woman for whom having topless pictures is just about understandable (as models do that kind of thing). Second, because she is sexy it is understandable that the boy that found the pictures passed them around to his friends, who passed them around to their friends, and so on (because young humans with penises naturally do that kind of thing). Third, because she was upset, she was slightly redeemed. Slightly.

Harrow School boys, possibly not the bullies in question









The articles in the Evening Standard, Daily Telegraph, and (unsurprisingly) the Daily Hate could have been broken down in this manner:

1. LOOK AT THIS PICTURE OF A HOT SMOKING WOMAN!
2. Guess what happened, another teacher took some pictures of her with her tits out and all the boys saw! How shameful!
3. But it's ok, she isn't a slut, she's actually a model and they were artistic photos.
4. Also, boys at the school confirm that she is sexy. For example, one eloquently described her as a 'total babe'!
5. And don't worry, she repented. She was really upset and had to go home. Natural balance restored!
p.s. She used to go out with a rugby player!

The reasons why this story is abhorrent are almost too numerous to count. It is not just that we are supposed to look upon the schoolboy's behaviour as naughty yet permissible, it is that at the same time we are encouraged to find it all a bit titillating - reinforcing the idea (as if it needed reinforcing) that a woman's sexual shame is erotic, and that more, female sexuality is in itself shameful when not officially mediated by male permissions. In this story, the story of many women and girls, Miss Salley is the one shamed for sluttishly allowing a semi-naked representation to be taken of her, to be stolen by others. She redeems herself only by being attractive, and by being rightfully upset when others find out what she has done. Heaven help Miss Salley if she is ugly, or if she dares to not recognise her shame. This story has been told a million times and it is rarely, if ever, questioned, particularly not in the schools where it so often takes place.

I will always remember the multiple ways in which girls at my school were sexually bullied. On just one of the many occasions I could pick from, I remember hearing a conversation about the existence of a video of a girl fellating a boy in a toilet. Apparently whilst this was going on the boy's friends had taken the video over the wall of the toilet door. Just rumours about this video were enough to make me feel shocked at the temerity of the girl in question, and thoroughly embarrassed for her. What was she thinking, to give a boy head in a toilet?! How bad she must feel! What a slut! I would never do anything so base! The idea that if she should feel ashamed, the boy receiving head should also feel ashamed was never even mentioned. Nor, for that matter, was it seen to be at all embarassing or shameful to be hanging over a toilet stall door video-ing a couple having sex.

Lets take it as read that there is a massively gendered heterosexual double standard at play here, presenting the idea that it is in some way shameful to give head, but not shameful to receive it. Aside from this, it is highly strange that at no point in teenagers' lives does anybody usually sit them down and explain that this is wrong.

(Imagine you are sitting in a class full of thirteen year olds. Your teacher, a Miss Jean Brodie soundalike, stands up and says this): 'Contrary to everything else you will have probably have learned from films, television, books, parents, friends, and other aspects of our society, it is normal and ok for people to have sex. Women are not sluts for having sex, nor are they prudish for not having sex. Men are not studs for having sex, nor are they losers for not having sex. It is ok to have sex, or to not have sex. Anybody who uses the word 'slut' will henceforth be called to the Head's Office (ha) for a full explanation of their actions.'

In my feminist utopia, this lesson is read instead of morning prayers. Except, this doesn't happen, and instead sexual bullying happens time and time and time again. Obviously girls will take naked images of themselves to send to boyfriends, or friends, when the most prevalent, obvious outlet for burgeoning sexual desire is misogynist heterosexual porn, and when there is no education to suggest otherwise. Whilst young people are growing and developing their sexualities, there is little to nothing taught about gender equality, about sex being compatible with humanity, or about sex being positive and normal. Waving a condom around during one biology class is not sex education.

At what point do we begin to question where the blame really lies? Is it on the woman who experiences her sexuality in such a way as to create a naked image, or is it on a cultural attitude to the female body and to female sexuality which sexualises, commodifies and controls, whilst also blaming, shaming and denigrating? It is scandalous that the British education system is still too embarrassed, too naive, or too outright sexist to talk about sex and relationships to those who need to hear about it most. How long will it be seen as better for sexual bullying, rape, domestic violence and male-centric sex to prevail than for teachers to spend a bit of time teaching children what they don't learn elsewhere?

Here, to my mind, is how the story should have been reported:

1. Picture of public school boys.
2. Boys at Harrow public school were suspended today for attempting to bully a teacher, sexual shaming and property theft.
3. This kind of thing really shouldn't happen any more. How unfortunate. Why weren't those students educated better?
4. X, the photography teacher whose photos were stolen, is pressing charges.
5. We hope that prestigious Harrow school will recover from the shock of such behaviour, and implement better education to make sure it won't happen again.

Assessment analysis/questions

1.  Describe what software you used and why you chose it.

The software that I used to create my frames was Inkscape. I chose this program as there are many advantages and uses for it. Inkscape is extremely useful for creating vector graphics/images. Vector images are made using geometrical shapes and a math formula, in order to represent computer graphics. I used Inkscape as a utility software to take advantage of the svg uses and ease of modifications and uses. In inkscape, it is extremely easy to modify and edit certain points of your images. The 'Nodes' tool is a tool that I used frequently in order to create my main character. I rotated body parts in tiny portions, order to create clear, crisp, and smooth movements. I chose Inkscape as it allowed me to create characters, move certain body parts, and ultimately create a smooth animation with ease.

2.  Describe the creation process you followed.

I had many twist, turns, and modifications in terms of my creation process. We were assigned by Mr Lennon to create an animation that related to our house colour which in my case is Clare. I have a strong liking for pokemon, especially Charmander, so I used him as my main character. Instead of getting an .svg file from wiki, I got a .gif file from google. I have now realised that to save myself some time, I should have searched for a Charmander svg file because of it's suitability for Inkscape.

I chose this .gif file off google to copy on Inkscape:

It wasn't as hard to trace this character as it may seem, because it's background was transparent. Some features I did not include into my actual character created on Inkscape, but they were very similar indeed. After choosing my selected character, I started creating it on my chosen program. I opened my charmander.gif on a blank A4 size Inkscape canvas, then began using the Bezier Tool. The bezier tool allowed me to create an outline over the charmander.gif's body so that I could copy it's shape. After using the bezier tool, I curved and shaped the various points/nodes with the Nodes tool. I was able to achieve rounder shaped legs, arms, and bodies with the use of the nodes tool. This is an image of my final character product:

After creating my character, I used the "Select and transform objects" tool in order to rotate/move my "Charmander" into different directions. There is not much to that step, however each movement had to be in very little proportions in order to create smooth movements. Whenever there was a gap between a rotated body part and the body, I would use the node tool to connect it back together again. This step was repeated all through out my animation. 

After I finished creating each frame, I would save it as an SVG file by clicking 'Save As'. I would number/name the frame so that it would stay in order, and I could animate it with ease. This process was repeated all throughout the process of my animation.

3.  What image format were you saving your work in during development of the frames?

The image format that I used when saving my work during the development of the frames were .PNG and INKSCAPE SVG file. The reason why I chose these image formats were so that I could.. a) Go back and edit a certain frame if needed b) As a back up for when Inkscape crashed (it happened all the time!). c) So I could add them into Windows Movie Maker with ease. The png files were used for the development of my animation in Windows Movie Maker. If I had not exported each frame as a bitmap image, I would not be able to put all my frames together. When I pressed "export as bitmap", each frame saved as a PNG file which I later on used. The svg files were a back up that I was able to use in case of emergency by clicking "Save As".

 4. What image format did you save your frames as?

It was extremely important for me to save my frames in a certain format. There are various image formats used all around the internet for their own reasons. I will not get into that topic, as it is unrelatable to the question but the image format that I used to save my exported frames as was PNG. Saving my frames as a png file was a good choice as it has many advantages. It has better compression and transparency options. Re-saving an image as a PNG will not reduce it's file quality, hence it's suitability. PNG files are extremely good in terms of animating.

5. What frame rate were you aiming for?

I didn't really have a "frame rate" that I aimed for, but I knew it was going to be between 0.04-0.09 frames per second because of the knowledge I received from lessons in class (when we made the bouncing ball). I wanted my animation to be clean, cut, and smooth; hence most of my frames were between 0.04-0.08 fps. Having a faster frame rate with over 200 frames allowed my animation to have smooth movements over a "jerky" sequence which would cause me to lose marks. My entire animation sequence of over 200 frames with a frame rate varying from 0.04-0.08 fps displays smooth movement, which was what I was ultimately aiming for. The frame rate that is provided by right clicking my animation and selecting "Properties", tells me that the overall frame rate of the video is 29 frames per second. 

6. What is the final size of your animation?            

The overall size of my animation in terms of megabytes is 3.47 mb. This is because I saved it as a 'wmv' file with good quality frames. Blogspot downgraded it's quality automatically, hence it is not very clear on my blog. In terms of frame width and height, my animation is 640 by 480.

7. What difficulties did you encounter and how did you overcome them?

The main difficulty that I encountered in this animation assessment/whole subject was gaining proper knowledge of the tools. Although I have been exposed to animation making in my previous school, I am not familiar with the program Inkscape. I usually work with GIMP, but being exposed to INKSCAPE in Catherine McAuley has deepened my understanding of the different tools that people work with in order to create animations. A difficulty that I encountered was having to rotate certain body parts without making it look out of proportion. When I rotated an arm for example, part of it would not be connected to the body anymore. I was confused and worried as to how I should resolve this, as moving the arms and legs were vital parts of my animation. In order to overcome this, I used the 'Node editor' tool to "stretch" the arm back into place and into conjunction with the body again. I kept repeating this step in order to make sure that my movements were smooth. 


Another difficulty I came across was saving my frames with a transparent background. I exported bitmaps with a transparent background which caused the background to be black in Windows Movie Maker. It was in the first few lessons that I realised this mistake and I was lucky that I saved all of my frames and svg files as a back up! I re-opened my frames on inkscape and changed the background transparency to a full colour by the help of Mr Lennon and "Document Properties". That was how I overcame that problem of the background transparency.

My Animation Assessment

My animation assessment is titled

"Cheeky 'Clare' Charmander"

In total I used 287 frames. My frames were from about 0.04-0.08 frames per second. There are some reoccuring frames used in order to create certain scenes. An analysis of my animation will be posted up very soon!

Trump: Does Birth Certificate Say Obama Is a Muslim?

The Donald just won’t go away to the consternation of the Obama regime.. However, Trump poses a legitimate question. Why won’t the president just produce the long form birth certificate? I think Trump is on the money when he suspects there’s something on there the president doesn’t want made public and is willing to pay millions in keeping secret.

The issue is not his status anymore.

What is it that’s worth so much money to keep hidden?

Also, Obama has kept his college transcripts sealed too. My suspicion is that he was an average B- student throughout college, maybe worse. That reality wouldn’t jib with the manufactured image of brilliance.


The Blaze reports this is what he really thinks…This is Donald being Donald…I don‘t think it’s as premeditated as some people think it is,” says Roger Stone of Donald Trump’s birtherism. Trump is a possible GOP presidential candidate for 2012. And he wants to know where President Obama’s birth certificate is.

Stone, who appeared with Insider Extreme’s SE Cupp, is the colorful political strategist behind “Stone’s Rules.” He was once described by The Weekly Standard’s Matt Labash as a “political operative, Nixon-era dirty trickster, professional lord of mischief.” And here he is below, speaking about Trump:




Memeorandum

Car Rentals That Allowed

Car Rentals that allowed

Remembering where I was when Reagan got shot 30 years ago today

I was in the Student Union building in Queens College visiting my girlfriend Jackie. I was still a senior in high school and she was about to finisher her first year at college.

We were about to eat a Diplomat Hamburger when I heard the news come over the college radio station that gun shots were fired and Reagan was rushed to the hospital.

My heart sank and instantly lost my appetite!

The weird thing about it was that I looked around the cafeteria and mo one else seemed to notice the news, but me. There were no shrieks or crying. It was as if nothing happened, like any other day with people going about their business.

But, I was in a state of shock with a lump in my throat. Jackie knew how I felt about Reagan and I said to her I gotta go home and watch the news.

I didn’t know if he was alive or dead.

I just prayed.

I just had to get home which meant taking two buses and on the trip nobody else seemed to know that our president had been shot. It was like a Twilight Zone episode where I was the guy who knew something very important and nobody else cared.

That’s what I remember the day Reagan got shot.

Don’t you know oil has to be the “boggie man in Obama’s world?

Oil and the use of it has been the single most valuable commodity responsible for accumulating wealth in the United States.

When you turn on a switch and the lights come on, it’s because oil is used to run the turbines that produces electricity. By products from oil not only result in the gasoline for your car that gets you to work and vacation, it can also be found all over your home from the medicine you take for a headache to the cup your pour coffee in.

Oil is the miracle substance that has raised our standard of living to the highest in the world, and it’s all good.

However, according to President Obama oil is dirty and ugly and needs to be hated by all. He has to deceive the public into thinking that oil can seep into your homes, climbs the stairs and straggle your children if it wasn’t for Barack Obmam standing guard and fighting the oil menace with his soaring oratory.

He has to lie and ignore court orders to impose a needless drilling moratorium to keep us from drilling for more oil in the Gulf, because oil is evil and we need to be protected by Obama the Most Merciful.

He campaigned against the special interests. But, as president Obama doesn’t mind being a whore for environmentalists who love nothing more than America be stripped bare of its wealth. The enviro-haters hate capitalism more than they hate George Bush and Obama is their champion.

Be wary of the mob with the pitchforks led by Obama seeking to kill the oil creature. They’re the real monsters in disguise.

Think well and be free!


Memeorandum

Budget Rent A Car

budget rent a car

Michele Bachmon is right on Libya-We shouldn't be there!

Michele Bachmann has just said on the Today Show that the U.S. does not know who the rebels really are. What's happening in Libya is not of vital interest to the United States.

I've been saying this for the past week that the U.S. shouldn't be invloved in this conflict-period! She's the first pol to be on point on this matter.

Marco Rubio: Why I Won't Vote to Raise the Debt Limit - WSJ.com

Marco Rubio: Why I Won't Vote to Raise the Debt Limit - WSJ.com: "OPINION MARCH 30, 2011 Why I Won't Vote to Raise the Debt Limit"
By MARCO RUBIO

Americans have built the single greatest nation in all of human history. But America's exceptionalism was not preordained. Every generation has had to confront and solve serious challenges and, because they did, each has left the next better off. Until now.

Our generation's greatest challenge is an economy that isn't growing, alongside a national debt that is. If we fail to confront this, our children will be the first Americans ever to inherit a country worse off than the one their parents were given.

Current federal policies make it harder for job creators to start and grow businesses. Taxes on individuals are complicated and set to rise in less than two years. Corporate taxes will soon be the highest in the industrialized world. Federal agencies torment job creators with an endless string of rules and regulations.

On top of all this, we have an unsustainable national debt. Leaders of both parties have grown our government for decades by spending money we didn't have. To pay for it, they borrowed $4 billion a day, leaving us with today's $14 trillion debt. Half of that debt is held by foreign investors, mostly China. And there is no plan to stop. In fact, President Obama's latest budget request spends more than $46 trillion over the next decade. Under this plan, public debt will equal 87% of our economy in less than 10 years. This will scare away job creators and lead to higher taxes, higher interest rates and greater inflation.

Betting on America used to be a sure thing, but job creators see the warning signs that our leaders ignore. Even the world's largest bond fund, PIMCO, recently dumped its holdings of U.S. debt.

We're therefore at a defining moment in American history. In a few weeks, we will once again reach our legal limit for borrowing, the so-called debt ceiling. The president and others want to raise this limit. They say it is the mature, responsible thing to do.

In fact, it's nothing more than putting off the tough decisions until after the next election. We cannot afford to continue waiting. This may be our last chance to force Washington to tackle the central economic issue of our time.

"Raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure." So said then-Sen. Obama in 2006, when he voted against raising the debt ceiling by less than $800 billion to a new limit of $8.965 trillion. As America's debt now approaches its current $14.29 trillion limit, we are witnessing leadership failure of epic proportions.

I will vote to defeat an increase in the debt limit unless it is the last one we ever authorize and is accompanied by a plan for fundamental tax reform, an overhaul of our regulatory structure, a cut to discretionary spending, a balanced-budget amendment, and reforms to save Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

There is still time to accomplish all this. Rep. Dave Camp has already introduced proposals to lower and simplify our tax rates, close loopholes, and make permanent low rates on capital gains and dividends. Even Mr. Obama has endorsed the idea of lowering our corporate tax rate. Sen. Rand Paul, meanwhile, has a bill that would require an up-or-down vote on "major" regulations, those that cost the economy $100 million or more. And the House has already passed a spending plan this year that lowered discretionary spending by $862 billion over 10 years.

Such reductions are important, but nondefense discretionary spending is a mere 19% of the budget. Focusing on this alone would lead to draconian cuts to essential and legitimate programs. To get our debt under control, we must reform and save our entitlement programs.

No changes should be made to Medicare and Social Security for people who are currently in the system, like my mother. But people decades away from retirement, like me, must accept that reforms are necessary if we want Social Security and Medicare to exist at all by the time we are eligible for them.

Finally, instead of simply raising the debt limit, we should reassure job creators by setting a firm statutory cap on our public debt-to-GDP ratio. A comprehensive plan would wind down our debt to sustainable levels of approximately 60% within a decade and no more than half of the economy shortly thereafter. If Congress fails to meet these debt targets, automatic across-the-board spending reductions should be triggered to close the gap. These public debt caps could go in tandem with a Constitutional balanced budget amendment.

Some say we will go into default if we don't increase the debt limit. But if we simply raise it once again, without a real plan to bring spending under control and get our economy growing, America faces the very real danger of a catastrophic economic crisis.


I know that by writing this, I am inviting political attack. When I proposed reforms to Social Security during my campaign, my opponent spent millions on attack ads designed to frighten seniors. But demagoguery is the last refuge of the spineless politician willing to do anything to win the next election.

Whether they admit it or not, everyone in Washington knows how to solve these problems. What is missing is the political will to do it. I ran for the U.S. Senate because I want my children to inherit what I inherited: the greatest nation in human history. It's not too late. The 21st century can also be the American Century. Our people are ready. Now it's time for their leaders to join them.

Mr. Rubio, a Republican, is a U.S. senator from Florida

Memeorandum

OCD

I recently finished my second block of my medical school year 1 curriculum: Molecules, Cells, and Cancer. As per usual, solid pass... not as per usual, this pass was at the lower end of the spectrum.

My excuse?
Mild emotional trauma via an impromptu, and admittedly self-induced, social explosion that left me reeling for the first few weeks of the semester was not a good way to kick off the block. That on top of getting seriously sick for the first 3 weeks of school set a study pattern that was less than desirable aka near non-existent, at least by medical school standards.

So what did I do with my free time?
I went to the gym... a lot. 2-3 hours a day for the last 3 months. I hung out with my sister and some old friends, did a little shopping, and mostly kept to myself.

So what are my conclusions from this study and mild social hiatus?

1) endorphins make you happy.
*Some of this gym obsession was due in part to the urge to get ready for Cabo spring break in which I knew there would be rampant bikini photography occurring, but I admit there was also a component of gym therapy involved.*

2) Withdrawing socially has some pro's and con's.
*I got more in touch with myself and had time to reevaluate some recent bad decisions, but by the end of the block I was feeling a little lonely.*

3) Anything can lose the glamor if you over do it.
*As the end of the phase and my current state of affairs attest. Allow me to explain.*

I think I'm a little OCD.
Not in the literal, disordered sense, but I do obsess.

1) At the beginning of this year, I obsessed about studying and as a result studying lost its glamor. I became completely sick of it.

2) During MCC I became borderline obsessed with working out. Even my release became routine; the gym lost its glamor.

3) Boys. At last, I've noticed a pattern in my ridiculous affairs with the opposite sex... I obsess. Not in the stalker/Swim Fan sense, but what I mean is that I get a crush on someone and then I target him.

exhibit A:
My first boyfriend, who I crushed on for my first 7 months at a new school until we finally got together ignoring anybody else who asked me out and totally taking for granted the 'new girl' effect that was freely at my disposal to tap into.

exhibit B:
My MS1 crush. A guy I randomly made out with and spent the majority of the last 4 months crushing on. A guy that caused me to be completely oblivious to another guy who in retrospect I think I really had chemistry with, and a guy who it turns out after recently actually spending a night hanging out with him and getting to know him, I'm not sure I really jive with outside of friendship.
Yes, even boys lose their glamor.

The result?
On the upside, my hiatus from studying has made the task slightly less deplorable, my time at the gym has incurred some results i.e. better cardi0vascular health, abs, and a knowledge of recent world affairs (I was getting in about an hour of CNN/day while on the elliptical), and I'm finally over my crush if not slightly annoyed by my own behavior. The downside... this just leaves me with books, a fitter bod, and no man friend. (Not to mention frequent sitings of the boy who got away- who I'm still not sure if I do in fact have chemistry with, and who is looking obnoxiously cute as of late... alas).

But, the point of this post: I'm also more self-aware.
There is definite truth to a lifestyle that supports 'moderation in all things.' Studying, working out, and even boys can all be overdone. Luckily, with a long enough break, what was old can sometimes become new again. I might have been study avoidant, gym obsessed, and socially withdrawn during MCC, but I'm ready to get back on the horse.

Consider this my commitment to seek a more balanced (and less obsessed) addendum.

Vanessa Jean-Louis, Blacks being Republicans

I was impressed by this conservative activist, Vanessa Jean-Louis who gave Bill Ayers a hard time about Charter Schools.

In this video she appears on a program discussing among other things, African Americans being in the Republican Party. The dirty little secret Liberals don’t want to acknowledge is the emergence of Barack Obama has caused more African Americans to “come out” as the conservatives they have always been. If this pattern continues it would rock the foundation of the Democrat Party which is losing the narrative among some African Americans who realize nothing is getting better for them even with a Black man in the White House.

Shocking: Chinese Traffic Cameras Capture Horrific Accidents

I thought Queens Boulevard in New York was bad. This intersection in China makes QB look like a kiddie walk.

The Blaze reports that if you’re watching this video at an office or near others, you might want to warn those around because you will gasp in horror very shortly.

The Chinese government has just released video — as part of a public safety campaign — of what is arguably the craziest (most dangerous?) intersection in the world. It shows footage, taken by traffic cameras, of person after person getting blindsided, t-boned, or hit head on by cars, buses, and trucks going through an intersection in the Shandong province.

According to the site Chinasmack.com, the video has already racked up over 2 million views within 22 hours of being uploaded to the site Youku. That, folks, is what we call viral.

Warning, there are some graphic parts. You might want to put your hand over your mouth in preparation:



Well, the Chinese do have a rep of being horrible drivers. After watching this, can you argue the point?

Jeff Van Gundy's Blank Stare Can See Directly Into Your Soul

Quick! Clear your mind so he can't read your thoughts!!!

Jeff Van Gundy's Blank Stare Can See Directly Into Your Soul

Quick! Clear your mind so he can't read your thoughts!!!

Careers in Digital Graphics

Graphic Design


1. What does the person in the career do?A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. They are occasionally responsible for typesetting, illustration, user interfaces and web design.

2. Where would you see this person's work (e.g. in the newspaper, in a game shop)?
A graphic designer creates graphics primarily used for published, printed, or electronic media such as brochures and advertising. Brochures and advertisements can be visible in various places such as billboards and posters in shopping centres. 

3. What training is needed for the career?
A degree or certificate from an accredited trade school is usually considered for a graphic design position. Graphic designers need a command of tools and materials that can be used to apply specific techniques to their work.

4. What kind of software and hardware is used?
Drawing programs such as Inkscape, Photoshop, and GIMP are all used primarily in the life/career of a Graphic Designer.

Renting A Car

Renting a car

Obama to Illegal Immigrants: We Want You to Succeed!: I see a voting block!

It’s good to be kind to Latinos when you’re trying to keep your job!

The Blaze reports that when questioned by an illegal alien student today who showed him a deportation letter, President Barack Obama said he did not want to deport illegal alien students like the one who questioned him, he wanted them to succeed.

The exchange came during a town hall event sponsored by the Spanish-language television network Univision at a Washington, D.C., school.


More details here

It’s a good thing to have such a large potential voter pool for the Democrat Party ain’t it? Obama doesn’t care about the illegals. He cares about winning more congressional districts in 2012 to keep his job with Latino votes. The Black vote, which we already know is in the bag, may not be enough to keep Michele planting vegetables in the White House garden.

How It Works: Rental Car

How It Works: Rental Car

Young Black Activist Vanessa Jean-Louis Blasts Bill Ayers for Opposition to Charter Schools

Go Vanessa!

Here’s the skinny why the Left is against Charter Schools. It’s the same reason why some states that have been governed by Liberal Democrats are on the brink of bankruptcy-Teachers Public Sector Unions!

Anything that interrupts the money flow from taxpayer, to union dues, to contributions to the Democrat Party, and payback to the Unions in big salaries and very generous benefits packages is the enemy.

Charter Schools have not only been proven to offer inner city kids a better quality of education, they employ NON UNION teachers.

Do you think these public sector teachers unions like this? Absolutely not! They want the statues quo of failing schools, big money and benefits, and the hell with the education of the Black and Latino kids the Democrat Party is supposed to represent.

The Blaze reports that when Bill Ayers agreed to visit New Jersey’s Montclair State University–which The Blaze reported on here–he probably didn‘t think he’d get taken down publicly–and embarassingly–by a young black activist. But that’s what happened when New Jersey’s Vanessa Jean-Louis questioned Ayers about his opposition to charter schools in this stunning exchange:


Memeorandum

Shocking Vid: New Black Panthers Turn on Obama in an N-Word, Uncle Tom and Representing the White Man Tirade

It’s getting hot up in here!

A spokesman for the New Back Panther Party has released this stunning video unleashing a barrage of criticism at President Obama for going to war with Libya.

From The Blaze


Looks like the lack of slave blood, which was the original knock on Obama way back in the day is coming home to roost. Where di I hear that before?

This article was originally published on Labour Uncut: http://labour-uncut.co.uk/2011/03/28/same-old-tories-doesnt-tell-me-much/#more-8605

Really, Ed, really?

“Same old taxes, same old Tories”. Ed Miliband’s response to the chancellor’s “budget for growth” last week was characterised by an aggressive, knowing ennui. It was as if Miliband had cast himself as an aging prima donna reclining on a (red) velvet chaise-longue, warning her child away from an only seemingly reformed no-good suitor. “I know what they’re like, you know what they’re like”, he seemed to be saying. Don’t be fooled by “friendly” George’s marriage proposal, also known as his budget for “growth”. He’s still the same man who stole your money to buy a dead puppy as a present for your sister.

The presumption Miliband and his speechwriters are making is that we do know what the Conservatives are like; that we will easily remember what they’re like if we cast our collective minds back to 1997 when they were last in government (or when they last proposed to us, depending on how long this analogy can be dragged out). This message was clearest during one of the speech’s defining moments, in which, against a supportive background of taunts and cheers from buoyed-up Labour ministers, Miliband described Osborne as embodying the “hubris and arrogance of the early 1990s, the same broken promises…he’s Norman Lamont with an iPod”.

Big words. In fact, pretty funny words, if you know who Norman Lamont is. Presumably the majority of MPs can remember, but during the time of the last Tory government I personally was more interested in learning to read and tie my shoes up unaided than in keeping abreast of party politics. That’s not to say that it takes longer than three seconds to google Norman Lamont, but, in terms of making what should be an easy appeal to an increasingly large base of dispossessed young voters whose political consciousness wasn’t fully formed during the 90s, he shouldn’t think that “same old Tories” hits hard without proper explication. He can’t assume that we all have politics degrees, particularly now that nobody can afford a degree.

Of course, for every potential young Labourite for whom “classic Tory con” means at least a week in the (soon-to-be-closed) library, there are many more who internalised Thatcher-hatred, if not Major-hatred, with their mother’s blissfully unsnatched milk.

Neither should Miliband focus only on the young to the exclusion of anybody born before 1970. But if the point is to win over those wavering in their support for the coalition, he should consider that reiterating that the Tories haven’t really changed speaks only to those who were won over by Cameron’s “progressive Conservatism” election campaign. Nobody who has read a newspaper in the last year can be fooling themselves that there is anything progressive about this government’s programme.

Miliband needs to find more imaginative ways to convey more clearly exactly what the broken promises and economic deceits of this government are. A great example of this in his anti-budget speech was the line he nicked from the institute of fiscal studies, that the budget gives with one hand, and “takes away with lots and lots of other hands”. This calls to mind an illustration of the government as an amorphous, ACME-white-gloved-hands machine which is figurative enough to give some substance to figures about fuel duty drops and VAT rises. The slogan “too far and too fast” is also relatively credible, however much it sounds like an adolescent sexual encounter, or the working title of the misogynist car-chase film The Fast and the Furious.

As well as pointing out what the problems with Tory-Lib Dem policy are, a better, clearer explication of Labour’s economic alternative to the “budget for growth” would be most welcome. Indeed, the huge support that resulted in at least a 250,000 person turn-out for the march for the alternative is not at all surprising. It is clear that if there are alternatives. We want to hear about them, and we want to hear about them in a detailed, extensive, well-publicised way, preferably published in the form of a weighty tome that can be used for the purposes of hitting Nick Clegg.

“Same old Tories” preaches only to the converted. In a time of opposition, this is not enough.

When I decided to go for Hawaii trip this summer, I was amazed at the customer service and variety of vehicles offered at different Hawaii locations. Be it Kauai car rental, Kona car rental or Honolulu car rental, you will get the car of your choice instantly and according to your budget.  So I hardly ever had any problems getting my choicest vehicle.  Yes of course, during the festive seasons, you need to book in advance, especially if you wish to book a limousine, a luxury car or a particular SUV or minivan.  As the luxury vehicles may not be available at all times due to severe demand for it.

I was curious to cruise along the lush foliage and the white sand beaches of Kauai to relive my romantic moments with my better half.  Another thing which was on top of my mind was the amazing and colorful Waimea Canyon, which is created by different volcanic flows over the centuries.  It is rightly called the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” Kauai car rental were very warm and customer friendly. They arranged me a nice Toyota Camry.

Then we headed towards the tropical paradise, the beautiful island of Oahu to Honolulu, to spend some time on its glorious Waikiki Beach. We were impressed to see the bright city lights of Honolulu, strolled in its shopping areas.  But the best thing about Honolulu was the views of the Pacific Ocean, which were outstanding.  I was asked my credit card at a Honolulu car rental as they do not accept debit cards. Another important thing about Honolulu car rental is that there are car rental companies here that do not require you to have a local Driver’s license so you can use your existing license and check out for these companies, in case you do not have a local license. 

Kona car rental will facilitate you to drive a convertible car or a jeep, while you enjoy the drive along the endless tropical beach of Kona.  Similar to most of Hawaii, Kona is a lush and tropical paradise where a convertible Jeep Wrangler will add to the excitement of your journey and will let you explore it in the most enjoyable manner.

Bill Ayers, ex terrorist affirms he wrote Dreams from my Father

Add this to the frauds of Barack Obama who along with a fawning American press was able to pull off the biggest scam in presidential history. Never in the history of America has presidential candidate been the least vetted and continues to be protected by the media.

From American Thinker
Last Thursday evening at Montclair State University, with a video camera rolling, Bill Ayers volunteered that yes indeed he had written the acclaimed Barack Obama memoir, Dreams from My Father.







Unprompted, Ayers also noted that while Dreams deserves its praise, Obama's second opus, Audacity of Hope, is "more of a political hack book."

Not surprisingly, Ayers retreated into irony as he ended the session. "Yeah, yeah," he said after confirming again that he wrote Dreams, "And if you help me prove it, I'll split the royalties with you. Thank you very much."

With his final comment, the Ayers-friendly audience laughed in relief. The media will laugh nervously upon seeing the video as well. The White House will not.

Barack Obama knows what I know and what the people who have read my book, "Deconstructing Obama," know: Bill Ayers is the principal craftsman behind Dreams. The evidence is overwhelming.

Ayers also established, as I have contended from the beginning, that he is not the author of Audacity of Hope. Although Obama claims unique authorship of this book too, it was, as Ayers suggests, a disingenuous feint to the center written by committee.

More details here
Memeorandum

Expect the Today Show to totally ignore this story, as usual.

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RENT A CAR

4 Indiana high school students die in car crash in Alabama returning from Spring break

It’s not supposed to happen this way. Spring break is a time for cutting loose and having fun for a brief time before getting back to the school grind.

But, for four Indiana families, the dawn of the Spring season comes with unexpected heart ache and grief.


Daily Mail reports that four Indiana high school students returning from a spring break trip have been killed in a horror crash in Alabama.

The four boys, one of whom had been their school's quarterback, all died when a mini-van driven by another man drifted across the meridian and hit them head on.

He also died in the crash and several people in a third car were injured.

Corporal Steve Smith with the Alabama State Troopers says the four teens were Matthew Riley Zimmer, Evan Weaver, Matthew Roe and Alexx Bauer.

The 18-year-olds were from Angola, Indiana, a small community near the Michigan state line. They all attended the same high school.

Bauer and Zimmer played for the Angola High School football team. In 2010 Bauer was the quarterback of the team, a position that would have made him a school hero.
Today, as word of the deaths spread, many students at the school had updated their Facebook status simply with a full stop '.', in apparent tribute to their classmates.

Twenty-one-year-old Niall McNellis of Troy, Alabama, also died in the crash around 3 pm Saturday.

An initial investigation indicates Mr McNellis was driving south on Interstate 65 just south of Clanton, Alabama, when his mini van crossed the median and hit the car driven by Mr Zimmer head-on as the teens drove north.

It was unclear if bad weather that passed through the area contributed to the wreck. Hail and possible tornadoes were reportedly occurring near the scene.

A message on the football team's website said the members 'thoughts and prayers' were with all the students' families.

'We will never forget you,' the message read.
Head coach Luke Amstutz said the four were 'wonderful kids'.
More details here

Angola teens killed in crash in Alabama: wane.com

Pakistani Actress Veena Malik Defies Muslim Cleric, Accuses Mullahs of Raping Children in Mosques

I never heard of this actress, but let me tell ya’ she’s drop dead gorgeous!

As far as her allegations, it looks like maybe the Roman Catholic Church may have some company when it comes to sexual shenanigans.

The Blaze reports that the beautiful Pakistani actress, Veena Malik, has been accused by a Muslim cleric of being immoral for appearing on an Indian reality show called “Big Boss,“ which is like our version of ”Big Brother.” In an appearance with Express News TV, she was confronted by cleric Mufti Abdul Qavi who said that she “disgraced Pakistan, as well as Islam” for appearing on the show (though he admitted to not having watched a single episode of “Big Boss”).

The cleric also said of Malik:
If she does not have pangs of conscience because of what she did, then I would tell her to awaken her conscience. No one in Pakistan can look at her pictures in the presence of their daughters. I don‘t think that her son will like to look at his mother’s picture in the future, in her presence or in the presence of his father or brother.

Malik‘s measured and courageous response turned the cleric’s admonitions to dust. Among many other things, Malik told him, basically, to buzz off: “There are many other things for you to deal with. There are Islamic clerics who rape the children they teach in their mosques, and so much more.”


More details here

This is the first I’ve ever heard of these types of allehations going on in Islam.

This is a follow up of this post that was originally a follow up to this post on another blog I write for.


Dialects (especially material dialects) take time because it is important to know the material situation before taking a side or defending one side over another. Nothing discredits a group or person more than someone who comes out in-favor of one side over another in a conflict then has to back-peddle because they jumped to a conclusion that was later proven the wrong choice. It is also important to acknowledge when you are wrong in an analogy.


In Libya it was easy to see why the rebels who had no air force would want a no-fly zone. But it became perfectly clear what was happening with in one hour of the French and US enforcement of a no-fly zone. A no-fly zone is where nations will shoot down air crafts over a area that is designated where no air craft is allowed to be in the air.


With in little to no time the imperialist (French, US etc) started bombing air fields (as long as the air craft is grounded there is no violation) and air defense guns that belonged to the Libyan state. This could be justified by some imperialist apologist as all part of enforcing and ensuring the continuance of the no fly zone.


But then we started to see the real goal of this imperialist backed attack under the disguise of a no-fly zone. The imperialist started attacking ground troops and tank divisions of the Libyan military to keep them from smashing the rebels in the town of Benghazi. After parroting over and over that NATO is "protecting civilians" the people in imperialist nations threw their complete support behind western attacks on the Libyan government.


Although the origins of the rebels are unknown and it seems as though they vary in ideology and background the fact of the matter is; that they asked for imperialist intervention and are grateful to their imperialist friends for handing them a victory over government forces. Let's be honest, the Libyan government won't be able to defeat the imperialist powers coupled with the rebellion with out use of their air force. No matter what we communist wish to happen it is almost inevitable that the Qaddafi regime is going to fall.


We should expect and embrace this change seeing as Qaddafi has ordered executions of un-armed people which is completely unacceptable just as much as the rebels parading around black immigrant workers is. It is hard to chose a side when both sides are being assholes to the masses and minority races. So this is the side I take;


I hope that the government throws out Qaddafi seeing as he is crazy and ordered un-armed people shot. But I hope they can then negotiate a peace deal with the rebels that keeps any imperialist benefits from this conflict to nothing. It is not realistic at this point to say "I hope the army defeats the imperialist and long live Qaddafi!" All that is realistic is to hope for the current government to keep power with out Qaddafi and to hope that the government goes back to being anti-imperialist like it used to be before Qaddafi started kissing up to the UK and Italian imperialist.


If this was a world where I could control the outcome of every conflict then all I would hope for was the self determination of the masses of Libya and I would wish to see this play out with out imperialist control of the outcome.


Written by: Dustin Slagle

Gates: Intel shows Qaddafi planting bodies at attack sites or How the media is making sure Obama wins the PR war in Libya

The third American war in the Middle East is more than a shooting war. Who is winning the PR battle may be more important than the actual body count in the field. It sure was the case in Viet Nam where American forces won every battlefield engagement, but lost the PR war thanks to the main stream media who was against the war.

But, I see an interesting pattern developing on the coverage of the war in Libya that I’ll speak to after you read this report.

Story

I find it very interesting how the Obama lovin’ media is really quick to report successes of coalition forces in Libya. Do you recall that kind of reporting when the U.S. first went into Iraq? Let me save you some brain cells.

Hell no!

Even before American forces were fully deployed in Iraq, the media was quick to cry out “quagmire!”

Have you noticed how the media has forgotten how to say the word, quagmire, since Barack Obama has become president and the U.S. is still stuck in Iraq and Afghanistan for over eight years?

I’m very skeptical of reports coming out of Libya, not because our forces aren’t capable, but because the media has a vested interested only to report Charlie Sheen like “winning” when indications are that this conflict can be just as protracted as the wars we’re already engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Maybe even more so!

Memeorandum

Budget Rent A Car

budget rent a car

What's wrong with Sandra Bullock’s face? An unusual lump on her jaw

America’s sweetheart looks nothing but with a big ol’ lump on the right side of her face. Whatever it is it doesn’t look too good.


Daily Mail reports she has made the People Magazine's 50 most beautiful people list twice.

But Sandra Bullock looked less than attractive as she left her home in New York yesterday to run a few errands.

In fact the 46-year-old Oscar winning actress was sporting a rather unusual lump on the right hand side of her face as she made the dash out of her West Village townhouse.




Wearing jeans with a black puffer jacket and a black hat pulled down low over her face, the actress appeared to be trying to go incognito.

The weird looking lump could, however, be due to extra tension in Sandra's face and she appears to be gritting her teeth.

More details here

Gritting teeth does produce a lump like that.

Johnny Cash, God’s gonna cut you down!

I was familiar with the Blind Boys of Alabama version of God’s Gonna Cut You Down, an old traditional folk song. But when I first caught a whiff the Johnny Cash rendition in the trailer for True Grit, I said “Wow! That’s bad!”



Now, I see the song being used in a lot of commercials that have nothing to do with the lyrics of the song.

From Wikipedia

The lyrics are a warning to sinners that no matter how hard they try, they will not avoid God's judgment; in the chorus, God tells the narrator of the song to
“
Go tell that long tongue liar,
go and tell that midnight rider,tell the rambler, the gambler, the back biter,tell 'em that God's gonna cut 'em down.
”

You best believe that!

In any event it’s a killer song that Johnny puts his special imprint.

Queens New York mom Tara Webb shot dead on her birthday by boyfriend

Violence erupts in the projects as senseless human beings commit heinous crimes. Now a 4 year old boy faces life without his mother because her punk-ass lover had a beef. It doesn’t matter what the static was. It wasn’t worth Tara’s life.

New York Post reports that a Queens mom celebrating her birthday was fatally shot this morning by her boyfriend, who then tried to take his own life, cops said.

Tara Webb, 27, was hit once in the chest at 2:19 a.m. after being fired at by her 26-year-old lover inside her apartment in the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City, according to cops.
The man -- whose identity has not been released -- then turned the gun on himself, firing two rounds into his torso, cops added.

Webb’s sister made the gruesome discovery and called 911.

Both were rushed to Cornell Hospital, where Webb was pronounced dead. Webb has a 4-year-old son, Eric, according to neighbors.

The man is listed in stable condition.

The investigation is ongoing, police said.

“I just lost a good friend, my best friend, she was my right hand man,” said Webb’s heartbroken pal, Simone Lewis, 28. “We were like sisters. I'm going to miss her.”