White n Nerdy - Captioned Video- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
My Favorite Comic
I first saw him on a summer reality show called Last Comic Standing. He ended up winning the season and the title. He's hilarious!
Josh Blue - Last Comic Standing- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
FaceBook in Reality - Idiots of Ants
Facebook in Reality - Idiots of Ants (Captioned)- Watch more Videos at Vodpod.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Recognizing The Benefits of Deafness
The benefits of being Deaf:
1. We have the innate ability to block out annoying sounds (ha!)
2. We can stand clear across the room from each other and still be able to
communicate quietly without bothering others.
3. One can stand inside on the 3rd floor of a building with windows closed
and still be able to communicate with another down in the parking lot. So
cool, huh?
4. We can talk about anybody or anything we want (for instance, bowel
movements) in a public place and not worry about being "overheard." BUT -
be careful, you just never know who may know how to sign.
5. When you're having an argument with someone, you can "scream" as
loud as you want with your signs and still be silent!
6. My favorite: When you're arguing or being annoyed by someone, just
avert your eyes or close them - instant solution to making the person go away
(unless they constantly tap you or follow you around - which I will do
if you ignore me)!
All joking aside, Deafness can be considered a hardship. Depending on your family, the amount of your hearing loss, your first language, and millions of other factors, some of you may experience more hardships than others. We face many things: discrimination, lack of communication with parents/people, slower language development, and so on. But ultimately, if deaf people are supplied with the proper tools and match them up with motivation and desire to improve themselves, every deaf person can be successful in one way or another.
Last night, I was up all night talking to J about lots of random things. We saw Star Trek a few days ago, so we talked a bit about that. The movie was awesome! I know very little about the characters and stuff, but found the movie very interesting and captivating. Anyway, off the topic here... We eventually started talking about the frustrations of being Deaf. The number one problem we probably face as a Deaf person is communicating with other people. Something as simple as giving directions or asking someone to hand you a wrench could be problematic. I grew up with enough hearing to talk on the telephone, listen to music and carry on as an almost-hearing person. I also developed the ability to speak well (most of the time), so I could not totally 100% relate to the profoundly Deaf. However, since losing all my hearing 14 years ago, I've had to learn to deal with a new problem - not being able to hear anything at all.
I was at the movies the other day. Something as simple as purchasing a movie ticket could become a really embarrassing task. I've maintained my ability to speak, so stating the movie title is not a problem. However, when I told the lady that I wanted a ticket to Star Trek, she said "12:40." I understood her and the numbers she was saying, but somehow, I had thought it was the dollar amount she was charging me. I kept telling her, no - $7.50. She repeated "12:40" several times then finally tapping at her watch. Finally, it dawned on me. She was asking me which time I wanted a ticket for. Duh. (But in my defense, the next movie wasn't until like 1:30, and when we were purchasing tickets, it was 12:15 or so. It would make sense that we'd want to see the 12:40 show instead of the 1:30.)
Even though we face a lot of hardships, there are plenty of good things we can bring to the world. Here's a word of encouragement. Even though you may face hardships such as communicating with others and not being able to express yourself the way you may want to, there are many fine qualities that you can bring to people. Think about it, as a Deaf person, you have been given a tool, a tool called experience. Through your personal experience, frustrations and your opinions, you have the power to influence people to think differently about the Deaf and our culture. You have the power to make an impact in people's lives: both hearing and deaf.
I don't see myself as one that is fully embedded in the Deaf culture but I do appreciate it. As Deaf people, we can educate others about the workings of the Deaf culture. You can inspire others to become an excellent interpreter (and we know we could use more of those). Or, if they do not become interpreters, they may become an advocate for the Deaf community and play an active role in supporting Deaf rights. Before you "Deaf Power" people start criticizing me, I do believe that the Deaf community should be led by the Deaf, but it never hurts to have hearing people to take an active interest in our culture. After all, there are lots of more of them than there are of us.
Finally, maybe we were born deaf (or lost our hearing) for a reason. Maybe we were put here to help other less-fortunate Deaf people. This is my number one reason for becoming a Teacher of the Deaf. I want to use my experience and my connection to the Deaf community to help young Deaf children grow to become successful. The best kind of role model for young deaf children is a Deaf adult who has the knowledge and motivation to push the children beyond their limits and help them recognize that anything is possible.
If you want to think out of the box, think about the Deaf people that reside in third world countries. Who better to help them than Deaf people who have compassion for their own kind? Someday, I'd like to travel someplace and spend several weeks helping the less-fortunate people in any way I can. It'd be good for anybody - to see and understand the reality of what these people go through... not only facing deafness (which earns them almost no rights in their country), but hunger and diseases. I guarantee you (and myself) that we'll appreciate the American life far greater than we do now.
So, next time you think about the things you can't do, start thinking about the things you CAN.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Living a Whole Lifetime in 7 weeks
After 14 weeks of student teaching, I am back to my old life. Going to bed late, sleeping in, being a kid at heart almost all day (and it's exhausting!), cleaning up and doing things around the apartment. This is only my 3rd full day back at home, and I already feel like I have too much time on my hands. While it's exceptionally nice to be back at home, I feel happier when I'm working. Contributing to society, supporting myself and my kids, and most importantly - keeping myself busy.
Don't get me wrong. It's really nice to be back at home again full-time. I can get things done and go grocery shopping during the day. How I missed grocery shopping in the daytime during the week. I've gotten used to enduring long lines in the evenings and on the weekends along with the working people. Now I share the lines with stay-at-home moms, the recently unemployed and lazy bums.
In just 7 short weeks, I've learned more than I ever could in my entire life what NOT to do as a teacher. Teaching high school was a mess! In my personal opinion, some of the teachers created much more drama than the students did. They actually leeched off the drama between the students and recreated them. They call it "professionally discussing their concerns for the students" but they are really feeding off the energy and amplifying the situation. Some of the students acted more mature than a few of the teachers. How sad is that?
During my evaluation (which I passed with flying colors - but that doesn't mean anything to me coming from an ineligible sponsor), my supervising teacher gave me some advice - two, actually. First, he said I needed to be more social with the students and the teachers. Yeah - because I didn't want to hang out with him during my free time, that means I'm not social enough. Right. Second, he said I needed to dress more professionally. There he was - telling me that when he himself was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Maybe he meant I should wear skirts or pretty myself up. If that's true - he deserves a fist in the face. Here are some "Don'ts" I've observed and told myself to NEVER EVER do when I'm a teacher. It's also my advice to the supervising teacher I had:
Overall, you can see my experience wasn't a very good one. I did enjoy some of my time there. I met some teachers that I've become friendly with and hung out with during my breaks. There are some decent people there and the students can be super nice.
If you or anyone you know is planning to intern at HISD, please PLEASE talk to me first. I'll tell you who's good and who's not - so you can be sure you're not placed with the same teacher I was stuck with.
Don't get me wrong. It's really nice to be back at home again full-time. I can get things done and go grocery shopping during the day. How I missed grocery shopping in the daytime during the week. I've gotten used to enduring long lines in the evenings and on the weekends along with the working people. Now I share the lines with stay-at-home moms, the recently unemployed and lazy bums.
In just 7 short weeks, I've learned more than I ever could in my entire life what NOT to do as a teacher. Teaching high school was a mess! In my personal opinion, some of the teachers created much more drama than the students did. They actually leeched off the drama between the students and recreated them. They call it "professionally discussing their concerns for the students" but they are really feeding off the energy and amplifying the situation. Some of the students acted more mature than a few of the teachers. How sad is that?
During my evaluation (which I passed with flying colors - but that doesn't mean anything to me coming from an ineligible sponsor), my supervising teacher gave me some advice - two, actually. First, he said I needed to be more social with the students and the teachers. Yeah - because I didn't want to hang out with him during my free time, that means I'm not social enough. Right. Second, he said I needed to dress more professionally. There he was - telling me that when he himself was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. Maybe he meant I should wear skirts or pretty myself up. If that's true - he deserves a fist in the face. Here are some "Don'ts" I've observed and told myself to NEVER EVER do when I'm a teacher. It's also my advice to the supervising teacher I had:
1. When a student needs help on an assignment, never tell him/her to hold
on so you can finish talking about another student and his/her problems (in the
presence of a class).
2. Don't leave your student teacher alone for 30-45 minutes at a time
(almost daily) to wander the halls, talk to other teachers and come back with an
excuse saying "I had to deal with a problem."
3. When you make rules, never break them. If YOU break them, your students will.
4. Never make up grades based on how you feel about the students. If he earned it, good. If not, do NOT give him a passing grade! That only sets them up for failure in the future.
5. Do NOT back stab or gossip about your co-workers. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but someday it'll come back and bite you in the ass. Hard.
6. Don't teach the same lesson every...single...day. It's BORING! No wonder your students hate you.
7. If you're lazy - you're NOT meant to be a teacher.
8. When you often dump your class on another teacher because of a "situation", do NOT call that teacher lazy when he wants you to return the favor once in a blue moon.
9. Do NOT meddle in your students' lives. There's a fine line between caring and getting involved.
10. If you give assignments and tell them it's for a grade, do NOT just throw them in the trash when you've decided you don't want to be bothered with the gradebook. It's a waste of the students' time (especially when the assignment is 2nd grade material...like, really!? You'd give seniors a 2nd grade assignment!?).
11. When the student teacher teaches for a week, creates an assignment/test, and administers it to the students, do NOT disregard that as "practice" for the student teacher and simply place the papers aside. At least when the student teacher teaches, the students are actually LEARNING. Look that up in the dictionary - I'm sure it's a very unfamiliar term to you.
12. Again - if you're lazy - do NOT become a teacher.
Overall, you can see my experience wasn't a very good one. I did enjoy some of my time there. I met some teachers that I've become friendly with and hung out with during my breaks. There are some decent people there and the students can be super nice.
If you or anyone you know is planning to intern at HISD, please PLEASE talk to me first. I'll tell you who's good and who's not - so you can be sure you're not placed with the same teacher I was stuck with.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Major Venting Ahead
Bitch Mode: On
I am SO pissed! It's my last week of student teaching and I've had enough. It's taking almost all the strength I have to not walk out of the school and never come back. I can deal with the issues here, but this is enough.
Today is the final day of TAKS testing. The seniors were herded into the cafeteria for a long morning of meetings, getting ready for graduation and hearing college reps speak about how wonderful their college is and why the students should go there. Because my teaching supervisor is a Senior Sponsor this year, I got stuck with watching the seniors in the cafeteria.
Normally, these kids are OK with me. They generally listen with an occasional moment of rebellion. They quickly get over it and we get along fine. But today was another story.
The school has a very strict rule - no cellphones, PDAs, etc during school hours. While the college reps were speaking, the Deaf group just sat at their tables and chatted away - completely ignoring the interpreters. They also played with their phones. Instead of taking them away, I gave them a warning. Put it away... and I won't take it if I don't see it again. I guess these kids were really bored (so was I), so they kept playing with their phones. After several times of telling individual students (one warning each) to put away their phones, I got fed up. I told them all.. if I see ONE more phone, I'm taking all of yours.
Of course, they all played with their phones again. They refused to give their phones to me, telling me that I wasn't their mother and their teacher, and I had no right to take their phones. Keep in mind - during this time in the cafeteria, I was alone with 20 students. My teaching supervisor had left me alone with them for at least 45 minutes - AGAIN. He has a nasty habit of leaving me alone with the students so he can roam the halls for people to annoy.
After struggling for a while, I walked out of the cafeteria. I found my supervisor and with a stern expression, I told him that he needed to go back to his students and handle them because I'm fed up. He just said "OK, go back over there. I'll be there soon." He shows up 15-20 minutes later and HE DID NOTHING! The students had their phones out. He just looked at them. He didn't say anything to them and he didn't do anything.
I realize that as a future teacher I need to get a handle on my discipline abilities. In elementary, I quickly got my students under control, I even won over the girl with emotional issues. I got along well with my high school students. I taught and they listened. However, they've been spoiled by their real teacher. He's all talk and no action. Whenever I tried to discipline them (or just teach), he would frequently step in and interrupt me.. when he's around. I feel that he undermines my status here at the school and presents a huge problem here.
Anyway, the students sat there and boldly started talking bad about me - in front of me and my supervising teacher. "She can't do nothing, she's not a teacher," is one example. You don't want to know what else they said. And my supervising teacher did - you guessed it - NOTHING.
In fact, he turned around and started flirting with a young interpreter. They chatted about Gallaudet and they both took turns talking about themselves, promoting themselves as an excellent teacher and excellent interpreter ("I learned all ASL all by myself! I never took ITP courses, I became very skilled because I have excellent deaf friends." mock giggle). GAG!
I was fuming inside. I pulled the assistant principal aside and told her about my situation with the kids, their disrespecting me and using the phones. She told me to go to her office later and to write them all up. I'm going to do exactly that. You can be damn well sure of it.
On top of all this - my supervising teacher told me this morning that I wouldn't be able to teach my lessons. On Friday, I approached him and told him I came up with an idea on how to present reading materials to the student and that I wanted to do that this week. He said "Oh, sure!" Today, he said "Well, we need let them go to the computer lab and do online activities. It's been crazy with the TAKS testing so this week will just be easy, OK?" I'm thinking - the past FIVE WEEKS has been easy on his students! The seniors did absolutely nothing all week last week except watch movies. And we need to take it easy because of TAKS?
I had started to become excited about potentially teaching a new idea I came up with. I wanted to test it out on my students and see if it really improved their understanding of their vocabulary words. Guess it won't happen.
4 more days. Will I make it?
Bitch Mode: Off
I am SO pissed! It's my last week of student teaching and I've had enough. It's taking almost all the strength I have to not walk out of the school and never come back. I can deal with the issues here, but this is enough.
Today is the final day of TAKS testing. The seniors were herded into the cafeteria for a long morning of meetings, getting ready for graduation and hearing college reps speak about how wonderful their college is and why the students should go there. Because my teaching supervisor is a Senior Sponsor this year, I got stuck with watching the seniors in the cafeteria.
Normally, these kids are OK with me. They generally listen with an occasional moment of rebellion. They quickly get over it and we get along fine. But today was another story.
The school has a very strict rule - no cellphones, PDAs, etc during school hours. While the college reps were speaking, the Deaf group just sat at their tables and chatted away - completely ignoring the interpreters. They also played with their phones. Instead of taking them away, I gave them a warning. Put it away... and I won't take it if I don't see it again. I guess these kids were really bored (so was I), so they kept playing with their phones. After several times of telling individual students (one warning each) to put away their phones, I got fed up. I told them all.. if I see ONE more phone, I'm taking all of yours.
Of course, they all played with their phones again. They refused to give their phones to me, telling me that I wasn't their mother and their teacher, and I had no right to take their phones. Keep in mind - during this time in the cafeteria, I was alone with 20 students. My teaching supervisor had left me alone with them for at least 45 minutes - AGAIN. He has a nasty habit of leaving me alone with the students so he can roam the halls for people to annoy.
After struggling for a while, I walked out of the cafeteria. I found my supervisor and with a stern expression, I told him that he needed to go back to his students and handle them because I'm fed up. He just said "OK, go back over there. I'll be there soon." He shows up 15-20 minutes later and HE DID NOTHING! The students had their phones out. He just looked at them. He didn't say anything to them and he didn't do anything.
I realize that as a future teacher I need to get a handle on my discipline abilities. In elementary, I quickly got my students under control, I even won over the girl with emotional issues. I got along well with my high school students. I taught and they listened. However, they've been spoiled by their real teacher. He's all talk and no action. Whenever I tried to discipline them (or just teach), he would frequently step in and interrupt me.. when he's around. I feel that he undermines my status here at the school and presents a huge problem here.
Anyway, the students sat there and boldly started talking bad about me - in front of me and my supervising teacher. "She can't do nothing, she's not a teacher," is one example. You don't want to know what else they said. And my supervising teacher did - you guessed it - NOTHING.
In fact, he turned around and started flirting with a young interpreter. They chatted about Gallaudet and they both took turns talking about themselves, promoting themselves as an excellent teacher and excellent interpreter ("I learned all ASL all by myself! I never took ITP courses, I became very skilled because I have excellent deaf friends." mock giggle). GAG!
I was fuming inside. I pulled the assistant principal aside and told her about my situation with the kids, their disrespecting me and using the phones. She told me to go to her office later and to write them all up. I'm going to do exactly that. You can be damn well sure of it.
On top of all this - my supervising teacher told me this morning that I wouldn't be able to teach my lessons. On Friday, I approached him and told him I came up with an idea on how to present reading materials to the student and that I wanted to do that this week. He said "Oh, sure!" Today, he said "Well, we need let them go to the computer lab and do online activities. It's been crazy with the TAKS testing so this week will just be easy, OK?" I'm thinking - the past FIVE WEEKS has been easy on his students! The seniors did absolutely nothing all week last week except watch movies. And we need to take it easy because of TAKS?
I had started to become excited about potentially teaching a new idea I came up with. I wanted to test it out on my students and see if it really improved their understanding of their vocabulary words. Guess it won't happen.
4 more days. Will I make it?
Bitch Mode: Off
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Abusing Sick Days
Let's review our vocabulary for a minute here. Don't worry, nothing too difficult.... Define the word, "sick." Done? OK, now define "sick days." The answer's pretty obvious, right? It's your basic kindergarten vocabulary. Sick means: "stay the hell away from me when you're coughing, wheezing, sniffling, blowing your nose, running a fever or sweating cold sweats - OR all of the above."
I have an issue with people abusing their sick days. Everyone does it, I know I have in the past... but excessively calling in sick and using up your sick days for when you are actually well is just plain stupid. And I'll tell you why.
There are two people that I know (who will remain nameless for obvious reasons) who have used up all their sick days for the year already - and they used it all up a long time ago. One used it to take an extended vacation for spring break - taking 3 days off right before Spring Break. I'm not going to list all the reasons why they used up all their sick days. Some were valid and some were simply "because I didn't feel like working." They were given 10 paid sick days. With all the school holidays, spring break and summer break - is there really a need to take an additional 10 days off - some of which because you didn't feel like working?
Because they have used up all their sick days, they have go to work when they're sick. When they work while they're sick, they expose their germs to other people - forcing them to take their sick days off work if they ever caught the germs. Here's a tip from Social Decorum 101: It's RUDE!
One of them came down with a very minor strain of "Influenza" (his words) which is just a fancy name for the flu. Is a very "minor" flu any better than THE flu? I think not. He was pretty sick. I did my very best to distance myself from him. His co-worker (who also used all her sick days) got sick, maybe from him, and continued to pass on the germs. Needless to say, I avoided her like the plague.
What's even worse - using up all your sick days will cause some people to act immorally (for lack of better word). Because her sick days were all gone, someone snuck out of work for 3 hours (during lunch and her free period) without signing in or out (because she couldn't afford to) to go to a doctor's appointment. For lunch - you're allowed to leave campus but during your free periods, you're required to stay on campus. Just her luck, the principal came around looking for her. This forced the other teachers to lie and cover up for her - telling the principal that she was in the bathroom, in the library, etc, etc. The principal was pretty pissed off - but I didn't hear anything about the teacher getting in trouble. I guess maybe because the principal couldn't really prove that the teacher stepped off campus.
My point is simple and my point is this: If you're sick - PLEASE take the day off and stay away from me. If you're NOT sick and it's NOT a life/death situation - drag your ass to work. IF and only IF you have lots of sick days left towards the end of the year and there's a VERY good chance you will not be sick (hey, you never know), then do whatever you please. If your job doesn't carry your sick days onto the next year then go ahead - use it all up and take an extra vacation. But for your sake AND mine, don't be stupid and spend it all on frivolous frolics at the beach. Comprende?
I have an issue with people abusing their sick days. Everyone does it, I know I have in the past... but excessively calling in sick and using up your sick days for when you are actually well is just plain stupid. And I'll tell you why.
There are two people that I know (who will remain nameless for obvious reasons) who have used up all their sick days for the year already - and they used it all up a long time ago. One used it to take an extended vacation for spring break - taking 3 days off right before Spring Break. I'm not going to list all the reasons why they used up all their sick days. Some were valid and some were simply "because I didn't feel like working." They were given 10 paid sick days. With all the school holidays, spring break and summer break - is there really a need to take an additional 10 days off - some of which because you didn't feel like working?
Because they have used up all their sick days, they have go to work when they're sick. When they work while they're sick, they expose their germs to other people - forcing them to take their sick days off work if they ever caught the germs. Here's a tip from Social Decorum 101: It's RUDE!
One of them came down with a very minor strain of "Influenza" (his words) which is just a fancy name for the flu. Is a very "minor" flu any better than THE flu? I think not. He was pretty sick. I did my very best to distance myself from him. His co-worker (who also used all her sick days) got sick, maybe from him, and continued to pass on the germs. Needless to say, I avoided her like the plague.
What's even worse - using up all your sick days will cause some people to act immorally (for lack of better word). Because her sick days were all gone, someone snuck out of work for 3 hours (during lunch and her free period) without signing in or out (because she couldn't afford to) to go to a doctor's appointment. For lunch - you're allowed to leave campus but during your free periods, you're required to stay on campus. Just her luck, the principal came around looking for her. This forced the other teachers to lie and cover up for her - telling the principal that she was in the bathroom, in the library, etc, etc. The principal was pretty pissed off - but I didn't hear anything about the teacher getting in trouble. I guess maybe because the principal couldn't really prove that the teacher stepped off campus.
My point is simple and my point is this: If you're sick - PLEASE take the day off and stay away from me. If you're NOT sick and it's NOT a life/death situation - drag your ass to work. IF and only IF you have lots of sick days left towards the end of the year and there's a VERY good chance you will not be sick (hey, you never know), then do whatever you please. If your job doesn't carry your sick days onto the next year then go ahead - use it all up and take an extra vacation. But for your sake AND mine, don't be stupid and spend it all on frivolous frolics at the beach. Comprende?
Reality Show for Doggies
Just when I think I've seen the silliest reality shows possible, another one pops up. I had my TV on the HGTV channel. I was watching some decorating show when I got bored and walked away. I got on the computer to browse the Internet for a while and when I glanced back at my computer, I was amazed. Amazed at how stupid the show was.
The show is simple. Think Survivor meets The Bachelor meets Dog Whisperer. It's about a family that is looking for a lovable dog to keep as a pet. They start with a certain number of dogs of all ages, sizes and breeds. They go through challenges, have family meetings and even take advice from a dog psychic. Yes, psychic. I'd be a little bit more accepting of the title "dog whisperer" than "psychic" but ok, whatever floats her boat.
To win a challenge, the family members compete in different games along with their favorite dog. The dog that wins the challenge with his/her partner wins immunity from being voted off. They consult with a dog psychic to see if the dog likes it there, how the dog likes the potential owners, how the dog feels about the other dogs, etc - a survey of the dog's psychological and emotional warfare.
The family members (which consist of a mom, dad, two brothers and a sister) argue with each other about which dog gets to stay and which needs to go. Their house is huge and their backyard has plenty of space to house a very large family with one dog each person. They seem to be very well off. I think the family is down to 7 dogs now.
I didn't watch the show because I thought it was a stupid concept... but I left the TV on. I guess maybe for company. As I glanced back to the TV to see what was up, I saw that elimination had already been done and a dog has been chosen to leave the home. The family member that was most attached to that dog was the youngest boy. It was gut-wrenching to see him say good-bye to the dog.
If you're a true animal lover, it will be tough anytime you have to say bye to an animal you have become very attached to and know you probably will never see it again. This is especially true for the 7-year-old boy who has become very attached to this dog. Why go through the pain and suffering to choose the "perfect" family pet?
I say, cut the crap and keep all 7.
The show is simple. Think Survivor meets The Bachelor meets Dog Whisperer. It's about a family that is looking for a lovable dog to keep as a pet. They start with a certain number of dogs of all ages, sizes and breeds. They go through challenges, have family meetings and even take advice from a dog psychic. Yes, psychic. I'd be a little bit more accepting of the title "dog whisperer" than "psychic" but ok, whatever floats her boat.
To win a challenge, the family members compete in different games along with their favorite dog. The dog that wins the challenge with his/her partner wins immunity from being voted off. They consult with a dog psychic to see if the dog likes it there, how the dog likes the potential owners, how the dog feels about the other dogs, etc - a survey of the dog's psychological and emotional warfare.
The family members (which consist of a mom, dad, two brothers and a sister) argue with each other about which dog gets to stay and which needs to go. Their house is huge and their backyard has plenty of space to house a very large family with one dog each person. They seem to be very well off. I think the family is down to 7 dogs now.
I didn't watch the show because I thought it was a stupid concept... but I left the TV on. I guess maybe for company. As I glanced back to the TV to see what was up, I saw that elimination had already been done and a dog has been chosen to leave the home. The family member that was most attached to that dog was the youngest boy. It was gut-wrenching to see him say good-bye to the dog.
If you're a true animal lover, it will be tough anytime you have to say bye to an animal you have become very attached to and know you probably will never see it again. This is especially true for the 7-year-old boy who has become very attached to this dog. Why go through the pain and suffering to choose the "perfect" family pet?
I say, cut the crap and keep all 7.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Outrageous Spending
Begin Rant.
What is Michelle Obama thinking!?
Sometimes when I see news like this, I wonder if we're really in a recession. Even during a recession, people's spending is still pretty high - and when I say people - I mean celebrities. They have tons of money, more than they could ever need in a lifetime and what do they do with it? Spend it - and spend it stupidly.
I don't have numbers and I don't care enough to do research - but I'm guessing that if we put all the millionaires, billionaires and zillionaires together, and told them to spend just half of their money on normal goods (not Couture, Armani, Gucci, all that fancy crap), I think they could pull us out of the so-called recession. Maybe that's too far fetched but I do think that it could help. They have plenty of money to go around with. Come on, spread the love!
They could put their money to good use. Donate lots of it to charity and buy items that will help companies from losing money. When companies aren't selling their goods, they become broke, which will result in lay offs, which will result in more homeless people, which will result in a crisis.... see where I'm going here?
OK - If I was filthy rich, I'd probably say "it's my money, I can do whatever I want with it. I worked for it, I earned it, and it's MINE!" I see the reasoning behind it. But come on - working 4 months out of a year on average for a movie, they could earn millions and millions of dollars. If they lived a normal lifestyle, one movie - just ONE movie - could finance their whole life.
Here's what started this whole rant. Michelle Obama attends a charity event wearing a pair of shoes that cost $540. Like, really? Did she really do that? Why not just take that $540 and give it to the charity? Here's a photo of the shoes....
To add insult to injury, I don't even think the shoes look $540. It's fabric, dyed in color, with rubber soles, and shoelaces. I bet you could find one that looks similar to the one she's wearing for $30. OK, maybe $50 or $6o but it's a hell of a lot better than $540.
What bothers me most is celebrities will appear at charities and auctions to raise money for a good cause. Good for them. But you know what would be really cool? How about donating some of your own money? I'm sure most of them do - but it's a very modest amount compared to what's building up interest in their bank accounts. I remember a news article on Yahoo talking about a celebrity donating $10,000 to a charity. Whoo hoo! Big fuss, right? Wrong. They have millions and $10,000 is all they give? Oh please.
Paris Hilton lives off of the interest of her trust fund... yes, just the interest (I can't prove it but I've seen it time and time again in different articles). It would be nice to live comfortably, I won't deny that, but how about putting your money to good use instead of hoarding it in multiple bank accounts? Most of that money will still be there when they die so what's the point of having it all if they don't use it?
End Rant.
What do you guys think about celebrities, their spending habits and Michelle's shoes?
What is Michelle Obama thinking!?
Sometimes when I see news like this, I wonder if we're really in a recession. Even during a recession, people's spending is still pretty high - and when I say people - I mean celebrities. They have tons of money, more than they could ever need in a lifetime and what do they do with it? Spend it - and spend it stupidly.
I don't have numbers and I don't care enough to do research - but I'm guessing that if we put all the millionaires, billionaires and zillionaires together, and told them to spend just half of their money on normal goods (not Couture, Armani, Gucci, all that fancy crap), I think they could pull us out of the so-called recession. Maybe that's too far fetched but I do think that it could help. They have plenty of money to go around with. Come on, spread the love!
They could put their money to good use. Donate lots of it to charity and buy items that will help companies from losing money. When companies aren't selling their goods, they become broke, which will result in lay offs, which will result in more homeless people, which will result in a crisis.... see where I'm going here?
OK - If I was filthy rich, I'd probably say "it's my money, I can do whatever I want with it. I worked for it, I earned it, and it's MINE!" I see the reasoning behind it. But come on - working 4 months out of a year on average for a movie, they could earn millions and millions of dollars. If they lived a normal lifestyle, one movie - just ONE movie - could finance their whole life.
Here's what started this whole rant. Michelle Obama attends a charity event wearing a pair of shoes that cost $540. Like, really? Did she really do that? Why not just take that $540 and give it to the charity? Here's a photo of the shoes....
To add insult to injury, I don't even think the shoes look $540. It's fabric, dyed in color, with rubber soles, and shoelaces. I bet you could find one that looks similar to the one she's wearing for $30. OK, maybe $50 or $6o but it's a hell of a lot better than $540.
What bothers me most is celebrities will appear at charities and auctions to raise money for a good cause. Good for them. But you know what would be really cool? How about donating some of your own money? I'm sure most of them do - but it's a very modest amount compared to what's building up interest in their bank accounts. I remember a news article on Yahoo talking about a celebrity donating $10,000 to a charity. Whoo hoo! Big fuss, right? Wrong. They have millions and $10,000 is all they give? Oh please.
Paris Hilton lives off of the interest of her trust fund... yes, just the interest (I can't prove it but I've seen it time and time again in different articles). It would be nice to live comfortably, I won't deny that, but how about putting your money to good use instead of hoarding it in multiple bank accounts? Most of that money will still be there when they die so what's the point of having it all if they don't use it?
End Rant.
What do you guys think about celebrities, their spending habits and Michelle's shoes?
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