on or off stage...

For the past couple months, I have been working on recording my second EP. I haven't been able to write too much, and I only have until January to come up with five songs. I really want to be able to keep recording and keep writing, but it is becoming increasingly hard for me to find inspiration and drive for music. I've been starting to take on photography, and I really do like taking pictures but I don't feel like it has the same affect on me as music does. I really would like to perform again, but I care way too much what people think. When i'm behind the camera, I like that no one can judge anything i'm doing because they have the stage, but when i'm performing my music and spilling my heart out to a bunch of people, I feel like they are free to say what ever they what and have the power to tear me down. I need to start writing again before it's too late to start going on tour again. I know i have the ability to do it, I just need to do it without being afraid.

texting and driving.

Cell phones have been known to distract drivers from concentrating on the road and causing numerous accidents. Let's say your boss wants the latest numbers from today's sales meeting, or a friend wants to set up a place to meet for lunch. You have been in traffic for a long time and you know it would take less than a minute to type a response with your thumbs, so you do.
You are taking a huge risk by doing this.  And then it happens ... the person in front of you stops more quickly than you expected and you crash into them.
During the claims process, your insurance company starts checking your cell-phone records following up to the accident. Now because you were texting right before the accident,  you've lost a claim and a ton of money, all because that text was “oh-so” important.  If you avoid text messaging in your car, you reduce your chance of a loss of a claim or a loss of a life. Texting while driving, or fiddling with with your cell phone in general, is a leading factor in accidents across the country. It takes one text to take your life away.

Christmas.

The holiday season is always my favortie time of the year. Not only is it my favorite time because of the good food and all the presents, but because of the good feeling it brings to everyone. During the holiday season everyone seems to be a little bit more kind, and more sincere. This is the most appealing thing about the holidays to me. Duing the time of Thanksgiving and Christmas, you always see more acts of kindness, and that to me is what the holiday season is all about.

Another reason why I love the holiday season so much is because I get a chance to see family that I haven't seen in a long time. During Thanksgiving and Christmas my family always gets together for a big feast, along with playing games, and talking about our future plans. We also have a huge sleepover with all of the girl cousins the day after Christmas. This night is always one of my favorites, because we bake cookies, muffins, and have a huge breakfast together. We also play games, and give out "Secret Santa" gifts.

I'll always love the holiday season, even though I am not a fan of the snow and cold. Being together with good friends and family is all that matters... 

Tinkering School.

I like the way he lets them be free to do what they want to do. Putting all that trust in these kids is a huge step in education. Having no tests would make an incredible difference, I think, on the children’s education. You would have less expectations and zero limits. These kids are figuring things out on their own, and there are never moments when they did “something wrong”, because it is all their own. I love that they are all able to do things their own way, with the help of friends. It seems like a very nice environment to learn in. I know I would prefer to be in an environment where I could explore new things without any limits. I know I would not be the way I am now. I wouldn't be afraid of everything, or trying new things.

            I think this would have a huge impact on today’s education because it is nice to learn things on your own or with friends. I think children would really expand in the way they learn, because in this school, they’re never wrong so they are not afraid to try new things. I think we respond to failure in a very negative way now days. If you mess up, it is considered failure when it should be recognized as progress. You should learn from your mistakes, not be shut down. It causes us to be afraid to try again, and that is not the way it is supposed to be.

Mind of a Psychopath.

Psychopaths have no conscience, no feeling and no guilt, and that is one of the reasons they are able to make   so it is Tommy Lynn Sells is on death row for one murder and was convicted for seventeen. He started becoming addicted to killing people at the age of 14. He says he doesn't have feeling anymore. He was sexually abused as a child, and because of this he killed children so they "wouldn't have to live through the pain he lived through." During his final murder, he climbed through the window of two ten year old girls room and woke one of the girls up on the bottom bunk. He reached over the top bunk and carelessly drew the knife across her throat,and noticed the second girl and did the same thing. ABC asked him what he would say to the girl who survived. Tommy tells ABC that he doesn't think she would like what he had to say.  Those who have grown up killing and killing, may have been born to do so. A key difference is a part of the brain that is structurally wrong. Many Psychopaths like Tommy are unable to feel the way most people are and have no remorse for what they do.

Apple.

Apple products have been a very popular and constantly growing selling item for the year 2010. The have come a long way in the past couple years, now selling a variety of computers, the popular iPhone, the iPad and now their HDTV. Apple is now up to $300 billion in market value. Exxon Mobile is the only other company in the United States exceeding them by $60,000. Apple is expected to bring in a profit of 26% more in this upcoming year. It has been rated one of the ten best stocks for 2011. Co-manager of Henssier Equity Funds, Ted Parrish says, “people shouldn’t underestimate the potential from Apple to gain more market share with Mac desktops and notebooks.” The company should experience another big rise in growth if they are able to sell their new TV product that just came out in September. There is a lot of growing room for the Apple Company. A lot of businesses still use PCs and are still in the process of upgrading to Mac. There has also been a rumor going around for quite some time about the iPhone now moving to Verizon’s Company. That would add yet another rise in the company. With the way Apple keeps reinventing itself, there should be a great amount of sales to come in the year 2011.

            I’ve noticed a huge rise in Apple products. They have become more and more popular in the past year or two. I am a huge fan of Mac and the innovative things they have come up with, so I am really happy to see that the company is doing so well. This means more technology for me to look forward to in this upcoming year.

Boy run over at daycare.

Thursday afternoon, a 1 1/2 year old boy was hit and killed in the driveway of his daycare center. The police found the boy in the driveway with severe head trauma (Nguyen para. 2). The little boy, Riley Lawyer, was later pronounced dead at a local hospital. The owner of the daycare was backing out of her driveway to go pick up other kids when she hit the little boy. She thought she had all the children in the van, but obviously missed this little boy. As she began backing out, she realized she hit something, but she didn't know what it was , so she got out of the car to find the little boy underneath the vehicle (Nyugen para  5). The boy was directly under the car and wasn't pinned down by the tires or any other parts of the car. Investigation shows there were no drugs or alcohol involved in the accident. Rileys mother was on her way back from work to pick him up from daycare when this occurred. The death is still under investigation as well as the daycare center.

Missing.

On friday afternoon, 12 year old Brittany Smith (Missing since monday morning) was found pan handling with her abductor outside of a supermarket in Virginia. Her abductor was apparently her mothers boyfriend. Her mother was found killed in her home in Salem, Virginia (CNN Wire Staff para. 2) The police put Brittany into Amber Alert as soon as the found her mother. The same day the girls mother was killed, Brittany and abductor, Jeffrey Scott Easley left Virginia. Someone at a Supermarket 2,300 miles from where the girl went missing spotted the two holding up signs and asking for money. He called the police and they arrived shortly after. Brittany was taken and put into California's Child Protective Services and Easley didn't resist arrest. The girl did not appear to have any injuries of any kind (CNN Wire Staff para. 9) The girls great aunt said Brittany has been in touch with her father and they both expressed great relief and joy that she is now safe.

Chinas first Nobel Peace Prize.

Imprisoned Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo was chosen as this years laureate. The peace prize will be awarded along with $15,000. China has been responding furiously since the decision was made on October 8th. They feel that Liu Xiabo, who has been imprisoned for eleven years for "inciting subversion", is a criminal and shouldn't be receiving this award. Liu Zhiqin, a government spokesman, says that awarding a criminal a nobel peace prize, has created over 1.3 billion dissidents within china. China has warned other countries of the consequences attending this years event because there are going to be a hundred countries and chinese people boycotting. The nobel committee has sent out sixty five invitations to other countries, so far nineteen of the invites have been declined.

Utah Plane Crash

Last night, in a residential area in Utah, a plane went down causing power in over 1,700 homes to go out from 5:58 pm to around 7:10 pm. The plane hit two homes--one with three members, and one with two. No one in either of the houses were seriously injured but both caught on fire leaving a great deal of damage. The pilot (Clayton Roop, 46) survived the crash, but was in critical condition at the scene and was taken to University of Utah Hospital where he remained stable. A nearby elementary school was opened up for those who didn't have heat or lights in the area. The reason for the crash is still unknown, but visibility was minimal because of great amounts of fog and wouldn't fully clear until 9am Monday.

Publicist murder.

On november 16th, Ronni Chasen, a Hollywood Publicist was found shot in her mercedes in beverly hills. She had just gotten back from a party after attending the hollywood premiere of "Burlesque." Following the murder the man they considered a "point of interest" shot himself inside the Harvey Apartments in Los Angeles. His neighbors told police he was bragging the previous week about killing her and how he would be making $10,000 for doing so and was still waiting for the money. The neighbor (Terri Gilipin) said she decided not to call because he had always seemed paranoid so they didn't take it seriously. Another neighbor told police he always described himself as an ex-convict and talked about being in state prison for drug use and possession of fire arms. He told the man if it ever came down to going to prison again, he would rather kill himself. This makes him a person of interest for obvious reasons. The police scrambled around the area of the suicide and found a store clerk who saw the man frequently. He says the man always talked about a $10,000 settlement, but he didn't think he would be capable of handling the weapon or carrying out what appeared to be a professional shot. As the police entered the lobby to approach the man, he backed away, refused to put his hands up, pulled out a pistol and shot himself. Police haven't released a motive for the shooting, but the death was ruled homicide without a clear suspect.