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Recently there has been two events that have received a lot of attention. The first is an amazing act that should get praise and the other is just a despicable act that draw a lot of shame for the entire New England Patriot organization. We should start with the terrible act so that I can leave you with a happy feeling. At Lebanon Middle School in Connecticut where they are big Patriot fans the kids were let down and devastated. The kids were part of “Fuel Up To Play 60″, which is an NFL program that gives exercise programs to the schools. The kids were all excited to meet and hangout with NFL players and learn how to become healthier. There was no Tom “Not So Terrific” Brady, Randy Moss, or Wes Welker. There wasn’t even lesser known players. There was a single Patriot intern who dropped off one signed jersey and some exercise tapes. These kids were let down so badly that they probably won’t even like the Patriots after this. You would think people would take more pride in themselves and show to an event that tons of kids were at. This will be forgotten and they will move on but this is just another reason to hate those damn New England Patriots.

The second event took place at a college golf playoff. There were two different golfers who were on separate teams but they shared mutual respect. there were two ways to advance in the tournament, have your team win or win the individual tournament. One player had won the team competition and decided that he wanted to play the other fantastic golfer in the next round so he purposely loss the individual tournament. He showed great respect for the game and show he was ready and willing for any competition. He is a true competitor and deserves respect from everyone. It was truly the most selfless act in sports.

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This is a short film by Nash Edgerton called Spider. It’s an interesting short film about a bickering couple caught up in a web of misfortune. It’s a tragic story that gives you chills. I recommend that you watch it and give me your feedback. Thanks!

See the short film Spider here.

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Recently you may have heard about South Park’s depiction of Muhammad. He was shown as a person in a bear costume. You couldn’t see any part of his body. Because of this Matt and Trey the ingenious creators of the long running cartoon South Park have come under attack. They have received death threats from a radical Muslim group. The threat along with a murdered filmmaker’s picture was posted on their website. They have made their living offending people and out of respect for the Muslim’s ban on images of Muhammad put him in a costume so that you couldn’t see any part of his body.

The sad part is this radical group is based in New York. They celebrate Osama Bin Laden and the bombing of the World Trade Centers. The won’t get in trouble for being a terrorist group but they should. What they did was wrong because they hate what we stand for yet they live in one of our major cities. They enjoy our nice areas and exploit our freedoms. Our government should put every one of the radicals in jail because they threatened a person’s life. Not because of their skin or because they are in a radical organization but simply because they threatened another human being.

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I’d lie if I said I didn’t love Murs’ music. I feel as if he is an extremely talented MC that is underrated. He gets a lot of respect in areas that are a little more urban. He has a great west coast feel that is reminiscent of the late 90′s rap that was produced on the west coast. He has constantly put out solid music that people can relate to. He has a great love for all music, which was shown by his performance of Date Rape a song by Sublime in concert. He doesn’t care what people think of him and will dress and look like how he feels that day. I was turned onto him by my older cousin and from there I have bought all of his music. He has put out numerous albums with varied success. He has found most of his success by working with 9th Wonder. 9th and Murs have created four albums together their latest being Fornever, which came out about two weeks ago. Murs 3:16 the Ninth Edition was his most popular album with 9th and has been widely credited with bringing back west coast music. It dives into his personal life including the emotional tale about his best friend who was murdered.

Murray’s Revenge his second album with 9th Wonder was nearly as successful and was a little more playful then his previous. It speaks more about his life in Los Angeles. He weaves a clever story about the girls he has been with. Silly Girl is a popular track that shows how much he could love someone. Of course he is slightly harsh with some of the girls in his songs but I suppose that’s just who he is. His third album Sweet Lord was unsuccessful because it was leaked on the internet and he just decided to make a free download. Now his fourth album was highly anticipated and had moderate success so far. Although it is reported to not be as popular as the first two. I feel that is a pretty solid album although some tracks don’t seem to fit his normal mold. Oh well he is a solid rapper and man with a lot of talent and needs to be respected. Just check him out or ask me about him and I can show you his music.

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The NFL is an everchanging league. It has stars changing teams and young talented people entering every year. Those young players are setting out to create their legacy and the old stars are out to prove they are still viable players and can help a team win. Recently it seems as if it is out with the old and in with the new. There are a few prevailing stories that have gone with this off season in the NFL. What will happen in the draft with the quarterbacks and where will old superstars land in free agency? Only time will tell but It’s already starting to take shape with the start of free agency.

Big names already found a new home and they are somewhat unexpected. Julius Peppers has signed with the Chicago Bears and I have no idea why. They were a mediocre team last year and they don’t look that much better this year. Their franchise saving quarterback Jay Cutler killed their team and the cornerstone running back Matt Forte didn’t produce like he was supposed to do. They struggled all year and I don’t understand why an aging star would go somewhere that doesn’t have big expectations for next season. At his age he needs to find a team that could take him to a super bowl. Equally confusing Kyle Vanden Bosh one year removed from the pro bowl decided it would be a good career move to sign with the Detroit Lions. He is a big name player who is aging and needs to find a successful team.

The San Diego chargers are an interesting team because they seem to be getting rid of all of their key players. They released both of their running backs LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles. LT only ran for 730 yards but he ran for twelve touchdowns which is an impressive amount of scores for any running back.  Darren Sproles didn’t show his worth as a running back but rather as a special teamer. He was an outstanding kick returner and showed his speed and skill on every play he touched the ball. He scored eight touchdowns last season and with more of a commitment he could easily add five or six more to that total. They also decided to trade a former all pro corner back to a team in the AFC. The New York Jets would love to have Antonio Cromartie who in one year had ten interceptions. Shawne Merriman and Marcus McNeil are young playmakers with a lot of upside and it seems like a mistake to break up a team that has a lot of potential.

A big story surrounds the four quarterbacks that are entering the NFL draft. Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow and Jimmy Clausen are the most talked about players besides Ndamukong Suh the all star defensive tackle. Tim Tebow is the most questioned because he is a great athlete but the scouts don’t know if he can play quarter back at the next level. He has changed his throwing motion in order to get recognition as a quarter back. He is in a stage in his football career where he has to decide if quarterback is worth the struggle. NFL scouts want to turn him into a running back. Clausen has been sliding down draft boards because of the general lack of need by the early teams. Bradford has already locked up the first pick overall and will be drafted by the Rams. Colt McCoy however is an interesting case because he is generally ranked as the third best quarterback in the draft but there is no real team that has a dire need for him. He will be drafted by a team that has no confidence in their starting quarterback and are looking for a possible change.

The league constantly changes and no one is ever safe. Ben Roethlisberger is reportedly on the trade block because of his recent off field issues. He won two Super Bowls and he is going to be traded during his prime because he is a headache. His partner in crime Santonio Holmes got traded because he is also a headache. It just goes to show you that you are no safe no matter how good you are. It’s a lesson that should be taught to everyone because it shows you that no one is beyond rules. Just be careful everyone.

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I am a current student at Rancho and I can honestly say that I have had no issue with this school. There are issues such as drugs and fights but there are those problems at every school. Monty had a kid beat the principal with a cast and were the thugs? Well the students at Rancho have a lot of pride for this school and we don’t appreciate people badmouthing our school.

There are amazing teachers here like Ms. Cook and Ms. Mawhinney. They care deeply about the success of their students and will give them every opportunity to succeed. Our english department is full of committed, dedicated teachers such as Mr. Lowery and Mr. Amos. These teachers will do anything to support your student.

People need to realize that if there are rude, pot smoking delinquants at Rancho then it’s the parents fault. They don’t raise their children well enough to teach them to be respectful. This school has one of the best principals in the district Mr. Wilson. He wants to see everyone succeed and he is caring and understanding.

There are no automatic weapons at rancho. There are barely any weapons. Kids don’t seriously fight and if they do it’s because they are in a gang. But you parents need to realize there are gangs everywhere. Santa Rosa and Petaluma are just as bad if not worse with drugs and gangs. I have had a parent from Santa Rosa challenge me to a serious fight after a game because they lost. I was 14 years old. It’s all about the parents and not the kids or teachers. People don’t teach their kids respect and they need to evaluate their own kids and parenting methods before you blame the school.

So parents and citizens please fix the real problems and stop focusing on little issues.

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We are not supposed to decide what we are going to be becasue thats left up to fate. Well obviously we didn’t understand that humans shouldn’t play god because now there is a species of frogs that we can change from male to a viable female. These frogs come in contact with a common chemical that’s in weed killer. The chemical that changes these frogs so drastically is a common chemical found in U.S. water. I do not know if we should be scared of the chemical atrazine but maybe we should take it out of water and stop using harmful chemicals in our water and food supply.

These changed frogs can lay eggs and mate with males. They grow female organs! This is a disturbing advancement because this will lead to the discovery that there is a way to change other animals and even humans. We should leave everything as it is because we don’t know what this will do to the frogs species or what ramifications this can have on the environment that these frogs originate from. Man will take this too far because it’s in our blood to take things past where they need to stop.

Man is not the creator and master of everything on this planet although sometimes we forget that. We have altered the environment and the world with our inventions and advancements. Now we are realizing that we need to take drastic measures to reverse our effects on this planet. If we keep altering our planet we will never be able to maintain our way of life. We will go to far and damge our world and I think this genetic mutation is the first sign that we are tampering with things that we cannot control.

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Why do we care about Tiger Woods? Tiger Woods has family issues not public issues so why is he apologizing to the American public. He issued an apology today and sounded alright. He should be apologizing to his wife and begging her not to leave his cheating self. He cheated with so many girls that his wife should never touch him or talk to him again. Of course everything about the best player in any sport turns public but this is family issues and none of our business. He went to sex rehab and somehow won his wife back but even that is a joke. How as a respectable person and a role model can you sleep with porn stars and trashy girls around the country who are just having sex with you because you are the Tiger Woods. He needs to focus on his family but he needs to get back to work and I don’t understand why people’s opinions of him matter. He is a golfer and nothing more. He plays golf to make money and his private life has nothing to do with that. I understand the loss of his endorsements because they want standup guys who can be a good role model.  He will be like Kobe Bryant and eventually get his endorsements back in a few years. He is already set for life and won’t have a problem supporting his family or himself. Everything will never affect him and he should just be ignored.

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The  Impact:

The 1906 earthquake that struck San Francisco also hit many other cities in the bay area. There were around 3,000 deaths and many others that were unrecorded. Numerous deaths were not recorded because developers feared that it would hurt the value of the area. All of the deaths except 189 happened in San Francisco. The impact of this earthquake caused the Salinas river to permanently change its course. A few hundred thousand people were left homeless and they left in order to find homes. Those people traveled across the bay to Oakland and Berkley. The devastation of this earthquake caused refugees to still be using their tents and campsites two years later. Of course you would think that most of the destruction would come from the earthquakes and aftershocks but most damge came from the fires that started as a result of  ruptured gas lines. There were thirty fires that destroyed 25,000 buildings. The ensuing fires burned for four days and some were started deliberately  in order to  recieve insurance payments. Soldiers soon arrived to manage the city and protect the valuable buildings such as the U.S. Mint and the county jail that were left vonerable. The troops also helped to keep the city in order by enforcing the laws. Soon there was an order that allowed the troops to shoot any looters on site. There were reports of about five hundred deaths due to this new order. There were more reports saying that some of the accused looters were actually protecting their own belongings and that the soldiers were actually looting while they were murdering looters.

The Reconstruction:

The damage was estimated at 400 million dollars and today that is about 7 billion in today’s market. People realized that the city needed to be rebuilt quickly and the California state governor George C. Pardee gave this statement, “this is not the first time that San Francisco has been destroyed by fire, I have not the slightest doubt that the City by the Golden Gate will be speedily rebuilt, and will, almost before we know it, resume her former great activity.” The governors statement did not address the death tolls or the property damage. There were immediate plans on rebuilding the city but there was no funds to start the rebuilding because of the fact that the bank vaults needed to cool and that took seven to ten days. The only bank that had no vault and evacuated their money was the little bank of Italy (later renamed Bank of America). They ordered wood and started the rebuilding efforts. The wealthy Nob Hill was destroyed and the rich moved west and developed Pacific Heights because the land was cheap and the wealthiest people have remained there to this day. Many landmarks were constructed after the quake such as Coit Tower as a tribute to the city on Telegraph Hill. The people friendly Fisherman’s Wharf was developed and it still remains a major tourist attraction. The reconstruction was fast and it left the city ready for the Panama-Pacific Exposition, which celbrated the ressurection of the city and its “rise from the ashes”. The Palace of Fine Arts, which was one of the exhibits that was constructed for the exposition is still in exsistence. The survivors are still brought together at Lotta’s Fountain to commerate the Earthquake.

Now:

Now a days San Francisco is a fast moving city with lots of attractions and lots of tourists. There is no sign of that devastating earthquake that took place in 1906 or the one that happened in 1989.The 1989 earthquake is famous for interuppting the World Series. It seems that the major earthquakes do not leave longstanding impressions. Of course the earthquakes happen every hundred years or so and there has not been a major earthquake like the 1906 one in a little more then a hundred years. There is a lot of speculation of when another devastating earthquake will happen and until that day people will live their lives and try not to think about what could be the possible outcome of the next big quake.

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