Hate Crime?

It was just another day of school on February 12th at Oxnard Junior High in California until an event occurred after first period which now leaves the school in shambles. Lawrence King, a 15 year old student had been shot at least twice in the head by a fellow student, 14, whose name is being withheld due to his age. Yesterday afternoon this poor young boy was declared brain dead yet he is still alive due to possible organ donations.

All school shootings are of course horrible, traumatic, and scar the students involved or around the event. Yet there is something about this case that really grinded my gears. According to students Lawrence was a homosexual whom was very open about his sexual orientation. One student stated that he wore make up, high heels, and women’s apparel to school which apparently did not sit well with his male peers.

Me being a fifteen year old and having to endure the torturous middle school years knows first hand that bullying is a tremendous element in the school setting. I personally had to endure cruel comments being that I am a red head which makes me ‘different’ than the ‘cool kids’. Studies show that 77% of students claim to have been bullied either mentally, emotionally, or physically. The chances of being bullied increase 5 times if the victim of this abuse is gay.

Currently the student is being held in a Juvenile hall and hopefully he will be charged with murder as an adult which could give him a sentence of fifty years to life. If it is found that this is indeed a hate crime the penalty is of course escalated.

I find it necessary to speak out for Lawrence King being that he can no longer speak for himself. I want to speak out in behalf of ALL victims of bullying whom have experienced serious reactions due to bullying. I used to be a self inflicter, or a cutter, due to the torment I experienced at school. IT IS OK FOR YOU TO BE WHO YOU ARE! Be different, be proud, be happy, you are who you are and do not let anyone change you.

Lawrence King was who he was, a happy and out teenager whom did not care what people thought. Unfortunately there are psychos in this world who bring guns to school. Lawrence was in himself a hero of some sort, an icon or perhaps a symbol to all of the children in the World who are scared to stand up for who they are. Bullies have one purpose only and that is to see their victim break down. In reality, they are the weak people whom have to make others feel bad to make themselves feel good.

Either way I can go on and on with this article but I think I’m going to stop here. This boy has impacted me and I know he does not know it but he is indirectly helping so many children stand up for who they are.

Source: LA Times

Happy New Years Everyone!

 Happy New Years Everyone!

2007 completely flew by for me at least.  I hope everyone has a happy and healthy year a head for them .

One of my many New Year’s Resolutions  for 2008 is to blog more so stay tuned

-Jordanna

My Dog Ate My World Series Baseball

The baseball used to record the final out that clinched the 2007 World Series for the Boston Red Sox is gone.

No, there isn’t a legal issue over it like last time, when Doug Mientkiewicz fought with the Red Sox for custody of the 2004 World Series ball that eventually ended up in Cooperstown. Pitcher Jonathan Papelbon was in possession of this baseball, until his dog ate it.

Apparently his public relation’s man is indeed a 9-year old boy. Papelbon went to the classic “my dog ate my game clinching World Series baseball”excuse. Like that hasn’t been said before. Come on Jon, really?

Papelbon says his bulldog, Boss, likes to play with baseballs, and tore the historic baseball into pieces. Just imagine if this happened in 2004, when the Sox were celebrating their first title since 1918. Now, they don’t seem to care too much. They didn’t care when catcher Jason Varitek gave the ball to Papelbon.

Tom Glavine Gets 300th Win

Tom Glavine got his 300th win on Sunday night in a 8-3 win over the Chicago Cubs.

Glavine, 41, pitched six and a third innings of solid baseball, allowing six hits, one walk, and two runs on his way to a historic milestone, joining the company of 22 other pitchers.

Glavine contributed to the offense as well, driving in Lastings Milledge with a RBI single in the top of the second to score the first run of the game. He wouldn’t take any chances after the bullpen blew a lead in Milwaukee to foil his win on Tuesday.

Glavine is now 10-6 this season for the Mets. When he makes it to the Hall-of-Fame, he will likely go in as a Brave, where he spent the majority and prime of his career dominating with Greg Maddux and John Smoltz.

A-Rod Hits HR #500

Alex Rodriguez finally got the monkey off his back, blasting a 3 run HR in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals, accounting for home run number 500 in his illustrious career.

A-Rod is the youngest player to ever get to the milestone that only 22 other players have gotten to. A-Rod blasted the first pitch delivered by newly acquired Royals pitcher Kyle Davies.

A-Rod went eight games before finally reaching the milestone. At age 32, he still has plenty more left in him. Perhaps enough to get pass Henry Aaron, or should I say Barry Bonds.

The Most Awesome Guys…Evar

Anyone remember the Chuck Norris craze? Ol’ Chuck was one of the baddest mother fuckers for a while. Us geeks worshipped that bastard, every toned muscle on the mans body. A roundhouse kick to the face would be magical. Then, with time, his image faded. Chuck became less of a total badass, and more of a yesterdays man. So people became scared and worried, “Who do we worship now?!” well never fear, I’m hear with the answers. My top list of the most awesome, badass,and just all around cool guys out there.

First up is Stephen Colbert. Who honestly doesn’t love this guy? He nails the enemies of America on a nightly basis and does it with style and class. Right now he’s even doing his show on an injured wrist, what a trooper! Stephen is also really smart when it comes to the tubes, as he makes references to several websites and memes on his show all the time (please reference us Colbert, I swear I’ll totally do whatever you want :] ). I think it’s safe to say that Colbert is just awesome, and he deserves to be on the list no matter what.

 

Next up is someone that I don’t think gets enough recognition, but is truly just a badass. I am of course talking about Steven Seagal, the manliest bastard in the Western hemisphere. Hell according to this article Steven likes to kick guys in the nuts to just see if they are wearing cups. Most filmmakers would just ask, but not Steven. He just goes right in and kicks them square in the babymaker. It’s for this, and his ability to take down several men without touching them, that Steven is truly one of the most badass men ever.

 

The third person on my list is the quirky doctor from the show House M.D….House! House, played by Hugh Laurie, is just an all around badass. Not only is he a manly man (ever see his bitchin motorcycle?) but he’s also smart too. He can solve any medical case, and even if he can’t he has the power to blame it on his colleagues or bury himself in drugs. Addicts are awesome (someone put that on a t-shirt for me). Even at the end of last season House fired his entire staff! Woah, spoiler alert! He basically said, “Fuck you guys, I can do this alone. I’m that damn good.” Yes House, you are that damn good.

 

 

 

 

 

Last on my first list of the most awesome guys ever is Bear Grylls. What is there to say about Bear other than “Wow!” Just look up some videos of him on YouTube (I suggest eating snakes, rabbits, frogs, zebra, and turtles.) and you’ll realize how epic he is. The star of The Discovery Channel’s Man Vs. Wild is just badass. Not only is he amazing on that show he’s also trained in the British Special Forces and he’s climbed to Mt. Everest without an oxygen tank! I’d like to see any of you pansies do that, go ahead I’m waiting. Those reasons, among others (he’s pretty big down there if you get my drift) are why he’s on the list.

 

 

 

If you have any other suggestions for people that should be on the list then leave it in the comments.

 

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Ninja Zombie Pro-Am Trailer

 

Yes you read the title right. Aqua Teen Hunger Force Ninja Zombie Pro-Am, or ATHFNZP-A for short, is a new game based off the hit show Aqua Teen Hunger Force from the Adult Swim block on Cartoon Network. Today comes some new footage and a trailer for the game. It seems odd, to say the least, but that’s what we (well I) love about the show. It’s so random and crazy, but there’s a plot in there some where. That’s what the game will be like. It will be a golf game that’s so random and crazy you will only see a smal bit of golf. Anyways check out the trailer here, courtesy of Gametrailers.com.

Trades Made Before Deadline

Tuesday July 31 will be a hectic day for all 30 MLB general managers. With the trade deadline approaching, many teams will be trying to add that last piece to boost their playoff run, while teams in last will be throwing some of their veterans on the market to those contenders. The majority of the trades made usually come on the day of the deadline, but a few deals have been made already. Here’s a look at some of the bigger deals that have gone down so far.

San Diego Padres trade Relief Pitcher Scott Linebrink to the Milwaukee Brewers for pitching prospects Joe Thatcher, Will Inman and Steve Garrison.

Outlook: Out to prove that their first hals success was not a fluke, the Brewers made a spalsh by dealing prospects for Scott Linebrink, a valuable reliever that will likely serve as the 8th inning pitcher for the Brewers. The soon to be 31 year old hasn’t had his best year, posting a 3.80 ERA in 45 innings. Although the Padres are also in the playoff hunt, they felt Linebrink was expendable, and they have a very weak farm system. Inman is the highest regarded prospect of the year, pitching lights out so far in his 13 AA starts. He has a 1.72 ERA to go along with 98 strikeouts and 78.2 innings pitched, and a .198 batting average against. Thatcher has had success in the minors, but it’s hard to label him a prospect at age 25.

Texas Rangers trade Center Fielder Kenny Lofton to the Cleveland Indians for Catcher Max Ramirez

Outlook: With outfielders David Delucci and Trot Nixon both on the DL, the Indians gain a valuable asset in the speedy Lofton. Despite the fact that he is 40 years old, Lofton has accounted for a .307 batting average with 21 stolen bases. With young star Grady Sizemore in center, Kenny Lofton will move to left field. The bottom dwelling Rangers acquire a young catcher in Ramirez, who was traded from the Braves to the Indians last year for closer Bob Wickman. Ramirez was a participant in the 2007 Futures Game, and is finally on a team where he actually has a shot at becoming the future catcher.

Chicago White Sox trade second baseman  Tahahito Iguchi to the Philadelphia Phillies for relief pitcher Michael Dubee

Outlook: After the Phillies received a devestating blow with the broken hand of Chase Utley, they quickly found a replacement with Iguchi. Utley insists that he will be back in less of the month, but the quick addition of another second baseman seems to show otherwise, unless the Phillies plan on playing Iguchi at third when Utley comes back. The 21 year old reliever Dubee has a 3.81 ERA in 56.2 innings pitched in A, which shows that the White Sox were willing to basically give away the slumping Iguchi.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays Trade third baseman Ty Wigginton to Houston Astros for relief pitcher Dan Wheeler

Outlook: This is an odd trade for both clubs. The Devil Rays own the worst record in baseball, and the Astros are out of playoff contention. What does getting Wigginton solve for the Astros? Nothing really. He’ll be 30 in October, and is not much of an upgrade over Ensberg, although he can play more positions. The Devil Rays can use pitching in a bad way, but Wheeler is having a horrible season. He showed he can not handle being the closer, which the Devil Rays will likely make him. After two great seasons, Wheeler has a 5.07 season. Both teams seem to be in denial of the fact that they need more young talent.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays trade second baseman Jorge Cantu and outfielder Shaun Cumberland for relievers Brian Shackelford and Calvin Medlock

Outlook: In Tampa’s continuing quest to get any relief pitching they can find, they shipped fallen star Jorge Cantu and outfielder prospect Shaun Cumberland to acquire two more bullpen arms. After a 7.16 ERA in 2006, Shackelford hasn’t seen any major league action since. Medlock has a 5.43 ERA in AAA. After a great 2005 season, Cantu has been a huge bust since, and the Reds will keep him in the minors in hopes that he’ll turn it around for them down the road.