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

Santana, 28, has been on the trade market for months. Although the Twins are moving to a new stadium shortly, they still decided that they could not afford Santana, who will be a free agent at the end of the 2008 season. The Mets will likely negotiate with him now though.

The Mets gain probably the top starting pitcher in Major League Baseballm turning their rotation from a weakness to an advantage. Santana has recorded a career 3.22 ERA in seven seasons.

The Twins get some young pieces in what looks to now be a long term rebuilding project. Carlos Gomez has lightning speed, faster than Mets shortstop Jose Reyes. His bat is a bit of a concern, as he strikes out often and rarely draws a walk. Humber, 25, was the 3rd pick in the 2004 Draft, although he seemed to be falling a bit out of a favor. He’ll likely get a chance in the Twins rotation, which will also include the returning Francisco Liriano, Kevin Slowey, Boof Bonser, and Scott Baker.

Kevin Mulvey, 22 participated in the 2007 Futures Game due to his success in AA. Deolis Guerra isn’t even 19 yet and has a cannon for an arm. He doesn’t have much more than a fiery fastball in his arsenal yet.

The Twins were entertaining offers from the rivaling New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, but kept pushing back until both teams withdrew their interest. They could have got Phil Hughes and Melky Cabrera from the Yankees or a package revolving around Jacoby Ellsbury from the Red Sox, but they passed. Management might have thought that the demand would go up, but instead it went down as teams saw their bluff.

Last night, Senator Barack Obama won the South Carolina primary towering over Hillary Clinton by a whopping 28%.  Everyone seems to be making a huge deal out of this victory, but honestly, what is so surprising?  We all know that African Americans support and back up this presidential candidate, and with African Americans equaling more than half of the registered voters in South Carolina, obviously Obama was going to come out on top. He received 4 out of every 5 votes casted by an African American.

What I find most disturbing about this is the fact that people are just voting for Obama for the sake of his ethnicity rather then his beliefs. I bet if you ask most African Americans who will and have voted for Barack Obama what he believes in politically they would not have a clue. Same goes with Hillary Clinton! Many women are voting for her because she is a female and the United States  still has not had a female president.

Whatever the case may be, I certainly do hope that the next president elected is elected because of  his or her capabilities, not gender or race.

Source: Msnbc

Update: Luckily there is a good update for these two. Hannah McConnell,13, called her grandmother telling her where they were and that Gage Petherbridge, 15, and herself would be coming over. OBVIOUSLY the grandmother alerted authorities who caught the two lovebirds on their trek.

This morning Hannah McConnell’s mother, Julie McConnell, told “Good Morning America” that she can keep her boyfriend as long as she maintains her grades and takes her medication.  Lucky girl! My parents would have : A. killed me  B. killed the boy or C. not allow me to leave the household…ever!

I wanna be with her,” Petherbridge said. “I would say we are in love.”

This brings a tear to my eyes….not. Gag.

I’m just happy that the two are in safe hands now and this story has a happy ending and a happy closure!

source: Freep.com

Update: The autopsy on 28-year old actor Heath Ledger has been performed today, but it will be two more weeks until the toxicology reports arrive.

Suicide is being ruled out as his death as it has just been discovered that it wasn’t just sleeping pills that Heath was messing with…thats right, drug packets, valium, and zoloft (anti anxiety medications) were also discovered. It looks more like an accidental drug overdose than a suicide. Not to sound horrible…but this DOES sound awfully familiar to another female celebrity who also had a young baby and accidentally overdosed…hmmmmmmm.

It’s unfortunate that his life had to end this early. He was a young man with a blossoming career and a two-year old daughter named Matilda. Our condolences are with the family during this hard time.

creamfilled will keep you updated!

source: perezhilton.com

Today Brawl had two updates. The first one that you’ll see is for a new level, the Mushroomy Kingdom. I honestly didn’t even realize the “y” in the name until I copied the URL for that link. Wow. Mushroomy Kingdom..really? Ugh. Well I guess it leads perfectly into the level itself, which is nothing short of a travesty.

The Mushroomy Kingdom is obviously a Mario level (the name says it all) and that’s obviously something to be happy about, right? Wrong. It’s a recreation of World 1-1 from the original Mario Bros. It scrolls to the right and sometimes the level will randomly take you to World 1-2, cool huh? Eh not so much. You see HAL decided it would be wise to turn the Mushroom Kingdom in a vast wasteland. It’s all in ruins. The beautiful colors that popped out at you everytime you jumped into World 1-1 are gone. It’s dust. It’s essentially just another desert level (honestly I expect to see the cactus). What prompted Nintendo to do this is beyond me. Is there something in Super Mario Galaxy that hints at the Mushroom Kingdom being destroyed, and given a pointless “y” at the end of it’s name?

Now I’d love to end the post here and say this is all the bad news I have, but nope. Just like George Lucas**, HAL and Nintendo decide to go back and tamper with more perfection. They changed the original Mario theme music! Dubya Tee Eff?! Is it even legal for them to do this? Seriously, is it? I’m sure there is some law out there that says you can’t mess with perfection like that.

Now since it’s been a while since I’ve posted a Brawl update you might think I hate this game, but on the contrary. I love this game! Everything about it has made me screech like the fanboy that I am. I grew up with Nintendo, and the original Mario. Hell to this day Super Mario Bros. 3 is my favorite game! So Brawl has just constantly appeased me and now this seems like a slump for what could have been amazing. Nintendo had an amazing level on it’s hands (I loved the Mario adventure level in Melee) and it simply “ruined” it. I’m sure I’ll play it and enjoy it, but it could have been a level that fans loved like the Hyrule Temple in Melee (and now Brawl because of the fan love). We’ll just see what happens when the game is released, hopefully on March 9th.

**Han shot first.

As far as common knowledge goes, whatever Chuck Norris says: goes. Usually I follow what Chuck Norris says/does for the fear of being killed, but this time I’m going to have to disagree with what the ‘hero’ says.

Norris, who is backing Mike Huckabee and his campaign, is quoted as to saying “I didn’t pick John [McCain] to support because I’m just afraid that the vice president would wind up taking over his job in that four-year presidency.” Norris, who is 67 and infamous for ‘knowing all’, obviously does not know that with age comes knowledge which is definitely true with candidates such as Barack Obama whom have had little experience in office.

Not only that, but John McCain seems to have good age genetics. During his speech after winning the South Carolina caucuse, McCain introduced his MOTHER. Yes, the 71-year old presidential candidate’s mother is alive and kicking at the young age of 95!

Either way, Mike Huckabee is thinking up every excuse in the book as to why he did not win this weekend’s caucuse. From blaming the poor weather, to claiming fellow candidate Fred Thompson stole some of his votes; either way Huckabee: YOU LOST GET OVER IT! Not even Chuck Norris can fix that. Yes, I said it.

source: MSNBC

Madeleine’s family have just released two drawings of a scruffy man whom may be involved in the four-year olds disappearance. The drawing is based on a sighting of a man that a woman, Gail Cooper, saw in the villa which the McCann’s were staying. One of the sketches is of the man’s face and the other is of what he may look like walking.

A spokesperson for the family stated that in the days prior to Madeleine’s disappearance the mustachioed man went to Cooper’s villa asking for money for an orphanage in a nearby village.

The drawings of the man were then shown to another woman, Jane Tanner, who saw a man carrying a child from the resort. Tanner claims that the sketches do resemble the man she saw.

Hopefully this break in the case leads to the arrest of the man and safe rescue of Madeleine McCann. Creamfilled will keep you updated!

source: CNN