Archives for August 2010

A name can be any thing you want like Jasper, Lyndon, Vincent, Kyle, Jon, Jacob, Leon, Carlisle, or even Sepiroth for guy names and for girl names Claire, Scarlet, Lilith, Macy or even Mischa. But what does it mean? A name can have a meaning like Mairearad which is Gaelic (Irish) for pearl and Mischa which comes from Russia which means like god. Certain names can mean more than one thing and in some languages names can be unisex for both boy and girl. Some names are spelled different like Jon it can be spelled John. Like Jeffery can be spelled Jeffree. Or Nicky can be Nikki. But in the end a name has a meaning and a way to be unique Michael can be pronounced in two different ways. Some names are tied back to a culture or religion. Like Claire is a name that comes from Saint Claire. So what is in a name after all? It is all about pride and what it means to certain people and certain cultures in many ways. But in the end everyone has a name so everyone is unique in their own way so write your name however you want it and be you.

September, the month most kids dread, simply because it means waking up early again and going to school. School is already hard enough on students, being that we all have our obstacles to overcome, and imagine if you didn’t have the supplies you needed for school –it’d be twice as hard. Being prepared for school is a big necessity for those who wish to succeed, that’s why Do Something.org is taking action to ensure that this upcoming September, students are ready for school.

            Do Something.org has a series of programs that help different causes, Do Something 101, is a program that has teamed up with staples to run a school supply drive. Staples and Do Something 101 is at its third year of hosting this collection, and Now through September 18^th, you can go to any staples across the U.S and drop off school supplies in the bins provided through the Do Something 101 foundation. Each staples store is tied to a local non-profit organization and will make sure that the supplies is delivered to different communities.

             Do Something 101 is important because with extra supplies, schools can function a lot better and provide the best education possible. 

The wonders of life for many isn’t strange, but do we really sit down and wonder?

As Trinidad Carnival 2011 is quickly approaching I am anxiously awaiting more carnival band launches. However, bands: Woi!! Mas, Oasis, Bliss and TRIBE have already launched, not to mention various other media launches such as YUMA and Spice.

TRIBE, the largest band on the road for the past couple of years, is portraying “The Way of the Warrior.”

Initially, I thought TRIBE would use it usual skimpy bathing suits, beads and feathers because I didn’t think they would be able to pull off a hard-core theme such as “The Way of the Warrior.”

I was, however, very pleased to see that many of costumes did reflect some sort of warrior whether it be an African Warrior or a Native American warrior. My favorite section was Massai Warriors. I love the way the African print is juxtaposed against the typical 21st Century carnival costume. This costume is very chic. Knights Templar, Xi’An and Mayan Eagle are among my favorites as well. Ultimately, I feel that they did a good job of sticking to their theme.

Bliss, the smaller, more intimate band affiliated with TRIBE, was not as impressive. Many of the costumes lacked the connection back to “The Way of the Warrior.” I was expecting fewer feathers and beading, and perhaps more metal. Some of the costumes had absolutely no connection to warriors such as Caprica or Solaris. However, I did like Cyclon and thought it was an accurate presentation of warrior with the red and silver metal accents!

Oasis is a new band to Trinidad’s 2011 Carnival. They, however, did not come with anything new or particularly creative. I am awaiting YUMA, another new band, to bring some innovative ideas to Carnival 2011. Yuma and their presentation “Zodiac” seem both intriguing and promising. Photos from their media launch were very exciting and I cannot wait till the launch. Not to mention their designer’s were mentored by the legendary costume designer, Wayne Berkley.

Woi Mas!! and their presentation “Skulldugery” seemed like recycled Halloween costumes. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? They were successful at being different. However, It seemed like one big art assignment. I’m not sure how comfortable these costumes will be on Carnival Tuesday. I cannot compare Woi!! Mas to Brian MacFarlane and I do not think Woii!! Mas will take any of Brian MacFarlane’s masqueraders.

I cannot wait till Trinidad Carnival 2011 to see all these costumes on the road or maybe even on a Savannah Stage.

The sun is high beaming at almost 98 degrees and I’m sweating in the backseat, hoping for the little breeze of mercy to relieve the unbearable stale air. It’s a bright Saturday morning and I’m on my way to the beach with my mom, my sister and her best friend. Showered and packed, we all headed out to Coney Island in my cousin Mama’s car with her two kids. Sitting there for almost an hour, I thought I was going to pass out.

The men’s USA basketball team begins their quest to be world champions in FIBA basketball on August 12th 2010. Their first game is at Madison Square Garden where they play the international team of Turkey, which NBA power forward Derrick Nowitizki from the Dallas Mavericks plays for.

The mens USA basketball teams begins their quest to be world champions in FIBA basketball on August 12th 2010. Their first game is at Madison square garden on august 12th in which they play the international team of turkey which NBA power forward Derrick Nowitizki from the Dallas Mavericks plays for. The new USA basketball team is following in the footprints of the redeem team who won the gold in FIBA basketball in 2008. The 2008 team consist of NBA greats such as Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Derron Williams Dwayne Wade and Dwight Howard creating an all around powerhouse in every position which made the team unstoppable. This years team has great NBA players but none of the big names from the redeem team, for the 2010 roster you have players like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Rudy Gay, Chauncey Billups, Rajon Rondo, Derrick Rose, and Lamar Odom who all have a great I.Q. for the game and experience in playing at high levels. Many people feel that the 2010 team will not advance far, but having three of the top point guards in the league, a few of the top scorers in the game and strong and dominate big men, once the USA team constructs a chemistry the will be unstoppable. Having a mentor such as Jason Kidd future hall of famer and college champion coach Mike Krzyzewski that’s tons of basketball knowledge that will only make the team better. All the USA team has to do is play smart and cohesive basketball and they will do just fine in the 2010 FIBA competition.

What’s the point of the iPad? Sure it may seem cool but does it really bring something new to the table? As always, Apple’s newest product was well received by everybody and praised. To me, it just seems like a big, clunky, awkward version of the iPod touch. When testing it out in the Apple store, I found that it looked sleek and great, but to me it felt very awkward to touch and type on. While I realize that my age group may be not be Apple’s main target with this product, I don’t see how it adds much to business people’s busy lives. Most people have Blackberries or iPhones and they use them for most of their business needs. If they already have these devices, what more can the iPad offer to them, besides a bigger screen?

Maybe there is something I just don’t understand because it seems that these devices are selling like crazy. At the end of June, 3.27 million iPads had been sold, after just being released in April. Apple has one of the best marketing strategies for all their products, so many people buy them because they are the “next big things” and they see so much hype about them. But what happens when the hype fades and users have had several months to explore their devices?

Many people are very happy with their purchases, a few people I know claim they can’t live without them. However, there are many others who are experiencing buyer’s remorse. Some people are complaining it is too big of a product with not enough features. They are seeing it as an “oversized cell phone” and saying an actual computer can do so much more for the same price, or less.

So, when the dust from Apple’s marketing hype settles, what is left? A product that looks cool but doesn’t do much. Usually, I am completely smitten with Apple’s products, so what went wrong? The fact of the matter is the iPad has a long way to go.

Being the quiet one has its bad and good sides.

Being quiet causes you not to be broadcasted, and most of the time in order to get what you want, you have to broadcast yourself, so people can know exactly what you are about.

You are often not heard about.

If you know that you’re not the type to broadcast yourself, then you may not be as popular as the people who do put themselves out there. This can cause someone to feel not as important as everyone else, and this can also cause loneliness in others.

Then, being quiet can cause you to get into less trouble as a person who does broadcast themselves does.

Say, there was a quiet person and an outspoken person in a classroom. When the teacher turns around, the quiet one can call a teacher a bat face lady, and the teacher will automatically assume that it was the outspoken person. She will believe that the quiet one won’t say such a thing (although there are two different voices, it was just an example.)

The quiet one can use their quietness as a way to get themselves out of trouble, although they know what they did, they just felt the need to get the outspoken one in trouble and out of the way since they are already too popular.

Quiet ones will try to get them in trouble enough so they could gain a little victory to be heard of, maybe even noticed.

But, for some reason, it never really works, because the one person that you have been in class with for 3 and a half years still didn’t know that you were in the same school with them with a population of 250 students, and with classrooms of only 13 students.

Sucks, right? (Not relating to me)

High speed internet not only allows users to access websites quicker, but it opens up a door to online television. In matter of fact, to individual citizens it’s a prize, to movie makers and actors/actresses it’s a threat.

Before Fios, before cable, and before dsl there was something called “dialup”. Individuals like myself that can recall how frustrating we were daily when trying to access to the web, would care more about opening the webpage, not one of us would think about online television.

With high speed internets such as Fios, cable, and dsl, I am able to access multiple websites including youtube to watch dramas, movies, and shows.

This is an alternative to individuals who cannot afford to purchase DVDs, go to movies every time something new comes out, or are just too lazy to go outside.

Like I have always asked myself, why would I purchase movies or go to a movie theater for random movies when I can watch it in my room for free?

It’s not like the online dramas, movies, or shows are in poor video quality, in matter of fact depending on which site you use, everything is in High Definition.

To directors, I am sorry. I respect all your inputs in making a drama or movie, but they are for us to enjoy and should be accessible to anyone in any economic status.

In addition, online television is extremely great because it’s there. Every episode of Gossip Girl that anyone has missed is online. Personally, being a teenager who always gets home past 6 or 8, it’s hard for me to catch up on all the hit American televisions. Online television saves me from dialogue isolation when interacting with my peers.

Online television comes in three different forms. First is like youtube where people can stream dramas online when someone uploads it to the website. Second is downloading it from a link that someone else uploaded the drama to. And third is in television programs such as the Chinese PPTV and PP Live where similar to the first one you can stream the drama, but in addition you can tune in any channel (PPTV and PP Live streams Chinese channels).

As people notice how rapidly the online television market is growing, there are companies that wants to make profit out of it. They might try to charge online fees, monthly fees, episode fees, and any other fees they come up in the future.

My wish is for the online television to stay free.