The Paw Print

Daily when kids turn on the television to turn to a channel, they would always turn to a cartoon channel. That we have established to be the natural attraction of all kids. However, the problem is how many of the cartoons are actually cool, fun, and educational at the same time? Even though many cartoons do give moral lessons in its episodes, many don’t give kids that are 5 and up educational foundations.

Where’s the Magic School Bus?

As a child growing in the 90’s, I have always been attracted to the Magic School Bus cartoon because it’s fun, humorous, cool, and educational.
“I remember sitting in front of the T.V. with my eyes glued to it; it was so fascinating,” expressed Jin Mei Chen, an uprising senior at NYC Lab School.

Through Magic School Bus kids are exposed to the sciences around them. This cartoon served as a foundation for kids that once they are old enough to learn about science, they know something already.

In one of the episodes, the class of six elementary students led by Ms. Frizzle went inside a human body. As a kid, learning about how the body works would not only make them learn but also question. This starts them to think about the subject and stir their curiosities up in order to get them excited for school.

Despite how fabulous, fun and educational cartoons are, many similar cartoons to the Magic School Bus are not produced or aired anymore. When counting the number of exciting and educational cartoons, one would never need another hand to count over 10. So, what happened to the Magic School Bus? For years there are no new episodes of the Magic School Bus. This is a pity because some people argue that the Magic School Bus would mislead the kids to think about unrealistic information such as a school bus that can turn into anything. The problem with that argument is that nowadays most kids are all over cartoons that contain even more fantasy like Yu-Gi-Oh.

We need Magic School Bus back and new, fun and educational cartoons in order to help build educational foundations for the kids.

In every second, somebody somewhere is doing something that damages the Earth. Little things such as turning off the lights and leaving the tap water on can make a difference; it can either help the earth, or worsen it. Did you know that where you buy fruits from matters as well? The next time you go shopping for fruits, don’t go to the supermarket. Go to a local farmers’ market instead.
Once you step into the fruit aisle in the supermarket, you find apples piled up high and apples in clear bags labeled organic. There are more to these apples than you think. The apples in the high pile are commercially grown and most likely bought from an apple orchard very far from the supermarket or in another state for a cheaper price. That means that these apples contain some pesticide residue and uses up a lot of truck fuel to arrive to the supermarket. The organic apples must be better and healthier than the piled commercial apples since it a bit more expensive and organic right? Although the organic apples may be a slightly better alternative over the commercial piled apples, the bagged organic apples can be just as bad as the piled commercial apples. Organic apples are labeled “organic” because they are grown without pesticide and with techniques that are a bit more eco-friendlier. However, the organic apples are bought from farms far away and placed in plastic bags. This means that these apples uses up a lot of truck fuel to be delivered to the supermarket and uses up more water, energy, and nonrenewable fuels to create plastic bags that are non-biodegradable.
A farmers’ markets sell fruits that are grown through sustainable agriculture. This means that a farmers’ markets sell fruits and vegetables that are grown locally through eco-friendlier practices. According to the “Food, Fuel, and Freeways” study by Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture Chicago, apples that were shipped to the Terminal market travelled 1,555 miles while the apples that were shipped to the farmers’ market travelled 105 miles. The 1,555 mile drive calculates to more than 10 gallons of gas used to deliver apples to the terminal market. According to the Environmental Protection Agency of Transportation and Air Quality, every gallon of gas produces about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions. By the time the apples reach the terminal market from the farm, more than 200 pounds of carbon dioxide are produced. The apples that are shipped to the farmers’ market would save 180 pounds of carbon dioxide.
Choosing where to buy fruits may seem like a little thing, but that little thing can impact the earth. The apples from supermarkets use up a lot of fuel and deliver a lot of carbon dioxide into the earth’s atmosphere. The apples from a farmers’ market use less fuel and emit less carbon dioxide. Supporting a local farmers’ market can provide a safer environment.

The fashion world is distancing away from us every minute, every day. Honestly, I don’t know what the latest trend is anymore. All I do is look around and follow the trends my friends and classmates follow in school. I feel that it is unnecessary to have fashion trends because after awhile, it would be abandoned and another new trend becomes “hit”. Then it goes in a cycle all over again. It’s just like catching a bus and if you missed it, all you can do is wait for another bus. I am struggling to catch up with everyone else and I’m always wondering how a new trend forms. Who started all these new trends? What is the purpose of these trends? A few weeks ago, animal shaped rubber bands were a hit. Majority of the students were wearing them like bracelets and they were collecting different animal shaped rubber bands. Well, they are just rubber bands that have a shape of an animal. It’s not like we never saw a rubber band before. I guess it’s something new and we are curious about it for awhile and once we are bored with it, we just put it aside. I, myself collected 6 of them-a car, camel, penguin, duck, dolphin, and pig. I got bored with it and gave some to my friends. Even if I give it to them, they wouldn’t want it because it is out of date. It’s not popular anymore so it’s useless to wear it. I left my “bracelets” on my desk and I haven’t touched or looked at it for awhile. I’m glimpsing at people’s wrists and none of them are wearing it!The price increased to $4.99 a pack of 24 rubber bands when it was a hit. After a week or two, unsurprisingly it dropped to $2.99 in Walgreen and in the streets; they sell them for $1.00. Now what happens to the rest of the leftover products in stores if no one is buying it? Well, they just have to be patient and wait approximately a few years later where the rubber bands become popular again. The rubber bands would be waiting in the storage room until they become old and dusty. Recently, it has been peaceful with no new fashion trends. If we are having fashion trends, why don’t we do something more productive like everyone supporting “going green” and carry a recyclable tote bag. We can even buy reusable water bottles so we can reduce plastic water bottles. It would be fashionable and it shows that we do care about our environment.

Recently, an Iranian nuclear scientist who American officials considered defected provided the United States with information about Iran’s nuclear weapons last year and is now trying to leave the country. On Monday night, Shahram Amiri, walked into the Iranian Interest Section of the Pakistani Embassy and wanted a ticket back to Tehran. Also, it has connected with the fact that there has been a disappearance in a hotel room in Saudi Arabia. Because of these events, it basically sparked a propaganda war between Iran and United States. In Iran, it was said that the man was kidnapped in the spring of 2009 and was forcefully taken into the United States and was tortured. In the United States, Hillary Clinton, the first to acknowledge that Shahram Amiri was in the United States, retaliated by saying that he came into the country of his own free will and had the ability to leave whenever he wished. This a brief summary from the article “Iranian Scientist Emerges in D.C., but Mystery Only Deepens” by David E. Sanger. As this issue arises, there will be many opinions and arguments that will manifest within American society. There will be many different reactions that will clash and provide new ideas to this mystery. My reaction to this news is that I feel shocked by the fact that some one that has already given another country valuable information about their home country will actually try to go back. Unless that person was somehow told to do those actions by his mother country, then it would be smart to go back to a country that you have betrayed by giving up information. Also, I feel that there will be a lot of tension will rise between Iran and the United States and More conflicts between the two countries will continue to arise.

Did you ever hear of “Beiber fever?”  I certainly have. Most teens today are obsessing over Justin Beiber.  He may have charming songs and looks, but I really don’t understand  why people would obsess over him.  I have to be honest, I do listen to his songs because  I like R&B and pop music.  Or maybe sometimes, I would memorize the lyrics to the song, but this doesn’t count as an obsessive person to the “Beiber fever.”  I consider myself as just a regular person who listens to music that she likes, but I do not have “Beiber fever.” 
I have to say Justin Beiber has talent for such a young age, but his fans screaming are unbearable sometimes. For example, Good Morning America gives free concerts early in the morning, and Justin Beiber was there.  I could hear the screaming fans streets away because it was that loud or my TV would be blasting with screams because my sister had to watch the news/weather.  And especially if I don’t have school, I do not want anyone waking me up that early.  I am not saying Justin Beiber is bad, but his fans are unbearable sometimes.  I know how it feels having a BIG crush on your favorite singer because I was in that position before, but sometimes it is just so unbearable, especially early in the morning. 
I use to be major fans of the Backstreet Boys and N’sync because most of the band member were hot and cute, but I don’t take it over the top of screaming; maybe back then I would, but not now.  I know how it feels being obsessive, but too much is just a pain in a neck.  So, for all of you reading this blog, I am not a hater of Justin Beiber, I just sometimes can not understand why many teens would obsess over him.

Pauline Kostopoulos, Manhattan, student:
“I try not to run the air conditioner when I don’t need it. I always turn off the light. When I turn on the air conditioner, I would put it on energy save so it turns it off. I try not to wear jeans…maybe more skirts, shorts, and dresses. The subway is brutal. Maybe it’s just me, but listening to my ipod often makes me hotter.”

Carl Aylman, Bronx, Director of Student Life at Baruch College:
“I keep the doors closed, and shades down so the sun doesn’t heat up my apartment. I turn off the lights and A/C in any rooms I’m not in. I dress lighter and more comfortably.”

Tim Kukaj, Brooklyn, Construction worker
“We work in the building without air conditioning, we’re sweating. We don’t have enough power for it. Absolutely, we could use air conditioning.”

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Hey all you guitar fans out their. I am Brandon Moss and I will be giving a review on the guitar store Guitar Center. Now if you have not heard of guitar center, its just a store for guitar lovers. Now the first thing I noticed when walking in the store was how big it was. It was just as big as big as a Boarders or Barns and Nobles. I was pretty impressed with the size but that was only third to the assortment of guitars. They had guitars sorted in order from acoustic to electric to electric-acoustic. Guitar Center also has all your guitar accessory needs. May it be an amp, strings, pocket rocket, or picks guitar center has it all. One key thing that I loved about guitar center was that the store allowed you to trial out guitars on the show room floor. The only down side I say guitar center has is that they don’t allow you to bring your own guitar inside. Its a small price to pay to get into a guitar candy store but its worth it.