So Long Scrubs

On Wednesday March 6, 2009 "Scrubs" fans said goodbye to J.D. (Zach Braff). Since J.D. was the very essence of "Scrubs", Wednesday's episode was also most likely the series finale. It certainty did not disappoint. The "Scrubs" humor fans have known and loved for eight years was still present even though it was the last show. Dr. Cox (John C. McGinley) was finally able to show his emotional side and praised J.D. as "the best that ever came through this dump". The fans finally learned the Janitor's(Neil Flynn) name, Greg Mathews, but knowing the janitor it was most likely a lie. ;) At the very end J.D. walks through a hallway filled with past patients, girlfriends, and friends, who added up to more than 50 guest stars. Then, JD imagines what will happen next and it plays like a movie before his eyes. You see what he hopes happens with his relationship with Elliot, how close he'll stay with his Sacred Heart friends, and what his son grows up to be like. It was a very emotional ending to a truly sensational series.

Movie Review "Earth"

The new Disney Nature film "Earth" takes you on an amazing journey with three families of animals. Viewers go on a journey with a polar bear family in the arctic, an elephant family in the Kalahari Desert, and a humpback whale and her calf on their summer migration to Antarctica. The movie shows the families as the struggle on to their destination. You hope with all your heart that the baby elephant and her mom find their way back to the herd and want to see the polar bear dad survive his long swim in the ocean. The movie also shows viewers the lives of the animals living around the families. Pods of dolphins and sailfish attack a bait ball. A cheetah chases a thompson gazelle. (The action was so fast that they had to use slow motion) However, they show the animals in real life. What you see actually happened. These aren't Disney cartoons, they're real life animas. If you don't want to see predator and prey sequences, this is not the movie for you. If you want to learn more about the animals on our planet and the habitats in which they live in this is defiantly the movie for you. Be on the look out for the next Disney Nature film "Oceans" coming to theaters next Earth Day.

Cub-Napped

The following is a fictional story:

At noon yesterday, a Milton man was arrested for stealing a tiger cub from the Franklin Park Zoo. The 32 year-old man was named Charles Ray. In order to steal the cub named, Tony, Ray lured the cub to the edge of his cage with a picture of a female tiger. Once the cub was close enough he shot Tony with a tranquilizer gun. Zookeepers then observed Ray stuffing the young tiger into his knapsack. Police caught and arrested Ray as he tried to leave the zoo. Eyewitness say that a teary Charles Ray shouted, "But that tiger likes me! He was purring before I injected him!" as he was being put in a police car. Ray is being charged with a larceny of $250. Tony was checked by the zoo's veterinarian and the scared cub was returned to his mother.
But, why did Charles Ray do this? What made him want to steal a tiger cub? Friends, family, and eyewitness offer their account of the event.
As a kid Charles Ray always wanted a pet. His favorite animal was a tiger and he wanted an American Bobtail cat, which has stripes like a tiger. Unfortunately, his father was allergic to cats. "I would have loved to get Charlie a kitty, but Burt was just so horribly allergic. We tried to get him another pet like a dog or rabbit but his mind was made up. He wanted a cat," said Fredia Ray of her son Charles. Even after he left his parents home Charles hit road blocks in his quest for a cat. His college roommate was allergic, his first apartment didn't allow pets, one of his girlfriends was afraid of cats, etc.
But, in April of this year things started looking up. Ray was promoted at his job to the Vice President of Sprinkle Quality Control at the Dunkin' Doughnuts' bakery in Rockland. With the money from his raise Charles found a new apartment that allowed cats. He was even being reviewed for the adoption of a one year old American Bobtail kitten. "He was the happiest he'd been in years. All his dreams came true and Charlie could hardly believe it," said Mei Yow, Ray's best friend since childhood.
But, those dreams were ripped away from him. Three weeks after his promotion Ray was demoted to sprinkle checker. A customer had complained about rotten sprinkles and then sued the company for $1.5 million. No longer able to pay the rent on his apartment Charles had to move to an apartment with a land lord who hated animals with a passion. The adoption of his kitten was denied due to his new housing arrangements. "He was crushed he had been waiting 32 years for that cat and it was snatched away from him just like that!" exclaimed Kit Ekat, Charles girlfriend, "He was so down that I decided to take him to the zoo to see Tony the new tiger cub." Kit went on to say that he sat in front of the Tiger enclosure for a half an hour just watching Tony. "Charlie told me that he had a lot of fun and seeing the tigers really cheered him up. I hadn't thought it was unusual that he watched the tiger cub so long, a lot of people did the same thing. But then, he started to go there everyday," Kit commented. Zookeepers reported that Ray had come to the zoo everyday for the past week. "He would sit by the enclosure from the time the zoo opened to the time the zoo closed," said Franklin Park zookeeper Anne Malia, "It was kinda weird, but he wasn't bothering anyone so we let him sit there."
Soon, harmless cub-watching turned into cub-napping. "He left our apartment at 8 in the morning and said he was going to drive up to his parents house in Littleton, New Hampshire," recalled Kit, "He seemed nervous and upset. I figured there had been some kind of family emergency, and sensing his distress, I didn't question further." But, Charles didn't go to New Hampshire he went to the Franklin Park Zoo. According to security tapes he snuck in by climbing a tree and climbing down a rope ladder he'd brought with him. He then snuck into an open window in the veterinary office and stole a tranquilizer gun. The on call vet and most of the zookeepers were attending to the distraction in the zebra enclosure Ray had created to avoid being spotted. (He had placed a couple of Garter snakes in the enclosure, which freaked all the zebras out.) After securing the gun Ray hid in a supply closet until noon when he could sneak out into the crowd. He then made his way to the tiger enclosure to capture Tony. Meanwhile, the vets discovered that a tranquilizer gun was missing and called the police. Across the zoo Anne Malia and three other zoo keepers, Ben Galtiger and Panthera Tigris, were in hot pursuit of Ray. "We were feeding the red pandas when we heard the shot and rushed over to the tiger enclosure. Then, we saw Ray stuff poor Tony into his knapsack. We told him to stop and when he took off, we followed him. We weren't going to let him get away with Tony!" exclaimed Malia. The police had already arrived to investigate the stolen tranquilizer gun and caught Ray as he was running out. The zookeepers took Tony away and returned the cub to his mom. An exciting ending to an even weirder story.

Fun With Fido

When it comes to fun with Fido, there's a lot more you can do than just fetch. There are many clubs and organizations that you and your dog can join. These clubs give you a chance to train your dog and have fun at the same time.
I suggest starting with basic obedience training. Everyone wants their dog to be polite and obedient. There are many classes offered at pet stores, animal shelters, dog training centers, and many other places. Kids can get involved by joining a 4-H dog clubs. 4-H works through experimental learning. The kids have fun, become more outgoing and responsible, and the dog gets trained, Everyone wins. Also, when your dog learns basic obedience it will be easier to teach him new skills and try new clubs. Clearly, it is wise to start with basic obedience training.
After obedience you can teach or dog anything and join any club, the sky's the limit. Some popular clubs to join are agility and canine freestyle(dancing with dogs). There are also breed specific clubs such as drafting(pulling carts) and earth dog trails (navigating a series of tunnels to find vermin). Flyball is dog sport that is growing in popularity. It consists of a serious of hurdles with a ball launcher at the end. Dog teams send their dogs over the hurdles to get the balls and come back. These sports are fun and offer exercise for both the owner and the dog. If you love to watch dog shows on TV, you should show your dog in AKC. This is also called conformation. There are many small shows across the country that you can enter, and who knows you could end up at Westminster. You can compete, win big or go home with nothing, but in the end you've bonded with your dog. So GET READY, GET SET, and GO HAVE FUN WITH FIDO!
P.S. If a tried to write about everything you can do with your dog I would have to write a book! So go borrow some books from the library or check out the links below for more info! ;)
Links:
http://4-h.org/
http://www.akc.org/
http://www.akc.org/events/search/index.cfm
http://www.worldcaninefreestyle.org/
http://www.flyball.org/

Print Plus Article about Journalist involved in Stephen Glass Incident

On April 3, 2003 journalist Michael Kelly died in Iraq when his Humvee crashed; he was covering the Iraq war with the U.S. Army's Third Infintry Division. Kelly became the first journalist to be killed in the Iraq war. The 46 year old was covering the war in Iraq for his Washington Post column at the time of his death. Michael's Humvee was caught in enemy fire. The driver tried evasive manuviers, but, unfortunatly, rolled the humvee into a body of water. Thus, killing both Kelly and the driver. Michael Kelly had a lot of experience in covering war. Kelly wrote a book in 1991 about his trip to the Gulf War. On that trip he was 0n his own. Kelly lived in Swampscott, Massacusetts with his wife, Madelyn, and his two sons, Tom and Jack. He was the editor-at-large for The Atlantic Monthly and wrote a syndicated column for the Washington Post. Michael Kelly was also the editor of the New Republic until he was fired for disagreeing with the boss, 1996-1997. The Antlantic Monthly now sponsers the Michael Kelly Award in his honor. It is giving to journalists who show the same quality that he had, " the fearless pursuit and expression of truth" (http://kellyaward.com/).

Links:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/opinion/columns/kellymichael/

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/kelly_04-04-03.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/05/obituaries/05KELL.html

http://kellyaward.com/

Music Review-"Fearless"

Pennsylvania born Taylor Swift is still climbing the charts with her new album "Fearless". Released in November 2008, the album folows her hot album "Taylor Swift". The a lbum is filled with songs about love and loss. The catchy "Love Story" is Taylor's take on Shakesbere's classic Romeo and Juliet. Taylor gives the story a happy ending with Romeo and Juliet getting married instead of dying, "Marry me Juliet you'll never have to be alone. I love you and that's all I really know. I talked to your dad girl pick out a white dress. It's love story baby just say... Yes." "You Belong with Me" is about a girl who has a crush on her guy friend who never catches on. The song is very similar to her smash "Tear Drops on my Guitar", but while Teardrops is sad "You Belong with me" is upbeat and happy. She is saying, "Hey handsome and stupid I'm over here!" instead of "Gee, why don't you ever notice me?" She exclaims, "...dreaming bout the day when you wake up and find that what your looking for has been here the whole time. If you could see that I'm the one who understands you, been here all along so why can't you see, you belong with me". In "The Way I Love You" she talks about having the perfect boyfriend and not being happy, "I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain. It's 2 A.M. and I'm cursing your name, so in love that act insane. And that's the way I love you" It's an interesting story that breaks free from the usual "my boyfriend is so not perfect" songs out there. She expresses a different kind of love in "The Best Day" when she describes a the love between a father and daughter, a truly touching song.
"Fearless" is an amazing album filled with amzing songs. Its clear that Swift puts a lot of herself into her music. The songs are well written as well as beutifully performed. Swift fans, country fans, and pop fans everywhere will be listening to this album "Forever and Always".

Self Assessment of the Hourglass

Strengths:
One strength of my blog post was the dialogue I was able to provide in my narrative. Another strength of the article was the proper usage of the the hourglass format.

Areas of Improvement:
To areas of improvement would be using better grammar and being more concise in my writing.