Camera Shots for Dummies 1:54 PM

I forced my dear friend and her roommate to pretend they were professional actresses. I would hire them for a movie, wouldn't you?

How America reacted to the Tucson Arizona shootings 9:37 AM

On the morning of January 8, 2011, U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords set up a constituent meeting at a Safeway supermarket in the northern area of Tucson, Arizona.

That same morning, 22-year old Jared Lee Loughner reached the proximities of the Safeway and shot Giffords in the head as well as other random members of the crowd. Six people were killed.

The media was in an uproar with the story, updating viewers on Gifford’s condition. The reason this story was such a big target for the media was because governmental officials were involved. Had Giffords or her staff not been there that fateful morning, this possibly would have been a regular news story, no hype included.

What irks me the most about this incident is the reaction made by the politicians and people of our country.

First we have the “blame game.”

Last year, Alaskan governor Sarah Palin announced her “Take Back the 20 Plan” in hopes of “eliminating” House members who voted for the health care bill. Palin created a map, displaying crosshairs where House members resided. Giffords was on that list and naturally, people pointed fingers at Palin.

Putting bunnies instead of crosshairs
might have been a better idea.

Let me just say that as much as I hate the soccer-mom political nutcase, she isn’t to blame. Sure, creating a map with crosshairs and ranting on about eliminating house members is both foolish and childish, but I really don’t think she had any ties to Loughner.

This little crosshair event isn’t even the worst thing I could write about.

Ever been to Palin’s Facebook page? (I don’t blame you if you haven’t.) I was reading a blog posting that explains how the moderators of her page delete any unruly comments that could paint her in a negative light.

Comments such as, “YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE, YOU EVIL WITCH” were immediately deleted from the page, according to this blog.

My blood began to boil when I read what somebody posted about Christina Taylor Green, the nine-year old who was shot by Loughner:

“It's ok. Christina Taylor Green was probably going to end up a left wing bleeding heart liberal anyway. Hey, as 'they' say, what would you do if you had the chance to kill Hitler as a kid? Exactly."

Are you kidding me? You’re targeting this innocent nine-year old girl?

What disgusts me the most is the comment stayed on the page. “Who cares if Green was shot, we have an awesome comment that attacks the liberals!”

Once you throw an innocent kid into the political circus, you know you’ve gone too far.

But wait, there’s more. This poor little girl not only got shot, killed and made fun of on Palin’s “wall,” she was also the target of the Westboro Baptist Church.

As if Green’s family had enough on their plate, the most hated church in America wanted to make a guest appearance at the funeral. The church members themselves even praised Loughner for his actions. (Give me a second to pound my head against my desk before continuing.)

People were in an uproar to find that these senseless human beings would be picketing at Green’s funeral.

In the end, the church agreed not to picket in exchange for radio airtime.

Super. I wish we would stop getting news coverage about these idiots.

That’s it from me. What began as a shooting became a political and religious circus. Don’t even get me started on the political junkies who have no remorse for what happened. Let's just steal Christina Taylor Green's thunder instead.

Silly Floridians, Where Are Your Coats? 7:42 PM

Ahhh, the Sunshine State.

I’m not going to lie. Watching the people of Pensacola experience the winter season is kind of like witnessing an apocalypse. It’s always amusing, seeing the citizens of this town curse the gray, cloudy skies as they head for work in the morning. (It’s even more amusing seeing the overcrowded coffee shops being used as refuges. I’m sure Starbucks is thanking the cold weather for their increased revenue.)

During this time, you can easily tell who is or isn’t from here simply by the way they’re dressed. If they’re wearing a hoodie and jeans in January, they’re probably from the Sunshine State. If they’re decked out in a scarf and winter coat, they’re probably from the North (or are from here and know how to dress sensibly).

I initially had the full-on intention of mocking Floridians to raise a point about how it’s not that cold, but after getting sick this weekend, I’m going to have to hold back on a lot of what I was going to say for this post.

The matter-of-fact is: IT’S PRETTY COLD.

Myself, being a veteran to cold extremes, can tolerate chilly weather. My parents live in England in a town called Peterborough, located two hours North of London. We spent New Year’s on a bridge overlooking Big Ben and the London Eye as we risked losing our fingers to frostbite.

Last week on Wednesday, I woke up for my morning class at 8:30 a.m. I booted up my computer and checked the weather. The expected high was 44 degrees Fahrenheit. The low was 27.

The cold weather in Peterborough freezes spider webs,
leaving rubbery-like strings. Neat, huh?

I paused and stared at that 27, because I remember sitting on my couch back home in England during break, seeing that number as the same recorded low for the day—three days before Christmas.

I could not believe that it was just as cold here as it was in England. When I stepped outside, the wind slapped me in the face and it felt like I was back home, walking the streets of Peterborough, enduring the frigid wind.

My initial thoughts were, “This isn’t that bad, you’ve experienced this same kind of weather back home.”

Approximately 24 hours later, I started to get sick. Underestimating this weather was a mistake.

 I refused to turn on the heat in my apartment because I was convinced it wasn’t cold. I’m also cheap and make every effort to reduce my electricity bill, so I can push some of the blame of my sickness towards Gulf Power.  

Now it’s Monday night and I’m just getting over my sore throat. I can feel the weather getting slightly warmer but I’m going to be extremely cautious from here on out.

Lesson of the day: Don’t mock the cold. Things will only get worse if you do.

(Tiny side note: I hope we get a small snow flurry so University classes will get cancelled like last year. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if we had legitimate snow here. People would freak out big-time.)

Welcome Back, Kids! 6:24 PM

(One more year until the Mayan Calendar claims our fate.
Better get working on your bucket lists, people.)

With a New Year brings a new semester. With a new semester brings yet another 13 weeks of hard work and stress. This being said, can we make it through yet another year at the University of West Florida?

Yes we can! (Apologies for using the most overused phrase of the 2008 elections. It felt fitting.)

With this semester brings a lot of new changes and goals for me. I hope to finish up my last two Spanish courses so I can get my minor in, well, Spanish. I’ve also started working on coursework for the International Studies minor I’ve recently applied for.

With the first week down, I can’t help but feel like the atmosphere at UWF is a bit…different. It might just be the cold weather or the fact that there are no leaves on the trees.

No but seriously, I feel like there are more people around here. My classes this semester seem unusually large, which is a bit discomforting. More students stuffed in the same classroom will eventually mean less focus on individual students.

Take my Spanish Composition and Conversation class as an example. Approximately 20 students are enrolled in this class right now. When you have a large foreign language class, you know for a fact that not everybody is going to be on the same level, so you have to find that balance and work from there.

Magnifico. This means I have to dumb down my Spanish.

All is not lost though. I have four other courses that will keep me busy.

Good luck to everyone this semester.