Monthly Archives: February 2014

RCL#2 President or Football Coach?

This is a very interesting prompt  that can be looked at and discussed from all different sides. I cannot honestly say which position is superior over the other. I say this because Penn State has went through some difficult times in the last few years and I think that the filling of both positions will instill a new sense of pride, and a thirst to keep hitting the ground running. Showing all of our critics and the media that no one or one thing will keep us down. That we will rise in times of adversity and chant our anthem for everyone to hear! Having a new president is like a fresh start for all of us and time will tell just how far we will come as our new president leads us into a new chapter in our Penn State history. Getting a new football coach is as equally important because the entire football program has been all over the place the past few years and hopefully we will finally be able to get some stability with our new coach. Football is a huge part of our history and culture and denying it’s importance is a bit shortsighted. It’s about more than football, it’s about being a symbol of unity for our school. I personally do not know of any other institution whose students, faculty, alumni and fans show the amount of pride, enthusiasm and support at the level it is at this institution. Looking at the school as a whole it may look like having a president is more of a priority than a football coach,  but they really stand on mutual ground. Both of these men are walking talking build boards of our school and represent us in every way and it is important to show love and support for both of them, especially since the jobs they have taken come with a lot of baggage.  I am a firm believer that God does not give us to much that we cannot handle. We are lifting ourselves back up and pushing forward because WE ARE….FIGHTERS!, WE ARE…PENN STATE!

PAS #4 Meryl Streep

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Bio: Meryl Streep was born on Jun 22nd, 1949 in Summit New Jersey. Her mother was a commercial artist and art editor while her father was an pharmaceutical executive. She also has two brother. He mother has English, German, and Irish ancestry and her father has Swiss-German ancestry. A fun fact is that on her mothers side of the family she is a distant relative of William Penn, the found of Pennsylvania.

Education: She received her B.A. in Drama from Vassar College in 1971 and earned her M.F.A from Yale School of Drama.

Awards: Meryl Streep has received eighteen Academy Awards, winning three and twenty eight Golden Globe nominations, winning eight. Which is the most nominations any actor has received in the history of either award. She also has earned two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actor Guild Awards, a Cannes Film Festival, five New York Film Critics Circle Awards, two BAFTA awards, two Australian Film Institute awards, five Grammy Award nominations, and a Tony Award nomination. She received the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2004 as well as the Kennedy Center Honor in 2011 for her contribution to American culture through the performing arts and is the youngest actor to receive these awards. In 2010 President Obama awarded her the National Medal of Arts.

My Fav’s:

The_Devil_Wears_PradaThe Devil Wears Prada: Meryl Streep was absolutely phenomenal in this film. If you have never seen it I would totally recommend it. Her role as Miranda Priestly is probably one of the most fierce characters that I have ever seen in a movie, along side Glenn Close’s role as Cruella De Vil. When I first watched this film I was scared for Anne Hathaway’s character because Streep’s character was a no nonsense, you better do what I tell you to do kind of woman. But when you watch the film you will discover another side of her that not many people get to see. I don’t want to spoil it so go stream it and enjoy!

 

 

220px-Doubtposter08Doubt: I initially saw Doubt at a local theatre in my hometown and I was enthralled by it because of the extremity of the circumstances. Again if you have not seen it I recommend it. Meryl Streep is amazing as the main character, who is a  a nun who is the principal at a catholic school. I think I just like seeing Meryl Streep in serious roles because she does such an amazing job and she’s captivating.

 

 
Julie_and_juliaJulie & Julia: In this movie another side of Meryl Streep is shown as she plays the role of Julia Child’s, an American chef and television personality in the 60’s. I think this is one of the cutest movies ever, I absolutely love the story line and the interconnection between the two stories. This is definitely a stay in on the weekend and snuggle with your blanket or your boo-thang kind of movie…well in my opinion at least lol. I hope that description doesn’t scare any of you away, it really is a good movie.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you get the chance to view these terrific films! Have a great week!

CIV#2 The Government & Welfare

As I give this information we will be learning together because some of the politics is very interesting and mind numbing at the same time, simply because nothing ever seems to be easy anymore

Brief Background: The welfare system in the United States has been around even before specific programs and policies were put in place to help those who needed it the most. There used to be two groups of people who received government aid, the sick and disabled, and the able-bodied but unemployed. Before the Great Depression there was a program called the Civil War Pension Program where it assisted veterans of the war and there families. It wasn’t until The Great Depression hit that the history of welfare really started and the government stepped in to aid suffering families because it was estimated that one fourth of the labor force was unemployed during the worst part of the depression.  The sick and disabled would receive cash and the able bodies were given public service employment in workhouses. In the 1800’s social caseworkers (social workers) visited the poor so that they could learn moral and work ethic so that they could get back on their feet.

Current Reform, SNAP Benefits: President Ronald Reagan said “We should measure welfare’s success by how many people leave welfare, not by how many are added.” On November 1st 2013, there was a cut back on SNAP benefits (aka food stamps). For a family of 3 a total of $29 dollars is taken away from what they originally got. Considering that the benefits that family got from SNAP is not that much, it is a significant loss for a family. The federal government has let it up to the states to figure out how to tell the households that receive these benefits that a portion of it will be gone as well as not to expect it to be reinstated any time soon. In a recent article on MSNBC it was stated that even more cuts would be made by congress and of the 47 million recipients of SNAP benefits only 850,000 over the spread of 15 states will be affected by the reduction. A house hold would lose $90 a month. If theFarm Bill is passed it would mean that $8.7 billion would be cut over the next decade. There are certain states that are called “Heat and Eat” states, where house holds that qualify for electric benefits are assumed to be eligible for shelter reduction which automatically gives their citizens more food stamps. however, in other states for those who spend more than half of there benefit check on utilities and housing are eligible for deductions, but they have to provide proof by showing state agencies their housing and utility bills in order to be given more aid. With the $8.7 billion cut it would restrict “Heat and Eat” policies and open up more opportunities to give out food stamp aid to all those who need it.

Let me know what you think of this because this Civic Issue is a little harder to write about than I thought. I hope I explained it well enough. Below are links for further reading from the articles I looked at.

http://www.welfareinfo.org/history/

http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3899

PAS#3 Jim Carrey

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Hello fellow bloggers! I felt like changing this weeks post up so I am going to give a mini bio about Mr. Carrey and then high light a few of my favorite films that he has starred in and blog about why I love them so much.

James Eugene Carrey is a Canadian born actor and producer who is famous for his flexible facial expressions  and hilarious sense of humor. He made his professional stand-up debut in a comedy club called Yut-Yut which served as one of the many clubs where he would get his training. He dropped out of high school and moved to Los Angeles in 1979 where he was discovered by Rodney Dangerfield, where Carrey opened up for him during his tour. When him and Damon Wayans met they both starred as aliens in the 1988 film “Earth Girls Are Easy”. Then Kennan Ivory Wayans and his brother Damn recruited him to do the 1990’s show “In Living Color” (awesome sketch show check it out some time), where he quickly stood out for his outrageous comedic personalities, his most famous is Fire Marshall Bill. In 1994 he broke out as a movie star in the film “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective”. His performance in “Liar Liar” got him nominated for a Golden Globe nomination in the Best Actor category. In 1998, and 1999 he won Golden Globes for Best Actor for his performances in the films “The Truman Show”, and “Man on the Moon”.

My Top 3 Favorites

The Grinch

1. Ron Howard’s “How The Grinch Stole Christmas”: This movie is by far my favorite Jim Carrey film as well as my all time favorite christmas movie. I watch this movie every time it is on ABC Families “25 Days till Christmas”. No one should watch it with me because I am always quoting word for word, the tone of the characters voices and everything. This story has such a beautiful meaning behind it and even though I have watched it hundreds of times I still take something new from it every time. I honestly do not think that anyone else could have successfully pulled this part off the way Jim Carrey did. He fully immersed himself into this character and the detail he put into the mannerism of the Grinch took bringing that character to life to a whole new level. And of course it wouldn’t be a Jim Carrey signature film without him doing a signature corky laugh to top off the personality of his portrayed character.

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2. Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events”: I really like this movie because his character has to become multiple personalities in the film so that he can achieve his goal. I won’t spoil the film for those who have not seen it. The main character Carrey plays is Count Olaf, and the execution of this character was really well done. He is really good at becoming a cynic when it comes to bringing that part of a character to life. I think in this role there is another side of Jim Carrey’s humor that comes to light (even though it portrays darkness through Count Olaf) because it’s not HAHA funny in this film, it’s more HAHA oh-my-gosh-this-guy-is-crazy. I like the dark, sinister yet still comical aspect that he brings to life in this film.

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3. Fun With Dick & Jane: In this film Jim Carrey does not play a cooky character with sinister ulterior motives or has green skin and hates all things Christmas. In “Fun With Dick & Jane” he plays an ordinary guy who has a home in the suburbs, a wife, a spanish speaking son and a housekeeper, so it seems like he is living the American dream right? Wrong.  Everything is turned completely upside down when someone frames him at the company that he works for. It forces his family into homelessness and drives him and his wife to unconventional measures to get there old life back. I really like this movie because even though it shows Mr. Carrey in a more “realistic” story line he still gives us that special something that he always brings to any character he is playing. I would definitely recommend this one if you have not already seen it. I don’t want to spoil it by talking about it anymore so just go and watch it one weekend and enjoy!

I think I will do my post for next week, and the rest of the semester for that matter, like this. Stay tuned to see who is next!