The NFL draft is on Thursday. That's cool.

I think that I speak for everyone when I say that the NFL draft is on Thursday, and that the NFL draft is cool. I'm pretty pumped. What should teams look for?

Atlanta looked great last season, and they were real contenders to win the Super Bowl (I hate you just a little bit for that, Green Bay.) However, they need to work on their passing game. One of their main problems is that defensive coordiantors can double-cover Roddy White, and they really have no equivalent weapons. If the Falcons can draft a great wide receiver, they can leave defenses scrambling. However, the Falcons' general manager has already said that he is looking to find a better third-string quarterback. Really?

I'm going to take a lot of heat for this, but I think that Jacksonville has real potential. They finished 8-8 in 2010, a solid finish for a team that was just founded in 1995. However, a star team needs a star quarterback, and I'm sorry, but Jason Garrard isn't going to cut it. I think that a truly great college quarterback picked up in the draft could really propel Jacksonville to a win, particularly in the passing department, since Jacksonville is blessed with Mike Sims-Walker, a very strong player.

The Vikings are going to need a new quarterback as well, after Brett Farve finally retires (bye, I don't miss you.) Unfortunately for them, they don't have a particularly good spot in the draft, so Cam Newton will probably be gone at that point. A nice alternate choice might be the former Washington Huskies quarterback. On the other hand, their offensive and defensive lines aren't looking particularly strong either, so they might go with a linebacker.

-Ishaan

PlayStation Network 'Suspended'

Millions of gamers are unable to play online as the Playstation Network remains unavailable.
Users are seeing error messages stating the network is "undergoing maintenance" or is "suspended".

The message received while attempting to log-in. 

In a blog post, makers Sony thanked users for their patience but warned the downtime, which has so far been for over 48 hours, could continue for "a day or two".

So far Sony has not released further information on the outage and is angering the gaming community which can be seen throughout Twitter and Gaming Forums. 

Not only is this a setback because of the 70 million plus users Sony has, but also comes on the most anticipated video game release week this year; and if you're trying to access other features including Netflix, then you're also out of luck as those services require you to sign-in.

Long Live the... Government?

If you remember, the first article that I wrote was about Libya, and now I want to revisit the situation in Libya. 

Since my original article was written, the situation has changed quite a bit. In light of the government forces using heavy artillery and tanks to fight the rebels, the UN has finally approved the use of air strikes on government forces in an attempt to help even out the situation. However, the air strikes came too late as the government already had taken back almost all the cities claimed by the rebels. Only the eastern cities of Libya remain in rebel hands and Misrata, the only western city held by rebels, has been under heavy attack by the government forces.

                                

Fierce fighting continues between the rebels and pro-Gaddafi troops

So, where is Libya heading? After the initial air strikes, the rebels launched a counterattack but where quickly beaten back as air support can only do so much. It seems that despite NATO's air support destroying 30%-40% of government forces and weapons, the rebels remain unable to effectively push toward Tripoli and bring an end to the Gaddafi rein. Gaddafi has managed to weather the initial storm and most importantly this army remains devotedly loyal to him. Compared to the rebels, they have the superior weapons, tactics and training.

                                  

Rebel walks past a burnt Pro-Gadaffi truck 

Currently, Gaddafi has been concentrating all his firepower on the last western city held in rebel hands, Misrata. It has under attack for over 2 weeks and it is unclear how long the rebels can hold out. There are evidence of cluster bombs being used in the city, which has been declared illegal and inhumane by over 100 countries around the world. This just goes to show how far Gaddafi is willing to go to defeat the rebels. 

                                    

A doctor's gloved hand covered in blood at a Misrata hospital

Sadly, it appears that the rebels won't win this war at the current state. Air strikes can only do so much and at this point, it's not enough. Already, all priority targets for the air force have already been destroyed, yet Gaddafi's army still functions. In response to this, Britain, France and Italy are sending teams of military advisors to try to educate and improve the rebel fighting forces, signifying the deeping of foreign involvement. The outcome of the fight at Misrata will determine whether or not the rebels lose or not. If Misrata falls, then short of NATO troops coming into Libya, the rebels will lose. Otherwise, they stand a chance at victory with more foreign involvement. 

The future is very unpredictable and volatile. For a review of what happened in Libya thus far, check out this timeline. Do you think that the rebels can win and overthrow Gaddafi, or will they lose? 

Funny Thing of the Day

Hey, Stay There A Second Please

Funny Thing of the Day #2

 Water Vs Fire

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Funny Thing of the Day

Haters Gonna Hate...

Humorous Purposes Only

Ishaan's Feature Lead

Since I've already written my entire feature story, here's the lead that I want to use, since it fits perfectly with my feature. Of course, if you all don't think it's very good, I'll write a new one...

It’s eight o’clock PM, and the CBS hit TV show “Survivor” has just ended. For the most part, its thirteen million viewers are moving on with their lives. Many stick around to watch “Criminal Minds”. Some change the channel. Still others turn off the TV and finish the dishes, or put their kids to bed. But for twenty-five die-hard fans, the work has just begun.

d c feature leads

Leads:

Descriptive: A stack of pristine, untouched work papers lie on his desk. Next to is a jumble of half-chewed pencils, pens, erasers and a couple of pills of traditional Chinese herbal medicine. A man leans back in his soft-leather executive chair. He’s on the phone with a potential investor, trying to secure a large sum of investment to get the company by for the next few months. A few rays of light peek through the drab window shades, casting long shadows throughout the room. Green vegetation dot the room, slightly brightening up the grey and blue building. The man, having finished his call, stretches up and walks satisfyingly over to his window and looks out to the city below him.

Twist: Who is an entrepreneur? Society's opinion, and probably yours, is that an entrepreneur is a brave, smart, fearless and innovative person who through their charismatic leadership maintain a friendly yet working relationship with their employees. Their business starts small and grows exponentially, making big money while at the same time eventually becoming a shining symbol of their countries economies. Unfortunately, the truth cannot be further than this. For every successful start-up there are thousands that fail. To just reach a decade of existence is great challenge in itself, never mind making money.

Startling statement: After years of hard work and desperate perseverance, Wei Xingzhao finally realized that, “In the modern world, the company actually has very little power.”

Leads for Yahir

What do we use astronomy for? Local astronomy teacher, Ms Earnhart, argues that We used to use it for guidance, but now we have GPS for that. We used to use it to tell the seasons but now we have calendars for that. Nothing really. And so why study something for other than oo that’s pretty. So why is it still being taught?


“I still think it’s important and relevant for people to be learning about it because it makes think about things outside of ourselves, it makes us look beyond this little tiny speck of dust that humanity lives, it makes us humbled when we look at the vast expanse of space.” says astronomy teacher Ms Earnhart, “And studying astronomy is studying where we come from, the origins of reality itself so it’s helping us get a better picture of what reality is really like.”

Astronomy is something everybody everything should be taught about. It teaches one about history and is very intertwined with other subjects such as Greek Mythology. Senior Hannah Loopa, astronomy student, says she likes being able to look up and tell the constellations and why one god is angry at another.

Title for Sale

So, for my feature story I interviewed a Chinese entrepreneur because I thought that it would different than everyone else and give some inside info about how a company is really run. Oh, shut-up, I can already hear you moaning about how boring this is gonna be. Well, to be fair, thats what I thought at first since CEO's almost always just talk in circles, leaving you feeling confused. Fortunately, the interview went a lot better than expected. Its probably because I know him, but he was very open in saying stuff...  a bit too open in fact. I had to cut out some of his stuff when transcribing from Chinese to English (which by the way is freaking hard because people talk in Chinese a lot faster than I can type in English) because it was slightly too colorful and opinionated. It also would have probably pissed off quite a bit of people... lets just leave it at that. And no, he doesn't use child labor. 

                            

The entrance gate to his company 

I conducted the interview over the phone because I obviously wasn't gonna fly myself over to China. I couldn't do it over the computer because email is way to slow and skype doesn't exists in China (they used something called QQ instead). So, phone it was. Like I've said before, him talking in Chinese > how fast I can write. As a result, I had to record the interview and then later transcribe all the stuff that he said. Unfortunately, the recording quality left much to be desired... oh well. He also went on some pretty long rants but they were very informational and contained tons of awesome quotes. The interview in total took about 40 minutes. Overall an enjoyable experience. Not only did it go a lot better than I expected but I actually learned something from him.  

Oh darn! (snap of the finger)

I had several interviews planned and all but one failed. Some were reliable and some were more like jokes. This doesn't make great use of your time but one has to understand that people are busy and have unexpected things that they have to attend. That just sucks.

Now MY interview went great. The interviewee, Ms Earnhart, spoke without much of a question needed to be asked and that was extremely helpful in achieving your goal of getting good quotes. I also got to explore this whole other world of astronomy she and students share during some period during the day and every Wednesday during lunch. OK now to right about what I need to write about. 

The Man.

The interview was a good and a great experience that expanded my view on astronomy as a whole. 

Ishaan Ranks the Top 10 Musicians Who I Wish Had Been 1-Hit Wonders

10. Lady Gaga

     Lady Gaga is often hailed as a musical genius. Congratulations, you've discovered how to successfully design clothing while strung out on crack! Anyone as bizarre as Lady Gaga should have had maybe 2 months in the spotlight, tops. I get expressing yourself, I do. But this is a bit much. "I saw a golden pineapple in my dream, so I knew that I had to put it in my music video."

9. Pitbull

 

     Pitbull annoys me to no end. All his songs sound EXACTLY the same. And it's not the good kind of exactly the same, either. Uno, dos, tres, quatro. EVERY SONG HE DOES THIS! At least Lady Gaga is amusing, in a train-wreck-Charlie-Sheen-meets-Autotune way.

8. Eminem

     Hi, Eminem. You know, at first, your raps about your drug problem were interesting. At this point, I'm about ready for you to move on. Honestly, do we have to know your life story in 4 minutes every single song? "Uhh, I was on drugs, but then I got divorced, but I have a daughter, and she's named Hailee, and I'm even more annoying than that T.G.I. Friday's server, Jenny." (I hate you, Jenny)

7. P!nk

     At first, I enjoyed your rebellious, anti-societal rambling. Your first few songs, about how you were going to steal someone's drink at a bar and leave him with the tab, and so on, were interesting. But now you have this feminist-be-yourself-rocker style, which doesn't really work. In her latest single, P!nk states "I'm done looking for the critics because they're everywhere/They don't like my jeans, they don't get my hair." No, P!nk, I have no idea what's going on there, but you should look into changing it. Can I recommend Serenity Wig Spa?

6. Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana

     Well, that's not strictly true, I would rather you were a 0-hit wonder, but I could live with an annoying song on the radio for two months or so. Why don't you go live in Shrevport with Jamie Lynn Spears and smoke crack together with your deadbeat boyfriends? Oh, wait- you already do one of those things (hint: not Shrevport.)

5. Gwyneth Paltrow

       When I first heard Gwyneth's musical debut, "Country Strong," I had many thoughts. However, none of them are appropriate for our blog, which is, of course, family-friendly. Please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please please quit. I don't know if I can take much more of you. Actually, I'm quite sure I can't handle another song. 

4. Justin Bieber

      When you first started out, you were this interesting, talented child who Usher found on YouTube. Now, he's the annoying, egotistical child whose hair I very much dislike. He's SO punchable. No joke.

3. BOB

     I don't hate BOB so much as I hate the radio for playing his songs over and over again. "Nothin' on You" was played literally every single hour. That song makes my blood pressure go up. (I totally learned what blood pressure is from House. That's a good show, by the way)

2. Ke$ha

     I thought, "This lady is no way going to last for longer than 2 months". I was wrong. So very wrong. It strikes me that Ke$ha is a former IB scholar who is an expert on cold war history who dropped out to become THIS. Really? 

1. Rebecca Black

     I know what you're saying. You're saying, "But Rebecca Black IS a one-hit wonder!" Not so. TMZ reports that she has begun work on a new single. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Military Expert: The World Could Never Survive a Real 'Battle: Los Angeles'

From "The War of the Worlds," "Independence Day," "Transformers," "The Day the Earth Stood Still," "V" and the current box office favorite, "Battle: Los Angeles," alien invasion is most definitely part of our culture -- and maybe our fears.
But, in the real world, if predatory ETs come to Earth to take us over, for whatever their reasons, could we, in fact, prevent it from happening? Could we actually survive such an attack?

Scene for War of the Worlds

"The bottom line for a hostile engagement between aliens and humans is not a pretty picture, and there is no happy ending for us," according to John Alexander, a retired Army colonel who spent 25 years searching top levels of the U.S. government for evidence of a reported UFO cover-up -- and couldn't find one.
"We know how we and animals respond when threatened -- they don't try to negotiate, they attack and defend themselves. If we're supposed to be above that, then it ought to be handled a little bit more cognitively."
From a strategic point of view, Alexander suggests that invading aliens wouldn't simply "resort to fighting our military forces directly" when there are so many easy ways to accomplish that mission.
"If they chose to use physical force, they would simply destroy our infrastructure, power, communications, transportation and economic systems. While a terribly blunt approach, it could be accomplished without any danger to the aliens, or direct confrontation with any military system."
"If depopulation of Earth is an objective, the simplest way to accomplish that would be to introduce one or more biological organisms that kill humans.
"There is no reason for them to engage in the time-consuming effort to physically eliminate the armed forces of Earth. Biological warfare would be the most efficacious, energy-efficient and safest means for them to conquer Earth. For the aliens, this is a no-risk option."