Jasper's New Article

84^th Annual Academy Awards, 11^th Annual Harry Potter Snub

            On Sunday, February 26^th, 2012, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 2 went head to head with the likes of Hugo, Real Steel, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Moneyball, Drive and War Horse for best visual effects, sound mixing and sound editing. All three were won by Hugo, leaving the vastly underappreciated Harry Potter in the dust.

            The Harry Potter franchise has a long history of being nominated but not winning Oscars. Over the course of ten years and eight films, Harry Potter has been defeated at the academy awards. Some argue that this is a result of the exceptionally epic technical scale that the competing films were made on. Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Inception; all of these are renowned for their sound editing, visual effects and other technical assets. However, the Harry Potter movies have always delivered on a technical level and are every bit as good.

            Besides nominations that should have been wins, there are several instances of Harry Potter deserving best actor and best actress nominations that it didn’t receive for its theatrically trained actors. Neither Maggie Smith, who faithfully portrayed Professor McGonagall in all eight films has won two academy awards nor Alan Rickman who has won an Emmy and been nominated for a Tony were ever recognized for their performances.

            Personally, I believe that Harry Potter certainly should have been acknowledged long ago for what it is and the impacts it’s had on society. I believe that the Harry Potter movies, the later films especially, exemplified everything you look for in a film. I think they are written off as children films, when in truth they were full scale, epic fantasy films that more than deserve a place in the Oscar hall of fame.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/27/harry-potter-oscar-snub-m_n_1304252.html

http://movies.ign.com/articles/121/1219533p1.html?RSSwhen2012-02-27_162100

http://oscar.go.com/nominees

Grace's New Article

Money over People

                 I stand for people over money; however, a popular choice these days is money over people.

The Beatles once said, “I don't care too much for money, for money can't buy me love." This quote stands as a witness to the unimportance of money. As well as love, money cannot buy happiness.  Sometimes I hear that people in poverty are happier than people who live in mansions, and sometimes I see it. I believe it. In addition to this, people who have money spend it on unimportant items and do not donate to charity. The smallest gestures in the world can help anyone and change anything.

                Many people would rather have a job they hate that pays more than have a job they love that doesn’t pay as much. They claim that this makes them happy, when really some people spend their days in misery and cannot wait to go home. Personally, I would rather do something I love and make less, than do something I hate and make more. Also, when people who make a lot of money are compared to people who live in shacks, it is disgusting because of the separation of wealth and the continuous inequality. Here we are as a rich society with few people who even care about less fortunate people in the world.

                People claim money can provide happiness in life with new technology, goods, and other luxuries. Ultimately, this money is used for things that are less than important. Not that all people need to contribute to charities, but people are more important than objects.  I believe people in poverty deserve more than they have, which is why, as a society, we should help.

http://cowboygrandpa.newsvine.com/_news/2011/11/22/8955076-the-love-of-money-over-people

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/8715735/People-choose-money-over-happiness.html

http://my.firedoglake.com/ducksoup4/2011/07/16/money-is-more-important-than-people/

http://www.wisebread.com/64-funny-inspiring-and-stupid-money-quotes-from-famous-people

Harley's New Article

I believe that:

Corn, what does it mean to you? Corn is in every fast food meal in America, in fact 90% of your fast food consumption can be traced back to a field of corn.  You may think of corn as corn on the cob, but it goes into much more than that. Every fast food chain gets their beef from corn fed cows. Cows that are fed with corn cannot digest the corn so they are less healthy which means that what you are eating is not healthy to begin with. Corn fed cows have a shorter life span because they cannot digest the corn, much like the cow we have troubles digesting corn as well.  The majority of corn produces is used for a sweetener AKA corn syrup. You can find corn syrup in most candies and soda worldwide. This is because it is cheaper and easier to get than real sugar, which means they can produce more products cheaper. Although it is cheaper it does not mean that it is healthier. It is actually cheaper because it is less healthy. You would have to pay a minimum of 16% more for grass fed beef and some real sugars. People are not aware of what they are eating and how it affects them. Back in the day corn farmers could grow 16 bushels each acre and now thanks to modified seeds and fertilizers the modern farmer can produce 180 bushels an acre. Corn can be traced in almost you eat which is a scary thought due to the fact that the food is being created with quantity and not quality.      

Shannen's New Article

Workers Fear Retirement Cuts on Benefits

                I stand for retirement benefits. Businesses should not cut retirement funds because people need the money. Without that money they can’t support themselves when they get older. “…55% of workers say they are willing to give up some of their future pay increases in order to have more guaranteed income in retirement…,” said U.S.A Today. “And 50% say they would also trade a portion of their pay to ensure health care benefits.” The Employee Benefit Research Institute conducted a survey which was called the Retirement Confidence Survey. Older workers have a hard time with the condition of the stock market. Unlike younger workers, they have more time to pick themselves back up again. Among people 40 and younger, about 70%, a number which has risen since 2009, are willing to pay more for a guaranteed retirement benefit fund. Workers should not have to do this because we have our rights. These rights for retirement are going down because no one makes time for the workers. About 64% of people worry about their retirement funds because health care costs are rising.  “A January report by the Insured Retirement Institute said that a healthy 65-year-old male can expect the cost of health care expenses, including premiums, for the rest of his life to total $350,000, and a 65-year-old woman can expect to pay at least $417,000,” said U.S.A. Today. The only highlight is that people are finding their voice and standing up to try to fix this problem. The people are working on changing what is happening to them. I stand for retirement benefits!

Nathan's New Article

I stand for lower gas prices!

Gas Prices

The price per gallon has spiked recently, and it is absolutely absurd.  In what universe are the gas companies allowed to raise prices by 5% for no reason.   CNN recently wrote an article about this exact topic.  They said there are two reasons for the spike in gas prices.  One, the big oil companies have been gauging us forever, which is not surprising.  The other, which is very surprising, suggests Wall Street speculators have been investing and gambling in the loosely regulated commodity markets for gas and oil.  They go on to say, “That speculators controlled only about 30% of the oil futures market. Today, Wall Street speculators control nearly 80% of this market. Many of those people buying and selling oil in the commodity markets will never use a drop of this oil. They are not airlines or trucking companies who will use the fuel in the future. The only function of the speculators in this process is to make as much money as they can, as quickly as they can.”  We should have rules and laws that regulate such investments within oil, destroying the temptation of monopoly.   Our society is so keen on money and that needs to stop.  Money corrupts all; it is the root of all evil.  It is crazy to see that it’s possible to let people buy out practically the whole oil industry.  We as the people need to stop this. There are so many people being affected it needs to stop now.  With the price per gallon approaching $4 a gallon we need to stop it so they can’t go any higher, and with that put regulations on the oil industry. 

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/28/opinion/sanders-gas-speculation/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2012/0228/Rising-gas-prices-give-Republicans-new-tool-to-hammer-Obama-video

Tanner's New Article

I Believe     

I believe that technology is taking over our lives. Everywhere we look, there is someone using their cell phone or computer to either type something or connect with someone else. I think that it is impossible to live in the modern world, without using a piece of technology in someway or another. I use my phone at least once every 30 minutes of everyday. I catch myself on my smartphone doing things that are pointless, such as downloading the latest app, or on Facebook looking to see what someone I don't even know is saying right now. 

The average American would not be able to make it through one day without logging on to Facebook, or checking their phone for a new text message. Society has become highly advanced in its technology; however, I sometimes find myself asking if we should have slowed down when we could. We are on a speeding train ride with no breaks, there is no way to slow down this technologic disease that we have started. People are always wanting more. They want the newest, the best piece of equipment they can get their hands on. We go crazy whenever Apple releases the newest Ipad or Iphone. It takes over all of the news stations for weeks, going over the next big advancement that they have made in the phone, such as Siri. Ten years ago, it would have been absurd for a phone to be your friend and talk to you when you ask it questions. I can only imagine where we will be 10 or 20 years from now.

I believe that we need to take a step back from the modern world every now and then, to remember how simpler life could be. It will be a challenge for most people to do this, but if we can achieve this, it will make it so that we can remember how life used to be.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/02/28/opinion/mobile-frankenstein-keen/index.html?hpt=hp_c2

http://www.informationweek.com/news/196902629

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/8-tips-to-keep-technology-from-taking-over-your-life-from-wisdom-2-0/

Zane's New Article

I stand for people recognizing the Academy for what it is.

Every year the Academy awards create heated debates for who should have won. Often, the results are not what the general audience of America would have hoped for. What most people do not realize is that the Academy Awards are only voted on by members of the Academy.

At the 84^th Academy Awards, “The Artist” won best picture which struck America as odd. “The Artist” has hardly made it big in the box-office only receiving $32 Million. In fact, it is currently on track to become the second lowest grossing Academy Award winner for best picture in the Academy’s history.

                This has raised a lot of controversy. Many people believe that the Academy awards do not accurately represent the views of the modern Americans that attend movies.

                In a recent study by the Los Angeles Times, it was found that 94% of the Academy members are white and 77% are male. Also, the median age of the Academy was found to be 62 years.

                The Academy Awards are being viewed as a biased institution that does not reflect the modern views of the public, and does not give women or other ethnicities a fair say in the matter. The Academy is made up of primarily old white men that are out of touch from the rest of society.

                People need to recognize the Academy for what it is. There are many expectations that the Academy will pick the winners that movie-goers in America would pick, but that is not the case. If people want to see a show that will more accurately represent the public’s opinion, they need to watch the People’s Choice Awards. It is the people’s fault for putting their hopes into the Academy to select winners that they will agree upon, not the Academy’s fault for having old white men voting.

Sources:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/movies/2012/02/oscars-aging-audience-is-it-time-to-shake-up-the-academy.html

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2012/0227/Billy-Crystal-in-blackface-Are-the-Academy-Awards-out-of-touch-on-race

http://dailycollegian.com/2012/02/23/the-oscars-are-a-boy%E2%80%99s-club/