As I looked up USB on Google images I came across an interesting discovery and was introduced to the new world of USB.  Apparently the food world of USB is pretty big. USB is short for Universal Serial Bus and is also known as a flash drive or jump drive.  USB’s have become very popular in every day use, whether it is used for transporting work files or personal files.  Some USBs are simply used as software backups.  However, not only memory space can be varied. Throughout the last several years the world of flash drive has gotten extremely creative.

While I laughed and scrolled down, I could not help thinking why someone would have so many USBs if they were not simply collecting them.  The cheapest USBs sell for around five dollars and the price goes up based on storage space.  The creative 2GB post-it USB costs a total of $49.99, while an ordinary 2GB USB costs about $15.00.  There is of course a price for creativity, but that is over a 300% price difference. For the price of creativity a person could get three USBs and still have some cash left over.  Overall, it sounds too pricey to be a collection item.  I know that if I had one of these crazy USBs I would use it, rather than display it as decoration.

Some of the USB drives seemed a bit unpractical, like the over sized bagel. However, others were hysterical.  It is amazing how many different USBs there are.  There was a collection of diamond jewelry USBs, toy USBs, and an endless collection of foodstuff USBs.  The increasing number of food revolved USBs reminded me of America and China’s increasing obesity problems.  Is food in reality an obsession?  Is it a hobby?  Could and obsession for food ever be as great as an obsession with a TV show? The other USBs reflected an aspect of a persons life and what they like.  For example, the Lego piece USB might belong to someone who likes Legos. The grenade/army USB might belong to a soldier or someone very found of action war movies and guns.  I personally hope that food is not a hobby, but let me know how you feel on the issue.

Here are some further examples of what I found:

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_flash_drive

http://abduzeedo.com/25-really-cool-usb-drivers

http://www.gizmine.com/#ProductPage=CategoryCode=gzus&productURLCode=notepadusb

http://www.pricescan.com/ACP-EP-2GB-USB-2.0-Mini-Flash-Drive/co/191209.html

FernGully to Avatar

Have you recently seen a movie with such enchanting creatures that the ground beneath there feet leaves a glowing footprint?  Did they enter a world unknown to themselves and change so that they would blend in to their background?  A tree binds the creatures together and they feel the pain of their home.   Seeds glow and float like magic.  A woman interprets the signs.  Then mankind rears an ugly head and threatens the very nature of their civilization.  They must fight for their home.  In the end the human will know that there is more to the forest than trees.  If you have, then what were you doing watching FernGully when you could have been watching Avatar.

If there is not a lawsuit coming up then I will be very surprised considering the fact that the script for Avatar was stolen from FernGully.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with FernGully, FernGully: The Last Rainforest was released in 1992.  It is an Australian animated feature produced by Kroyer Films, about a fairy’s world and humankind.  I watched Ferngully a lot as a kid and recognized these facts immediately.  As I attempted to locate a plot line for Avatar, I discovered that James Cameron is being accused of plagiarizing from multiple different movies, and could not locate a real plot line.  It is hard to begin to name the similarities between FernGully and Avatar because there is such an excessive amount.  So I will start at the beginning and work my way down the end in a list formation.

• Used to have a relationship with humans, but that relationship was destroyed.

Well in FernGully the fairies used to live amongst the humans in harmony until a hideous creature made out of vile black smoke drove the humans out of the forest.

In Avatar the humans used to have a relationship with the Na’vi, blue creatures, until the army got involved.  The army did not care about the Na’vi. The US Army shot first and asked questions later, driving a stake between human and creature.

• Human originally doesn’t understand the other civilization and was originally employed to help destroy their world.

Ferngully: Zak, the human, worked marking trees of the fairies forest with red Xs.  Every tree with a red X, was a tree that would be destroyed. When Zak was welcomed into the fairies big tree, he neglected to tell the fairies what he was really doing in the forest.

Avatar: Jake Sully, the main human, worked in the army and his mission was to figure out how to get the Na’vi to leave their home tree so that the Army could destroy it and mine for the element Unobtainium (very subtle).  When he started caring for the Na’vi people, he too neglected to tell them the role that he played in destroying them.

• Shrinking as opposed to growing.

FernGully: Zak shrinks down to the size of a fairy.

Avatar: Jake goes into a chamber and becomes a huge blue Na’vi.

• Both worlds were very big.

Enough said.

• Glowing ground

In FernGully, everything lights up and glows when it is touched.  As they walk and run the floor lights up to reveal a footprint.  What a surprise that the same exact thing, the same exact way happened in Avatar.

• Weird glowing seeds

The only difference between FernGully’s seeds and Avatar’s seeds was shape.  The seed in Ferngully looked like your average small seed from a fruit.  The seed in Avatar looked more like a dandelion seed.

• Creatures are connected to the forest and the trees.

Avatar: The relationship is as simple as that.

FernGully: The fairies can feel the pain of the forest and the trees.  Both communicate with the trees.

• The creatures all gather together and their powers are greater, but that is true in most movies.
• The guy, who was already the heroine’s boyfriend equivalent, automatically hates the human intruder.  This guy later has to accept that the human is trying to help and that the human knows what he is doing. But again this is a recurring theme in many movies.
• Flying on the bugs/dragons.

FernGully: In FernGully the little creatures that were not able to fly, rode on flying bugs.  They were the weirdest part of the movie.

Avatar: The Na’vi can connect and control dragons and a creature that is the equivalent of a horse.

• Big magic tree, and they all live in a tree.

• Mother figure/Woman who interprets everything.
• Falling unconscious, the heroine has to drag the human out of harm.
• Machine knocking down trees, human in disguise waving fiercely to stop the machine.
• Trying to destroy the machine.
• Blowing up of the tree.
• Human redeems himself.

Despite this rip-off, Avatar could not have been better.  It was amazingly scripted, even though the plot line came from another movie.  I advise those that have not seen it to go out immediately and see it, and those who have already seen it, go again.  The world was enchanting, mysterious, and dangerous.  If you are into high-quality movies, this is the movie for you.  Avatar had a 400 million dollar budget and you can bet that a lot of that money went into the pocket of James Cameron.  However, the money also went into this great movie that people say will revolutionize the way that we make movies.

Sources: http://www.chacha.com/question/how-much-money-was-spent-on-the-movie-avatar

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferngully

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_%282009_film%29

“Man’s best friend.”  I am not sure who created the quote, “Man’s best friend,” but it has become a common phrase.  Of course when I talk about mans best friend I am talking about the dog.  Anyone who would like to argue that cats are man’s best friend should know that, “Your either a animal lover, or a cat person.” Cats are not your friends, they are simple acquaintances that only arrive when they need something and vanish when you need them.  Dogs truly are paragons that no other animal can truly match.  The bond between humans and dogs has been around since the cavemen.  Dogs deserve tribute and love for the centuries that they have stuck by us.

Led Zeppelin 1971

Paul McCartney from The Beetles with his sheepdog.

There are hundreds of interesting facts about humans and dogs intertwining history. One interesting fact is that the bible mentions dogs 14 times. People show their love and affection for dogs in a unique ways.”  Led Zeppelin named one of their popular songs “Black Dog”, after a black Labrador retriever walked into the Headley Grange studios while they were recording an unnamed song.  The dog sat around for the song and then left. “At the end of the Beatles’ song “A Day in the Life”(1967), a high-pitched dog whistle was recorded by Paul McCartney for his sheepdog.” In 1957, the first life form went into space.  This life form was a dog named Laika.  Laika was sent up in space in an earth satellite.  In 1912, three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic.  Two of the dogs were small.  One was a Pomeranian, the other a Pekinese.  The other dog was a Newfoundland, a rather large dog.  George Washington, Americas first President, had thirty-six foxhounds.  Before the eighth century in China, Pekingese were very popular. They were used as Lap or Sleeve Dogs. Most commonly it was the puppies that were kept in the sleeves and the older dogs were Lap dogs.  Long sleeves became very popular and so did the Pekingese. In the imperial palace eight different types of Pekingese were being bred.  In the nineteenth century the Empress had over 100 Pekingese as pets. Her dogs were guarded fiercely.  After China’s war with England in 1860, Pekingese were brought to Queen Victoria of England. The oldest dog breed is believed to be the Saluki.  The Saluki was trained by the Egyptians to help track down game.

The earliest fossil of a dog can be dated to 10,000 B.C.E. Ironically this was over 12,000 years ago and humans have kept dogs as pets during those 12,000 years. Cavemen were the first to domesticate dogs.  Pets are important to many people. “An estimated 1,000,000 dogs in the U.S. have been named as the primary beneficiaries in their owner’s will.”  That is a lot of dogs receiving a lot of money.  More than one in every three families in America own a dog.  Many dog owners have multiple dogs. The limit before a person has to obtain a kenneling license in California is three dogs.  For each dog there is a ten-dollar license fee plus all immunizations.  If the dog is not fixed the price for a license can be over 125 dollars. There are more than 5,000,000 puppies born in the United States every year.  Not every puppy receives a loving home.

Dogs have been very loyal to humans for 12,000 years.  Some people have abused the trust of “man’s best friend.”  There has been dog fighting, debarking, torturing, and beating of dogs.  There has been neglect for our companions.  Many dog owners get a dog without being fully prepared for a dog.  People think that having a dog is nothing, but dogs call for attention and love.  If you do not really want a dog then you should not have a dog.  Christmas is a time when many people become dog owners.  Kids still receive dogs for Christmas along with their toys. Be prepared for the mischief that a little puppy can bring when not a creature is stirring through the house.  A special time of the year is coming and I hope that you do not put your dog outside or in a kennel for Christmas. They are a part of the family and they have been there since 10,000 B.C.E. alongside man, woman, and child.

Sources: http://www.thefoundbin.com/lost-and-found-articles/102-weird-facts-you-never-knew-about-dogs

http://www.dogcardart.com/pekingese/

What must it be like when your best explanation of your childhood is “Little Girl Lost?” Most people in my generation may not know that when Drew Barrymore was growing up her life was far from easy. We may all know the movies that she has been in now and that when she was a child she played the little sister in the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.  However, there is a huge chunk of her life that is missing.  Drew Barrymore may be bright and cheerful today, but there was a time when life could not have been more difficult.

When Drew Barrymore was nine years old she had begun smoking.  She began drinking alcohol at age eleven. Each time she moved on to a drug more dangerous than the last.  She began smoking marijuana at age twelve.  She was not even a teenager when she was drinking and smoking cigarettes and pot. When she turned thirteen and became a teenager she started snorting crack cocaine, which landed her in rehab.  No one likes to admit that they have a problem and neither did Drew.  Drew denied her problems, but was eventually let out of rehab.  When she was only fourteen years old Drew had attempted suicide.  After her suicide attempt she was immediately rushed back into rehab.  Drew finished rehab, but did not go back to her family.  Instead, David Crosby and Mrs. Crosby had Drew Barrymore live with them for a period of three months to make sure that she did not experience any relapses.  David Crosby stepped up to help Drew get her life back because he knew how hard it was to battle against drugs once you are hooked.  He served eleven months jail time in 1982 and had his two children taken away from him and put up for adoption.

Drew Barrymore on the cover of Teen People March 1998

In 1990, Drew Barrymore released her autobiography entitled Little Girl Lost. She was only fifteen years old when she published her story.  She was striving to change her life and age sixteen Drew was emancipated and moved into her own apartment. She has never relapsed with drugs.  Her life began turning around.  She emerged back into the movie industries in 1992, starring in Poison Ivy at age seventeen.  Her movie was a failure, but she moved on.  At age seventeen not only was Drew Barrymore engaged, but she also posed nude with her fiancé, Jamie Walters, for the cover of a magazine. The same year she underwent breast reduction surgery. There were still many doubts about Drew Barrymore. However, at eighteen years old, she earned a second Golden Globe nomination for her role in Guncrazy.  In 1995, she posed for Playboy and on her twentieth birthday she received a gift from Steven Spielberg, the director of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Enclosed there was a quilt, a note, and a photo-shopped version of her Playboy pictures. The note read, “Cover yourself up,” and her pictures had been altered to look as though she was fully clothed.  She did not take his advice and latter appeared nude in five of her films, and flashed David Letterman on the Late Show.

Eventually Drew Barrymore’s life seemed to calm down and people began to accept Drew and see her talent as an actress.  She has appeared in countless movies.  Her carefree, smiley, and funny personality has gotten her far. She has lived more life than any typical person will ever live.  In many ways she has lived different lives.  She really cannot be blamed for her actions as a young girl, I mean who was watching her and looking out for her. Drew Barrymore was born on February 22, 1975 to John Drew Barrymore and Ildikó Jaid Barrymore. Her mother, Ildikó Jaid Barrymore, got her daughter into more trouble than anything else.  She would ask Drew to get her into clubs and such.  Drew Barrymore is still not speaking to her mother.  Drew’s father, John Drew Barrymore, was rarely around at one time he was not even living with his wife and child.  However, Drew had a chance to mend her relationship with her father before he died in 2004.

Drew Barrymore on the cover of Teen People January 1999

Despite her crazy childhood and teenage years, Drew Barrymore has really changed her life for the better.  She has once again been welcomed into most of our homes.  Her fans love her.  She went from being completely wild and a danger to herself into a loveable actress.  She has a bubbly feel good attitude about everything that she does.  She was able to change her life as fifteen-year-old girl and now she is a successful thirty-four year old actress showing off her natural talent.  She has been in over 50 TV shows and movies.  Including E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Charlie’s Angels, Riding in Cars with Boys, 50 First Dates, Curious George, Beverley Hills Chihuahua, and much more.  She directed her latest movie, Whip It. Drew Barrymore changed her life, and she can be an inspiration to all of the people struggling with drugs and extreme childhood neglect.  Her life may not have started off well, but she has taken the opportunity to learn and grow as a person.  She remains optimistic and her career and talent is growing exponentially.  She continues to challenge herself with different roles and now she is even experimenting with directing.

Sources:

http://www.casenet.com/people/drewbarrymore.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drew_Barrymore

http://www.orchidrecoverycenter.com/blog/childhood-drug-addiction-drew-barrymore/

This Cartoon immediately caught my attention.  Not only did the vibrant red color of the truck attract my eye, but also its overall message.  Society has gotten so crazy with overstocking and carrying Christmas supplies.  Have you ever noticed how before Halloween has even begun the Christmas decorations have already been brought out?  Thanks Giving just is not as important of a holiday as Christmas.  Thanks Giving certainly does not bring in the same amount of money as Christmas. Why should Christmas, a religious holiday, be celebrated at such a higher intensity? Thanks Giving is not receiving proper thanks and recognition in the United States today.

Typically the busiest day for shoppers is on the November 27, the day after Thanks Giving.  Despite what you may believe, these people are not late to Thanks Giving.  They are just really early for Christmas.  People do not waste time trying to get the best deals.  Which is a good thing considering loss of jobs and that families have to maintain a lower budget to stay in their homes.  But what does this lack of spending do to the little turkey’s self esteem?  Thanks Giving does not bring in the same amount of money as Christmas does.  Thanks Giving cannot compete with Christmas sales.  There just is not enough to buy, and no one wants to over pay.  Many people would like to be overpaid, but when it comes to shopping they would like to underpay and get a deal.

The importance of Thanks Giving is to bring families together, and Christmas is seen as the same thing.  Thanks Giving is like Christmas without presents.  As a teenager who understands that I am still in childhood, a holiday with presents is much more appealing than a holiday without presents.  However, the Turkey does not have to be thrown under the bus.  Thanks Giving and Christmas should both be celebrated.  Perhaps these holidays value should differentiate economically, but they both should be treated with equal compassion.  After all, two holidays are better than one. Do not skip a holiday just because the next holiday coming up is more fun.  Fun things can be saved for last.

Talking to my friends over the last several years I have noticed how Thanks Giving is not as widely celebrated.  I wondered why, but I knew the answer.  People just do not find Thanks Giving to be important.  In fact, in 1939 President Roosevelt moved Thanks Giving to the third Thursday in the month of November to lengthen the time for Christmas shopping.  In 1941, Roosevelt was forced to repeal his act and change Thanks Giving back to the fourth Thursday of November.  How could people be so outraged in 1939 and not even celebrate in 2009?  The world has changed.  I know that Thanks Giving is just now starting to become important in my life, because I did not use to celebrate it.  I was convinced that chicken was the perfect alternative dish, which was good for the turkeys.

So enjoy Thanks Giving during its time.  Spend countless hours with friends, family members, and people who you love.  Christmas will come soon enough.  We must be prepared for the future, but this does not mean that we have to live in the future.  I don’t like to go into stores on the very first days of October and see Christmas decorations all around the store.  I do not want to live with Christmas before I have gotten my candy from Halloween.   Live life and take it slow.  Do not let your troubles or worries over pass you.  Right now we all have huge trucks chasing after us. These trucks are loaded with all of the things we have to do.  But what is most important is that we just breathe.

Sources: http://www.cagle.com/news/Turkeys09/3.asp

http://www.allbusiness.com/trends-events/holidays-observances-thanksgiving/11836337-1.html

http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2009/nr09-25.html

http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2005/11/21/daily1.html

What would people do without music?  Everywhere we go music is there to brighten our day.  Occasionally it gets stuck on a song we despise and cannot stop thinking about how much we want to switch the song.  But when we hear a song that we really like sometimes our actions are uncontrollable.  We feel delighted and free.  We might even bob our heads or tap our feet. Music has been defining people for generations, allowing emotional release that can be mental, physical or spiritual.

There have been countless cases throughout history where music has been used to calm a persons mind.  “Egyptians used music to calm their insane,” and in the Bible story of David and King Saul, David controlled the Kings emotions by playing the different notes on a harp.  In the present day, 2009, we use music for just about everything.  We use music when we are exercising, driving or going on a trip, relaxing, and partying.   However, is this all we use music for?  Absolutely not, we use music for plenty of other things.  Music is everywhere we go.  Music is in all different types of stores, from clothing stores to car lots.  It is in hospitals, dentist offices, workplaces, restaurants, movie theaters and movies themselves, and religious buildings.  There is no mandate that companies must play music at all times and yet they do.  Music makes people more comfortable.

Music can always calm me down after an extremely stressful day full of homework, and apparently music is known to have calming affects on the majority of all people.  Now people have jobs dedicated to music therapy, because science has proven that music can change our blood volume, blood pressure, circulation, pulse, and even our metabolism.  It is hard to believe that music could have anything to do with our metabolism, but truth of the matter is that a human beings metabolism can be related to music.  Researchers have theorized that music affects us in such ways because our bodies and organs work in a rhythmic way.  Rhythm can be found in a persons respiration, heartbeats, brain waves, and speech patterns.  If you think about it, the way that we talk and form sentences is very rhythmic, with our long or brief pauses and the stress that we put on individual words.   Each individual can be found to have a unique speech pattern, but our speech is in fact a pattern.

If a person is musically active than their life and body will be most likely to be affected in a positive way.  For example, researchers have noticed that those who play the piano are benefited not only mentally, but physically as well.  People who play the piano are less likely to develop arthritis in their hands.   I wonder if typing helps to stop arthritis in a person’s hand, because in a certain sense it is the same thing.  Of course piano is more pleasant to the ears, but nonetheless it is the same motions.  Active participation in music can also eliminate stress.  Eliminating stress is very import to both a person’s physical health and mental health.  Stress affects a person’s body in horrible ways.  Sometimes it causes little things like gaining weight, and other times it causes depression.  I am sure we have all heard the commercials, “Depression can hurt.” And depression does hurt.  It lowers self-esteem and makes a person feel alone. Stress is not beneficial to our bodies, and the sooner we get rid of it the better we feel.  Musical experts say that singers rarely develop any sort of chest pains, but this is not unheard of.  As much as music can help a person physically, a person still has to have genetics in which they would never develop any sort of problems to have a completely accurate survey.

Music’s impact has been known for generations and I am so glad that many of my peers openly embrace the musical side of themselves.  Unfortunately for some there is no musical side.  I like to say that I am not musically inclined, which is sad when my father can pick up just about any stringed instrument and make it sound good.  He likes to say that I can play lots of things, like the radio and the I-pod.  However, I can listen to music and appreciate it.  I can also use music to melt away my stress and so can you.

Let me know how music does or does not affect your lives.

Original Site: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0826/is_n4_v8/ai_12426666/pg_3/?tag=content;col1

Everywhere we look there is segregation.  There is segregation between sexes, cultures, and religions.  Do we intend to have these segregations?  Do we want to categorize ourselves?  Absolutely we do.  We have engraved in our minds this idea of unity, yet we keep ourselves from being truly united.  We have come a long way, but there are so many simple things that should have been changed long ago.

I have just read an article on racial segregation in the United States.  According to this article “ the Alabama Constitution still mandates that separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race”(2).  An unsuccessful attempt was made in 2004 to revoke this act.  I personally feel that there is no greater failure in a nation than separating its citizens.  You have no control over what race you are.

When people ask me, “What are you?” I respond by saying I am American.  Now this tends to either make the person laugh, or it just confuses or aggravates them.  But why?  The constant question annoys me.  “What are you?” I am American, that is were I was born.  That is where I am loyal.  A more appropriate question would be what ethnicity are you?  I myself am a mix of many ethnicities.  I am a combination of 1/4 Sicilian (Italian), about 1/4 Austrian mixed in with the people who used to live in Germany, before Germany, and Czechoslovakians, a little over 1/4 Hungarian, 1/16 Cherokee Indian, and 3/16 American.  I say 3/16 American because some sides of my family had been in American for many generations.  It boils down to I am white or Caucasian.  That is what I have to write on District Tests and applications.  None of those ethnicities define me; they just explain how I came to exist.  It is not about what you are.  It is about who you are.

How are we segregated?  As children, boys are friends with boys and girls are friends with girls.  It is what we as children are taught.  It might be that boys and girls have nothing in common, but that seems highly unlikely.  So why is it always battle of the sexes?  It is because we made it that way.  They are different and we want to be part of something.  We want to be with our own group.  Eventually, it ends up that interests differ from one another, but originally it is because we are physically different from one another.

I am fascinated and outraged at the clubs that my school has to offer.  There are good clubs like Speech and Debate, CSF, and Red Cross.  However, there are segregated clubs like Armenian club, Asian club, BSU (Black Student Union), Christian club, Indian club, Muslim club, Latinos Unidos, Jewish club, and Gay Club.  Since when are any of these clubs interests?  They are not interests, they are things that separate us from one another.   They are not Running club, Science club, or Art club.  Things that people take interest in or do as a hobby.  The most they could do is learn about their religion and their heritage, but it’s not about that.   Not to offend any Armenians, some of my closest friends are Armenian, but there were people standing in front of the Armenian club sign ups shouting, “If you are not Armenian, you can’t sign up.”  That sounds like segregation.  With all these clubs our multicultural school becomes empty. Armenian, Asian, Black, Christian, Indian, Muslim, Latinos, Jewish people, and Gays are all American.  They are in America and most of them were born in America.  Why do they choose to separate themselves from one another, and how can a school let them separate themselves from one another?

If you are a United States citizen, you are American!  I did not say if you are in America than you are American, because people visit from other countries and if they are not American maybe they do want to be American.  But whether you are Armenian, Asian, Black, Christian, Indian, Muslim, Latino, Jewish, or Gay you should want to be American.  Let hobbies describe who you are.  Do not let your skin color, eye color, hair color, or religion control how and what you decide to do.  It is time we become one, because background of people who are not you, does not count for who you are.  We should all be ourselves, but still live together as one.  We are one nation of many different backgrounds.  But that is all that they are, backgrounds.  It is time to create something new.  Under one nation, we are the same.

Original Site:    http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Racial_segregation_-_USA/id/1990959

I have just read an article titled “The Importance of Self-Defense” by Bryan J Buckner.  As a martial artist and a teenage girl, I could not agree more with the importance of self-defense.  There is nothing more important in the world than your own safety.  I am not suggesting that one become paranoid.  I just want us as people to be aware of their surroundings.   Look out for suspicious characters, and avoid dark alleyways.  For many years, people have been using self-defense items such as mace, pepper spray, stun guns, tasers, and personal alarms.   These are good when used properly, but what if you are without one of these many devices, or if it malfunctions?  Machines come in handy, but learning basic self-defense goes a long way.  Wouldn’t you like to have knowledge about actually defending yourself?

Most people who learn self-defense never need to use martial arts do to their general awareness. Most of the teachings of martial arts are preventative and not just fighting whoever comes around a dark corner.  Although, it does teach you how to fight, it does not want you to have to rely on your ability to fight. There are many basic things that we as people can do to make us much safer.  Like Buckner states in his article, he knows that jogging in public colleges or parks alone is dangerous.  Martial arts strongly suggest the buddy system.   Having someone with you makes you less of a target.  As an aware person you should scan your environment for potential hazards.  If you are alone and there is a suspicious character up ahead think about taking an alternative route.  Some of the things that we can do to keep ourselves safer just require what most people feel is common knowledge.  Avoid confrontation with strangers, and do not antagonize people for fun.

I am a student of Tang Soo Do, Korean martial arts.  When I was in Preschool, I was taught never to talk to strangers, or to get into their cars.  Teachers and parents teach children to kick, yell, and scream if someone tries to kidnap them.  Knowledge of what to do in a situation such as a kidnapping already provides a child with some type of self-defense.  Screaming and kicking does not only help toddlers and young children, but it also helps adults.  Kidnappers are thrown off guard when a person screams even if they know that a person could scream.  If you scream and run far enough away they are liable to be scared off by the possibility of being caught and the knowledge of the commotion.  In Tang Soo Do, when we practice kicking and punching we often let out a yell.  This is called a Kiai, and it is used as a very affective distraction.    When fighting an attacker the attacker does not expect a person to be hitting them and screaming at the same time.  Whenever a person lets out a scream the attackers subconscious knows that they have to control the situation and make sure no one has noticed.  If they feel people will have noticed they will usually run.  Both children and adults can benefit by using screaming or yelling as a type of basic self-defense.

Tang Soo Do gives a person the knowledge they need to be safe.  The point of martial arts is to be prepared for whatever may happen, and to know that there are specific things a person can do that will decrease their chances of ever getting into a fight or being robbed.  Being confident in yourselves and your abilities is very important in martial arts.  Some people feel uncomfortable when their eyes meet with a strangers.  Eye contact is very good and it shows confidence.  However, a few pugnacious people take eye contact the wrong way and might try to start something, you must decide for yourself if you know a person is just looking for a reason to fight.  But still, show confidence in your walk and that you are taking in your surroundings.  Do not act like a victim or an easy target.

At my martial arts studio, it is not a place to learn how to get into fights.  The masters and instructors tell you to only fight if absolutely necessary.  Martial arts are for pure self-defense, and stunt people.  A martial artist returns force with the same amount of force.  There is soft-defense and hard-defense.  Hard-defense is life threatening by someone who you may or may not know.  Soft-defense corresponds to things in front of you, such as someone holding onto your wrist or grabbing you by your shirt collar.  For soft-defense a student is generally taught to get out of the situation without causing pain to the attacker if it is a fellow student.  However, strangers still have no right to be touching you.  As a student moves up in Tang Soo Do they are continually asked if they have any trouble in school, or if they have been in fights.  If they cause trouble in school this generally means that they will not be able to advance until they change their behavior.  Martial arts is dangerous when used improperly and the studio understands and takes responsibility for their students.

Bryan J Buckner suggests learning to defend yourself by taking police and law enforcement sponsored classes. He feels that pepper spray, stun batons, and tasers should be additional to self-defense courses rather than an alternative to self-defense courses.  I could not a agree more.  A few lessons in self-defense could be a life changing experience.  Martial arts can give you confidence, respect for yourself and others, incredible discipline, and independence from weapons like tasers and pepper spray.  You never have to worry about leaving your training at home or forgetting to put in new batteries to your training.  Once you have learned martial arts it will not leave you and you can be a much safer and much more confident as a person.

Original Site: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-security-articles/the-importance-of-learning-basic-self-defense-1225857.html

It has been a while since smoking was discovered to be dangerous to smokers and the people around them.  So why are people still smoking?  Why are teenagers still buying cigarettes even when they know that smoking is bad for themselves?  All of my friends who I have talked to about the habit of smoking will agree that it is disgusting smells bad, and is absolutely horrible for you.  We do not get why people smoke.  The truth is that there is no reason to smoke.  There is no reason at all to start smoking.  Many people claim peer pressure or that their parents and friends smoke.  No one I have ever met has claimed that they did not know that smoking was bad for them when they started.

Most of the generation who grew up smoking without knowing the dangers of smoking have passed on.  When I was in Elementary school a presenter came and showed us just exactly what was going into our bodies when we smoked.  Most of us were scared or disgusted, but there was always that one student who said, “When I grow up I am going to smoke.”  Their reason was always that their parents smoke; so one day they will smoke too. It was inevitable.

Break the cycle.  Every person has the right to be different.  One of my friends got into a great deal of trouble with her parents when she hid their cigarettes.  She loved her parents and she only wanted to do what was best for them.  Her parents refused to change.  Not everyone can change, and a lot of the people who start smoking never quit.

According to research reviewed by Neil Izenberg about 1 in 4 teenagers smoke.  One of the common reasons teenagers start smoking, is trying to prove that they are tough and trying to be more like a grown up.   But are people who smoke really grown up?  Yes, they may be adults and they may make their own money, but they are far from independent.  Supposedly, that is what all teenagers are about, becoming independent.  They do not want their parents to control their lives.  They want to prove that they can do whatever they want to do.  But once the nicotine kicks in, a smoker is just a slave to a drug.  Cigarettes do not give a person independence.  They make a person dependant on another.  Not another person, but nicotine in the form of a cigarette.  A cigarette that fills their lungs with tar, causing cancer and heart problems.

Smoking also can isolate a person.  It makes them smell and have yellow teeth. The stench of cigarette smoke seems to follow them around like a haze and is left behind even when they have left.  The smell of cigarette smoke is all too familiar to me.  When I breathe in someone’s smoke I begin to feel a choking feeling.  A lot of times I gag or cough if it catches me by surprise.

Smoking is a plain disgusting habit.  Not one thing about killing oneself is cool.  It is vile and disgusting.  Have you ever been walking on a sidewalk when a person is smoking?  Have you ever passed by a smoker and they just blow smoke in your face?  This behavior is not only rude, but it is also dangerous.  Pollution is never a good thing.  Cars are required by law to go through multiple smog checks.  There are laws restricting what you can and cannot throw away.  The fine for littering can amount to over 1,000 dollars.  Throwing a cigarette out of a moving car or smashing a cigarette into the ground with one’s shoe and then leaving the butt lay on the floor is littering.  So now smokers are polluting both the air and the soil.  Most smokers are responsible for their own deaths. People cannot make the world a better place if they go on promoting unhealthy habits.

As non-smokers there is one thing that we should all say more often.  Most smokers will ask, “Do you mind if I smoke?”  Most of us say, “no” out of guilt or because we think that they can just go outside and it will not come in the house.  But what we all should say is, “Yes, I do mind” or “No, you may not.”  Why should we say this?  Because the longer that someone that we love smokes the harder it will be for them to quit and they should no that they do not have the right to come to your home and spend your time with them out in the backyard or front yard smoking.  It is also sending a message to your neighbors if you let people smoke.  If you let people smoke then your neighbors may feel that it is fine for their friends to smoke and think that you, as neighbors, will not mind.  If you mind then do not let your friends smoke at your house.   A smoker may never stop or truly understand how you feel if you do not tell him or her.  It is hard for a smoker to quit if the people they care about allow them to smoke.

Every cool summer night when my family watches T.V. we let the clean summer air come into our house.  Almost every night we will smell a horrible smell and know that our neighbors are smoking.  Cigarette smoke travels, and it hurts more than just the person who is smoking.  Every day the smoke comes in we are forced to give up our clean air and shut the doors.  But the smell stays for about fifteen minutes.  It always feels like longer than fifteen minutes and it continues to seep in through the crack between two sliding doors and pollute our private home. Smoking does not affect just one person.  It affects a community. There is an average of 1,200 smokers dieing each day.  It is time to lower those numbers until not one person dies of smoking, because no one has the right to kill themselves or another for selfish reasons.

Site http://kidshealth.org/kid/watch/house/smoking.html