Chuck Taylors and The Pillows

Terry, the Reporter

About a week ago I joined the crew of WMUL, the school radio. I'm, as you probably guessed from the title, a reporter for the news department. I'm really enjoying it. My first story was when John Edwards came to the airport here, then I went to Walmart to cover the release of the Star Wars Trilogy on DVD. If any of you have ideas for me, feel free to comment or e-mail me. Later Days.

A New Level of Animal Cruelty

I read the Herald today and found a article titled something about animal cruelty, I read it, but I started out thinking it was about some other big company killing animals in inhuman ways. I noticed it was about nothing of the sort shortly after I'd started. Apparently, an old farmer guy from Cabell County(my new county of residence) dragged his donkey down a path with his four-wheeler for a couple of miles. Needless to say the donkey died and the man was charged with animal cruelty. He pleads innocent and claims it was an "Accident." Okay, when you put two loads of clothes together and end up with pink socks, thats an accident, but I don't know how strapping a donkey to a four-wheeler could possibly be an accident. If someone straps a donkey to the back of a four-wheeler, what other intent could they have other then to drag it down a rocky path all the way home. Even if the donkey would have somehow "accidentally" tethered itself to the four-wheeler, I really think that after the first 10 feet or so you would notice something was back there. Okay, enough of my ranting, now its your turn. Tell me what you think, should this guy be innocent and set free back into the world, a world full of donkeys, or should this man be locked up for a very long time, somewhere. Later Days.

Oversleeping and other God-Given Rights of College Students

My first class is at 9:00 am, today I got up at 9:05 am. Does anyone else see anything wrong with that? I thought so! But then I realized I was doing everything all wrong when I read Ruth Ann Burke's column yesterday The Parthenon, Marshall's School Newspaper. She was trying to give the Freshman tips of what you need and don't need in college. For example:

"Firstly, sleep is overrated. The idea of needing at least 8 hours of 'restful' sleep a night is a lie that the mattress industry perpetuates in order to line their pockets." Burke continues, "The trick to collegiate sleep is this: you can sleep 3 good hours on the corner of a coffee table and be fine."

Why didn't I know about this earlier!?! I could of went to sleep at about 4:00 am last night(or this morning, whichever you prefer) and gotten up at about 7:00 am today and been completely fine. So, since many of me readers are college readers yourself, heed Burke's advice, don't worry about going to bed early, even if you want to, make yourself stay up until three hours before you want to get up, its what you're supposed to do. Nextly:

Burke advises, "Secondly, diet isn't important. Many great students have survived on the bare essentials. You don't need 3 square meals a day. That's just another lie that is perpetuated by the food industry. Trust me, as a college student, you can live on a handful of modestly cheap, reasonable nutritious food items."

I'm actually doing pretty good with this one. When I go to visit my friends, I kinda lose track of time. I "accidentally" miss some of my meals, like dinner, good thing that isn't an important meal or anything, and a good thing I like Ramen noodles. Not to mention when I oversleep, to the point that me when someone asks me when my next class is and I say, "Five minutes ago," then my only choices are to skip class, or skip Breakfast, and more times then not breakfast is the one that gets the chopping block. I hope these tips were helpful to you guys. I'd also like to send a big thank you to Ruth Ann Burke for enlightening me. So til' next time, Later Days.

A Little Update

Good news, I got an extension on my homework. There was a power outage in town yesterday, and even though I had power, she gave anybody who didn't get it done more time. I know I told a little lie, by telling her that's why I didn't have it done, but at least I can get credit for it. *Yay Lying* Later Days.

One of the Pros and Cons of College Life

I have homework due at 11:00 and have another class in about a half hour. I waited too long to do the work and now I don't have time to it. I was worried she would hate me for it, but I do think she'll let me turn it in late, maybe. But then I realized there's a new "Charmed" coming on Sunday and I felt better. Later Days.

Goodbye to You

As most of you probably know, "Goodbye to You" is a song written and performed by Michelle Branch. Its a song about someone going through changes, but they have something they want to hold onto. This song has been around and she even released it as a single. I knew it existed, but never really listened to it. Recently, I've bought a used copy of Michelle Branch's first album, "The Spirit Room," and really listened to this song. This was the perfect time for me to listen to it. I feel like I'm going through the same thing the character in the song it going through. One thing I noticed when I graduated, that I wasn't sure if it was normal or not, was to scramble to get closer to all my friends, that I was really good friends with in high school. I knew they meant a lot to me, but I never dreamed of life without them. Now I am afraid I'm really going to lose them, since distance can have a factor on relationships, and I couldn't imagine living without the support of the people who supported them longest(you know who you are, Beth, Chelsey, and Rachel). As I thought of all this while I listened to this song, I got a lump in my throat, then felt a small tear slip down my face. This has only happened with one other song, "Emotionless," a song about how the lead singer feels about his father, which is very similar to the way I feel about my father. This whole thing made me question my understanding of what makes somebody able to really feel the song their singing. At one time, I thought you had to write your own songs to really be able to put emotion into the song, but after these two songs, I really feel like I could sing these two songs with just as much emotion as the writer who originally sang them. Sorry Britney, I know in my lifetime I criticized you a lot because you never wrote you music, until recently, if you have really been to "Hit Me Baby, One More Time" maybe you really felt what you were singing(not that I understand how some can go through "Hit Me Baby, One More Time"). So here I am in college, finally understand that I don't have to become an expert song writer to be a punk rock musician(as in someone who isn't sold out and true to themselves). Not to say that after I get some more life experiences I'm not going to try to write some songs, but I can sing somebody else's work as long as it is something I feel can sound just a true coming out of my mouth. If you happen to be a song writer looking for a singer to record a demo, I'm free, e-mail me. Later Days.