Tarantino

     In the film industry, it is rare that someone comes along with such talent and fervor as Quentin Tarantino. What makes this story even more enticing is that he came out of no where.
     Tarantino loathed school. He watched movies and read comics rather than doing his school work, and he despised every subject except history. After dropping out of high school, he worked at an adult movie theater and took acting classes. Eventually he landed a job at a video archives center and worked on writing screenplays of his very own including; True Romance, Natural Born Killers, and Death Proof.
     Eventually Tarantino got out of the basement and was a guest star on a popular sitcom, Golden Girls. There he met Tony Scott. Scott read True Romance and loved it, so much so that he bought the rights to it and made it the next year. Tarantino had a name now and working with producer Lawrence Bender he made his directorial debut with Reservoir Dogs. 
     Audiences were wowed by the ultraviolent crime caper gone wrong, Reservoir Dogs at the Sundance Film Festival and Tarantino stepped into the spotlight. He began writing more and more and came up with a masterpiece of cinema; Pulp Fiction. The incremental, jumpy feel of Pulp Fiction gives it a very interesting sensation, and makes for interesting storylines.
     Tarantino associated himself with often macabre and brutal scenes. In almost every one of his movies there is some sort of mass killing, whether it's shooting people from the balcony of a burning french theater, a master swordswoman on a raging vendetta slicing through a small army, or a former slave trying to rescue his wife from a plantation and not caring who gets shot in the process, there is always gruesome, gory, and grim scenes.
    Tarantino is also known for his non-linear plot-lines which can sometimes cause for confusion but at the same time adds a very interesting dynamic from a director's point of view.
     All in all, Tarantino is one of the greats and continues to amaze us with every movie that his miraculous mind manipulates into reality.

Friday October 28th is the new Friday October 13th?

Friday October 28th will never be forgotten.  This was the day when four teenage girls drove down to 446 Raymond Road, Candia, NH to experience the greatest horrors of their lives.  Upon arrival it was pitch black and overcast.  The lack of moonlight in itself made the night scarier.  The girls made their way to the ticket booth and received long, black pieces of cardboard which were the passes into the different attractions.  They made their way through the tunnel of darkness into the heart of the forest. There were five different doors to choose from: haunted house, haunted prison, haunted maze, haunted trail, and haunted graveyard.  The first poison they picked was Area 52 -- the haunted house. An old lady dressed as an evil witch hole punched their tickets, gave them glasses to put on, and shoved them into the tiny elevator.  It was pitch black and cramped in the elevator.  The girls made it to the pre-selected floor and took small steps out of the elevator.  The walls, poles, and floor were black, and there was neon paint splattered in various designs everywhere.  The glasses made the floor shake like an earthquake was happening, and they didn't allow your eyes to focus on anything.  The whole world was spinning and the girls couldn't tell which direction was up or down, let alone where to move.  Shapes popped out from behind walls and whispered words in the girls' ears.  It felt like they were in a maze, trapped in the neon and black never ending rooms and hallways leading into more rooms.  People ran next to them, behind them, calling out their names, taunting them to run faster.  "Exit" blurred past one girl's vision and the mob of four swayed toward the fuzzy letters.  One last look at a man behind a mask and they were back in the calm blackness of the forest...ready for the next scare.

Fame

Would you like to be famous? My gut reaction says "yeah, of course." but reality says something else. Fame comes with tremendous exceptions, responsibilities, restrictions and maintaining ones fame. Let's take a look at a day in the life of a celebrity...how about Taylor Swift.

1 am - Wake up in a cold sweat. Exceptions are getting to her head, pressures, relationships. Those nudes that went up and were taken down within hours thanks to her great social media curators. Taylor forces half of bottle of sleeping medication down before falling back asleep.

6 am - Taylor wakes up feeling as fresh as ever after another great drug induced sleep

7 am - Breakfast time! She eats her recommend breakfast curated by her dietitian: Half a banana, and a shot of a grotesquely colored nutrition shake.  

8 am - No concerts today so she's gotta pop down to the studio to get creative and work on her new album!

12 am - after hitting a creative block she called down her special squad of DJ's and producers including the up and coming hit DJ Gangstaboi to write her album for her.

4 am - 10 hot new tracks recorded. Taylor disagreed with the direction that the producers wanted the album to go but was convinced to let it go after the owner of her record label told her "Listen to me...I own you b***h"

10 pm - Goes down town to check out the party scene. Before snorting some cocaine in the back room surrounded by male strippers her manager informers her that he can't allow that type of behaviour to happen. Taylor has no control.

Supplemental essay for Boston College

With the conflict between the many factions in Syria, Syrians have left their homes in historic numbers, migrating to the adjacent countries in hopes of escaping their war-torn homeland. Last year, Germany’s Chancellor, Angela Merkel, made the revolutionary decision to accept one million refugees, mostly Syrians, rather than the ten thousand that the US did. Although the European Union, of which Germany is a part, requires its countries to accept people displaced by war, Merkel still had to consider the consequences — namely the the cost in resources, as well as the criticism and risk of her political career  — when providing a safe haven for such an influx in Syrians and other refugees.

With the increase in refugees comes the costs of basic necessities and of the refugee’s integration into Germany. According to Spiegel, Germany’s finance minister, about ten billion euros will be needed for 2016. This is clearly more than Germany can put out. Even with Germany’s surplus of 12 billion euros at the end of 2015, Germany will only have to spend more in the coming years. This consequence could easily cause Germany to fall into debt or have civil and military spending lowered in the coming years.

While accepting so many refugees has put Merkel in a good light to all who have been displaced from their homes by war, Merkel has put her political career on the line. Many in her party have been unhappy with her decision to accept so many asylum seekers. She is also under fire from her supporters, who are also discontented by the string of crimes that refugees have committed, as shown by her party’s loss in poll numbers reported by an article from Bloomberg. With a decrease in support, Merkel will have a much lower chance at reelection.

If I were Chancellor of Germany, faced with the same difficult decision, I would have admitted fewer refugees than Merkel, but I would still have admitted quite a few. Although a life should be saved because it is more valuable than a few thousand dollars, the cost and substantial drain on resources would have made me limit the refugees admitted to a more acceptable number. The number would not have been as low as half a million, but not as high and as pioneering as one million. Germany would pay less to care for fewer refugees and my party, along with many supporters, would not disapprove of my actions quite as much. This would allow me a possible reelection, enabling me to continue accepting refugees and keeping an open door policy for Germany.

School

I had my last official visit for my colleges this past weekend with the Indiana University.  I liked all three of my schools, but feel that at this point it is either between The University of Minnesota and Indiana University.  I liked the University of Iowa, but their swim program was not as strong and these too, and had a much worse academic program.  I liked both the campuses, and would be excited to go to either of these schools.  The teams at both schools were very close, and the coaches seemed they would really be helpful for my future.  It is going to be a very difficult decision for me to make, but no matter where I go, I think I will be happy.  At this moment if I had to make a choice, I would most likely choose the University of Minnesota, because I really liked the team, and liked that I already knew some people on the team before going there.  I plan to make my decision very soon, and hope that I won't regret it in a few years.

Election 2016

There are now three measly weeks remaining until election day in one of the most bizarre races in American history. Both candidates have historic unfavorability ratings. and most Americans heading to the polls next month are voting with the intention to keep the other candidate out, rather than their own candidate in. The candidates, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, while both presenting daunting options for the next four years, have also exposed many things wrong with our election process. On the democratic side, super delegates helped Clinton seal the nomination, representatives chosen by the Clinton campaign to vote for her despite any opponent, rigging the primary from the beginning and stacking the odds against any who might oppose her. Super delegates that did not turn over to Clinton were punished, threatened with a loss of funding and media blackouts. Trump has demonstrated the overall inadequacy of the Republican party as a whole, proving again to be America’s disappointment as he hits home largely with uneducated white males. One only hopes that something will happen to change the dangerous course this country is currently embarked upon.

Cereal or Cardboard?

Captain Crunch is the most polarizing of all cereals. Either you love it for the sweet, sugary taste, or you hate it for the pain it inflicts on your mouth. I like it, but I find that letting it rest in the milk for a few minutes allows it to get a little soft but still maintain the crunch that it is named for. In fact, I think that a lot of cereals are better when they get a little bit of milk infusion. Raisin Bran, a cereal that would taste like cardboard and raisins, becomes a mess of sweet flakes and raisins when it absorbs a little milk. It is a slippery slope, because if one allows the cereal to sit for too long, it becomes a sweet and soggy lump of oats and raisins. A similar effect can be observes if Cheerios are allowed to sit for too long, as the rings take on traits similar to a wet sponge, although the honey that seeps into the milk is the sole redeeming factor. However, the worst cereals in the world are the unsweetened versions of real cereals. Plain Cheerios, Rice Chex, and Corn Flakes are all the absolute worst cereals unless extraordinary measures are taken to give them flavor. Most cereals are bearable, and a lot can be done to improve their flavor, such as adding more sugar, maple syrup, or fresh fruit. Because of the huge amount of variety achievable, I am confident in saying that cereal is the best breakfast food.