Sturgis Rally

It's the time of year when people start thinking about the Sturgis Rally! Summer is near and thoughts about activites are on everyones mind. The Sturgis Rally this year is featuring Kenny Chesney, Sugarland, Kellie Pickler, ZZ top, Kid Rock, and Stained are some of the performers coming to Glencoe campground. Rocking the rally is the stage that the perfomers will play on. Some of the events include no panties Wednesday (haha), mayors ride, and poker run are just a few. This summer will be full of activites, concerts, and fights out at the Sturgis Rally i'm sure.

www.buffalochip.com

Thoughts About This Class

Since this is my last time to blog (for this class of course) I wanted to share a few things that I enjoyed about the class. I learned a lot throughout the semester. I never knew blogging could be so much fun and at the same time informative. I would have never looked up news stories if it was not for blogging. I never have used the final cut program so I learned everything pretty much from scratch in that. I had a hard time at first but as the semester went on I slowly progressed until I could pretty much put a movie together by myself and quick. I found the lecture material to be interesting because it is not like any other class. I enjoyed coming to class and lab and learned many new things that I can continue to build on.

Dolphin Dies in Sea World Trick

A 30-year-old dolphin dies after colliding with another dolphin at Sea World in Orlando, Florida. The two dolphins collided while performing aerial tricks. According to the article Dolphin dies after collision during Sea World trick, spokesperson Becca Bides for Sea World quoted, The incident occurred about 4:30 p.m. Saturday at the Discovery Cove area of the park. The animals were in the center of the lagoon and not near guests. The dolphin that died was named Sharky. Sea World is looking into the situation and trying to figure out ways that could prevent this from happening again. This is an unfortunate incident. I am a big animal lover so I find this story very sad.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/28/dolphin.death/index.html

Daughter and Three Kids See Light of Day

Three children and a daughter, that was rapped and imprisoned, by 73-year-old Josef Fritzl were freed after being in a cellar for 24 years. The mother remembered how the outside looked but the other three children never saw the light of day. Fritzl kept the secret by telling everyone that his daughter, Elisabeth, ran away. The three children were Kerstin, 19; Stefan, 18; and Felix, 5. The prison in which they four were held was soundproof and ran underneath the house and part of the garden. The entrance was hidden by cupboards in the basement. The four were revealed when Kerstin was taken to the hospital after falling and the mother hid a SOS note on her. Elisabeth told the police that Fritzl started to abuse her sexually at the age of 11. She also said that they had twin babies but one died a few days later due to neglect. Fritzl took the babies body and burned it in the oven. Fritzl took Elisabeth out of the cellar to tell the doctors about the daughters situation. Elisabeth was told by Fritzl to say she had just returned home after 24 years. This is the worst story I have ever heard. I can not even imagine being trapped in a cellar for 24 years. Crazy to think that stuff like this happens around the world and there are people like Fritzl out there that still have no been caught. This is a very sad story and I hope that nothing like this happens ever again.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/28/austria.cellar/index.html#cnnSTCPhoto

Bodies Found In Bahamas

Twenty bodies were found floating in open waters near the Bahamas. The bodies were discovered on Sunday. According to the article Haitians' bodies found near Bahamas, "Authorities received an alert about 5 a.m. ET Sunday of people stranded and screaming in the water 15 miles northwest of Nassau, Bahamas, the Coast Guard said. Helicopters, jets and patrol boats were deployed in a search, and about 20 people were located by 3:45 p.m. Sunday." They actually found three surviors but are still looking for more. They have not found the boat that stranded the people yet. This is a tragic thing that would happen. Hopefully they can find more surviors and hopefully it was just an accident and not a criminal action.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/04/21/bahamas.bodies/index.html

James Bond Car Crashes into Lake

On the way to the the set of the next James Bond movie, the stunt car crashed into a lake in Italy. The car's driver Ashton Martin was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. According to the article 'Bond' car plunges into Italian lake, "They say James Bond's iconic car was being delivered to the filming unit in heavy rain on Saturday morning when it went off the road and plunged into Lake Garda." The movie that car was been driven to is called "Quantum of Solace" which later this year will be released. This is an interesting article because that does not happen everyday. The stunt driver must have been going too fast, even though that is their job usually.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Movies/04/20/bond.car.ap/index.html

Boy Convicted of Killing Grandparents

Christopher Pittman who was 12 years old at the time went into his grandparents bedroom and shot both of them. He was given 30 years in prision for the double murder and the court denied his request for another court date. Defenders argued that the boy's punishment was too harsh for him being only 12 at the time. According to the article Supreme Court turns down boy killer's appeal, Michele Deitch quoted "have recognized a growing national trend against sentencing young children to harsh mandatory terms in prison, and wants to give state legislatures the opportunity to correct this problem before it rules on the issue." Pittman has been passed around homes for years and was abandoned him as a child. During the time of the crime, christopher was taking antidepressant pills. The boy days before the started a new antidepressant pill which might have caused the boy to have violent outbreaks. What a sad story. It is too bad that antidepressant pills may have had to do with the crime. Doctors should be a lot more concerned about what they give kids because kids bodies are different and still maturing different than adults.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/14/juvenile.killer/index.html

Who Stole the Last Doughnut?

Virginia Tech Shooting Settlement

A $11 million settlement was made with the state on Thursday. Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 students at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. According to the article Settlement reached in Virginia Tech shootings, lawyers say, "Earlier this year, a settlement proposal called for representatives of each of the 32 people killed by a student gunman last April 16 to receive $100,000. A pool of $800,000 was set aside for the injured in the plan, with individuals eligible to receive up to $100,000 each." The families victims are going to meet with the governor and university officials to talk about the shootings. The shootings were a horrible deal that should never happen. Too much crime is going on in the world today and I believe more action and protection needs to take place to prevent crime.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/10/va.tech.settlement.ap/index.html

Two Men With Infared Cameras Arrested

Two men attempting to board a plane in China on Saturday were arrested for holding on to a dozen infared cameras. Federal agents stopped the plane in time that was going to Beijing. The men had actually been in the United States for nearly two years prior to that. According to the article Men with "hightly sensitive cameras arrested at airport, "Yong Guo Zhi, a Chinese national, and Tah Wei Chao, a naturalized U.S. citizen, were arrested for investigation of trying to take thermal imaging cameras with potential military use to China without the proper export licenses." They told authorties that they told the seller that they were for domestic use only. The measurements of the cameras were about 2 inches square while the cost was about $5,000. It is too bad that the two men lied to the seller about using them only in the United States. They were going to use the cameras for military use which is illegal.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/04/05/airport.arrests.ap/index.html

Airlplane Number Three Shuts Down This Week

Airline Skybus is the third to shut down this week. They announced the shut down on Friday. According to Skybus becomes third airline this week to close, Skybus company quotes, "the combination of rising jet fuel costs and a slowing economic environment. These two issues proved to be insurmountable for a new carrier." The airline was created in 2004 and them being a low-cost carrier they will stop operating on Saturday. ATA airlines, an Indiana based airline, and Aloha airlines are the other two low-cost carriers that shut down because of bankruptcy problems. Aloha airlines, an Hawaii airline, has even been in business for 61 years. This is too bad that the economy and gas prices has caused businesses to shut down. It is an never-ending cycle because the economy depends on businesses. When businesses have to shut down because of the economy both suffer and neither the economy nor the business gets better. I hope that no more airlines need to shut down because of the economic hard times the country is going through now.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/04/04/airlines.bankruptcy/index.html

Woman in Love Helps Two Inmates Escape

Twently-four year old Amber Lynn Goff fell in love with one of the inmates in Wichita, Kansas. She helped two men escape later finding out she was just used. According to the article Lovestruck guard helped inmates escape, Laurie Ann Nutter, Amber's mom, quotes, "She feels like one of the world's greatest fools. She realizes now there wasn't anything real in the relationship. She feels so extremely foolish, she is angry about it." Goff pleaded guilty for reduced charges. She is said to have 5-years in prision, three years' probation, and a fine of $11,000. Jess Bell, 34, and Steven Ford, 27, were the two Goff helped escape. They were found a few days later in Grants, New Mexico. I believe Goff deserves the sentence she gets but it is unfortunate that she was blinded by fake love. Sad that a man would do that to a girl but I am glad that the two men were found again. This is quite an interesting article and suprises me a lot that somebody would do that.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/04/escape.plot.ap/index.html

Children Freed From Polygamist Ranch

Fifty-two children ranging from 6 months to 17 years were removed from a poylgamist ranch. Warren Jeffs is the sect leader of the West Texas ranch. Troopers were called in with search warrants. According to the article Dozens of children removed from poylgamist ranch, "They were responding to a report of "physical abuse" and neglect involving a 16-year-old girl. At this point in the investigation, she added, the abuse does not appear to be sexual." Eighteen girls were put in state custody after reports of abuse. The children were placed on church buses and taken to a civic center. Fifty-two year old Warren Jeffs bought the land for the ranch four years ago. He was convinced a year ago of rape and illegal perfomance of a marriage in 2001. I am glad the ranch was taken over. Many of those children do not even know the difference between what is right and wrong because they grew up in those conditions. Many think arrange marriages to much older men is what they have to do. They have no choices and must do what the "prophet" of the ranch, Warren Jeff, tells them to.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/04/texas.ranch/index.html

Airlines Attempt to Lighten Load

With fuel prices skyrocketing, airplanes have been trying to figure out ways to lighten loads. Manufactures have taken the first step by constructing the planes with lighter material. According to the article, With fuel prices high, airlines lighten the load, "The pressure is immense to cut weight," said John Heimlich, chief economist for the Air Transport Association of America. "Every penny more per gallon adds $195 million to the industry's expenses per year. You simply cannot make all of that up with fare increases." In December 2007, 27 percent of operating expense was due to fuel. The airlines have been able to keep gas prices down by signing contracts with other companies. They have even changed first class silverware to something more light weight. The change includes using plastic instead of glass for cups. According to a survey issued to passengers, using plastic was not a top concern. According to Shamblin, "Twelve pounds is significant when you run anywhere from six to 35 carts on an airplane. The lighter carts will save the airline $1.7 million a year in fuel costs." The next step to conserving fuel would be cutting back in areas of service, flights, and seat spots. I believe that the airlines are headed in the right direction as being concerned about fuel prices and how it affects their company, but I think that they need to put a stop to it before it reaches the change of service and seat availability. Many airplanes as it is today already have full planes.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/03/31/airlines.lighter.plane.ap/index.html

Three Kids Found Dead in Hotel Room

Sunday at the Marriott Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland, three kids were found dead in their hotel room. Mark A. Castillo, the father of the three kids, drowned them in the hotel bathtub. The father is currently at the hospital getting treatment for several cuts he has on his neck but is also in custody. Following the death of the three children, Castillo called the hotel's front desk to report the deaths. According to Police: Dad killed kids in hotel, then called front desk, Clifford a police officer said, "Why he brought them here to do this is something we don't know yet." Anothony, 6, Austin, 6, and Athena, 2, were identified as the children who were killed. This is a very tragic story that should never happen to anyone. It is sad how people get so angry or confused about life that they feel the need to take someone else's life.


http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/03/31/children.killed.ap/index.html

Ken Burn Movie

Ken Burns Movie

Ken Burns Movie

Columbus Ohio Hit Hard

Columbus, Ohio had 20 inches of snow fall on Friday and Saturday. The storm cut down power lines, delayed over 90 percent of flights, and cancelled various activities. The previous record of snow fall of Columbus was 15.3 inches which happened in February of 1910. Two traffic deaths have been reported and four men have died shoveling snow. Flooding and ice covered roads as caused traffic to be hard because of blocked off roads. Vermont homes have been without electricty since Sunday. The electrition crew can not make it to homes because of fallen trees and icy roads. In New Jersey and New York wind has been recorded at 65 mph. We have been lucky not to have such harsh weather conditions yet here in South Dakota. Usually we are the ones to get hit hard but South Dakota weather is so unpredictable that anything could still happen. It is very unfortunate when deaths happen due to weather conditions.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/weather/03/09/march.snowstorm.ap/index.html