MY FAVORITE GHOST STORIES

Today is Halloween and plenty of festivities taking place across the world in honor of Halloween. Its great seeing people dressed in costumes, especially the kids.

In honor of Halloween, I would like to share and recommend my favorite ghost stories. Here they are:

1. "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen Poe (1843)
From the master of the morbid imagination, this gem of a story blurs the edges between horror and ghost fiction. A murderer's guilty conscience gets the better of him, driving him to confess his crime. The unnamed narrator murders an old man with a "vulture eye." He plans  carefully and hides the body by dismembering it, but his guilt will not let him rest. Is he imagining the beating of the heart beneath the floorboards or is there something there? Gripping and horrifying, the perfect mix of horror and Gothic, the forerunner of the psychological ghost stories that were to come into vogue.

2. "Bewitched" by Edith Wharton (1925)
This story, first published in the Pictorial Review in 1925, has a fabulous sense of place and is a grisly story with a twist. It leaves the reader doubting their interpretation of events. Great stuff.

Last but not least,
3. "The Signalman" by Charles Dickens (1866)
This story preys on both the anxiety provoked by the new technology of railways and deeply held beliefs that a ghost can be the focal point for events to follow. It is creepy, clever and has you looking over your own shoulder.

These stories are sure to set the mood for Halloween!!!

Kanye West "Runaway Video"

Kanye West has released a 35 minute opus starring himself and model Selita Ebanks. Selita Ebanks is captured in the picture, which is a screenshot from the video. She plays the love interest in the video. According to MTV. com, "Runaway Solidifies Kanye West As the Greatest Pop Star of this Generation." In the film, Ebanks plays a phoenix( as in the mythical creature) who crashes to Earth and gets saved by West( who plays a vaguely fictionalized version of himself). The two strike up a relationship that ends in tragedy. There was a scene that stood out to me when there was fireworks and a band as well as people dressed in pointed hoods reminiscent of those worn by the Klu Klux Klan. There was also a Michael Jackson float that appeared. Kanye sat down with Sway from MTV for a for a live Q&A session on the film and he explained that the scene represented the concept of cult and social conformity.

Kanye West never cease to amaze me. While some may debate on whether he is a role model or not, there should be no debate about his artistic impact on popular culture. This video is a great representation of artistic integrity and how Kanye makes sure his work is abstract. One of the many things I like about this video is that people can take it a lot of different ways, instead of it being taken just one way. The video was very captivating and inspired me. After watching this video, I realized something that is missing in music today is creativity. There are a handful of artists who has great artistic vision, but it seems as if music and visual representation is very commercial nowadays. Kanye, as well as Lady Gaga and other artists take risks and are not afraid to not conform to the commercial aspect of the business and think outside of the box.

This music video was beautifully done and very well represented.

Six Flags Fright Festival!!!

Halloween is coming up and even though I will not be dressing up, I will be attending Six Flags Fright Festival. It is a ritual around this time that my friends and I plan to go to Six Flags and have fun. What's so special about Six Flags Fright night is that when the sun comes down, it transcends into a really scary setting. There is smoke filling the air and people dressed in scary costumes, in an effort to scare the people visiting Six Flags. There is a grave where people dressed as monsters, ghosts, and anything scary follow you and in most cases run after you. Besides enjoying the rides at Six Flags, the fun really starts later on in the day. Even though I go every year, I never get tired of the Halloween theme  that takes place at Six Flags Fright night. I encourage everyone to go there if you have not been to the Fright Festival. I actually look forward to this time because its a chance for me to spend time with my friends,who I haven't seen in a while and just totally have a good time. I don't really celebrate Halloween anymore, part of the reason can be because I'm getting older and over the years it has become dangerous to go to certain "social outings." All in all, I look forward to this weekend, to go to Six Flags and unveil some screams.

Does Racism exist in the NBA?

Several weeks ago, Lebron James asserted that he thinks race plays a role in some of the criticism he faces. Of course, there was a lot of controversy over his decision to go to the Miami Heat and more significantly the 1 hour special that was held on ESPN, called "The Decision." He has suffered a huge backlash for his decision and has raised some eyebrows with his assertion of the role that race plays in sports. In an interview earlier this year, CNN's Soledad O'Brien asked James whether race played in the backlash over "The Decision," an hour long July special on ESPN in which he announced he would leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat.
"I think so, at times," James responded. "[There's] always a race factor."

An interesting quote from CNN. com is "As long as the NBA features predominantly black athletes playing for predominantly white owners who are selling their sport to predominantly white ticket buyers, there will be a race factor. It's an ongoing quandary, usually left unsaid," Adande wrote.

I was a bit surprised about how badly scrutinized he was from mostly people around the league and fans.  Unfortunately, racism does exists in the NBA even though many of these athletes are rich and widely popular. At the end of the day, it was his decision and people do not have the right to tell this man how to live his life. I never thought about the race factor in the NBA but it possibly can be an unknown fact. At the same time, the manner in which he gave his decision was distasteful and left a sour taste in many people mouths. The backlash he received does leave much to be interpreted.

WHEN WILL CELEBRITIES EVER LEARN?

According to TMZ, Rapper T.I had his probation revoked by a federal judge on October 15th and was sentenced to 11 months in prison. T.I was busted last month on felony possession of a controlled substance while he was on probation for a 2009 federal gun possession conviction.

T.I told the judge he needed help for drug addiction and begged not to be sent back to prison.

This news is pretty unfortunate and eludes to the fact that many celebrities seem to believe they are invincible or can "live above the law." Some prime examples are Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, to name a few. I remember watching the MTV telecast of T.I providing community service hours and mentoring young people on the disadvantages of crime and bad behavior. It seemed really convincing and I believe he was genuine about what he told the inner city youth. After having a publicized legal frenzy and serving time in jail, one would think that someone of his stature would learn his lesson, but obviously not.

This brings me back to the question, When will Celebrities ever learn? It often seems as though they believe since they have such a powerful status they can get away with anything. I understand that everybody is human and make mistakes, but sometimes enough is enough.

In T.I's case, it appeared as though he really wanted to change himself for the better and make better choices, which make this situation really disappointing. Not only does his decisions effect his family but also his fans who support him and look up to him. This cycle of behavior isn't a surprise and pretty common in the entertainment industry. One can only hope that T.I  fully understand the magnitude of his actions and strive to make better choices.
He has two weeks to turn himself in.

Midterms Week!!!

Nothing is more stressful for college students than midterms and finals week. Midterms are taking place next week at Five Towns College and I will be glad when the exhaustive week will be over. One thing that I have learned from past experience is to never cram for any tests, but especially midterm and finals. It will be humanely impossible to cram for exams that entail so much information. Around this time, I am always a bit overwhelmed about the amount of terms and information I must know. I now understand that the key to studying for exams is  prioritizing your time. Reviewing notes everyday for a couple of hours and alternating between subjects is good. I've actually always had the syndrome of over studying. I would constantly study for hours without taking any breaks and it resulted in not performing well on tests. If someone has many things to study for, I would advise he or she to take breaks in between study sessions. Also not to over study for an exam, your brain also needs a break. Since, the midterm grade counts for a significant part of any students overall class average, it is normal to be under pressure and want to get high marks but you cannot over analyze that thought process. I have midterms this coming week and the  following week, so hopefully I manage to perform well on the exams.  

NBA Season is Right around the Corner

I am a BIG basketball fan and am excited to know that the NBA season will officially start on October 26th. This past summer, the Basketball Association has been shaken up with the free agent circuit. There were many free agents whose decision would greatly influence teams, coaches, general managers, and fans. Most notably, Lebron James was the biggest athlete whose decision would affect many people close to him. Even with the whole Lebron James signing to Miami Heat and joining the proclaimed "Big Three," which includes Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and James this season will be full of great teams to watch. Not to mention that the Lakers are still the world champions and will always be my favorite team, might I add. Nonetheless, this season will be very exciting to watch. Many people around the league and commentators have coined the Miami Heat to win the NBA championship next year. I'm not the least bit surprised because there is a great amount of talent on that team but they still have some other good teams to get through. The Orlando Magic has always been a solid team and has made the Eastern Conference Finals twice in 2009 and 2010. Let's not forget about the Celtics who are the Eastern Conference champions and made it a seven game series in the finals, to become short in the end. There are also some other good teams, such as the Chicago Bulls who were really successful in the off season, as well as the Atlanta Hawks. With that said, the Lakers are still the champions and are the favorite to win, in my opinion. I absolutely can't wait for the season to start. I get a chance to cheer for my favorite teams and boo my  least favorite. There's nothing like the adrenaline rush that a person gets when watching a basketball game, especially when the game is close.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK REVIEW

This weekend I saw the social network movie and was really impressed. This movie can relate to people who may have felt disconnected from society or somewhat of a social outcast. What stood out to me was that it goes to the heart of the movie's irony - that the boy genius whose Facebook basically invented a new way to connect to people is cluelessly disconnected from everyone. "The Social Network" is one of those movies that cares more about whether something "feels" real than whether it is. Justin Timberlake made an interesting appearance, in which his character was clearly there to use the main character, Zuckerberg but the question of who uses who is still open for debate. No doubt, this movie will make people ask themselves some logical questions after seeing it. Some questions may be Who really is Mark Zuckerberg (harvard student)? More importantly, what is modern intimacy, if you can have plenty of "friends" you never met? In this day in age with digital and technological advancements, the "social network" movie will leave people with questions that will define communications for the next decade. Another strong point in the movie is that "The Social Network" is not the "The Facebook Movie". Even though the plot may lead people to believe that its about facebook, its about so much more. It's about inspiration, betrayal, the weight of human relationships, the cost of success and more. Overall, the acting was superb, the dialogue was perfect, and the cast were great. This film left me mesmerized and I definitely will be going to see it again. I give the movie an A and would recommend everyone to go see this movie.

DID BIAS PLAY A ROLE IN THE SUICIDE ATTEMPT OF A COLLEGE FRESHMAN?

On the evening of September 19, Rutgers student Dharun Ravi is believed to have sent a message by Twitter about his roomate, Clementi via CNN.

"Roomate asked for the room till midnight. I went into molly's room and turned on my webcam. I saw him making out with a dude. Yay."

"Anyone with iChat, I dare you to video chat me between the hours of 9:30 and 12. Yes it's happening again," Ravi is believed to have tweeted.

The next day Clementi was dead.

Authorities said the 18-year-old-freshman commited suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. A mobile status update September 22 on a Facebbok page purportedly belonging to Clementi said: "jumping off the gw bridge sorry."

I think bias played a huge role in this traumatic incident. Ravi, who was responsibile for invasion of privacy obviously used the method of intimidation by videotaping his roomate having sex. Since being gay isn't fully accepted in society, homosexuality is a social problem. Now is harder than ever to be a teenager and openly out about being gay because of the huge backlash from peers. The victim obviously didn't want anyone to know that he was gay but unfortunately, we live in a cruel society. His roomate must have had a personal vendetta against gays to leave a webcam hidden in a room to videotape sexual encounters of his roomate and the other young man. The fact that it was two guys involved in the sextape is what really makes this story stand out and pecuilar that Ravi would be so enticed with this matter that he would put it on the internet. The sad truth is there are many students who are gay but are afraid of "coming out" because of their reputation or the torment and ridicule that will occur.

Hopefully more gay rights and support groups protest and become active in not only fighting for gay rights but helping these individuals who  cannot be themselves because of their sexual orientation. I think Bias charges should be brought against the two Rutger University students accused of invading the privacy of fellow student, Tyler Clementi.