March 2012

'The Hunger Games’ stars are becoming overnight sensations

If you haven’t heard about the new and very popular spring movie, “The Hunger Games,” chances are that you have been living under a rock. If you haven’t heard the names of the starring actors in this movie, you may also be living under a rock. Yes, the names Jennifer Lawerence, Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutercherson are going hand in hand with this movie. They are the actors who play the main characters in this movie. However, success can come with consequences. What are these consequences?

Things to Do While You Wait for The Hunger Games

Ten…Nine…Eight…Seven…Six…Five…

Can you believe that I’m not at the theater watching The Hunger Games right now? As much as I’ve blogged about it, as much as I have been counting down the days until I get to go, here I am at home with no sitter. Why? Because everyone is at the theater!

It’s not that bad, though; I only have thirteen more hours until I get to see it. I already have my tickets purchased. I have a babysitter lined up (and a backup!). But while I wait, I am getting very, very antsy, and I keep having these passive-aggressive moments where I want to check Facebook and see all of the cool swag and the comments about the film, yet seethe that all of these people got to see it already—are, in fact, watching it now, when I introduced most of them to the series in the first place!

I know, it’s such an irrational thing to be mad about. I felt the same way during midnight Harry Potter releases. Hey, when you have a kid, that comes first.

Peyton Manning is now a Bronco

"It was a pretty skeptical decision from my point of view and a lot of football experts seem to agree as well."

The greatest free agent probably in the history of the NFL Peyton Manning is now a Denver Bronco. Many analysts feel that he would have a much better chance to win the Super Bowl right away with the San Francisco 49ers. It is pretty surprising that Manning chose the Broncos, but was it the best fit?

I guess part of the reason why Peyton might have signed with the Broncos is to stay in the AFC and not have to play his brother Eli in the NFC. Actually, I am just kidding about that. It was a pretty skeptical decision from my point of view and a lot of football experts seem to agree as well. The Cardinals, Miami, the Titans, Washington Redskins, Jets and then the readiest team the Niners were all interested in a potential deal with Manning.

Deion Sanders called out Manning’s decision as a bad move. But it seems like Manning was just impressed by John Elway, executive vice president of basketball operations in Denver, and he felt that they would make a great pair along with Coach John Fox. There seems to be a comfort level with Manning and John Elway and John Fox.

Are Moms As Excited About This Seasons ‘Dancing With The Stars?’

Some cast members are making viewers swoon...

From the moment the cast announcement was made, viewers and the media began putting down this season’s ‘Dancing With The Stars.” They stated that the stars were lacking in drama. They also stated that the stars didn’t have real star quality. This may mean that the ratings won’t be as strong this season. Of course, it is also up against NBC’s popular show “The Voice.” But some moms and other fans may have been watching. If there were, they may have enjoyed some of the highlights such as seeing that Jack Wagner can dance, as well as act, sing and play golf. They may have also enjoyed watching Carrie Anne swooning over him.

If they are a Green Bay Packer’s fan, they may have enjoyed Donald Driver’s big standing ovation from the crowd. But what they may not have enjoyed is his low scores and the remarks Judge Bruno made about his dancing, such as comparing his dancing to a rooster chasing a hen.

Americans: Are they getting ruder?

Abroad, Americans are known for some positive things and some negative things. Americans are friendly and polite, always remembering to say “please” and “thank you.” They are also known for fanny packs, loud voices and culturally sensitivity, but I’d like to think that the good outweighs the bad, right?

 

Turns out, Americans may be abandoning their polite demeanor. In her piece at Time.com called “Are Americans Over Being Polite?”, Aylin Zafar considers whether Americans are using “please” and “thank you” less and less because they are losing interest in being polite, or rather that they’re simply using newer phrases, but are still considerate in their interactions with strangers. She uses considerable information from a NPR piece, as well, where both sides of the debate have been examined.

 

Americans have been abandoning traditional phrases like “please” and “thank you” in favor of other sentiments. When dining out and asked for more food or drink, Americans may tell waiters “I’m good,” instead of “no, thank you.” And—much to a linguistic purist’s chagrin—instead of saying “you’re welcome,” plenty of Americans say “no problem” instead.

Stock price of Bulge Bracket fall as a result of Greg Smith piece in New York Times

A very shocking story took shape this week with a mid-level executive at Goldman Sachs announcing his resignation via an Op-Ed piece on the New York Times where he let the public know about the money hungry culture that exists in the global investment bank where profit comes first before clients.

This was the first time that an investment banker has been so public in letting others know how much he disliked the work culture at the bank. As a result of this, share prices of Goldman Sachs tumbled and fell by 3.4 percent and the bulge bracket lost somewhere around $2 billion. There has been a mixed reaction with people at Goldman pointing out that he is mistaken and others very happy with his outspokenness.

Buford, Wyoming

Fated to become a ghost town?

It must be strange to be the only resident of a place. There would be nobody to corroborate your idea that people from your town or city are the very best of the state. There would be miles and miles of road without a streetlight or a business. It would have to make you feel a little bit like you were the star of your own Twilight Zone episode of “The Last Man on Earth.”

St. Patrick’s Day Celebrations Are Sweeping The Country

Here in the United States, it is celebrated through parades, parties, wearing official wear attire.

March 17th is officially St. Patrick’s Day. This is the day in which St. Patrick, the Patron Saint of Ireland, is honored. In Ireland, this is an official holiday. Here in the United States, it is celebrated through parades, parties, wearing official wear attire, eating green foods and drinking green drinks or dyed ones.

What are some of the events that are in store during this holiday in the US?

In Tallahassee, they are planning a parade in the downtown streets of their town. This parade is planned to start at 3:30 pm. After the parade a festival will begin. This festival will include entertainment and drinks, for all those over the legal drinking age.

Britney Spears and the X Factor

The X Factor has offered pop princess Britney Spears $10 million to be a judge on Simon Cowell’s show the X Factor. This was after firing judges Paula Abdul and Nicole Scherzinger along with host Steve Jones. This has all been done by the Fox Network to create a big splash before the start of the second season of X Factor.

Britney is not happy with $10 million and wants more and reports have it that she might sign if she were offered in the range of $20M. Fox needs to get some big names to do the judging in an effort to compete with the likes of NBC that has shelled out $10M and more to Christina Aguilera to judge the second season of the rival show “The Voice” that premiered after the Super Bowl.

Day Light Saving Time Means We All Will Be Springing Forward, again

It also means we will lose an hour of sleep!

Yes, it is that time of year, again. It is the time of the year when daylight saving time is on our minds. It is also the time of the year when we all will pay for that extra hour of daylight savings we got in the fall. We will pay for it by losing an hour of sleep. This doesn’t sound like a lot of sleep. But this hour will actually wreck havoc on many people’s sleep patterns.

Research has proven that missing this hour of sleep will change people’s mood, their productivity, increase their risk for accidents and even heighten their risk of having heart attacks. For these reasons, many people may be asking why we even change the time twice a year.

Is ABC Fans Ready To Get Their “Dancing With The Stars’ Fix?

Will this show remain hot?

Season 14 of the hit television show “Dancing with The Stars” will be ready to start filming live on March 19, 2012. The media and the television network are ready to begin another season. The media is ready for the drama, the dancing and the possible mishaps. The television network is ready for the ratings.

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Yes, this is the show that usually brings in millions of fans for each episode? Will it do the same this season?

There was a huge interest in seeing who would be dancing this season. Twitter was a flutter before the big announcement. Fans were anxious to see if any of their favorite stars would be appearing some tweets were stating that people feared they would be late for work, as they waited impatiently for this announcement. Once the announcement came, some fans were happy and excited. Of course, this year’s contestants will include: