Originally published in the Valencia Voice
I sat down last night with the intention of fully expressing my opinion on recent political issues, but I quickly realized that I don’t know much about this election at all.
Among the ocean of informed opinions, I was lost and cast adrift on a raft of utter ignorance. I couldn’t help but think, “I can’t be the only one.”
We are the same generation that, two years ago, marched, rallied and petitioned all the way to election day for the things we believed in. Regardless of who you voted for, we were united in our stance against apathy and stagnancy. What happened?
Now we face an election where the choices our citizens make will ultimately decide whether or not our government will remain in a stasis for two years. I’m not here to argue whether that is good or bad, because I under- stand the argument on both sides.
How deep must our party affiliations bind us, in order to brand us as patriots? How many times must we campaign, or scream, or fight, or throw 24 year old girls who disagree with us to the ground as our comrades pummel?
We live in a nation where things have gotten so desperate, that even TV personalities are holding their own marches and rallies in Washington.
I may not fully understand what’s going on, but I certainly know what I want. Progress.
Steady progress for the next few years is what this country needs in order to get back on track. It’s the only way our nation’s crises will ever be cured.
Our foreign issues are grave and numerous. Our education is far from representative of the most powerful nation in the world. Our economic policies are more comparable to some kind of crazy slapstick routine rather than an actual financial plan. Face it, America. We’ve got more problems than the cast of “Teen Mom!”
The solution of course, is vote. If we want progress, we have to demand it. Tuesday’s elections will decide the kind of America we live in for years to come. It’s up to all of us to do our part to insure that no matter what our individual opinion might be, it will be heard.
So on November 2, stand up for the only opinion that really matters, yours.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Battle of the brains
Students compete in Trivial Pursuit
Originally published in the Valencia Voice
“Which sport changed its original names, Flim Flam, and Whiff Whaff?” Tough question, but not for the students competing on the self named Team Elmo for Osceola Campus’ biannual Trivial Pursuit tournament on Friday.
A total of three teams with five players each competed in the small class- room for a chance at the coveted “Valencia Community College Trivial Pursuit Challenge 2010” trophy.
“With so many of our intramural activities here on campus being athletic in origin, it’s nice to have an academic focused competition,” said host and ques- tion reader, professor Albert Groccia.
Both team, Visigoths, and team, 5 Guys, had Valencia professors among their ranks.
“It was rigged!” said Team Elmo competitor Hernan Perez with a laugh. “Age and PhDs was the one thing that the other teams had over us from the beginning.”
Team Elmo placed third in the tournament. For 12 rounds the battle raged on, and after Team Elmo’s elimination, the competition only got more stiff with the last round ending in a tie.
“We must go into sudden death,” said Groccia, as he calculated the final scores.
Each team climbed point-by-point toward victory, but in the end a single question about fine dining is what doomed 5 Guys who had dominated the majority of the game.
21 to 20. The Visigoths had won.
Half the room burst into raucous cheers.
“Well I’ve played in the last 20 tournaments,” said 5 Guys team organizer pro- fessor Ronald VonBehren. “Out of the 20 I’ve won 10, but this is the third time in a row that they (Visigoths) have won.”
“This is my sixth tournament and I think it all worked out well,” said team organizer of the Visigoths, Allen Dunn. “Our weakest category was probably science, but with our combined knowledge I think we did pretty well for ourselves.”
Osceola campus’ intramural program hosts a number of sports and gaming events every week and the details on their dates and times can be found on the campus’ activities calender online.
Originally published in the Valencia Voice
“Which sport changed its original names, Flim Flam, and Whiff Whaff?” Tough question, but not for the students competing on the self named Team Elmo for Osceola Campus’ biannual Trivial Pursuit tournament on Friday.
A total of three teams with five players each competed in the small class- room for a chance at the coveted “Valencia Community College Trivial Pursuit Challenge 2010” trophy.
“With so many of our intramural activities here on campus being athletic in origin, it’s nice to have an academic focused competition,” said host and ques- tion reader, professor Albert Groccia.
Both team, Visigoths, and team, 5 Guys, had Valencia professors among their ranks.
“It was rigged!” said Team Elmo competitor Hernan Perez with a laugh. “Age and PhDs was the one thing that the other teams had over us from the beginning.”
Team Elmo placed third in the tournament. For 12 rounds the battle raged on, and after Team Elmo’s elimination, the competition only got more stiff with the last round ending in a tie.
“We must go into sudden death,” said Groccia, as he calculated the final scores.
Each team climbed point-by-point toward victory, but in the end a single question about fine dining is what doomed 5 Guys who had dominated the majority of the game.
21 to 20. The Visigoths had won.
Half the room burst into raucous cheers.
“Well I’ve played in the last 20 tournaments,” said 5 Guys team organizer pro- fessor Ronald VonBehren. “Out of the 20 I’ve won 10, but this is the third time in a row that they (Visigoths) have won.”
“This is my sixth tournament and I think it all worked out well,” said team organizer of the Visigoths, Allen Dunn. “Our weakest category was probably science, but with our combined knowledge I think we did pretty well for ourselves.”
Osceola campus’ intramural program hosts a number of sports and gaming events every week and the details on their dates and times can be found on the campus’ activities calender online.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
'The Walking Dead' attack prime time
Review of AMC's newest series
It needs to be noted that as far as television shows go, the overall production quality of “The Walking Dead['s]” premiere episode is top notch. The sheer diversity of cinematography made the 90 minute long episode look and feel more like a movie than a series.
Based off of the comic series by Robert Kirkman, the overall plot of the show is survival in a zombie infested world.
The genre of the series itself is based so heavily on aesthetic quality, that it's a breath of fresh air to see professional work in make up design for the show’s undead actors, and is truly on par with the kind of work seen in George A. Romero films.
Written and executive produced by the same mind behind “The Shawshank Redemption” and “The Green Mile,” Frank Darabont, the series carries a very dark quality that is evident very quickly.
It comes as no surprise to fans and readers of the comic series, that AMC's translation is not a frame by frame transcription of the original text found in the books. And honestly, as most comic fans will attest to, the translation isn’t often the same on screen as it is in text.
It is surprising and refreshing, however, to see how far the producers are willing to go to stick to the original gore of the series.
For those not familiar with the text, the premiere may seem a little slow at times and for those who are familiar, some scenes and situations may seem stretched.
The reason?
Consider that the series will most likely follow the basic plan of an issue, an episode. With each trade book being comprised of 6 issues, and Kirkman recently releasing trade 12, longevity won't be a concern for producers.
Dialogue was natural most of the time, but was a bit explanatory, and forced toward certain scenes. This only makes sense with the first episode of a show based around a zombie apocalypse. Most viewers are going to need some explanation.
As far as casting goes, it’s hard to judge how all the actors will perform when a majority of the figures on screen were dead, but based on the small “living” cast interactions, we can expect some emotional and moving moments from the cast.
The overall appearance of the actors as they compare to their comic counterparts is startlingly accurate, considering the size of the cast.
Expansion on particular characters and plots, that the comic doesn’t delve into, offer interesting angles and takes on an already complex story line.
Fans of Kirkman's work, might be a little taken back by the early revealing of a particular plot point not discovered until later in the comic. As much as the spoiler might upset some readers, it certainly makes for a roller coaster of a premiere episode.
For audiences who love character driven shows that take place under extenuating circumstances, such as “The Wire” and “True Blood,” a show like “The Walking Dead” ranks high.
Although it is uncertain how the rest of the season will go, one thing is for certain: “The Walking Dead” is a can't miss series, and deserves to draw in fans by the hordes.
Make sure to tune in to AMC Sunday, Oct. 31, Halloween night, at 10 EST and 9 CST, and brace yourself for the outbreak.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Poker in the Classroom?
Originally written for the Valencia Voice
ORLANDO, Fla. -- On the river. That’s how Lara McIvor won Osceola Campus' biannual intramural no limit Texas- hold-em poker game on Friday.
“I absolutely love the game,” said McIvor. “I probably play tournament style poker four to five times a week around town.”
The tournament is part of Osceola Campus' intramural sports program, which hosts a number of events including softball, soccer, basketball, and volleyball.
Poker happens to be one of the programs, which are non-sport activities, which also includes chess, video gaming and a Trivial Pursuit championship.
“I would say that we organize some sort of event every week,” said intramural activity director Allen Dunn, as he folded a hand. “Poker is one of our smallest events and we host a tournament in the fall and spring.”
The campus sponsors events like these all the time, free of charge to students, and all participants in this tournament were provided pizza for lunch. Although no money or prizes were at stake, bragging rights certainly were near the top of players minds.
“I really just came to campus to catch up on some work,” said student Rupert Coley, who was placed 4th in the game. “I've played in casinos in Tampa, so I decided that it would be fun to see what might happen if I played in the tournament.”
The game continued for over an hour until only student McIvor and director Dunn remained. With four cards already revealed, both players all in and nothing left for the players to hide, it seemed that victory for Dunn was insured.
As the final card was flipped, all had seemed lost for experienced player Lara McIvor.
The five of spades.
McIvor had rivered a flush and effectively won the game, snatching the almost certain victory from Dunn, as the classroom burst into excited cheers.
“From my experience, the chances of that happening in a game are around 13 percent,” said McIvor, as she modestly accepted praise from the room of students.
Dunn's final thoughts on the games turnout?
“Never play poker when your hungry, because you can't focus on the game,” said Dunn with a smile.
ORLANDO, Fla. -- On the river. That’s how Lara McIvor won Osceola Campus' biannual intramural no limit Texas- hold-em poker game on Friday.
“I absolutely love the game,” said McIvor. “I probably play tournament style poker four to five times a week around town.”
The tournament is part of Osceola Campus' intramural sports program, which hosts a number of events including softball, soccer, basketball, and volleyball.
Poker happens to be one of the programs, which are non-sport activities, which also includes chess, video gaming and a Trivial Pursuit championship.
“I would say that we organize some sort of event every week,” said intramural activity director Allen Dunn, as he folded a hand. “Poker is one of our smallest events and we host a tournament in the fall and spring.”
The campus sponsors events like these all the time, free of charge to students, and all participants in this tournament were provided pizza for lunch. Although no money or prizes were at stake, bragging rights certainly were near the top of players minds.
“I really just came to campus to catch up on some work,” said student Rupert Coley, who was placed 4th in the game. “I've played in casinos in Tampa, so I decided that it would be fun to see what might happen if I played in the tournament.”
The game continued for over an hour until only student McIvor and director Dunn remained. With four cards already revealed, both players all in and nothing left for the players to hide, it seemed that victory for Dunn was insured.
As the final card was flipped, all had seemed lost for experienced player Lara McIvor.
The five of spades.
McIvor had rivered a flush and effectively won the game, snatching the almost certain victory from Dunn, as the classroom burst into excited cheers.
“From my experience, the chances of that happening in a game are around 13 percent,” said McIvor, as she modestly accepted praise from the room of students.
Dunn's final thoughts on the games turnout?
“Never play poker when your hungry, because you can't focus on the game,” said Dunn with a smile.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Superheroes Anonymous trailer from Ben Goldman on Vimeo.
A trailer for the upcoming documentary Superheroes Anonymous which chronicles the rise of the first ever convention of Real Life Superheroes - people that dress up as their own unique superhero identities and go out to do acts of good.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Campus-wide sigh of relief? Check.
Originally published for the Valencia Voice
ORLANDO, Fla. -- How did we spend our summer vacation you ask? Well, like many fellow students, we ignored the stereotype of a “proper” summer vacation. Forgoing the beach and sun, and substituting class and studies in its place.
Unlike many summers previous, we decided that a great way to carry our momentum from the school year onward would be to take a few classes, get an edge on our transferring process and enjoy the seasons’ wonderful weather. What we got instead was the ultimate test of perseverance and determination. Nothing tests your commitment to school more than the constant reminder that every one of your buddies is out there, beachside, while you are stuck grinding though yet another PowerPoint presentation.
In the beginning, the curriculum seems easy enough and the question, “How hard could a summer class be?” settles comfortably in the recesses of your mind. But then it happens. The realization that you must be careful of what you do Sunday night, because just as the grammar school child who wants to watch the end of a movie, you are reminded by that nagging voice that whispers, “It’s a school night.”
Soon enough you memorize the attendance policy of every class and plan carefully which days you just have to be “sick.” Assignments pile up, tests take you by surprise and meeting twice a week for one hour and 15 minutes suddenly seems like the longest time period imaginable. But as quickly as the whirlwind begins, it ends. Here we are, in the midst of finals week, and all of summer suddenly seems like a dream upon waking.
As we optimistically calculate our final grades, we must not down-play the gravity of our achievements. Despite the urges all round us, we persevered, stayed strong, and now every mind-numbing hour of work put in has paid off. We can proudly count ourselves amongst the ranks of dedicated students who came before us. Glorious in triumph, victory has never been sweeter.
Although a three week break may not seem like much given the effort to reach this point, be assured, that it will be the most relaxing three weeks in your adult life. Enjoy it because you have earned it. Enjoy it because you de- serve it. Enjoy it, because quite frankly, it is the closest thing you are going to get to a summer vacation. However we may decide to spend it, know that no matter what next semester may bring, you have the grizzled determination to weather it. Let us march forward, my collegiate comrades into the classroom of uncertainty, and carry with us the lessons learned this summer. Over and out!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Story Time at the Library
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Children and parents gathered together in a small room decorated with pictures of cartoons and large posters of the alphabet in the children’s section of the Orlando Public Library Saturday, July 24 for the library's weekly story time.
Jackie Padilla, one of the library’s story tellers, began the morning’s activities with a series of sing-along songs to get the children, ranging ages 2 to 5, warmed up for story time.
“I would say that I’m really more of a performer than anything else,” said Padilla.
Although Padilla may be simply known as the story teller to her audience, the county library system recognizes her by the title of youth program assistant.
“My particular position requires that I have a detailed schedule of the different stories I will read, along with any activities I plan on coordinating,” said Padilla, who continued to add “you have to audition for the role of story teller.”
The children jumped, danced and clapped along as Padilla read story books with titles like "I Like it When" and "Good Night Me", a short story about the importance of bed time that coincidentally almost lulled the young audience into a sudden nap time.
“I think it is good for the kids to have someone so engaging reading to them every weekend,” said parent Fallon Carter.
“This was our first time doing this, and I think we will probably come back next Saturday,” said parent Jennifer Orenstein. "My roommate actually referred me to it after she took her daughter," she added.
Jackie Padilla, one of the library’s story tellers, began the morning’s activities with a series of sing-along songs to get the children, ranging ages 2 to 5, warmed up for story time.
“I would say that I’m really more of a performer than anything else,” said Padilla.
Although Padilla may be simply known as the story teller to her audience, the county library system recognizes her by the title of youth program assistant.
“My particular position requires that I have a detailed schedule of the different stories I will read, along with any activities I plan on coordinating,” said Padilla, who continued to add “you have to audition for the role of story teller.”
The children jumped, danced and clapped along as Padilla read story books with titles like "I Like it When" and "Good Night Me", a short story about the importance of bed time that coincidentally almost lulled the young audience into a sudden nap time.
“I think it is good for the kids to have someone so engaging reading to them every weekend,” said parent Fallon Carter.
Padilla has been a story teller with the library for 6 years and says that they sponsor a multitude of reading oriented activities for age groups 2 to 14, and offer a bilingual story time the first Saturday of every month that encourages children to speak both Spanish and English.
“This was our first time doing this, and I think we will probably come back next Saturday,” said parent Jennifer Orenstein. "My roommate actually referred me to it after she took her daughter," she added.
For more information about future story times and any other library public events, visit www.ocls.info.
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