While dining at Mo’s Barbeque, I noted that the barbeque had sort of a tangy taste. It was easy to see that the barbeque from Mo’s Barbeque was well prepared. The barbeque at Mo’s Barbeque was very tender. While eating the barbeque I noticed that the barbeque tasted uniquely fresh. I ranked the barbeque at Mo’s barbeque at approximately an eight.

            During my second search for the best barbeque around my hometown, I visited Lonestar Barbeque. At Lonestar Barbeque, the barbeque was absolutely amazing. The barbeque was cooked perfectly. I ranked the barbeque at Lonestar Barbeque at nine because it was almost perfect. Tinder

            At my last stop, I dined at Mud Creek. The barbeque at Mud Creek was very tasty. Mud Creek’s barbeque left a hot taste in your mouth after only one bite. I ranked the barbeque at Mud Creek at a seven. While it was quite appetizing, it could have been a

                                                                                                                                 little more tender.

            In conclusion, it was hard to decide which barbeque was the best. At all three of the different barbeque restaurants, the barbeque aroused different taste buds. I enjoyed each of my different dining stops including Lonestar Barbeque, Mud Creek, and Mo’s Barbeque.  

This is a defining moment in our history. Our nation is at war. Our country is in turmoil. Our economy cannot stand another term with a republican in the White House. President Bush has made wrong decisions and we need change, not someone to come in and make the same choices. That’s why Senator Obama will be best to bring this country back.

            Our troops have been fighting this war long enough. It has been time for our troops to return. Many families have lost too many loved ones. The war should have been ended when Japan and other supporting troops backed out. The fight was against terrorism and now we have moved into Iraq nuclear bombing. The war has cost billions of dollars and the cost will continue to increase. The United States could be using those funds in our own country to reconstruct. We are fighting a war in a county that doesn’t want us there and want our troops to leave.

            More Americans are out of work and many are working for less. The war is costing 10 million monthly for our troops to stay overseas. Our country is suffering and families are struggling, the cost were paying is more than economy can handle. We cannot wait any longer for change. Our nation needs the process to be in the works. Our country needs universal healthcare, affordable college education, or better paying jobs that we as a country can count on. These are important issues that can no longer wait. We have waited long enough and society has suffered. We cannot wait to fix our schools, rebuild our communities, or end the war in Iraq.

            Many Americans have lost faith that our leaders can and will do anything about it. Our next president needs to be the right candidate to take this country in a new direction. Too often our leaders let us down. It doesn’t seem to do much to make our lives better. I encourage all to vote so that our voices can be heard. Several rather just sit the election out for the reason that they think their vote will not count. With the vote of friends, neighbors, classmates, and coworkers will be enough votes to win the election and make a change. Everyone needs to choose to vote, stakes are high and outcome will be close.

            At significant moment like this one we need change. Change happens because we the people demand it since they rise up to say “that’s it” and not take no for an answer on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time. This election won’t be the end of anything. It may be the most important election in history. But it won’t change things by itself. It’s just the beginning.

            Sylvia Plath used a lot of imagery to express the oppression of her father in “Daddy.” She introduces this in the first few lines stating, “You do not do, you do not do/ Anymore, black shoe/ In which I have lived like a foot.” While a shoe is supposed to protect a foot, Plath conveys ideas of fear and misery in this very first stanza. She continues to describe her father as a large figure expanding across the Atlantic, defining his immense power over her. She later describes his actual features, blue eyes and a cleft chin, which makes his presence even more realistic and personifies his effects on her. She references history and her ancestry, comparing her father to a German Nazi and herself a Jew. She even names the concentration camps. This was a serious and harsh time in history where a dictatorship persecuted thousands of innocent people and she is relating to every one of them, through her father. Plath emphasizes her father’s death and deadly effects by reiterating the color black. He stands at a blackboard, a black man, with a black swastika. Finally, Plath calls her father a devil, the darkest image of evil, and his memories a “vampire who said he was you/ And drank my blood for a year,/ Seven years.” In the fourteenth stanza, she writes “The black telephone’s off at the root,” letting the audience know that the deadly communication she had with her father is over. She even disgraces his death with a stake in his heart and villagers dancing and stamping on him. She ends this powerful poem with the simple words “I’m through.”

            Overall, Plath is disgusted by the man she, unwillingly, is related to and furthermore is the child of. She contrasts all of their differences leaving nothing in common. This is her break up letter to her father.

<Plath, Sylvia. “Daddy.” Ariel. New York: Harper and Row, 1966.>

Sitting haphazardly on a shelf in a coffee house was the first time that this non-descript book, bound in white, had caught my eye.  It took several tall, sugar-free caramel lattes with soy before I actually picked up the book.  It was the title that first took my attention.  Displayed on the neat shelves amoung the gift wrapped coffee and leather bound journals.  I began by reading bits and pieces of the jacket everyday as I stood in line, carefully putting it back in it’s display each time.  It was not until one particularly slow morning, that I was finally able to make it through the introduction.  On payday, like a child with a new toy I proudly placed the book on the counter for purchase.

The title, beautiful boy, gave me no inkling of what this book was about or how powerful the words would be to me.  These are obviously words of a pained father.  Sentences bound by love and concern for a child lost to the on going battles of drug addiction.  There is no fiction in this book.  It is about truths.  Sometimes truths that are hard to hear.  And for the family’s of addicts, even harder to live.  David Sheff has done a wonderful job of letting outsiders into the sometimes hushed world of an addict and his family.  Sheff has taken his love and his pain that he feels for his son and the situation and put it into beautiful well thought out words.  As a family member of an addict, I feel a connection to his words.  In the beging of the book, the author says that sometimes it takes the words of another to help you understand and heal.  I believe this to be true.  He has brought a sense of understanding to me, as I feel he will to others who read this book.  David Sheff did such an outstanding job of educating himself about his son’s disease and in the process has educated his readers.  Not just those whom are suffering with the disease, but their families and even those never touched by this affliction.

Sheff, already an accomplished writer, choose his words for this book well.  In one passage, David Sheff writes of Nic’s graduation from a second rehab:

“I am nervous a week later when, following Nic’s own graduation, I pick him up.  The car windows are down, the air is warm.  Nic speaks brightly about the future.  His optimism comes through not only in his lucidity, but in the way he holds his body, confident and strong, and in his eyes.  Which are once again filled with light.  He says that he is committed to staying away from drugs.  I share his hopefulness, but I know that sobriety is far easier in the safe structured environment of a rehab program, and so mine is a tentative hope.  I need to believe that everything is going to be all right and at the same time I am able to accept that it will be.”

I think that it is easy to feel the turmoil in Sheff’s words.  The tug of war between wanting to believe and the feelings of helplessness of the things which are out of your control.

            As Sheff’s son, Nic, relapses time and time again, the imagery that he uses almost makes your heart break for him.  During one relapse Sheff writes:

“With Nic gone, I sink into a wretched and sickeningly familiar malaise, alternating with debilitating panic—every minute feeling his absence.

            In the morning, the cross-sticks below the skylight cast striped bars along the countertops. I sit down on a window seat in the living room, reading and rereading a lead paragraph of an article, when Jasper, with scruffy bed head, comes into the living room holding a satin box, in which he keeps his savings of eight dollars.  He looks perplexed.  “I think that Nic took my money.”  He says.

            I look at Jas, his strong growing body and uncomprehending eyes, and hold out my arms so he can climb onto my lap.  How do you explain to an eight-year-old when his beloved big brother steals from him?”              

The U.S. Constitution includes twelve specific Amendments provided to protect Americans from the federal government. Ten of them became known as the “Bill of Rights” it includes ten Amendments and I found the 5th Amendment interesting and it certain protections under the Constitution.

            Everyone has heard during of someone pleading the “5^th”.  Everyone should know that it is an actual Amendment in the Bill of Right the in part prohibits one from having to incriminate one’s self.  If someone is called to testify or bear witness in a civil or a criminal trial they have a right under law not testify.  If they feel that for some reason their testimony will deformate their character or degrade themselves in any kind of way the 5^th Amendment protects them from having to do so.  This is the part of the 5^th Amendment that is well known.  But there are other parts to it to.

            It also states that there are some situations in which the 5^th Amendment does not count.   This amendment would not apply in the military or cases in the land or naval forces while in service in the time of war or public danger.  Therefore, anyone involved in cases concerning armed forces may not plead the fifth.  Often these cases involve the security of our nation and the officers carrying out orders and the matter it was done.

            Also under the 5^th Amendment is the “Double Jeopardy” clause.  Under the double jeopardy clause no one can be tried for the same offense twice.  So therefore, if you have been tried for murdering someone you can not be tried for the same murder.  Also, under the 5^th Amendment no one can be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.  This simply means that the proper process of law has to be taken to take away someone’s life, freedom, or their property.  If for any reason some one should be deprived of these rights it has to be settled lawfully.

            Finally, the 5th Amendment states the no ones private property can be taken for public use, without just compensation. This simply means that anything that belongs to you can not be taken and used for public use, showing, or entertainment without proper compensation being made to you.  Because your property is yours and no one can be violated by it being put on public display.  But this clause seems to have many different turns due to the way people private photographs and items are publicly displayed by the media or paparazzi.

            In conclusion, the 5th Amendment protects Americans from several things that may be related to the law, property, or liberty.  I feel like it helps mainly in the not having to be a witness against yourself.

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As a member of “Generation Y,” which includes young adults born between the years 1978 and 1999, I have observed and taken part in many activities that make my generation what it is. At age sixteen I was given my first cell phone, and I was introduced to iPod. I thought I had seen it all. Two years later, I realize I was so wrong. Nowadays, cell phones have iPods, Internet, text messaging, cameras, and many other features all built in. There are technological gadgets out there with functions I am not even aware of. It seems my generation is never satisfied and is always looking for the next “big thing.”

As a result of these experiences, I feel that my generation would be better named “Generation Obsessed” due to our tendencies to follow trends to an unhealthy, obsessive level, mostly over technology, money, and fame.

It was Valentine’s Day of 2005 when a small website named “YouTube” was founded by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim. By December, the company had officially launched. The purpose of the website was to give people a forum for posting, viewing, and commenting personal videos. YouTube lets the population of Generation Y become broadcasters. It is a free service that allows people to view current events and explore the lives of people around the world. The company that officially started in December of 2005 quickly skyrocketed with popularity. In October of 2006, before YouTube was even two years old, Google bought the company. The success of YouTube shows just how the population of Generation Y handles a new technological trend. We attach ourselves to these trends quickly and allow big corporations to control more aspects of our lives. It is sickening to think about how money spent purchasing YouTube could have been used to help people around the world instead of adding to the obsessive technological frenzy.

However, YouTube is not the only technological obsession. Networking and friendship sites such as MySpace and Facebook have exploded in popularity as well. These sites allow users to “add” other people as friends. Millions of Americans use these sites every day. My friends talk about searching for new acquaintances on Facebook. There is a common belief amongst my companions that everyone and anyone can be found on either of these two sites. I was even able to find a few professors on them. The obsession has risen to an unhealthy level. In September of 2006, Facebook added a new feature to its site known as the News Feed. This takes stalking to the extreme. The News Feed records every click members make. It then broadcasts their recent activity on the homepage of the website. It states things such as “John Doe joined the group I Love Naps” and also reports every change made to a relationship status, contact information, and interests. Many Facebook users rely on the News Feed to tell them what their friends have been up to, instead of using a telephone or meeting up to talk. Much of the population of Generation Y has been consumed by technology to the point that they cannot get by without it.

My generation is also highly obsessive when it comes to money. Being rich seems more important to young people now than ever before. An article by Martha Irvine, Associated Press, reports that three-quarters of the 2006 freshman class of UCLA thought it was essential to be financially well off. Generation Y has quickly adopted cultural values of “more, easy, fast, and fun.” Teens want more money to buy more items that will make their life easier, by doing things faster, which means more time for fun.

Teenagers today have a different sense of what is normal than teenagers thirty years ago. It is common for people to have a cell phone and an iPod. To not have these items would be outlandish. The normality of these items reduces the appreciation people have for them. I have met teenagers who were using their fourth or fifth iPod, simply because they lost or grew to dislike mundane features on their previous ones. To someone from an older generation, it would be unthinkable and wasteful to lose such a valuable item. But young adults today don’t think much of losing an iPod, because they can simply buy a new one.

Many Gen Y-ers are also a part of the workforce. Since they usually are still living with their parents, they don’t have to pay for rent, utilities, or food, and they can throw around the money they earned as they please. This is just further motivation for teens to get jobs, because they know they don’t have to waste it on living necessities.

Many people find it crucial to have the most popular material items to fit in with the cool crowd. Therefore, money is also crucial. Generation Y is most important to retailers because the generation is large. Their strong opinions are usually combined with feelings of independence and self-righteousness. This combination of feelings spurs adolescents to be greedy in regards to money. They often feel that money will ultimately bring them happiness, since it will get them Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses, Coach purses, and the latest technology. Young people often want merchandise that is either cheap, so that they can spend more money on other products, or merchandise that is elite, to set themselves above the rest of the crowd and raise their reputation as rich. This obsession with money and material items grows daily as more and more members of Generation Y get jobs and discover new brands. Ultimately, this obsession is unhealthy because later in life, the members Generation Y will be empty due to thinking fulfillment would be found in money and materials.

Finally, Generation Y is obsessive about fame. Members of this generation obsess about both famous people and being famous. Being a celebrity seems more important than health or relationships.  An obsession that would cause someone to make his health a low priority is obviously unhealthy. When people care more about their name and reputation rather than taking care of themselves, something is very wrong. Fame is an obsession that is quickly leading youth down a bad road. Being famous is an obsession caused by our nation’s obsession with famous people. With digital cameras, television, and internet, celebrity life is broadcast and advertised more than ever possible. Celebrities are far from perfect, and paparazzi pounce on their flaws. Hours later, members of Generation Y discover pictures and videos of celebrities having fun without paying attention to the law or their well-being. Generation Y envies that carefree, fun, risky lifestyle and obsesses about achieving it. Some lay the blame on parents but others blame society. No matter who is at fault, it is obvious that glamour and fame has quickly turned into a most unhealthy obsession.

The name of the generation of people born between 1978 and 1999 varies depending on who you ask. Some would say Generation Next, Generation Connected, or simply Generation Y. However, due to young adults’ blatant obsession with technology, money and material items, and fame, it would be best termed “Generation Obsessed.”

Irvine, Martha. “A Generation Obsessed with Having New Stuff.” The Houston

Chronicle 3 Star Edition 15 Oct 2008.

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3170849fd39dfe7ed5efa>.

In my life I have had the experience of living in both apartments and houses.  I came to find vast differences in both of them.  There are things that I found that I like about both and that I didn’t like.  I first moved in my first apartment in 2003, when I was only 21 years old.  It was a 2 bedroom, 11/2 bath, with washer and dryer provided for 335 dollars a month.  I loved it and I was so proud of it and it was so perfect.  But recently I moved into my first house and I love it also, and being in this house I have noticed things that differ from the apartment life. 

            First, I began to look at the upkeep the upkeep in the apartment was not as complicated.  The apartment proved maintenance as far as landscaping and everyday repairs such as plumbing, leaks, and any other fixtures that came along with the apartment.  if anything went wrong in the apartment as long as it wasn’t something I did such as a broken window or a hole in the wall they fixed it with no problem with good timing.  The upkeep for the house is more complicated than the apartment. The house requires more because I am responsible for the inside and outside. All landscaping has to be maintained by me and kept up to city regulations.  Also, the repairs are proved by the landlord but only certain things fall under the list they will repair.

            Second, of course the prices were very different, I only paid 335 in the apartment and the house is 600 a month, my rent pretty much doubled in size but so did my space.  The prices on apartments and houses vary based on location and any amenities that my come with them.  Location is a big factor, because a one bedroom apartment on the south end of town may cost the same as a three bedroom house on the other end of town.  Although the house cost more for location and size it was worth it.

            Third, I notice that I had more privacy in the house than in the apartment.  In the apartment privacy was not one of it good points, there was always nosy neighbors watching your apartment.  Also due to the wall to wall makeup it is very easy to here others conversation, arguments, and music can be heard more easily.  But in the house unless you are having a shouting match or your music is blasted your sounds will be more contained and not heard by neighbors.

            Fourth,  I felt more safe in my apartment. Because there are neighbors all around you and if you need help someone could easily hear you due to the wall to wall makeup.  Also, it could be easier for someone to notice a stranger entering your apartment.  But in the house I don’t feel as secure.  Because the house stands alone and someone could enter and if you need help you couldn’t be heard as easily.  Many homes have burglary alarms or personal weapons for  personal safety.

            In conclusion, my experience living in both an apartment and a house has it positive and negative sides.  I have enjoyed it though and I have learned which I prefer.  I choose a house over an apartment due to it size, location, privacy, and space. 

November fourth is just around the corner. The American people will elect the next president of the United States. The Democratic candidate, Barack Obama or the Republican candidate John McCain will be the next president. If the American people have been watching the debates, reading the newspaper, or listening to news on television it would be hard not to notice the effect that temperament has played in the polls and in the minds of the American people.

  Temperament has been an issue in most debates throughout history. The historic debate between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon was a televised debate. People noticed the upbeat but cool demeanor of John Kennedy, and the sweaty, nervousness of Richard Nixon. Also the Carter and Ford debate where Carter came off almost as a Mister Rogers’s type while Ford blundered his way through the debate. More recently the Al Gore George Bush debate where Gore was depicted as wooden and still while people wanted to go have a beer with Bush. That being said no other time in history has temperament played a more important role in the voter’s minds than the 2008 election.

  The 2008 election is historic and unique for many reasons. As a country we are facing one of the worst economic meltdowns in history. We are involved in 2 wars. The Republican Party has a woman as the vice-presidential candidate and the Democrats have the first Afro American candidate. If just one of these points were all we had to focus on maybe we would be looking closer at sexism and race and we are to an extent but we are looking at temperament more.

  There have been three presidential debates. The first came at a time when Wall Street collapsed. John McCain tried to have the debate postponed so it would appear as if he was going to save Wall Street but the campaign went as scheduled. This debate caused quite a stir not for the issues that were discussed but for the demeanor of John McCain.

He never looked at his opponent Barack Obama. Obama looked straight at McCain when he challenged him or simply engaged him but McCain never took his eyes off the moderator. It caused a stir also because McCain looked angry, he looked disturbed and annoyed. The news media had a field day and so did Saturday Night Live. The second debate was a town hall meeting which according to journalist and reporters was to be McCain’s stronghold. Once again McCain seemed agitated from the very beginning. He walked around aimlessly while Obama answered questions; he appeared older than his years almost lost. He left immediately after the debate while Barack Obama and his Wife Michelle stayed for almost 30 minutes and took pictures and talked to the crowd. The third was a debate on domestic and foreign policy. Surly the media kept saying the days before the debate that McCain would warm up a bit and at least act like he acknowledged Obama’s presence. Once again the American people were party to an angry, explosive, annoyed McCain. Questions were being asked by the press and the public, can McCain keep his cool under pressure? Obama was suddenly looking presidential, cool likable able to connect.

  It seems that with voters, the average American, that personality and demeanor and restraint matter. Voters want a candidate who they agree with on the issues but also a president who can handle himself in a rational manner. Diehard Democrats will vote for a Democrat that’s reality and diehard Republicans will vote Republican, but what about independents?

  What is apparent is the independent voter is the deciding factor in the election. They are paying close attention to the reactions and the appearance of each candidate. They are looking at how the candidates treat each other and they are looking for calm in a storm.

To quote a journalist from the L.A. times, demeanor has emerged as the dominant theme of this election and people are leaning in Obama’s direction.

  Regardless how the election ends up one thing is for sure, Americans are affected by a candidate’s ability to look and act presidential. To take a punch and not lash back, to remain calm in crisis. There are independent voters who are leaning towards Obama for just that reason, for instance a 37 year old independent who calls McCain a hot head and another who said in the debates that McCain looks like he is fighting for points. Also there are Republicans who are leaning towards Obama one life long republican is voting for Obama because McCain is angry and erratic and seems like a nasty old man.

  We will see if all the debate over McCain’s erratic behavior and his vicious attacks will win out or if Obama’s cool and ability to reach beyond race and age and party line will win. Never has there been more discussion on temperament been more prevalent than talk of the issues in a campaign. It has to be a very tight rope to walk, being cool and calm while still being likeable and being energized and passionate while not seeming jumpy and angry. Let’s all vote and see on November fourth.