Who would have ever thought that Disney would make an 8 bit movie? Well, it’s here in the form of Wreck-It Ralph. After movies like “Tangled” and “Cars 2″ it’s shocking that Disney would take a risk with unleashing an 8 bit character to the technologically advanced culture of 2012. I am personally really excited to see what Disney does with this and how they handle the video game themes. It should be interesting to see what Disney has in store for us.

I personally would love if this movie had some I Fight Dragons music in it. After all, a chip tune rock song or two totally fits in with an 8 bit main character.

Stay excited my friends.

Under the guise of a peaceful and pure creature with a simple black ‘mask’ about the eyes, a Swan attacked and was responsible for the death of a man in Des Plaines, IL. Anthony Hensley used dogs and swans to shoo geese away from properties in the area. While kayaking, Mr. Hensley checked on the Swans in a Des Plaines-area pond and one of the swans moved in for the attack.

Hensley rolled over in his kayak and proceeded to be attacked by the swan. Hensley was found drowned by rescue workers. There are no details about the swan that attacked Hensley nor how a mere swan managed to kill Hensley. One possible explanation is:

“Depending upon their size and breed, swans can be quite large with some standing 4 feet tall, weighing about 30 pounds and boasting a wing span of up to 8 feet wide.”

We’ll never know the full story of this tragic series of events. However, there is one take away from this unfortunate loss… never mess with swans, they will fight back and with a vengeance.

Read the full story here.

What I am most confused about is how a simple tantrum could escalate to the point in which authorities had to get involved. While I understand that the police department has policies that say that all persons, non-discriminatory of age, are to be escorted in the back of the vehicle in handcuffs, I cannot begin to fathom how this was appropriate for a 6-year-old girl. I agree that measures ought to have been taken to insure the safety of other students and to discipline this particular student; however, the manner in which this discipline occurred was inappropriate.

What do you think about the actions of the police in this situation? Read the story here and decide for yourself.

I’m in a bright pink shirt, with really curly hair, a clashing purple scarf, and a bright orange bandanna off to the right side of the screen. You can see me briefly at the beginning and end of the video.

Moral of the story…FLASH MOBS ARE FUN!!!!!!

Every quarter at the University of Chicago a game is played called Humans v. Zombies. It’s basically a super awesome version of tag. Usually about 100 people sign up to play. One of those people is the original zombie. The job of the original zombie is to go around and tag humans turning them into zombies. Humans are equipped with Nerf Guns. With these Nerf Guns, they have the power to shoot a zombie which renders the zombie “out of play” for 15 minutes. Dorm rooms, academic buildings, and dinning halls are safe zones for humans; however, the dorm hallways and the lounge below the dinning hall is fair game. Zombies are identified as people wearing bright orange bandannas on their heads and humans are identified as people wearing bright orange bandannas on their arms. These shennanigans go on for about a week.

What’s so fun about all of that?

Well I’m glad you asked. You see, I didn’t actually play Humans V. Zombies, I was on the side lines. However, as the days of week passed by, the number of zombies multiplies and the humans become more and more paranoid. The humans leave for their classes early and take long routes to get there, they never leave the safety of their room unless it is completely necessary, and they are on the constant look out for zombies. Plus, it’s a lot of fun to watch humans get ambushed by a herd (yes I do mean a herd) of zombies. Just the other day I was walking through the center of our quad when I saw a human who was walking to class. He was constantly looking over his shoulder and was prepared to sprint at a moments notice. However, he didn’t see the group of zombies lurking on the east side of the quad. The zombie rushed the human and ran him down until he became a zombie. When you’re on your way to your math class, this is quite the sight.

The smarter humans who don’t go into the quad are the most paranoid. My friend was playing the game and he was still a human. On Wednesdays you can buy a shake for a dollar down at C-Shop. He comes into my room and asks if I would like to join him. My roommate and I explain the dangers of getting a shake during such a crazy apocalypse, but, let’s face it, a dollar shake is totally worth risking your life for. So, four of us, including my one human friend, walked down to C-Shop. We flanked him on all sides and watched for zombies as the popped out from behind bushes and tried to tag him. It was quite the adrenaline rush.

For us Non-Humans v. Zombies players, there is still a chance to join in on the fun. Once during the week that Humans v. Zombies is played, a Nerf Gun war is held in one of the academic buildings. A group of my zombie friends invited me to go with them and I simply couldn’t resist. One of my friends lent me his Maverick to go and play the game. They set up Harper Memorial Library into a war zone. We played numerous games of capture the flag and it was a lot of fun. However, I think the best thing about playing was seeing the contraptions that people built to play the game. A bunch of people had customized Nerf weapons that were out of this world:

Plus, by going to this Nerf war, I received my own personal Humans v. Zombies bandanna. Clearly the week of Humans v. Zombies is the BEST WEEK EVER!

So, the question now becomes, “Are you ready to survive the next zombie apocalypse?”

http://zombies.uchicago.edu/index.html

California law, allows students who attended California high school for a minimum of three years, including undocumented immigrants, to pay the lower tuition rate that California residents pay. Undocumented immigrants receiving the exemption must also promise to actively seek U.S. citizenship.

The California Supreme Court unanimously upheld this California law.

The plaintiff, Martinez, argued that under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, Congress prohibits states from granting postsecondary education benefits to unlawful aliens on the basis of state residence, unless the same benefit is given to all U.S. citizens without regard to residence. The plaintiff also claimed the Privileges or Immunities Clause, arguing that California has denigrated U.S. citizenship and placed U.S. citizens in a legally disfavored position compared to that of unlawful aliens.

Ultimately, the case boiled down to simple rules of fact. California law did not treat U.S. students from out-of-state worse than it treated unlawful aliens, because in-state tuition is available to all who qualify.

K12 Education for illegal immigrants costs California approximately $7.7 billion per year according to Breaking the Piggy Bank: How Illegal Immigration is Sending Schools Into the Red. The article says, “Defenders of illegal aliens assert that the cost of educating illegal alien students is offset by the taxes paid by their parents, but study after study shows that immigrants cost taxpayers much more in public services used than they pay into the system via taxes.  This is particularly true of illegal immigrants, who are disproportionately low-skilled and thus low-earning and are much more likely to be working in the underground economy or providing contractual services and not withholding taxes.”

By providing in-state tuition to residents who are not legally in the U.S., this changes the playing field for a demographic that is thought of as a low-skilled burden on society.  A college education can be the catalyst for change that enables this population to become high skilled tax paying citizens in California.

Check it out: play to help animals!

More than 20 of the most popular “casual” games, all absolutely free, are now available here at The Animal Rescue Site. The more you play*, the more you can help shelter animals!

How does it work?

Games that Give^TM are a simple, free, and fun way to help animals in need by playing some some of the most popular “casual games” of all time. The games contain sponsor advertising, and 70% of that advertising is donated to help shelter animals.

Nobody wants fashion at the price of pets’ lives. Tell the Canadian Government to ban imported dog and cat furs. Sign & tell a friend today!

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/campaign.faces?siteId=3&campaign=CanadaCatDogFur