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"We Don't Need No, Education.. HEY! TEACHER! Leave Those Kids Alone..."

I just read an article on Yahoo! about a Pennsylvania teacher who blogged about her school and students; complaining that they were lazy,impatient and overall rude. Blaming parents for being more of friends then disciplinarians. Now, the fact of whether or not the blog was innapprioriate is questionable. Being as she never stated her full name, names of her students or her school, and the blog was intended for family and friends. When put like that I honestly, don't see anything wrong with it? Just because she is a teacher is she not allowed to comment on her life. Then again, I guess if you worked for the Pentagon or CIA you can't start a blog and talk about how rough you day at work was either, BUT she is a teacher not a government agent. My questions out there isn't so much was her blog right or wrong...but whether what she is saying is true or not?

I feel the lines of what she is saying are blurry, especially since I am not a black and white kind of person.. I see things in the grey..kind of like that quote from "The Last Kiss".

"Life is pretty much in the grays for the most part and if you insist always on black and white... you are going to be very unhappy."

Anyways, Do I think there are students who overall are just plain lazy, impatient and overall rude? YES.
Do I think that SOME parents try to be friends instead of disciplinarians? YES
But however, I think there are a lot of kids who get grouped into this bunch, when really there teacher isn't tapping into the students, needs; and this is where it gets blurry again. Some teachers JUST down right suck. I had a teacher who once said " more than half the class is failing, you guys need to work harder" This wasn't an overly active class, this wasn't a class full of rude, lazy, impatient students. She was just a bad teacher. She didn't listen when we said we didn't understand or she was going too fast. So, over half the class failed.. I have had teachers who are middle grade. They inspire some students and others not some much. Perhaps the teaching style just connects with some students and not others. Then there are teachers who really inspire there whole class. Point is, students learn differently, but we are clumped together and we are taught the same way. It is the teachers job to inspire and make there students want to learn, yes. But what can they all can't teach in a way to personalize it for each student they receive. At least not in the way, the class system is set up now. Which is why I think teachers, like the one that blogged are frustrated. THEN again she can be one of those HORRIBLE teachers who just blames her students and doesn't look at herself and er teaching skills.

I was one of those students that could of been categorized as lazy, impatient and rude. It's just for me, I am more of a hands on learner. I also, just like to go out and find out for myself. Learn the hard way I guess, but that works better for me. In class I usually just got easily bored.. if I couldn't catch on right away, I would tune out, if I already learned it, my attention was somewhere else, or if it was something that I deemed boring to learn. i.e. Math.  Some schools and some states are now doing programs that regularly test kids to see how they learn and then place them in classes, or groups based on that and those schools and states have proven to have higher success rates. So.. Why don't we have that has the new standard way to teach? Why don't we choose the way that helps ALL of our kids? I don't understand that.

Rest In Peace, Sierra

7/4/2002 - 1/31/2011

Sierra wasn't just my dog, she was my best friend. I loved her, and always will love her with all of my heart. She was an amazing best friend and I will never forget her. She can, and will never be replaced. She will be missed dearly by all who knew her. I am so thankful that I was able to be present during her time of death. Sierra was so calm and brave during the entire process. I am so proud of her, she is so strong. I love you princess.

Sierra was put to sleep January 31st at 12:10 AM. She had been extremely ill a few months prior to this awful day. My mother got a hold of me Friday afternoon saying that Sierra might have cancer. With me phone right next to me every second for updates, Kelsey and I went to sleep Friday night. Saturday morning, Kelsey decided to make a trip to see Sierra before she got any worse and possible be put down. I didn't want to go because I wanted to remember her when she was healthy and I didn't think I would be able to handle seeing her that sick. Kelsey eventually convinced me to go up north with her.

We arrived in San Jose Saturday evening and spent the night with Sierra. She was not doing well at all. She was extremely ill, skinny, and refusing to eat absolutely anything. We talked about putting her to sleep because we felt she was suffering, but some of the family wanted to wait just a little longer. Sunday, Kelsey and I packed up to leave for Southern California. Feeling sad and guilty, I decided to call my boss to ask for Monday off to spend just one more night with my dog. With ease, my boss did not care that I took off Monday, so we decided to stay with Sierra.

Sierra actually seemed to be doing better. She was somewhat eating, and she was fairly responsive. That was a good sign. Kelsey and I decided to get ready for bed around 9:00 PM so I got Sierra's leash to take her for a walk to go to the bathroom before bed time. She was excited to go outside, so everything seemed fine. She ended up going to the bathroom, and as she was walking, she stumbled a little and then caught her balance for a split second. After that, she collapsed. I immediately picked her up, held her and tried to get some kind of response from her. She looked at me dazed and confused, and then her head dropped. I thought she died right there in my arms. I ran with her in my arms, back to the house to explain what happened to my mom and Kelsey. In result, we concluded that she passed out, and had a stroke.

Sierra, by this time has gained her conscientious but was still very confused and weak. She just stood there looking at all of us so very confused. We sat down there in the entry way with her and held her. Kelsey called the rest of the family to get them to come over and soon after, we found our way heading to the veterinarian emergency room. After talking with the doctor for a little while, he gave us his opinion.

He said she indeed did have some kind of mass on or around her spleen and the chances of that to be cancerous are very high. We had an option of surgery that was thousands of dollars and with only a 5% chance that it does any help at all. The reality of this situation is that Sierra was too fragile for the surgery and since she was nine years old, that wasn't on our odds either. The doctor proceeded to say that we were not making the wrong decision to stop her suffering then and there.

After a hour or so of a very emotional goodbye, my best friend, Sierra was put to sleep with no more suffering at 12:10 AM of January 31st 2011. I am so very proud of her, she was extremely brave, and now she is at rest with no more pain or suffering. I love her so very much and I will never forget her. Rest in Peace, Sierra.

BLT 1/7 returns home to smiles, cheers

By Diane Durden , Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms
MARINE CORPS AIR GROUND COMBAT CENTER TWENTYNINE PALMS, Calif., — The excitement of the crowd continued to build as someone shouted, “They’re at KFC on the highway.” Families and friends gathered at the Del Valle soccer field Jan. 6-8, 2011, to welcome home the Marines and sailors of Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 31st Marine Expeditionalry Unit.

During the last eight months, BLT 1/7 conducted training with allied nations, honed and utilized their amphibious assault skills and conducted humanitarian and disaster relief missions.

“We were able to train together as a battalion to be an amphibious battalion,” said battalion commander Lt. Col. Todd Simmons of the unit’s successful deployment. “The ability to do that really shows the strength and leadership of the NCOs.”

After the Philippines was devasted by Super Typhoon Juan, BLT 1/7 stepped in to provide humanitarian assistance.

The Lost Book Reports: History Nerd Alert

The Lost Book Reports: History Nerd Alert: "This is the perfect book to review at this time, since I am currently doing research on my family as well as my fiance's. I read this book ..."

Addicting game of the week: Desert Rifle 2

QiGames comes out with Desert Rifle 2 and I honestly had me playing for a few hours at least. You have weapons, bullets, land mines and you have to stop your enemies in their tracks! As you progress and earn more money, you can upgrade your weapons, buy more ammo, and buy more land mines. The enemies get tougher as you go along your quest to dominate all combatants.

The best advice that can be given is whenever you reload, drag your mouse down so your guy will take cover and you cannot be shot until the enemy is extremely close. Use land mines as much as possible, especially for the tanks. Aim for the head ands you will kill the enemy a lot faster, but that is a given for any shooter game. The game is really easy once you get some of the better weapons. If you like games like this, it is extremely addicting, so make sure you have an hour or so to spare!

You can play Desert Rifle 2 at Addicting games Here
Check out last weeks addicting game, Highway Pursuit 2 Here

IKEAhackers.net: Turn your studio apartment into a 1 bedroom with P...

IKEAhackers.net: Turn your studio apartment into a 1 bedroom with P...: "Materials: PAX Description: My girlfriend and I bought and moved into our first apartment, with a tight budget we couldn't afford anything..."

Hot Video: Marine Stuns Crowd at Tea Party

This guy is a true patriot, besides having been a Marine. Everyone should listen carefully to the little known words of the remaining verse of the Star Spangled Banner, our national anthem. Semper Fi.

Sent From Heaven: Spectacular Venues Across The US - West Coast Edit...

Sent From Heaven: Spectacular Venues Across The US - West Coast Edit...: "Where you have your wedding is kind of important. Why? Because, to most guests the venue you sets the tone to how fun, unique and elegant yo..."

Movie Review: Inception (2010)

Brandon's Review

"What is the most resilient parasite? An Idea!" Yes, Christopher Nolan has created something with his unbelievably, incredibly and out-of-the-box thinking mind which has blown the minds of the audience away.

Inception (2010) is an excellent and breathtaking movie that lives up to its hype. It is a nearly perfect and highly original film that holds your attention until the credits roll. The less you know about this movie going in, the more you will be entranced by seeing it.

One of the pros of this movie is it's theme. Dream is a fascinating topic to say the least. There are a lot of unknowns in dreamworld. Another pro is it's plot; There are several good twists and unpredictable turns during the movie. It also had a very edgy drive; Although you know what's coming next, still you feel jumpy about it when it happens. One of the best pros are it's rapid storyline. The story moves fast from one scene to another, making the viewers feel like on a roller coaster ride. Personally, I understood it entirely the first time. However, people say they had to watch it more than once to understand the movie. If that is true, than Nolan did his job, extraordinarily well. The movie also had great sophistication, there is a lot of information to remember and digest.

Although the acting was convincing enough, there was not enough of character development. How many people really felt connected to the main character(s) after watching the movie? Yes, the movie talks about emotional struggles but it was more of an action film than anything else. The movie also had more characters than necessary. They may play certain roles in the plot but they seemed more of distractions than anything else.

There is very little room for improvement; However, I absolutely loved the movie and would recommend it to anyone.

9/10

---

Kelsey's Review

I have yet to hear a negative review on Inception, except that it took a few people several times of watching the movie to understand what is going on. Although at times a little confusing... I thought it explained itself pretty well the first time. The whole time the I was watching I kept thinking to myself, the person who wrote this script is a genius.That genius being Christopher Nolan, Then I thought the director of this film is ALSO a genius! The genius being again Christopher Nolan.

The whole concept of a a dream within a dream and how you get there, how you get out of there and what happens when you don't get out in time; was mind blowing. Then to cast Leonoardo DiCaprio, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Ellen Page and Tom Hardy work so well together! Yet, I am sure no one questioned there acting abilities. 

The internal battle between Leo's character and his wife is key. It adds an extra layer to the movie that already has so many layers. The visual graphics of the movie are top notch, my favorite scene would have to be when in Stage one the van rolls over and it affects Joseph Gordon-Levitt's fight scene by having the buildings walls roll around. So, that scene was probably one of the most legit ones in the movie. Then the way the movie ended made you question everything you just watched. Yup Its one of those movies, almost like the ending to Shutter Island (2010). 

I won't say what the ending is like, due to the fact that I don't want to spoil it for anyone, who may have read this to see if the movie is worth watching. However, if you have seen the movie and are curious to know my opinion on the ending, then feel free to leave a comment asking.

9/10

Addicting game of the week: Highway Pursuit 2

Gonzo Games, yet again has created another amazing game that is rather addicting to play. Highway Pursuit 2 is a shooting game where you have to protect your stolen armored car from the entire police force. The more police you keep from busting you, the more money you get to buy a wide range of upgrades. There are fourteen different weapons, you can upgrade your armored car for more defense, you can add more bad guys in the car with you to help shoot off the enemies, four grenades to buy each round each round, and you can buy repairs to your car.

This game is unique because it takes the idea of a defense game and puts a twist on it. There are thirty levels you have to complete before launching off a ramp to the escape boat. The enemies, or police in this case, get tougher each round and of course the quantity goes up as well. Gonzo Games also added in a trophy feature, so you are not just killing the enemies and upgrading your weapons, you are also trying to win all thirty-one trophies.

Some of the weapons are really just there for looks because they don't really help you out as it gets harder. All of the weapons were designed as the same ones from Call of Duty, so most of you will recognize them and know which ones are useful. The best advice that can be given, is to always have four grenades (max) and to buy and equip the MG36 rifle as well as the M249 Para so you can switch back and fourth between the two by pressing Q. Those two weapons offer the longest amount of shooting time and they are the most powerful. The grenades are there to help you when you become too over powered, which does happen sometimes when you have to reload. Also, don't forget to buy your defenders, they help a lot!

Highway Pursuit 2 was released just on Friday, January 7th and it has been played 327,372 times and received the rating of 81% from Addicting Games. This is a highly recommended game for this week!

You can play Desert Rifle 2 at Addicting games Here

Hired at Examiner

A few days ago, I applied for an on-the-side job for www.examiner.com. This morning, I received an acceptance email with my first article being approved. I will still be writing and updating United We Stand as often as I already do, if not more. So keep coming here! As well, to help me out, please follow the provided link and add it to your favorites and keep reading my articles on Burbank PC Games! I appreciate all of you who help out and continue to help out!

My page for Examiner: http://www.examiner.com/pc-games-in-los-angeles/brandon-gregorio

I also updated our links over to the left side of the site so you can't forget it! ;)

My Resident Evil: Afterlife review

Today I took a few hours out of my day to watch Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010). Before I get started, I will admit that I absolutely love zombie related movies that have a well thought-out and good storyline. The Resident Evil storyline is flawless. Paul W.S. Anderson did an impeccable job with the story.

Afterlife was amazing in a few factors in my eyes. One being that it was an action packed zombie movie and I am extremely happy that Ali Larter's character, Claire Redfield, was brought back into the scene. Paul Anderson never seizes to amaze me with the Resident Evil movies, he always executes them better than he promises. However, Afterlife seemed to steer away from the actual storyline a little bit. Yes, Alice, Milla Jovovich, is still out to take down Umbrella Corporation.. but I think Paul got a little out of control with the newly created zombies and he didn't seem to explain a lot of what was happening in Afterlife like he does with the other three movies. I also loved the graphics and slow motion techniques that were used. There were a few scenes that didn't need the slow motion, but it is still fun to see action packed scenes in slow motion.

If I had to pick one of the four movies that I liked the best; I would, without a doubt, pick Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). That is a must see movie of the series. Of course, if you don't want to be confused, you will have to watch Resident Evil (2002) and Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) before Extinction, but if you had to choose one, I would say choose that one. I have a feeling Paul Anderson will keep the series going as long as he can, but I think one more should wrap up and justify the entire series. In my opinion, he needs to complete the storyline and still find a way to keep the action packed scenes in the movie without creating anymore crazy out of this world zombies.

Overall, I would give Resident Evil: Afterlife 6 stars out of 10. The graphics were amazing, the characters are incredible, and the action scenes are awesome. The only huge downfall for my rating was lack of explanations and steering away from the storyline a little more than needed. However, I am excited for another Resident Evil movie to come though!

6/10

My old workout schedule from the Corps

What you need:

Pull-up Bar

Curl Bar (optional)

Bench Press (optional)

140 lbs of weights (optional)

One Day

Pyramid Pull-ups (Highest – 1)

100 Crunches

Pyramid Pull-ups (1 – Highest)

100 Crunches

Another Day

Lift Weights

-Curl Bar

-Bench Press

Another Day

Pyramid Push-ups (Highest – 1)

75 Crunches

Pyramid Push-ups (1 – Highest)

75 Crunches

Etc..etc..etc.. That is 3 of 6 days (rest for 1 day). Mix it up, don’t do too much of any one thing. If you want to gain healthy weight, eat healthy food, a lot of it. Make sure you add some running in there. At least 3 miles a week. No matter what, push yourself. Don’t look for the reason not to workout.. but look for the many reasons to workout.

Don’t work your body too much. Too much of anything is bad. Give a day of rest, don’t “kill” your muscles each workout.. You should only really kill your muscles once or twice a week.

Pros: Cheap, good if you're short on time, don't need a gym membership, can do it at home

Cons: It's a self-motivator.. Just make sure you push yourself or have someone to workout with who will push you

*I have used this schedule in the past and it works for me. It may not work for every individual. If you like the idea of my layout, tweak it and make it yours.

Just A Thought....

I just read on a blog that Hugh Hefner and his newest girlfriend of 2 years Crystal have gotten engaged this Christmas Eve..... Now, don't hate me..  but I have a problem with this.. and it just came to my mind.

My problem isn't the 60 year age difference, or the fact that she could be a gold digger (which I don't think she is). My problem is.. and like I said don't hate on me.. it is just a thought. My problem is why would this poor girl put herself in this situation again? In case you didn't know Crystal's last boyfriend was a marine and died in Iraq. Hugh Hefner is 84 and although he appears healthy.. lets face it.. he's probably got 10 years left in him maybe 20 if he is lucky... So, to put that on yourself is a lot in my opinion.. then again if it really and truly is love it wouldn't really matter I guess and if you want to be the Cynics.. then maybe she did the math in her head and realized if he dies in 10 years she will only be 34 and still have plenty of years ahead of her to get married and have kids.

I also feel bad for Holly Madison his last #1 girlfriend.. I feel bad for ... first I believe she really did love Heff and she was with him for 7 years. However, I understand that after 7 years with Heff and he didn't want marriage or kids.. Holly had to cut ties with him.. so it must suck to know after 2 years with Crystal he proposed to her. I wonder how she feels? I'm sure she will say she is happy for Heff and thinks Crystal is a great girl.. but I'm curious how she really feels.. cause being a girl.. even if you are happy for them.. even if you are over them.. stuff like that brings up old memories and makes a get a little crazy in the emotional department. Point is, it has got to sting a little.

This blog was kind of pointless, but when I read they were engaged.. this is what came to mind for me. Now, for those who think I am being mean, rude or dumb.. I am not.. I actually respect Hugh Hefner, Playboy and his long lineage of girlfriends.. Just was a thought.

Just Some Food For Thought

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Thanksgiving @ Disneyland

This year for Thanksgiving, Kelsey and I decided to stay down south because we will probably be up north for most of December and it only made sense with gas and money.. With that being said, Kelsey's close friends; The Emery's; invited us to spend Thanksgiving day and the next day with them at Disneyland. We hadn't had anything planned, so it worked out perfectly, especially since Kesley and I get into the parks for free with our premium passes!

So on Thursday, we spent the day in Disneyland going on all the rides and once 5pm hit, we made our way to The Hilton for Thanksgiving dinner that we had reservations for. There, we ate an 'all-you-can-eat' buffet, which included everything that you would normally have for Thanksgiving. After dessert, Linnea and Mike were tired, so I offered that Kelsey and I take the kids(Alec & Kenna) back to the park since it wasn't too late and they wanted to go back on some more rides. That seemed to work out perfectly, because Kelsey and I wanted to stay a little longer as well. Sidebar - both nights in Anaheim were freezing! Once we dropped the kids off at their hotel with their mom, Kelsey and I headed back to her home in Toluca Lake.

Friday, the next day, you would expect Disneyland to be almost empty because of Black Friday.. right? Wrong. It was the most packed we had seen it in a long time. On top of the hordes of people pushing you out of the way to get ahead, the rides decided to break down every so often, delaying the lines even more! That was extremely annoying as well.. We spent most of our day in the California Adventure Park. For dinner, we decided to eat somewhere in Downtown Disney and ultimately chose to eat at The House of Blues.. which was extremely good.. Linnea decided to order Kelsey a "Blow Job" shot for her belated 21st birthday. That was interesting! After dinner, we migrated over to the Disneyland Park and watched the firework show.

Pictures from Disneyland

To conclude the night, Kelsey and I parted ways with our friends and went to look around the Disneyland shops, architecture, and history of the park. We love the rides and everything, however, we both really love and appreciate the origin of the park and it's creators. I'ts extremely fascinating and I highly recommended it if you have not yet been inside of that area of the park. It's directly to the right when entering the Disneyland Park. To say the least, we had an extremely good Thanksgiving and Black Friday. I don't normally speak for Kelsey, but I'm sure she would agree that she enjoyed herself and we are both extremely thankful for everything Linnea and Mike did for us these past few days!

Happy Holidays everyone!

New TV Show Addiction?

I have recently come across The Walking Dead on Sunday nights via AMC. I have always been intrigued by zombie movies and games. One of my favorite zombie movies is the Resident Evil series directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starring Milla Jovovich and my all time favorite zombie video game is the Left 4 Dead series.

The show is about this County Sheriff waking up in a hospital, after being in a coma for weeks, utterly alone. The world as he knows it is gone, ravaged by a zombie epidemic. The Walking Dead tells the story of the weeks and months that follow the apocalypse.

I am HOPING that the TV show ends up having a good, well thought out story line! There is nothing worse in a zombie-related movie than an awful storyline that doesn't make any sense or keeps going in circles. That is one of the main reasons I love the first few Resident Evil movies and Left 4 Dead because they both have extremely well and thought out story lines and were executed on an incredible level. As I watch more episodes, I'll let you know if it is even worth watching or not. Now I have to catch up and watch episode two of the four that are currently out. Goodnight!

The Walking Dead Trailer

Brandon & Kelsey's Open House Adventure

This morning Kelsey and I decided to eat breakfast at Paty's and then go on a walk around Toluca Lake. Kelsey saw an open house sign and once we got close enough to read the address, she nearly cried. She was so happy to see her *dream* house was open for open house. The home, currently owned by Peter Facinelli & Jennifer Garth, is currently up for sale for $5,299,999 at 8,416 sqft; 6 bedrooms and 8.5 bathrooms. We walked in and was given a tour of this incredible house by Andrew Manning, a family friend of Peter & Jennie, both Kelsey and I amazed about every single detail of the home and design. We can expect nothing less from a Paul Williams designed home. After we walked around the house, we stopped to talk with Carolyn Garth, Jennifer's mother. At this time, the only guests in the home were Kelsey and myself, with both Andrew Manning and Carolyn Garth.

After talking for awhile, Carolyn asks "I have Apple Crisp.. who wants some?!" Kelsey and I both say that we would love some and continue to follow her to the kitchen. She gives us a slice of her homemade apple crisp and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Kelsey and I stayed in this home, talking and eating with Andrew and Carolyn for over 2 hours. Right before we were about to leave, I asked Kelsey if she wants me to take a picture of her in this beautiful home and then Carolyn takes my blackberry and says "go sit over there by the fire place!" She then continues to take a picture of Kelsey and I sitting on Peter Facinelli's and Jennifer Garth's fire place.. She and Andrew both say "This should be your Christmas card!".

When we left, Kelsey and I, both in a little bit of excitement, look at each other and say "Jennifer Garth's mother just fed us home made apple crisp and took a picture of us in their home....." That, to us, is extremely exciting and we think this has been an extremely eventful day and it's only 3 pm!

Link to Peter Facinelli's & Jennifer Garth's Home