Hundreds of Dolphins to be Slaughtered in Japan

Nearly 200 bottlenose dolphins are being trapped in Japanese coves this week for the customary hunting of these beautiful animals. Japanese traditions see the hunting of these animals no different then hunting any other type of animal for their meat.

25 of these trapped animals will be sold off to Japanese aquariums and zoo to live a life of animal slavery. One these trapped dolphins is a rare albino calf. The Japanese fishermen hope they will be able to fetch a high price for such a rare prize of the catch. The main excuse Japanese officials are defending the practice of viciously catching these animals as a tradition and a customary procedure.

Dolphin and whale meat make up a large chunk of the average Japanese diet. However environmentalists believe that the meat is not healthy as it contains heavy amounts of mercury.

My personal opinion is mixed. On one side I completely believe how sacred customs and traditions are to this side of the world. Even though many of Japan is top of the grid in regards to technology and growth, they still hold many “old world” traditions. So I completely understand, however I am also a bit of an animal lover. I still believe if the actual practice that they use could be changed to a more practical and “less horrific” technique I do not see an issue.

I believe that people in America that are upset about this issue are partially biased to dolphins because they are one of the more popular animals.

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5 Superfoods That Will Keep You Healthy and Lose Weight Fast!

In the New Year, everyone around the country is trying to eat more clean and get in better shape. One of the ways to do that is to start a diet, but what is the next new diet; Is it the detox juice diet, the smoothies three times a day diet, or the ‘only eating vegetables and fruit’ diet. But what vegetables and foods really burn the most belly fat? Well the biggest way to help you stay fit and healthy and help you lose weight fast is one simple word, Superfoods. Superfoods not only help build bones, but they prevent many diseases such as chronic disease, cancer, as well as help your mind stay sharp and active. Superfoods not only benefit your body in multiple ways, like improving your eyesight or help your skin stay glowing and fresh, but it also is one of the top major ways to help you get slim fast and stay slim for the long run.

Here are 5 top superfoods that will help you loose weight quick and stay healthy longer:

1- Grapefruit- This tart and tangy fruit has a hint of sweetness to it and with that sweetness come the health promoting benefits that it offers.  The grapefruit is an excellent source of vitamin C, a vitamin that helps build the immune system and supports it at its very best during infections or colds. Not only do grapefruits help reduce cold symptoms, but with limonoids, a phytonutrient in grapefruit, helps inhibit tumor formation. And it doesn’t stop there. The pulp from this citrus fruit also helps prevent breast cancer.

2- Black Beans- Yes they are delicious in everywhere, but they are also healthy. A cup of black beans contains 15 grams of protein, protein that does not contain any saturated fat that is found in other protein sources, such as red meat, like steak and hamburgers. So find a friend that is vegetarian and borrow some of their black bean recipes, because you will be whipping up healthy delicious meals that will taste good and make you look good while doing it.

3-  Salmon- One lean mean source of protein here is the delicious pink salmon. Grill it, blacken it, or even pan-sear it. Whatever way you like to cook it, salmon will still be just as healthy and delicious. This source of protein has an amazing amount of omega-3 fatty acids that benefit the body in several ways. These benefits include: improvement of overall cell function, better brain function, improved transfer of information between the body’s cells, and help reduce the risk of numerous cardiovascular problems, such as heart attach, stroke, high blood pressure, and heart arrhythmia.

4- Broccoli- Whether you cook this vegetable or eat it raw, the health benefits of digesting this vegetable is astounding. Known for its cancer preventing powers, broccoli is a vegetable that not only prevents diseases but also acts as fiber filler. Broccoli is not only one of the very best vegetables you could eat, but because of its filling fiber in only 40-50 calories, it will leave you feeling fuller for a longer period of time throughout the day. So have fun, go out with your girls, and whatever you do don’t pack a snack, because this broccoli vegetable will leave you feeling full for hours.

5-  Red Wine- I know, how can alcohol be in any way good for you? Well it is and here is how.  The antioxidant found in the grape skin not only stops fat storage, but it also helps eliminate the belly fat all women worry about. Studies have shown that one to two glasses of red wine a night narrows the waist and boost your calorie burn for more than 90 minutes. So relax, put on a movie, and drink up!

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Hangout Music Festival is Back again!

Get ready fans, because the hangout music festival is back! This one of a kind festival will take place on the beautiful Gulf Shores, AL. on May 16-18th. Featuring over seventy bands, including headliners the Black Keys, the Killers, Outkast and Jack Johnson, it is sure to be another big hit! Located near the Florida border, it is easily accessible via both the Pensacola, FL and Mobile, AL airports.

Fresh from their three Grammy wins for best rock album, performance and song, the Black Keys will be one of the headliners of the festival. The band began recording their eighth album in January of 2013 and they hope to have it finished by March of 2014.

On September 16 2013, three years to the day of their first show, The Killers rereleased “shot at the night” which was their first single off of their greatest hits album, direct hits. The album was also released in many differnet editions, including an “uber deluxe” one, and their second single released was “just another girl”. They also released a yearly christmas single, “christmas in LA” on December 2, 2013 for project red.

For the first time in almost six years, Outkast are reuniting at the Hangout Music Festival. In late 2013, it was rumored that they were going to reunite at the Coachella valley music and arts festival in 2014, which was confirmed on January 8th, 2014. It was also announced that they would be performing at over 40 festivals throughout the world to celebrate their 20th anniversary. They are sure to be a hit at the hangout festival!

Fresh off of two acoustic concerts in Notting Hill and in New York City, Jack Johnson is the final headliner at the festival. Jack also headlined the 2013 Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee.

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South African Pastor Convinces His Followers To Eat Grass To Get Closer To God

Pastor Lesego Daniel, of Rabboni Centre Ministries, convinced his congregation to eat grass to “be closer to God”. After being told that, dozens of his followers immediately dropped to the floor to eat the grass at his ministry in Garankuwa, north of Pretoria. He is said to have claimed that, humans can eat anything to feed their bodies and survive on whatever they choose to eat.
A 21-year-old law student and follower of Pastor Daniel, states that she had been battling a sore throat for more than a year, but it healed after she ate the grass. She states the following, “Yes, we eat grass and we’re proud of it because it demonstrates that, with God’s power, we can do anything.”
In addition, Doreen Kgatle, 27, of Ga-rankuwa, suffered a stroke two years ago. She states the following, “I could not walk but soon after eating the grass, as the pastor had ordered, I started gaining strength and an hour later I could walk again.”
The controversy stirred, when Rabboni Centre Ministries posted pictures on their Facebook page, of followers eating the grass, as Pastor Daniel walked by them as they spread out on the floor. One outraged commentator said “it is like a scene in a movie… This cannot be real. God created animals to chew grass and made human beings to dominate over animals. Any person who reduces human beings to animals is definitely not God.”

The Daily Mail Reports that the pastor kicks and steps on people as they are eating, and he orders other congregants to slap and trample on them.

Although Daniel has not responded to the backlash over the past week. His last post on Facebook was, “God is a work and his people are testifying right now… You have been given grace to fast in the Spirit. It’s not by might nor by your own power but by the Spirit of God.”

 

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Dallas Safari Club auctions off license to kill endangered black rhino

In an effort to save the endangered species, the Dallas safari club recently auctioned off a license to kill the rare African black rhino. The Black rhino has been on a fast road to extinction since the 1970s; their population is down an estimated 96 percent in just 40 years. Today there is only an estimated 5,000 rhinos left in the wild. Native to the African country of Namibia, the rhinos have greatly decreased in numbers due to poachers who are after their horn. The rhino horns are illegally sold all over the world for their supposed medicinal properties.

The auction is which was held last week brought in 350,000. However, there has been much controversy on both sides, as to wether the auction will benefiting or hurting the species. The Dallas Safari Club has stated that the hunt will be of a male who is to old to breed. In addition, they have stated that one hunt will not harm the species, as mortality is fairly common and natural to wild animals. Corey Knowlton who won the bid to hunt the rhino certainly thinks his permit will help the species as a whole. Many people don’t seem agree though, and he’s received numerous death threats after having won the auction. The problem which i think arises is wether this hunt is sending the right message. I really don’t believe one hunt will hurt the species as a whole; The money raised i think can really do a lot of good too. The problem i see is that if we are trying to get people to stop hunting these animals, is it smart to promote that idea by shooting one?

 

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Man returns parking lot find of $40,000 to owner.

A twenty three year old student of Portland State University named Brian DiCarlo returned a massive $38,000 cashiers check and $2000 in cash to its rightful owner after discovering an envelope containing the lost wealth in a Portland, Oregon parking lot. In a world where college students are know to be strapped for cash, Brian selflessly chose to hand over the large sum of money to his local sheriffs office instead of cashing in on his new found wealth. The local deputies then used information found inside the envelope to contact the money’s original owner, a very panicked and stressed 71 year old woman named Sharon Davis, who was still searching all over the parking lot and local businesses in hopes that someone had found turned in her lost cash.

When Brian originally found the envelope he thought it was trash, however the envelope’s fresh appearance bore a great contrast to the wet and dirty parking lot in which it lay. This clean and dry envelope seemed strange to him, and the contents were even more surprising. When interviewed by KPTV he recalled “My first thought is that this person is a wreck, whoever this is for this is, they are losing their mind trying to figure out where they left it, retracing their steps.”

The college student was not left unrewarded for his good deed. Ms Davis immediately called Brian to give a very emotional and grateful “thank you” to him after officers returned the envelope to her. She also was kind enough to send him a note thanking him attached to a $300 dollar reward.

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2014 Film Score Oscar Nominations

Oscar season is upon us, world, so let us whip out our nominations for best director, best actor/actress, best picture, etc. and totally forget about one of the most important aspects of a movie: the film score. Indeed, in my humble opinion, film scores are hands down the most important aspects of sound in the process of making a movie complete. It seems that film scores are socially overlooked or swept under the rug to make room for prominent categories that the masses deem more important. So without further ado, I give you my top film score list of the 2014 Oscar nominations.

 

5. Her – William Butler and Owen Pallett

This movie alone is very well put together. But add french Canadian electronic/alternative band Arcade Fire to compose the score to this already futuristic neo-indie film and you’ve got magic. With the movie taking place in the near future in Los Angeles and lifestyle that wreaks of digital dependency from the cast, the movie already has the feel of a futuristic computing utopia. The soundtrack simply compliments the theme of the movie.

4. The Book Thief – John Williams

John Williams is a legend in his own right and the fact that he came out of retirement to compose the music for this film is pretty profound. Though I have not seen this film, the score is actually somewhat contrary to Williams’ usual brass and string laden compositions. The Book Thief score is a beautiful piece, nonetheless, giving the feel of mystique with its mostly piano and string usage. This score is very well done, which I would expect nothing less from the Master of Scores in John Williams.

3. Man of Steele – Hans Zimmer

It was pretty obvious that Hans Zimmer would be responsible for the film score of ‘Man of Steel’ considering Christopher Nolan had a hand in the film. Hans Zimmer is known for his big, loud, deep, booming brass and he certainly delivers on Man of Steel. Though I wasn’t blown away by the actual movie, the score itself blew me clean out of my seat. Hans Zimmer is at his best on this explosive score complimenting the super hero theme of the movie.

2. Gravity – Steven Price

A newcomer to the film score genre, Steven Price did surprisingly well on the score to Gravity. I put this score at #2 on the list because it hit on all cylinders as far as complimenting the movie and even on the composition having a life of its own. Set it space throughout 97% of the movie, Gravity is already a dark movie and the score certainly sets the mood for this celestial escapade. With is subtle electric feel and moody instrumentations, Steven Price has made a name for himself in the film score world and I am a fan.

1. Oblivion – M83, Anthony Gonzalez, Joseph Trapanese

And the Academy Award for best film score goes to…Oblivion. (At least in my world it wins). With the help of french electronic artist M83, this score could be a full length album on its own. Similar to Her, this movie is also set in the future and if you ask me, there is no better and feel to set the tone to any futuristic movie than the use of electronic instruments. M83 does just that with a high tempo, fast paced action feel to this score. If you haven’t seen the movie, this composition is good enough to tell much of the story on its own. With that being said, that’s my top list of film scores from the year 2013 but don’t take my word for it.

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Avatar Takes Over Disney

On January 10th. Disney has finally started the development of Avatar Land at Animal Kingdom in Orlando Florida. This will be turning Animal Kingdom into a full day and nighttime area for the theme park. The park will be finished sometime in 2017 after the release of Avatar 2 (December 2016) and 3 (December 2017).

The park is being designed and imagined by James Cameron.  The park will include bio-luminescent jungle at nighttime and will showcase the floating mountains in the sky. There will be an attraction where you fly a banshee, which is a dragon/bird like creature from the film. There will also be a water ride that is rumored to be like the Pirates of the Caribbean one in Disney World. The Tree of Life will be transformed into the “Mother Tree” that was in the Avatar film.

My only concern with the new addition to Animal Kingdom would be the effects on the animals that are kept there. Will this effect their sleeping habits since the park will be open during the nighttime? Will the animals be out longer since the park will be open later, and could this lead to animal stress, depression or even death?

There are some plus sides of having this addition to Animal Kingdom. This will add employment opportunities to Orlando residents, and give current employees more hours due to the additional hours the park will be open. Tourism will be up since everyone will want to check out this imaginary world turned real.

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The Polar Vortex Phenomenon

This weekend and I had to go visit family up in Minnesota. I was expecting it to be cold, but when I wasn’t expecting some of the below zero temperatures I experienced. looking into it I found out it had to do with something called the Polar Vortex. Many of us down south have never heard of it, but it’s when part of the Polar Vortex over the North Pole gets warmer, making it weak and breaking off a piece of the vortex and sending it south, and this time it was sent to northeast and mid-west United Stated. Some of you might be wondering if that’s why it’s been in the forties in Florida, and you would be correct. But, there is obviously a greater affect up In Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan and other similar places. Due to the unpredictability of weather, it can happen again or never again, but it’s nothing to be worried about. Al Roker was speaking about it and said to think about it as a freezing hurricane thousands of miles above us. Most specialists have been found saying that it’s hard to say whether or not this will happen again this winter, but and just as likely possible and not possible to keep you eyes peeled and your coats ready for more weather phenomenons this winter.

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Expanded Replay Approved by MLB

Over the past few years, there has seemed to be a major outcry for instant replay in Major League Baseball.  Controversial calls and missed plays has been the driving force for so many when it comes to replay in baseball.  Well, earlier this week many fans and players got their wish when MLB commissioner Bud Selig announced that there will be expanded replay starting in the 2014 season.

Since 2008, Major League Baseball contained replay, but it was only limited to home run disputes.  Many people saw this as a step in the right direction.  Since then though, there has still been game changing and even history changing missed calls by umpires leading to what we have now.

Every manager will start the game with one challenge.  If he uses it and wins, he will get one more challenge for the remainder of the game.  Many other plays are now allowed to be challenged including: tags, force plays, whether a batter is hit by a pitch, “trap” plays in the outfield, fan interference, etc.  Two of the umpires will have access to the Replay Command Center in New York, which is staffed with other umpires.  It will be the umpires at the Replay Command Center that make the final call and not the umpires at the game.

I may be in the minority, but in my opinion I cannot stand any form of replay in baseball.  Human element is part of the game and I understand this is in place to get the calls right, but this is too much and takes up too much time.  Maybe it will grow on me but as of right now, I am not a fan of replay in MLB.

 

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