Black-Out in a Can: Four Loko

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Nine people became sick after
consuming Four Loko, or black-out
in a can, and other alcohol. Several
states asked the FDA to decide whether
caffeinated alcoholic beverages are
safe.

Police were called to a supermarket
parking lot. They found a girl passed
out in the back seat of a car, boy next
to her had a bloody nose. At the private
house the two had just left, three girls
laid on a bed, a barely conscious young
man was being dragged out of the back-yard,
another girl was face-down on the bathroom
floor and three more young people were
spread-out inside a car outside.

The site of the "party people," most of
them students at Central Washington
University in nearby Ellensburg looked
like they had been victims to a date
rape drug.

Police and medical investigators have for
the most part held the heavy consumption
of Four Loko responsible, known as black-out
in a can.

It is "upset...when our products are abused
or consumed illegally by under aged drinkers,"
Phusion Projects LLC of Chicago, which
manufactures Four Loko, said in a statement.

"The real problem is the drinker thinks
they're more alert and less impaired than
they actually are," said David Schardt, senior
nutritionist at the consumer advocacy group.
"They keep drinking to the point of being in
danger of alcohol poisoning. And that can lead
to death."

This week Central Washington University officials
banned brews temporarily on campus.

Source: http://newsblaze.com/story/20101027065002writ.nb/topstory.html

An Important Lesson In Life

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Bullies Live On Every Street But
Special Stands Apart

A lesson to learn in life is that
bullies live in almost every house-hold,
but special stands apart. A special
person stands apart as bullies pack
together.

An error will come face-to-face with
bullies. Yet, they will insist on going
down the same path. They use anyone,
say anything, to shift blame. Or, they
give the impression that their actions
are right.

"I didn't know." Bullies are quick to
claim. "Whatever." The bullies' slogan.

They smile/joke about bullism.

The special person takes responsibility,
atones.

Bullies terrorize without care for who
gets hurts, and have no problem going to
the next level if resistance is shown.

The special person declines to partake,
gives comfort, aid.

Bullies have no regard for right and wrong.
The primary concern for bullies: their egos.

I, too, am a victim of bullism. I managed to
stand-up, apart, with help. Bullies don't
discriminate. They will pick on anyone,
anywhere.

If you are attacked by bullies, let others
know. Bullies feed-off fear. They take
pleasure in isolating.

The important lesson: Keep bullies at a
distance, and stand-up, apart, from them
for a quality life. Make plenty of noise
to bring attention to a bully's behavior.


Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/An-Important-Lesson-In-Life

Justice's Wife Wants An Apology

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Nearly 20 years after sexual harassment
allegations that almost stopped Clarence
Thomas's Supreme Court nomination, the
justice's wife, Virginia Thomas, telephoned
Anita Hill, his principal accuser, to ask
for an apology.

"I certainly thought the call was inappropriate,"
Ms. Hill explained through a spokesman. "I have
no intention of apologizing because I testified
truthfully about my experience and I stand by
that testimony."

Ms. Hill said she originally assumed the call,
which a spokesman said came 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday,
was a prank. She notified campus security, Brandeis
spokesman Charles Radin, which in a routine procedure
alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"Good morning, Anita Hill, it's Ginni Thomas," the
message began. "I just wanted to reach across the
air-waves and the years and ask you to consider
something. I would love you to consider an apology
sometime and some full explanation of why you did
what you did with my husband. So give it some thought
and certainly pray about this and come to understand
why you did what you did. Okay have a good day."

Justice Thomas, nominated by President George H.W. Bush,
denied Ms. Hill's allegations and called the hearing
"a high-tech lynching." He accused committee staffers
of digging up "dirt" to block a black conservative
from succeeding the liberal Justice Thurgood Marshall,
the court's first African-American member.

The transcript was first published by ABC News.

How To Title Fiction

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Perfect Title

Titles are the first to be seen/read
by agents, publishers and your fans.
They should grab the reader's eyes and
attention. Titles should pluck at the
imagination.

Let's look at ways of picking the perfect
title.

1. The title sums-up your work. Read through
it. What group of words best describes your
fiction? Words that best plant an image, lasting
impression, in the minds of readers equals the
perfect title. The title should be exciting,
pose a thinking question, funny or mysterious.
It's never boring.

2. What are the key words? List them. Select the
words that best depict your work, and key words
search engines feed on.

3. Take a break from your work. Come-back in a day
or two. Did you come-up with a perfect title? Time
away, often, will help stir-up new titles.

4. You're refreshed. Read your fiction. What words
are shouting, pick me? Those are the words that will
title your story.

5. What gave you inspiration for the piece? Draw a
title from it.

6. The moral of your fiction is the best title?

7. Put it aside one more time. Come back to edit.
The editing process is over when you feel it's ready,
and the perfect title emerges.

Source: http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Title-Fiction

Easy Steps To Writing A Sonnet

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Sonnets originated in the thirteenth
century. It's a formal poem that started
in Italy. Sonnets have fourteen lines with
a certain rhyme and metrical scheme.

A Sonnet starts with a problem, and the end
replies with an answer.

Let's go through the steps to creating Sonnets.

1. Decide on what subject you want to address.
There was a time when Sonnets spoke of philosophy,
but todays's Sonnets reach into any topic.

2. State the issue, problem, in three stanzas of
four lines each.

3. The stanzas use a rhyme scheme with each letter
that stands for a Sonnet line.

4. Last words of all lines show-case the same letter
rhyme with each other.

5. The last section is displayed as a two rhyming
lines of poetry.

Read Sonnets to get a feel for writing them. It's
important to have fun with them.