Extra post: Michael Martone

Last Wednesday I listened to Michael Martone, a fictional writer, read some of his writings. I’m not going to explain to you about who I think Michael Martone is, but what I thought about the experience. Going into the assembly where Michael Martone was preparing to speak, not only did I feel out of place, but I had already pre-judged the experience by thinking that I wasn’t going to like it. How wrong I was. Surrounded by English teachers and majors I expected that they were just there to support there department and because they were the few that had a passion for reading and writing. After attending the presentation, I was shocked. I was into it the readings the whole time. I was laughing and smiling throughout the readings and I didn’t know what had gotten into me. Just ten minutes into the presentation I had realized that writing doesn’t always have to be boring. Michael Martone was so creative and almost spunky in his writing. He had the crowd laughing the whole time, and transitioned into his next pieces of writings by making jokes that had everyone almost falling out of their seats. My favorite piece that he read was the “Sex Life of the Fantastic Four”, it was absolutely hilarious. Not only did Michael Martone earn my respect through his presentation, he earned a new fan.

- Troy Cutter

Post 6, Tim Tebow, Future or Fake?

(Current event)

Recently their has been a lot of talk about the success of the Denver Broncos, and even more talk about their new quarterback, Tim Tebow. Tim Tebow won a national championship at Florida, and also won the Heisman trophy, the most prestigious award for a college football player. However, when he was drafted into the NFL, no one believed that he would be any good as an NFL quarterback due to his different throwing motion. However, now that Tim Tebow replaced Kyle Orton as the Denver Broncos starting quarterback, he is 7-1 as a starter winning very close games, and a couple of overtime games. Despite this, NFL analysts still don’t believe that Tim Tebow will be a successful quarterback due to his poor passing stats, and his quarterback rating. However, he continues to win games. He is a leader, a locker room presence, and one of the best athletes in the NFL. Controversies continue about the success of Tim Tebow, and only time will tell if he will become the future of the Denver Broncos, or if he is a fake.

- Troy Cutter

Post 5, Penn State Scandal

Recently there has been a lot of contraversy about what actually happened at Penn State. For those who don’t know the story, a previous football coach at Penn State was convicted for sexually abusing little boys. Now, numerous controversies have corrupted about those who didn’t “properly report the incidents” that occured regarding the coach that committed these terrible acts. Apparently, the head coach Joe Paterno knew about what had happened, but never told the authorities. For those who don’t know, Joe Paterno has the most college football wins in the history of college football. However, Joe Paterno did inform his supervisor, the man that he legally had to tell, about the incident. So the question at hand is, should Joe Paterno been immedieately fired for this? Or should they have at least let him finish off the season, seeing how he was going to retire at the conclusion of it anyways. Contraversies and debates will forever be held about this scandal, and if Joe Paterno’s reputation should have been ruined over this.

-Troy Cutter

Post 4, How to study for finals

Seeing how it is around the time for finals, I thought that it would be a good idea to explain some of the best ways to study for them. To start, ask your teacher what will be on the exam; a whole year conclusive exam, recent material, information that was on the previous tests, etc. After collecting the information needed to best determine what will be on the exam, start to collect any information that’s related to the topics. After collecting this information, notes, tests, quizzes, worksheets, etc, try to summarize the information so it’s a reasonable amount to study. Next, write all the information down in a format that is able to be studied later. This can be flashcards, organized notes, made up questions, or any other studying techniques you may have. The final and most important technique to studying is to find a quiet, comfortable studying environment that provokes good study habbits. I suggest areas where not a lot of people know about, and therefore there will not be people to distract you. There are a few desks on the levels of the stacks hidden behind book shelves, a conference room, your dorm room if you are alone, or a computer lab in bates or wilson. Best of luck to everyone!

- Troy Cutter

Summer Fun

Post 3, Summer Fun

On a hot day over the summer, there is nothing I would rather do than go to a bridge or a ropeswing with my friends. Since my freshman year of highschool, my friends and I have had a passion in finding old bridges, quarries, ropeswings, buildings, or even trees that we could jump off of into a body of water. You would be suprised how many we actually found. These became hang out spots for us. I probably went to one of our spots with a friend atleast twice a week. We’d bring a towel, some snacks, and occasionally one of our dogs and go hang out for a few hours. I think it’s one of the best feelings in the world the moment you jump off and are just free falling. It can be scary climbing up sometimes, like this bridge I am standing on, but the adrenaline is half the fun. This bridge was the closest to us, and easily the most fun. Besides jumping off of the top of the bridge like an idiot there is a safe twenty foot jump off of the base of the bridge, there is a ropeswing, a tree you can climb and jump off, and the water is beautiful. Seeing how I spent a lot of my summer at this spot, I have a lot of good memories and will never forget it.

- Troy Cutter

Troy Cutter

Everyday scientists have been studying and testing cancer, trying everyday to find a cure. Recently, they have made progress and may have possibly found a solution to one of the major types of cancer. Leukemia. For those who don’t know, leukemia is basically the cancer of blood cells and unfortunately, it is a deadly cancer. In a new test scientists have reason to believe that they may have been successful in finding a treatment. What the treatment has done is make their healthy blood cells kill their cancerous cells. So far two out of the three patients are now cancer free and the third patient has seen improvements in their condition. However, three tests are not enough to declare the treatment as a permanent cure to leukemia. No one knows the side affects of the treatments yet, and it is still to be determined if the symptoms of leukemia come back. None the less, there has been a new spark of hope. With a condition such as leukemia, hope and progress are two words that are always great to hear. Scientists are one step closer to finding a cure to one of the deadliest diseases faced to mankind.

- Troy Cutter

Work Cited

http://www.factmonster.com/news/2011/current-events/science-disasters_august.html