Rooney on New Year

Rooney on New Years

The truth is that every one has their own take on what a 'New Year' will bring.

I'm personally not as enthusiastic for 2010 as I was for 2009. It definitely has something to due aging.

But besides that, I'm cool. Still thankful to be among the living and what not.

I hope that you all make the most of 2010.. PEACE

Winter Session 2009

The end of the 2009 FAll session is here. If you're thinking like me, then you're probably looking into attending the winter session. Not because it's convenient, but because there's too much 'reconfiguration' going on to be comfortable.

There was a student rally last week meant to encourage our support for the Valley. Had it been promoted a little better, then I'm certain that more us us (students) would have attended. We're all for preserving Valley's tradition as an HBCU.And are not in support of Barbor's suggestion to merge.

But back to the issue at hand...Winter Session. To be honest, I'm comfortable with attending and passing the courses. I'm just a little fearful that the distance will be a factor for me. I love the Valley !! S*it, I want my children to atend Valley in the future. But VAlley needs to make its courses more available to us. On campus is great for the small populations in Itta Bena and Greenwood. But what about those of us who live in other cities and towns ?

Winter Session and all other sessions should be made available via on-line distant learning. Would it increase the number of student enrollment? I think YES... Get Winter Session courses on-line!!! :)

GO DELTA DEVILS !!

Make some CA$H 4 Your thoughts !!!

Look... We can all use some extra cash. So, I propose that we read each others blogs more frequently. I know you don't have time, but if you make the time, you can make some cash. SOUNDS good, and it's real. Here's where the money comes in...

After you log into your blog accounts, click the "MONETIZE" link. Complete the needed steps,and make sure you blog at least once a week. That's basically it!! Google will supply you with the advertisings to be posted on your blogger page. Those ad's can make you some cash. Every time some one views and follows the advertising links, you make a couple of pennies. And you know pennies make dollars !!!

So, go "Monetize" that blog page. And come back to my page and follow some of those ad links. You know the saying - If you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. (Figuratively speaking) But really, if you guys follow some of the ad links on my page, I'll do the same .. YOU DIG ;)

Children Do Their Part

Children Do Their Parts
Last month my children participated in a group activity that made me proud. One Saturday they woke up and got dressed and I dropped them off at the local Boys and Girls Club. There, they did their parts to help clean up the place. I know they weren’t the only children that participated in cleaning up, but I am just ecstatic that they volunteered.
That’s not the only time they’ve given back to the community either. On a separate weekend event, they wanted to go help clean up at our neighborhood park. They took part in painting, playing (no doubt) and cleaning up the park grounds.
If they acted this way all the time, I’d be the s*hit as a mom. But they are just ordinary children. They’ve proven that they’re not afraid to do a little hard work to contribute to our community!! Big ups to my seeds :)

Tips for finding a Seasonal Job

A large percentage of college students won’t have monies during the Holiday Season. Mostly because the cost of living and attending school will outweigh their income. So, I thought it might be helpful to offer some possible ways to earn cash during this time of year.
Retail stores like J.C. Penny’s and K Mart hire extra staff to keep up with the needs of their customer base during the holidays. Some tips on actually acquiring the job would be 1) be persistent with your application. Apply on-line and in person. Make sure to conduct follow up calls on your applications. Use this line (if you think it’ll help)
“Hello, my name is ………… I applied for the position of ………….. last week. I was just calling to check on the statues of my application”. This will let the manager know that you are serious about landing the job.
Other things that’ll help you land the job are (2) remembering to dress the part and (3) talk to the hiring manager as if you have known them all your life. But please be cordial with your choice of words. We want to get the job, not get thrown out of the establishment.
Keep in mind that once you get the job, you have to take on the job requirements. Report to work on time, and go the extra mile if you have to. Doing so may lead to a permanent position with the company. And if not that, then it’ll make things easier for you come next year.
By the way, other possible job openings for the holiday are U.P.S. stores, Brown’s Package Delivery, Radio Shack, Belk’s and Wal-Mart. Good luck.
For more job listings in your area go to http://www.snagajob.com.

Change in the Greenville School System

The current Public School year began with a ton of unorganization in comparison to last year (2008-2009). Some local Greenville Public Schools have under gone complete re-configurations. Principals, students, teachers, and other Public School staff have either been relocated or terminated.Ella Darling Elem. is one of the schools that has had its share of difficulties in dealing the required transition.

I had 'heart-to-heart' conversations with two of the re-located Teachers (both of whom identities I'll keep private for the sake of decency). One Teachers comments were so expressive that it showed in her limbs. Seriously, her hands flailed about, and her head jerked in different directions as she spoke about how unhappy she is with the changes. She basically feels as though the changes could have gone more fluidly if everyone was given ample time to adjust to the reality of the re-configuration.

As for the other Teacher, she was more concerned about the pressures being put on the teaching staff and the students. Even before the recently re-located students received their first report cards, they spent two days testing. Those test scores will in turn determine if some of the teachers will even have jobs for the 2010-2011 public school year. I believe that every worker should be evaluated by their work results. With this situation though, you have to keep in mind that some of these students have been separated from their siblings, and are attending school at a totally new location. How well could you test under those circumstances?

All of these things are added stress for the children and the staff. I don't understand it all myself. But I can see the evidence of the Greenville Public School Systems neglect to fully respect the human consequences of their decisions.

Capitalism and Obesity

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plC7W7STnPE

Obesity and Its Roots

Obesity and Its Roots
Author: Krystal Brown
October 13, 2009

Can we categorize the cause of obesity, and have that cause be relevant in all cases of obesity. I don’t think that it is a realistic task. In every nation around the world, obesity is prevalent. From the richest parts of America, to the poorest regions of South America, obesity has left its mark on human health and well being.
You can link obesity to everything from stress, lack of medical access, to poverty and capitalism. And of these ‘links’ the strongest, in my opinion, is capitalism. A brief history of capitalism is this: it has its origins in North America, and according to Mooney, Knox, and Schatch, authors of the book “Understanding Social Problems”, is defined as an economic system characterized by private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods and services for profit in a competitive market. Capitalism has replaced old world traditions like growing your foods, and processing your own meats. This doesn’t seem major, but when you give it some thought, we’ve chosen to put our food consumption safety in the hands of manufacturing companies.
It’s safe to a least assume that these major food processing companies are in it for the money. Adding preservatives, dyes, fragrances, and who knows what else to our foods in an effort to get the edge over their competitors. This capitalistic business leads to major marketing tactics.Don’t believe me? Then ask yourself this question; how often do you see commercials advertising food and food products on a daily rate? How many print ad’s did you drive by today that advertise food consumption of any kind, including restaurants? Too many to NOT get your taste buds excited I bet.
In an interview with an anonymous medical professional on the cause of obesity issue, he had this to say
“Exercise is the healthiest way to lose weight. According to recent studies, the cells of a person who exercised to lose weight appear younger in comparison to a person who diets”.
I found this information compelling, but it seemed as if he (the Doctor) wasn’t comfortable with discussing the causes of obesity. Actually, the statement made by the Doctor that hits home for me is when he exclaimed this
“No one has time to exercise, but everyone needs to make the time or face the consequences later!”
Like it or not, it is because of capitalism that we don’t have time to exercise. No, really! Think about the amount of hours we dedicate in a days’ time for work, bill paying, and grocery shopping, and so on. By the time we’ve completed our contribution to this capitalistic machine, we’re literally exhausted. And unless you’re a superhuman, the excess stress and foods that we’ve consumed just lingers both on us, and in us.
I’m not saying that capitalism alone accounts for every case of obesity. However, the system of capitalism has put a great deal of strain on human beings worldwide. It causes excessive food consumption, stress, over all greed.

Not the 'Fine-all' Event

Not the ‘Fine-all’ Event
October 7, 2009
Written by: Krystal Brown



All events aren’t filled with concession stands and loud music. As a matter of fact, there are some events that don’t involve entertainment at all. Paying a city fine was very eventful for me.
On Tuesday, October 7, 2009, I walked adjacent to the cobble stones that
cover Greenville’s Main Street. At the last red light, on the right side of the road, there it sits. The place where no one wants to be...the City Clerks office, my destination. Quite naturally I arrived there with high hopes and a purse full of cash.
Now before I can reveal the remainder of the event, let me brief you on how I wound up having dealings with this place. About a year ago, I was on my way to the park with my three children. It was meant to be a typical ‘load em’ up, buckle em’ in’ car ride. However, it didn’t work out that way. Some drunken fellow decided that it was okay to block my drive way with his car. Well his bad decision making lead to an accident. I rolled into his mid-street parked vehicle at the speed of four miles per hour. Being the good citizen that I am, I reported it to the Greenville Police Department. Believe it or not, I’m still paying for that accident.
Now that you have the reason behind my visit to the Clerk’s office, let me complete the actions of the event. Mrs. Lee, the clerk, informed me that I had an outstanding fine of $280.00. So I paid it. And though I wish that was the end of the ordeal, it’s not.
All of my high hopes of finally being done with this silly mishap went down the stairs and into the corridor, after Mrs. Lee, a.k.a. the collector, told me that my problems weren’t over. She informed me that I needed to be processed at the Police Station, and that I had incurred an addition fine of $395.00!
I just dropped my head and told her that I was ready for the walk of shame. Down the stairs and out the building, I found myself walking side by side with the clerk. Again adjacent to the cobble stoned street. We entered the Police Station and headed through the double doors. These aren’t any double doors. These doors are like the difference between freedom and lock down. It was a scary thing.
At the back of the precinct, Mrs. Lee filled out some papers. And before I knew it, I was told to stand against the wall and stare at the camera. Let me tell you, I wasn’t the least bit worried about my hair being in place for this mug shot. In fact, I believe that my subconscious mind took over, and a look of pity replaced my smile.
Before it was over, I filled out a couple of papers. I even asked questions like how long do I have to pay off the second fine, and what is a warrant. But the most important of any of my questions was, am I free to go home. That was the only thing I wanted to know by the end of this event.

Proper Punishment

In July, 2008, an outcry was heard by the public. Casey Anthony had finally made it known that her 2-year old daughter had gone missing. Although she told police that her daughter disappeared an entire month before her decision to report the child's absence.

The heart-felt tragedy triggered a nation wide Amber Alert and vigorous search parties with hopes of bringing little Caylee Anthony home.

That was over a year ago. As of current, Cassey Anthony has been found guilty and charged with first degree murder in the case of her young daughter. Caylee was found in December of 2008,but all that remained was her skeletal structure.

In concluding the case of little Caylee Anthony, police and forensics used hair samples left behind by the deceased child , and a blood stained silhouette of a child in fetal position. All of which was found in the trunk of Casey Anthony's vehicle. Authorities also took into consideration the many inconsistencies of Casey Anothny's story concerning her daughter's disappearance. A well as her erratic behavior. Pictures have surfaced that show Casey Anthony partying at night clubs after her only child's disappearance.

The verdict of First-Degree Murder isn't sufficient for the Prosecutors of the case though. They are pushing further with hopes of punishing Casey Anthony by way of the death penalty.

Out on Bond ?

According to the American Associateed Press, and Black America Web, "West was charged with battery, disorderly conduct and cruelty to children, and is currently out on $5,000 bond".

Sounds like a typical criminal with a short fuse doesn't it? Well it's not. Troy D. West is a 47 year old business owner who is 'innocent' unil proven guilty by a jury of his peers. I sure hope that his peers aren't racist. The guy, Mr. West, reportdly beat down an African-American women in front of her young daughter. As if that weren't bad enough, he also yelled racial slurs while battering the women. All of this took place in public, on September 17,2009.

The victim, Tashawanea Hill, is an army reservist, sustained terrible bruises and mistreatment as a result of this man's actions. One can only imagine the torment that she and her daughter will endure in their attempt to deal with such a life changeing event.

In my opinion, the real unjustice in this case is the lack of media coverage. I'm no racist, but if this had happened to a white women , who serves these United States, it would be all over the news. I know for sure that Fox News would run it every 10 or 12 seconds. Why is there such a reluctance to exposing this news worthy event?

Why is Mr. West even allowed such a small bond?

Opening Night.... Exciting

Well let me tell you ; it's not easy being an entreprenuer in the Mississippi Delta. Take it from me, I've been trying for years (two to be exact).

And yes, I can admit that I may be doing something wrong, BUT, when it comes to the Restaurant bussiness, getting and keeping the clientell can be 'mucho dificil' !

So I'd like to envite all of you restaurant goers to re-visit your local fav's and pretend that it's opening night. You'll get a kick out of playing 'make-believe'. And just for fun.... act as if you don't know anyone's name.

Let me know the out come after that adventure :)