Deadman's Island is Still Alive

On Wednesday Heather Reed, project manager for the city of Gulf Breeze Deadman’s Island restoration project, visited the University of West Florida to present her plans to eliminate erosion at Deadman’s Island.

“There has been almost 20 feet of erosion in one year,” Reed said about the erosion between 2008 and 2009.

Deadman’s Island is a peninsula in Gulf Breeze Which has suffered large amounts of erosion Reed said. Erosion has been occurring at an accelerated due to fast currents, hurricanes, and storm surges. Over the years, Deadman’s Island has seen more than 1000 feet of erosion and continues to suffer.

Although fast currents and hurricanes play a large role in the erosion process, it is not Reeds biggest concern.

“It’s not the hurricanes I have to worry about, it’s these rogue storm surges that cause the most harm,” Reed said.

Reed’s restoration project is aimed at slowing accelerated erosion to the speed of natural erosion. The major part of the project is the creation of natural reefs at Deadman’s Island. The natural are reefs made of oyster shells and limestone and are placed in the water to stop the quick moving currents from reaching the shore and causing erosion Reed said.

The reefs are all natural to ensure the longest live possible for them in the water and to be sure that nothing disrupts the natural habitat.

Two weeks after the restoration project began, new growth started to show. The artificial reefs were placed in the water to eliminate erosion, but when the proposition was presented to the community, they were compliant for the most part, all except for one area on the end of the artificial reefs.

Some of the community was not pleased with the way the area would look. Reed had to amend her proposition to the community’s agreement. Reeds restoration is currently working in all areas, the only area not seeing progress is the area denied by the community.

Deadmans Island is rich in History as well. There are five shipwrecks located their which are available for exploration. It was used by the Spanish and British in the 18th century and when Hurricane Dennis hit the area, it unearthed six coffins dating back to the 1800’s.

The community has also played a large part in the restoration. Over 200 people petitioned and 42 wrote in letters of support.

“Community involvement has been amazing in the project,” Reed said.
For more information on how to become more involved,visit www.deadmansisland.br3323.com

 

Global Warming

Global Warming has made a negative impact not only in the world but has also affected the rorthwestern region of Florida greatly.

“Global warming plays a major role in the future of Florida and its residents and something needs to be done,” Environmental Science Major at the University of West Florida Jason Godwin said.

Global warming is an increase in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere.

With rising temperatures, ice caps melt, causing the ocean waters to rise and with oceans rising the land of Florida’s coast is slowly disappearing.

As the land falls into the ocean, human activity and wildlife vegetation are threatened.

There are species, such as the Florida beach mouse, that rely of the coast to live and when vegetation is threatened so are they. Rising sea levels threatens the endangered species that live along the coast as well by slowly withering away at their habitat.

Hurricanes are one of the biggest problems that are presented to the northwest region of Florida. Throughout the years, hurricanes have caused millions in damages and also taken many lives.

“Hurricanes scare us financially and threaten our safety, and year after year they continue to grow stronger,” Pensacola Beach resident Tom Fruiticher said.

When temperatures rise, the ocean water warms as well. As water temperatures rise, hurricanes become stronger and more dangerous. Warm water allows hurricanes more of an opportunity to form creating more hurricanes more often.

We have recently seen this become a factor in the northwest region of Florida, with hurricanes like Ivan and Katrina. These were two of the stronger storms to recently form here.

Aside from having a physical impact on the region, it could also have an economical impact on Florida as well. As global warming continues, temperatures rise in Florida. This causes an impact of tourism.

Tourism is the biggest economic stimulator in Florida and with rising temperatures; less tourists are visiting the area due to extreme summer temperatures.
Although global warming is a very serious issue to Florida, there may still be some benefits towards Florida’s economy.

One benefit is Florida relies heavily on shellfish and with waters rising and consuming land more shoreline area is created, therefore allowing for more shellfish production.

Groups across the region have been formed in order to take on global warming and other environmental issues.

Groups such as Emerald Coast Keepers, Clean and Green and the Environmental Action Group are a few of the hundreds of groups around Florida who have joined together to fight Global warming.

“We come together to inform the public so that they are aware of the magnitude of global warming,” Kristie Sitler, board member of Clean and Green, said. “We also work hard to fight big industries that pollute the area and file lawsuits whenever a law is broken.”

Things that can be done by you are simple tasks such as car pooling, turning the lights off when you are though with them and driving more environmentally friendly cars.

“I wish this country could focus on renewable resources and veer away from the dependency of oil,” Barbie Hearington volunteer with the Environmental Action Group said. “Renewable resource could be a game changer for our ecosystem."

 

H. L. Mencken

Henry Louis Mencken was a jack of many trades. He was a journalist, essayist, magazine editor, satirist, critic and a student of American English. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland on September 12, 1880 and passed away on January 29, 1956 and is considered one of the most influential American Literary critics of the 1920’s.

H. L. Mencken’s jobs included reporting for the Baltimore Morning Herald, followed by joining the staff for the Baltimore Sun. Between the years 1914 – 1923 Mencken and George Jean Nathan joined forces and spent the years editing the Smart Set (Rothbard, 1962). The Smart Set at the time played a major part and influenced the growth of American Literature. In 1924, American Mercury was founded by both Mencken and Nathan and was edited by Mencken until 1933 (Rothbard, 1962).

The main works of Mencken include “The American Language,” “Prejudices,” “Happy Days,” Newspaper Days, ”Heathen Days,” and “My Life as Author and Editor.”

The American Language, written in 1919, brought together examples of idioms and expressions from the American language. Throughout the years, Mencken continued to update the book yearly and in 1945 and then again in 1948 he published Substantial Supplements (Americanism). When Mencken died, he was considered the leading authority on the American version English language.

Between 1919 – 1927, a collection of his reviews and essays was combined to create his work, Prejudices. He was enthralled in criticizing hypocrisy in both politics and religion (Fecher). One of these works was Notes on Democracy written in 1926, was about the deception of all men being free and equal. Other works included Treaties on the Gods, written in 1930, and Treaties on Right and Wrong, written in 1934. In Treaties on the Gods, he expressed in opinions and skepticism on religion, as well as questioning ethics in Treaties on Right and Wrong (Fecher).

His three works, Happy Day, Newspaper Days and Heathen Days, combined to create his three part memoir reliving events ranging from his childhood to his days as an editor and reporter.

He also covered a very controversial trail called the Scoops Trail. This trail was to prosecute a teacher for teaching evolution.

Mencken soon began to lose popularity. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the president, and Mencken expressed so much hatred for him and expressed his strong views with disagreeing with the war, that he lost a lot of his popularity with the public. (Fecher)

In 1948 he had a major stroke that left him unable to read or write, and was killed by cancer in the end. Recently, his diary was published which revealed his use of racist words and is now perceived by many as a racist. (Rothbard, 1962)

Sources:
Rothbard, M. N. (1962). H. L. Mencken: The Joyous Libertarian. New Individualist Review, 2.Retrieved from http://www.lewrockwell.com/rothbard/rothbard19.html

Americanism (n.d.). In Encyclopedia of Britannica Online. Retrieved from
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

Fecher, C. A. (n.d.). U.S. History Companion: H. L. Mencken. American History Companion, Retrieved From http://www.answers.com/topic/h-l-mencken

Marguerite Higgins

Marguerite Higgins was an American Journalist who was born in Hong Kong in 1920 and moved to the states with her family in 1923. Higgins was most famous for her work covering the Korean War from the front line. In 1951, Marguerite became the first woman to receive a Pulitzer Prize of coverage of international affairs. (Gore, 2009)
Moving back to the states, Higgins spent her childhood growing up in Oakland, California, where she attended Anna Head School in Berkeley. She graduated cum laude from the University of California in 1941. After graduating, she moved to New York to pursue her dream of finding a newspaper job. She became restless when she was unable to receive a job, so she applied for a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University. While attending Columbia University, she was a campus correspondent for the New York Herald until grabbing the city desk staff after graduating. (Gore, 2009)

Shortly before the Korean War began, in 1950 Higgins was appointed chief of the Tokyo bureau. She was able to be in Seoul when it was being invaded and was also able to go with the Marines to Inchon (Marguerite Higgins Papers). It was during these times that she would compete for front page stories, that she won the Pulitzer Prize for her reporting, along with her colleague Homer Bogart. (Marguerite Higgins, 2004)

In 1951, she had an amazing year of interviews. She went to Vietnam, where she interviewed Emperor Bao Dai. World leaders such as Shah of Iran, Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia, Queen Frederika of Greece, Generalissimo Francisco Franco of Spain, Prime Minister Nehru of India, and Premier Nikita Khrushchev, were also interviewed by her throughout the year. (Marguerite Higgins Papers)

Higgins was also an author. She wrote many books including her first book “War in Korea: Report of a Woman Combat Correspondent,” which was published in 1951. This book shot her into mainstream success making her life-story well know. (Marguerite Higgins, 2004) Between the years of 1954 and 1955, she wrote “Red Plush” and “Black Bread” which were inspired by her travels throughout the USSR. In 1955, “News is a Singular Thing,” her autobiographical book on reporting was published, and in 1962, “Jessie Benton Fremont” was published, her only children’s book. Other books of hers include “Overtime in Heaven: Adventures in the Foreign Service” and her final book “Our Vietnam Nightmare,” published in 1965. (Marguerite Higgins, 2004)

Higgins work does not stop there though. In 1956, she became part of the Washington Bureau of the Tribune. She also went with Nixon to Russia in 1959 as a diplomatic correspondent, and with Kennedy to Europe in 1961. (Gore, 2009) Another key interview for her was Rose Kennedy after President Kennedy was assassinated.


Sources:

Gore, M. R. (2009) American Woman Journalist Marguerite Higgins. Retrieved fro
http://www.suite101.com/content/american-women-journalist-marguerite-higgins-a89256

Marguerite Higgins Papers (n.d). In Syracuse University Library. Retrieved from
http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/h/higgins_m.htm

Marguerite Higgins (2004) in Encyclopedia of World Biography. Retrieved from
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Marguerite_Higgins.aspx

 

Colour Revolt Bing Color to New Album

Colour Revolt, alternative rock band from Oxford, Miss., has returned two years after its debut album “Plunder, Beg and Curse,” with new band members and a new record label on their sophomore album “The Cradle.”

In 2008 Colour Revolt was signed with the local Oxford indie label Fat Possum Records. When its debut album, despite receiving positive critical reviews, failed to impress in record sales, the band encountered a few problems. It was dropped from its indie label, followed by two of the founding members Len Clark, drummer, and Patrick Addison, bassist, leaving the band.

Jesse Coppenbarger, lead vocals and guitar, and Sean Kirkpartick, lead guitar, joined forces with Daniel Davinson, previous drummer for Norma Jean. Hank Sullivant, MGMT producer, joined the band on bass and production, along with Brooks Tipton on the keyboards to create the band’s second album.

The album opens with “8 years,” an angry rock song written the day Clark and Addison left the band. Coppenbarger recounts the times the band shared before splitting, with lines such as “Fathers driving us on our first tour, cuz we can’t drive.” The track, although about the band with its previous members, shows them opening the album with a more mature and full sound than they ever reached on their debut album.
The second track on the album, “Our Names,” is the first single and showcases the ability of Coppenbarger starting with a soft layering of vocals, slowly building up to a howling vocal full of angst.

The seventh track, “Each works,” is a personal favorite of mine. It opens with a guitar riff that could be heard on a Pink Floyd track. Coppenbarger still has his Southern grunge sound, but there were moments on this track where they closely resembled Robert Smith, lead singer of The Cure.

The next track, “Mona Lisa,” finds the band jumping back into an upbeat rocker. This track could make an excellent single and be a key track to gain the band airtime on mainstream radio.

“She Don’t Talk” is the signature track of the album. It finds the band combining beautiful vocals with extremely strong music.

The album is strong, in a slew of mediocre album releases this year, and finds the band moving in a stronger, more mature direction. As much as I enjoyed the album, it still felt like a band searching for its sound rather than a sophomore album.
Nonetheless, I look forward to what Colour Revolt has to bring in future releases.

 

"It's Kind of a Funny Story" is Kind of a Funny Story

“It’s Kind of a Funny Story” is about a 16-year-old boy named Craig, played by Keir Gilchrist, who is unhappy with his life and is admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he tells the doctors that he wants to commit suicide.

Adapted from Ned Vazzini’s novel, the movie follows the book closely. Craig is admitted to an adult psychiatric hospital because the children’s is being remolded.
It is here that Craig meets Bobby, played by “The Hangover’s” Zack Galifianakis, a comedic genius who steals every scene he is in. But the role is a departure from typical roles, such as “The Hangover” and his role in the HBO series “Bored to Death.” He still has his moments of insane goofiness, but he is playing more of a sad role this time around, and he really knows when to dial down his performance.
Bobby becomes a sort of uncle-like figure to Craig while hospitalized, and through his crazy ideologies, his outlook on life and his huge heart, despite being severely depressed, he connects with Craig.

The movie touches on social issues with today’s children. When students find out that Craig is in a psych ward, he becomes one of the most popular kids at school and everyone, including those who would never acknowledged him, want to befriend him.
Emma Roberts is Noelle, a fellow patient, and a survivor of self-cutting, who becomes Craig’s love interst.

Roberts stretches her work as an actress, and she shows depth hidden behind witty one-lines. She provides laughs, but also provides an emotional connection with the character.

Craig, before self-admission to the hospital, was dating Nia, played by Zoe Kravits. She was the girl Craig always longed for but never truly meshed with.
Noelle is a better personality match for the lonely, unhappy Craig. She listens to him more inventively and cares about what he has to say, something lacking in the relationship with Nia.

The rest of the supporting cast, including Jim Gaffigan, Lauren Graham, Viola Davis and Bernard White, do a good job of keeping the humor subtle but constant.

Gaffigan and Graham play Craig’s parents. They both show concern for their son, but want to keep him in the hospital. Gaffigan provides plenty of laughs with his usual dry, laid back comedy.

This film is the third from the filmmaking duo of Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden. Their previous two films, “Half-Nelson” and “Sugar” which, like this movie, were two independent movies dealing with issues not normally dealt with in your typical movie. For this reason, the movie earns its rewards.

It is nowhere near the caliber of their first two films, but it is still a solid movie with plenty of laughs, despite the basic premise and overly cheerful ending.

 

 

Jack-Ass 3D has Johnny Knoxville Retuning to Madness

It has been 10 years since the first episode of the popular television show “Jackass” was aired on MTV, and eight years since “Jackass: The Movie” was released worldwide, earning $64.2 million at the box office and grossing out audience around the world.

Now, Johnny Knoxville and gang are back for the third installment in the “Jackass” series and are bringing it to a new dimension with “Jackass 3D.”

The movie is filled with everything you have come to know and either love, or despise, from the Jackass crew. As Chris Pontius said in the movie, “It has danger, it has feces, and it has puke. That’s what this show is all about.” The film contains plenty or all.

Steve-O, who at one point in the film asked “Why do I have to be Steve-O?” performs a stunt called the “Poo Cocktail Supreme,” in which he is strapped into a portable toilet full of feces that shot into the air time and time again by bungee cords.
Although the movie delivers laughs from beginning to end, the third installment of the series isn’t as funny as the first two and may have revealed that Knoxville and gang have finally pushed the stunts to their limits.

The show is at its best with the more simple pranks the crew plays on each other. There is a skit called “High Five,” in which a giant hand attached to a garage door spring is used to knock people to the floor unexpectedly, delivers laughs every time. One guy is even carrying bowls of soup when he gets hit.

A skit that has Johnny Knoxville dressed up as old man and making out with a 19-year-old, who he claims to passers-by is his granddaughter, is a great scene in the movie, if only for the reactions of those witnessing the prank.

The movie ends with baby photos of all the cast and crew of Jackass and a sort of best-of-reel, as well. This seems to be the guys saying goodbye and hanging up the towel. Although I have loved the show and the movies over the past 10 years, as have many, I believe it is finally time for “Jackass” to say farewell.

 

 

Due Date leaves few traces of a Hangover

The major success of his first film “The Hangover” has raised expectations for director Todd Philips’ newest film, “Due Date,” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zack Galifianakis.

“The Hangover” is the most successful R-rated comedy of all time, and I noticed that Philips tended to draw from many of the aspects, such as the gross-out humor, that provided laughs throughout his first film.

“Due Date” does not match up to the modern-day classic of “The Hangover.” But still manages to knock out a fair number of laughs, only to be deprived of becoming a great comedy classic because of the lack of depth and plot.

The plot is pretty standard, and similar to “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” staring Steven Martin and John Candy. This time, Downey and Galifianakis take over the roles and embark on a road trip of their own.

Peter Highman (Downey) and Ethan Tremblay (Galifianakis) first meet at the Atlanta Airport. It is here where Ethan knocks the door off of Peter’s car with his beater forcing them to talk. Ethan is a heavy-set bearded man with the maturity level of a young child and tells Peter that he is drunk from a six-pack of 40’s that he and a friend drank on the way there. Peter, an architect, is a well organized man who is on a tight schedule and has a very important meeting to make.

The movie follows the typical road trip movie involving a strange duo. Someone is running late. Then Galifianakis’s character, the one who causes all of the problems, joins the ride, setting the scene for the rest of the movie.

Ethan is the type of person who carries around bad karma with him everywhere. He projects the bad karma onto whoever is around him; in this case it happens to be Peter.

The trip takes place because Ethan, who is on the same flight as Peter, sits next to him on the plane and insists on using words such as “bomb” and “terrorist.” They both eventually are removed from the plane.

The trip then switches to their car, where Peter and Ethan travel from Atlanta across the country to Los Angeles so that Peter can be with his wife Sarah (Michelle Monaghan) during the birth of their first child. Ethan has another reason for wanting to get to Los Angeles; he wants to be a movie star.

Now the plot stops.

During the trip, the odd duo makes many pit stops including going to see one of Peter’s old friends (Jamie Foxx) and Ethan’s practitioner (Juliette Louis) who is a pot dealer. The encounters with the supporting cast provide for the strongest laughs of the movie.

Downey, in my opinion, is one of the best actors in Hollywood today and plays his character with more passion and wit than is actually required for the role. This is also one of the funniest roles he has played, aside from the brilliantly portrayed character in the dark comedy “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.”

Galifianakis is a comedic powerhouse who provides the more noticeable laughs. The only problem with Ethan is that even though the character is funny and does win over Peter’s heart, he never truly grabbed mine, and I am not sure why Peter didn’t walk away when he had the chance.

The film should provide more than enough laughs to please audiences, but if falls short on supplying a strong enough story to keep it from coming unglued.