Excited for Cartoons!

I don't know if any of you saw my last post, but if you did, you'll be happy to know that this one is much more lighthearted.

When I was little, I remember waking up on Saturday mornings and watching cartoons with my uncles. As I got older, the cartoons seemed to get worse. My little cousins would watch a cartoon and I would not like it. It was not because I grew out of cartoons but because the cartoons became too, for lack of a better word, unsophisticated. First, I saw things like Pokemon and Dragon Ball. Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura were there too. Beyblades and Yu-Gi-Oh cards were all the rage. Then, I remember watching Static Shock and Justice League. I then went on to Teen Titans. For a long time after that, I just didn't watch the cartoons.

Recently, that has changed. A few years ago, a new animated series caught my eye. What was this wonderful series? Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was amazing. It had well thought-out characters and an amazing story. I'm not the only one that fell in love with this children's cartoon. Many others did as well. With me, I have several other Avatar lovers.


I asked them, "Did you like Avatar: The Last Airbender?"

Cat, someone you will soon be acquainted with, said she loved it. Another cousin, James, was smiling brightly and said he loved it as well. Yet another cousin, this one even younger than the others, said he liked it a lot and even recited a line from one episode.

This well-loved series was followed by a new series - Avatar: The Legend of Korra. It's quite engaging. Tomorrow is the season finale and we're all very excited. There are so many ideas running through our minds.

When asked what they think will happen on the finale, they exploded with theories. The following text is in white, in case you are wary of spoilers.

" "I believe Amon will take of his mask and capture Korra. And then he will try to take her bending and Captain Iroh will swoop in and save her. And then Amon will escape."


"I think Amon will reveal his identity!"


"I have no idea, but I'm really excited!" "

Korra airs on Nickelodeon at 11:00 am.

Another show that we all enjoy is Young Justice. It's part of Cartoon Network's DC Nation block, along with Green Lantern: The Animated Series. It's fairly dark for a children's cartoon but is so rewarding.

I asked them how they felt about it, and again, an explosion of comments came about.

" "It's exciting! It's dramatic!"

"It has a good story."

"Wally's my favorite character!"

"I like Chesire."

The characters are complex and the children find them all to be interesting, even if they don't like certain ones.

Overall, they see the cartoons as something to look forward to on Saturday mornings. The oldest wakes them all up at 8 am to get them pumped for the cartoons. I too, happily wait for these cartoons, though I thought I outgrew Saturday morning cartoons years ago.

-Maddie

Justice for Kardin Ulysse

I really wish that I were more eloquent but either way, guys, let's talk.
I grew up and still live in a city that has a bad reputation for violence. Apparently everyone from my city is a violent thug. Everyone is in a gang. Everyone is on drugs. And so forth.
For all its faults, I've never seen this city as violent as everyone else seems to think.
I don't know of anyone that was so violently bullied that he or she lost vision in an eye.

This is exactly what happened to fourteen-year-old Kardin Ulysse.
He was beaten by two bullies. One pinned him down while the other aimed punches at his face. Their attack, already wrong in so many ways, was not just physical. They spat homophobic insults at him as well.
Kardin's glasses broke and the shards may have blinded him in his right eye. The other theory is that his attackers beat him so hard that the force blinded him. That is a scary thought.

There are so many things wrong with this.

The Wall Street Journal says this attack happened on June 5th. Today is June 21st. I, however, did not hear about this travesty until recently - yesterday. How did it take so long for this story to come about?

This incident is also very reminiscent of Vincent Chin's murder. One man held him down while the other attacked. Both incidents also see the use of horrible insults. It is lucky that Kardin did not die.
But then again, is it really luck? The child is now blind in one eye. Though it may not seem as bad as losing a limb, think about how reliant we are on our eyes. He will have to adjust to not being able to see through that eye.

Kardin went through two surgeries and ultimately needs a transplant. Surgery is not exactly cheap. Though it seems like an insignificant matter now, it adds up.

The school has a serious bullying problem. There has been previous attacks in the school. The Department of Education even knew there was a problem but nothing was done to try preventing incidents like this. This attack also happened on school grounds. It was 8am. I know that my schools always have teachers watching  the students around an hour before school starts. Where were the teachers at this school?

I can't tell you how this attack on this poor boy makes me really feel. There are many emotions running through my head. Anger, confusion, sadness. I don't understand how this happened and part of me doesn't want to. There's another part that wants to know everything so that this never happens again.
I want to know what I can do to help but there's this feeling of hopelessness. What can I do, really? That's why I'm choosing to tell you, whoever you are. I know that not many people actually read this. I'm sure even less actually care. I do hope that you'll listen to this though. Don't let others be bullied like this.

Yes, some people think that bullying is part of life. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger and whatnot. I do think that some things do make you a stronger person. Bullying on this level is not one of them. Violence is never the answer.

Here's more information on the incident:
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/738/151/550/justice-for-brooklyn-teen-blinded-by-bullies/
http://online.wsj.com/article/AP654addccb88b4d15b7d28c96f5f35504.html
http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2012/06/14-year-old-left-blind-in-one-eye-after-homphobic-attack-from-bullies/
http://globalgrind.com/news/kardin-ulysse-blinded-bullying-brooklyn-high-school-details


My heart goes out to Kardin and his family. Please, keep Kardin Ulysse in your hopes and prayers.

Softlips Coral Gloss

First off, I would like to thank Softlips. They had a giveaway on Facebook a while back. I got a coupon for a free Softlips gloss. It's things like this that really make customers happy.
They also have great customer service.

Softlips glosses are fairly new but they really are wonderful. They only come in two colors at this time- pearl and coral. I got the Coral Gloss.

In the tube, the color is a little intimidating, but it is actually quite sheer. I enjoy the slight color it adds to my lips. It says it doesn't have a sticky formula, and I'm happy to say that it is true. It does leave a slight imprint on glasses, but I don't know of any glosses or even lip balms that don't. It also has an SPF of 10, which makes me very happy. This is the first time I've ever seen lip gloss that has SPF. It also has a slight cooling effect, much like that of Burt Bees.