Different people?

In my years so far on this earth, I have noticed many people change due to the consumption of alcohol. I never understood it, but I have seen some of my best friends and some of the nicest kids turn into the complete opposite of their normal behavior. It is just strange as to why this happens. I had no idea what to think of it, so I looked online. I found that: 1.) the intoxicated may experience an overall improvement in mood and possible euphoria. 2.) They may become more self-confident or daring. 3.) Their attention span shortens. 4.) They may look flushed. 5.) Their judgment is not as good — they may express the first thought that comes to mind, rather than an appropriate comment for the given situation. 6.) They have trouble with fine movements, such as writing or signing their name.
After learning this information, I can certainly confirm it. For example, I saw one of my friends stumble around and bump into another person. Rather then apologize or ignore it, he screamed at the other person for no reason. The other person happened to be intoxicated as well, so a fight insued. This may seem like a stupid topic to discuss, but I just had to bring it up because I see it so often. People need to be more careful and be aware of their limit. Better yet, don't drink at all.

Mark McGwire: The beginning of steroids in baseball.

Mark McGwire was the previous single season home run record holder, and the first player to obviously perform better because of steroids. When he played for the Oakland Athletics, he was a small skinny basehitter. Later on when he played for the Cardinals, he was a massive home run hitter. This change occurred pretty much out of nowhere. Although McGwire has never admitted to or been convicted of any steroid use, many of his accomplishments, particularly his historic home run surge late in his career, have come into question due to his connection to the steroid scandal in Major League Baseball. In 1998, after an article written by Steve Wilstein, McGwire admitted to taking androstenedione, an over-the-counter muscle enhancement product. While legal for use in MLB, it had been banned by the NFL and IOC. Former "Bash Brothers" McGwire and Jose Canseco were subpoenaed to testify at a congressional hearing on steroids with five other baseball players and four baseball executives. Canseco had released Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits & How Baseball Got Big, a book in which he spoke positively about steroids, and made various claims-- among them, that McGwire had been using performance enhancing drugs since the 1980s. McGwire declined to answer questions under oath when he appeared in court. Besides Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire's career has benefitted the most in baseball because of steroids. He is lucky he retired, because he would fail the MLB's current drug tests.

Last band appraisal. I promise.

Seeing as I mentioned Slipknot, I am now obligated to give proper praise to Metallica. As a kid, I was raised on Metallica. No other music around that time really interested me. Between their different vocal styles and speed/heavy guitar, I have been fixated on the band for as long as i can remember. Metallica has become one of the most influential heavy metal bands ever. The band has sold more than 90 million records worldwide, including 57 million in the United States which makes Metallica the most commercially successful thrash metal band so I am obivously not alone in the world. Metallica was ranked by MTV as the third "Greatest Heavy Metal Band in History",was listed number five on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock",and was number 1 on VH1's "20 Greatest Metal Bands" list. Speficially, the black album is one of the greatest rock albums ever. "Fade to Black" and "Sad but True" are two songs that I can listen to any time because they are just that good. The reason why I had to give another blog of praise is because Slipknot or pretty much any other band I like would not be around without Metallica. They paved the way for modern metal, and deserve the credit for it.

great metal, period.

Slipknot is one of my favorite bands, because of how they achieved their status and what they believed in. When the band started, they made rules. In 1995 there were two rules. Slipknot had to play what they wanted to play and it didn't matter what they played, who they played to and the cost of seeing them play should never matter. A band that played for the fans and not for themselves was rare, and that combined with their unparalleled sound sold me completely. The second rule was that there needed to be 3 drummers. The members came from several different bands and each had the common view on the way that everything was going in the town of Des Moines, they were sick of it; there was no music scene, it was hard to get bands CDs, or anything. As a result Slipknot was born with one mission, this mission being to 'Clean up the music industry'. The band's aims remain to be to create a sound the world has never heard, a vision no one has ever seen, this can be clearly seen by the hype to Slipknot's second album. They sensed people were ready for a show, rather than some guys just playing some music.
I love this band because their music is fantastic, and for some strange reason I connect with it on a level that I rarely can do with anything. A small band from a small town in Iowa accomplished so much, and their music started a "revolution" of sorts in metal music.

Thats not too smart..

Nearly everyone has heard by now, Michael Vick is clearly an idiot. Why is he an idiot? He is now viewed (in my eyes at least) as below average intelligence because he had a growing career in the nfl and in 2004, he signed a 130 million dollar contract with a 37 million dollar signing bonus. That does not make him stupid, the fact that he threw all over that away in a heartbeat in order to have dogfighting competitions in his yard. Vick and three other men were charged by federal authorities with felony charges of operating an unlawful six-year long interstate dog fighting venture known as "Bad Newz Kennels" at Vick's 15-acre property in Virginia. Vick was accused of financing the operation, directly participating in dog fights and executions, and personally handling thousands of dollars in related gambling activities. Now why would anyone need to gamble on dogfights with 130 million in the bank? Why give up your career for nothing? He had to have known what he was doing was wrong, but then again anything is possible with this guy. I will never forget the first thought that came to my mind when I saw the first news report detailing what had happened with Vick, and that thought was "Wow, he's a smart guy. Now he will lose literally everything." As much as i try to feel bad for him, I can't. He didnt just attend one dogfight, he had a whole ring and station set up at his house. He executed a lot of the dogs that could no longer fight, and thats just ridiculous. He chose to end his career, so now he has to live with the consequences.

Need for Speed?

A serious topic that people continue to ignore is speeding. Every day accidents happen because of a driver traveling at a rate faster than they should be. I grew up in New Jersey, where a lot of people speed because it is a rural area. However, rural roads account for 40 percent of all vehicle miles traveled, and 61 percent of accidents occur there. Crash severity increases disproportionately with vehicle speed, so a head-on crash at 35 mph is one-third more violent than a collision at 30mph. The faster you go, the worse the crash will be and thats just common sense. It is nearly impossible to drive on a highway without seeing at least a few drivers fly by going 40 miles an hour above the speed limit, and its confusing as to why this happens. Regardless if someone is late for work or is trying to catch the begining of a game, they should not speed. It is not only dangerous to the person speeding but others as well. Reaction time is cut in half when you are traveling at high rates of speed, and drivers need to be more cautious and aware of what they are doing.

Naturally Helpful

Recently, I heard about how plants can be naturally beneficial to the human body and can help aid certain ailments. Many people are unaware that there are plants possessing healing qualities with the same of modern medicine. For years natives of different countries such as Africa and Australia have used these plants as methods of healing. Different plants have different benefits to various ailments. Many common yard plants have healing characteristics if used a certain way. White Cedar Evergreens, The Houseleek plant, Lawn Daisy’s , and Dandelion's are some of the common plants that can be used to treat many different health problems. The White Cedar Evergreen can be used for urinary and bronchial infections. The twigs are known to have anti-viral qualities in their treatment of rheumatism and coughs.
The leaves are used in baths to aid the skin and made into tea to assist mouth sores.
The liquid in the leaves is used to sooth abrasions, burns, and insect stings. Perhaps the most surprising plant with a benefit is the dandelion. The leaves can be used as an effective diuretic. They can treat urinary disorders, and deal with fluid retention without depleting the body of needed potassium. The white sap that comes from the stem is used to treat corns and warts. The root is good for reducing inflammation, and can stimulate liver functioning. After learning this information, maybe people will look at plants differently. They can be very useful in the field of medicine for natural healing. Depending on how and which particular part of the plant is used, certain plants can aid those with certain ailments. They have been used for this purpose for many years and still can be used today. Hopefully they will continue to research and find new ways to aid people today.