The Blue Whale

The blue whale is the biggest creature to have ever lived, being just about as large as a Boeing 737 and considerably bigger than the greatest dinosaurs. The biggest recorded length for a blue whale is 33.5 meters, most differ somewhere around 24 and 27 meters. The heart of this massive whale is really around the span of a Volkswagen Beetle. Like different rorquals, the blue whale has a long, and streamlined body, with the head making up short of one-fourth of its aggregate body length. The upper part of the head is exceptionally wide and level and practically U-formed, with a solitary edge that broadens forward of the blowhole to the tip of the nose. The body is smooth and generally free of parasites, in spite of the fact that a couple of barnacles may join to the edge of the tail fluke, the tips of the flippers and to the little, triangular dorsal balance. There is a column of 300 to 400 dark baleen plates on every side of the mouth, and around 90 throat grooves that reach out to the navel, which permits the throat to grow gigantically.

Is Attendance in College Really Necessary?

                                   

Why do we have to come to EVERY single class if we get the material done if we come or don’t. Why does my physical presence in a class have to be incorporated in my final grade? I know that these questions have come across every college student’s mind, and if not theirs, at least mine.

Throughout elementary, middle, and even high school, I understand why it is mandatory to attend all classes and why one’s attendance is a part of their grade. However, I feel as though it should be different in college. Being a college student is a whole other realm of education. It is where an individual makes decisions on their own and have to live with the consequences afterward. I feel that that isn’t really the case in terms of class attendance if it is a portion of a grade. I can understand that the grade can serve as motivation for more students to actually come to class without feeling like doing so, however I feel that a person should be able to make that decision without having actually points being taken off their grade.

If you do the work, you should be able to get the credit, regardless of when/ where it is being done. Students should want to come to class everyday to learn, but sometimes that is just not the case. When having a lazy day or just not feeling like getting out of bed, an individual should be able to find out what is due and get it done without being penalized. Of course I am not promoting students not going to class but if the class is “easy” and you can learn the same whether actually being present during a lesson or lecture, why go to that class when I could spend time doing something else? Just to give an example, I have a biology class and all the lecture notes, homework, and tests are online so why should I get up and go to class everyday if I can do everything online?  

Personally, I would be able to still attend class (when necessary) if attendance wasn’t required. Nonetheless I understand that not all people have the drive to get up and do something “if they don’t have to”. I just feel that in college certain things shouldn’t be mandatory. I should have the power to get up and make the decision to go to class or not without worrying about my grade being impacted or failing.

What are your thoughts? 

Is R&B dead?

Real R&B is dying in the music industry today and its seems as if it's never going to be the soulful music that it used to be back in the 80's, 90's, and the early 2000's. In the current generation, we have turned our heads to that "whack mainstream auto-tuned music" as our source of singing which is beyond terrible. Rarely any artist can put a track out today with strictly natural vocals and expect it to break any charts. What happened to the Luther Vandross's or the Smokey Robinson's, even the Erykah Badu's and Lauryn Hill's? It sucks that this generation will never get a taste of the real R&B and vocals that people like myself really enjoyed. With that being said it is one group which is OVO by Drake, that have a huge arsenal of talented vocalist from Canada but other than that, there really isn't much. We still Have Chris Brown, Trey Songz, and i guess Beyonce for you ladies but it's more pop being produced than R&B. And if you haven't noticed a lot of the old artist like John Legend and Usher are maintaining their relevancy but they aren't half as popular as they used to be. I hope there is an artist out there that can save or bring back the R&B genre and personally i think it'll be Tory Lanez because he samples a lot of old school R&B or some underground Soundcloud artist.

Do you think R&B is dying?
Who would you still consider an R&B artist?
Who is or was your Favorite?

Legendary Status (Mamba Day)

Kobe Bryant will forever be remembered as a Hall of Fame legend in the National Association of Basketball (NBA). On April 13, 2016, the "Black Mamba" scored a total of 60 points to leave an exclamation point on his last NBA game against the Utah Jazz. Nike officially labeled April 13 as "Mamba Day." Kobe Bryant is currently the third all-time leading scorer at 33,643 behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the "Ice Man," Karl Malone. Bryant has been my favorite NBA player since my childhood days even when they use to call him a "ball-hog." Now that he has left the league I know I am getting older because he has been around since I was born. What are your opinions?

The NBA May Change All-Star Game From Charlotte, NC Location

So, while commendable, it wasn’t surprising when the NBA came out with a strong statement in the wake of North Carolina’s passing of a discriminatory law against the gay, lesbian and transgender communities, hinting that it could impact whether the league will allow Charlotte to host to the 2017 All-Star Game.

“The NBA is dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for all who attend our games and events,” the league said in the statement. “We are deeply concerned that this discriminatory law runs counter to our guiding principles of equality and mutual respect, and do not yet know what impact it will have on our ability to successfully host the 2017 All-Star Game in Charlotte.”

Do you think the passing of this law should affect the location of the game?

How would you feel if you were apart of the community? 

How did you react when you heard the news?

Rea

d more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article68471677.html#storylink=cpy

Dromedaries

Ever heard of an animal that can carry 80 pounds of water with them? Well, that animal is the Arabian camel (dromedary) it stores up to that amount of fat that can break down to water and energy allowing them to travel up to 100 desert miles when they aren’t able to get any water. Like other camels that have two humps, the dromedary only has one hump. Camels barely sweat due to their body being use to the high temperatures that they live in and also from the little part of hair the camel has allows them not to get overheated. They tend to drink lots of water when they are able to refill up with water, having the ability to drink 30 gallons of water in just 13 minutes. Their tongues soak up water like it’s a sponge. The dromedary has long eyelashes naturally in order to keep the sand from getting in their eyes and also so that the sun wouldn’t be so bright in their eyes when they are trying to look for things in the desert. Their nostrils tend to stay close at certain times so that it will keep out the sand when the wind becomes strong throwing the sand everywhere. Theirs lips are even thickened so that when they’re eating majority of the desert plants it wouldn’t hurt their lips as bad. Their knees and other parts of the body has callouses meaning when they kneel or sit down in the sand it wouldn’t burn the dromedary from the hot sand. Unlike humans having birthing season all year round, the dromedaries birthing months are from January to May (although each region may have a much shorter period). Dromedaries female cycle is about 27 days in length and when they get pregnant they don’t give birth until 12 months later unlike a human giving birth after 9 months. Dromedaries tend to breed every other year. Their life span of a dromedary is about 40 to 50 years. Dromedaries seem to huddle up in big groups when they seem to getting too warm and that reduces the heat reflecting off of the ground allowing them to be able to cool down without having to find some shade. Humans usually sit a distance from each other because with everyone sitting together brings more heat rather than cooling them off. People may think that dromedaries are wild animals, but in actuality they’re not. Dromedaries are some of the friendliest animals that you could think of. All of the true wild dromedaries are extinct, the population of the domestic dromedaries is approximately around 15 million. 

What's Your Language?

As we're wrapping up our freshman year in college, there's not doubt that some of us have been through relationships or at the least interested in someone. Though we're young, within the next five years exclusive relationships may become important to some of us. Occasionally, when dealing with another person, we don't know how to communicate. We don't know what's important to us and what means the most to us. So how do you figure this out? Your love language of course! A love language is a way that you express your love emotionally. Knowing your love language is helpful in communicating your needs from your significant other in ways that are meaningful to you.

Everyone has one, so what is yours?

Listed below are five possible love languages and their descriptions. Read each one, take the quiz linked below, and comment (if comfortable) with your love language(s) or thoughts.

Mine are (in order): Quality time, Physical touch, and Words of Affirmation.

The Five Love Languages

1. Words of Affirmation: the use of words to affirm others
2. Acts of Service: Actions speak louder than words
3. Receiving Gifts: Receiving a gift makes these people feel loved
4. Quality Time: Spending time is all these people need
5. Physical Touch: An appropriate touch means the world for these people

http://www.5lovelanguages.com/profile/