Bolt Members Magazine

Issue #2 - December / January

2005-12-18T17:48:00.000-05:00

Index

Local Hero .::by::. creepy_kitty
Seen On A T-Shirt .::by::. zippyfairy
Poetry Bash .::by::. TheSexiestDan, Angels-Dreams, pinaypoet499 & Fantasy_24
Hurricane Solution .::by::. GiggleGirlyGirl
Under The Influence .::by::. stormfreak4rain
Concert Review - Set It Off! .::by::. arozk
Think Back: Summertime .::by::. TheSexiestDan
Hard on the Upper Levels .::by::. Julys
Movie Review - Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire .::by::. A_Ramsell
Wannabe Musicians: A Special Feature
This Issue's Gossip
Find out how to submit to this magazine.

Local Hero
by: creepy_kitty

About 6 months ago, my mother went to Krogers to do her usual grocery shopping. Walking through the parking lot she saw a young woman running towards the store holding a baby screaming,

"Someone please help my baby!"

My mom, being a nurse, started running after her. The woman ran all the way to the back of Krogers to the pharmacy thinking someone there would be able to help. Once my mom got there she took the baby from her (he was having a hard seizure) and told the pharmacist to get a syringe (without the needle) to suction the saliva out of the baby's mouth so that it wouldn't go back into his lungs and so that he could breathe.

She did that until the ambulance got there and took over. It's a miracle she happened to be there because she was the only person who tried to help. Everyone in the store simply crowded around just to be onlookers, no one else stepped up to ask if there were anything they could do to help.

He survived, thanks to my mom. Before the mother of the baby left with him in the ambulance, my mother was able to give her her name and phone number. It turns out the baby's father has been a long time co-worker and friend of my mother for over 15 years.

They contacted her a couple of days after the incident
to thank her for being a hero and saving his life.
He will be 1 year old October 3, 2005.

creepy_kitty (Sheila)

Seen On A T-Shirt: I zippyfairy
a Trend Bashing article by zippyfairy

So I thought t-shirts with slogans on were out. Gone. Consigned to the dustbin of hideous fashion crimes. Anyone with half a brain stopped wearing their tops emblazoned with 'cutie', 'babe', 'angel' and every other cheesy little phrase or quote years ago (if they ever wore them in the first place).

Apparently not. Oh no - in recent months I've still been seeing a worrying amount of women stepping out STILL proclaiming their love for shopping, chocolate, cats - probably shopping for chocolate-flavoured cats too - and, of course, their opinion that men are stupid and inferior. Always in a sickly-sweet shade of baby pink or baby blue, a curlicued font announces: "Men: only good for carrying your shopping bags" or some such rubbish.

Am I one of the only people who finds the whole chocolate-gorging, shopping-addicted, man-hating stereotype of women just a little bit pathetic and stupid? A little bit late-90s, Bridget-Jones-crying-into-a-glass-of-wine stupid? Do the women who wear these t-shirts even stop to think about that? They look hideous, they give off a ridiculous message which is patronising and oh-so-overdone, and stores need to stop selling them. They've already outstayed their welcome by at least two years.

Saying that, is it really necessary to go the other way and follow a certain US store with its "Who needs brains when you have these?" and "I make you look fat". Just as offensive, just as degrading and just as shallow. But teens are buying these t-shirts by the shed-load - apparently they're "fun".

Yep. Ok.

zippyfairy (Hannah)

Poetry Bash

PinayPoet499

Can't stop thinking of you
Can't stop dreaming of you
Will you make this stop
Can't be trapped in your arms once again
I can't hold these feelings any longer
Unless you want to be with me

Angels-Dreams (Roxy)

Cowering against the door in fear
Willing this to end
What did I do to deserve this?
All I can do is cry
Let me die slowly inside
No questions asked
You made me this emotional wreck
Why is this happening?
Make it end
Please make this pain go away
You're the one who caused this hurt
Let me die slowly inside
No questions asked
You made me this emotional wreck
I can feel your body close to mine
Too close
I try to get away but you hold me down
I can feel your lips against mine
I try to turn but you force me down
Let me die slowly inside
No questions asked
You made me this emotional wreck
No one knew I'd slip like this
Just close my eyes
And never open them again
I cowered against the door in fear
Wanting to die
You made my life a living hell
You made me an emotional wreck

TheSexiestDan (Dan)

The sun shines through the window
on this beautiful Sunday morning.
As we lay in each others arms
Bathing in the love we share.
You smile at me and I smile too
Could life be filled with more happiness?
You turn over and we kiss
making our smiles grow.
Lazy Sunday mornings
made better with you beside me.
If only we could lie here forever
and leave all our cares behind.

Fantasy_24 (Shannon)

Kiss me good morning
Kiss me good night
Hold me forever
In your arms so tight.
Tell me you love me
All through the day
Show me you love me
In many different ways.
May God watch over us
With His undying love
And bless us with trust
And faith from above.

Hurricane Solution
An Invention by GiggleGirlyGirl

I would like to invent something to stop a hurricane from becoming deadly.
Maybe have a giant satellite hover in the Atlantic Ocean and dump massive amounts of dry ice in the area where a hurricane is forming to cool down the waters.

From the Editor: Anyone want to take the initiative and draw up a blueprint for this invention? If you do, send it in to bolthelp@earthlink.net with your Bolt membername and there's a shiny new badge in it for you and a feature in the next magazine!

GiggleGirlyGirl (Anndrea)

Under The Influence
by stormfreak4rain

One of the laws where I feel like my rights as a 20 year old are being violated is the age limit on drinking alcohol. I think it also violates my right as an American citizen and as a hard-working civilian.
First of all, I don't care if I am not allowed to drink it because I will anyways. Whatever, fine. But at my work, I am not even allowed to pick up a beer from the bar and run it over to one of my tables. So, my guests that I am waiting on are ready to order but I am busy scurrying around trying to find someone who is 21+ to run my alcoholic beverage to my table.
Secondly, I also think the law is bogus because I am allowed to do a lot of "adult" things since I am considered a legal adult. For example, I can:

Buy a house
Kill myself slowly with cigarettes
Rent & buy pornography
But what gets to me most of all is that if there is a draft during a war, I am forced to go fight, maybe even die, for my country.

Currently, the age limit is 21, and it used to be 19. The state I live in (Wyoming) did not want to change this, but our state funding was threatened so the state had to change its law by force. I think my state should have told the government that they do not need their dirty money because it could be made up with all the alcohol that 19 & 20 year olds will buy!
With such a law, people would even move to my state and generate population growth.

In Australia, the same day you can get your driver's license, you can go out and get drunk on the same day if you wanted to on your 18th birthday. If the Australian government can trust their citizens to be responsible on their 18th birthday, then what is up with the United States? How come Australia's young adults get more freedom than that of the United States, where we claim to be "The Land of the Free"?

In some countries, you can be 18, but only allowed to drink light alcohol such as beer and 20 to drink hard liquor and wine. Currently, the USA has the highest age restrictions on alcohol out of every other country.

Bolt members speak out:

Aine1717 couldn't have put it any better "You can drive, vote, fight for your country, get married and start a family but you can't drink alcohol. Messed up."

Shs_junior chose a more simple way of putting it, however: "I vote for 18. Not because I want to drink, but most kids that age are, so might as well make it legal."

However, some people think that the age of 21 is a reasonable age to start drinking.

Iambjesus says "I think 21 is a reasonable age for legal drinking -- especially since I have no interest in doing so. But it does bother me that you're an adult in every other aspect, but you can't take a drink. If you can fight in the army, or smoke, or what have you, I don't see why you can't drink alcohol. It honestly should all be the same age."

Wouldn't that be more complicated though? Do you really want to be under your parent's guardianship until you are 20? They might also add a couple of years to your youth education if that were possible. I do not concur with this statement because we all grow mature during the age frame of 17-19. They have taught us all we need to know about alcohol in school, and they enforce the safety laws that go along with it.
In conclusion, I think the drinking age should be moved to 18 because I think you are well-prepared, know the effects, and (hopefully) responsible enough to handle the effects of alcohol. My final statement would have to be that I will not fight in any war, as long as I'm 20, until I am given my right to take a beer to a table.

stormfreak4rain (Jake)

Set it off! I went to see Audioslave in concert the other night and to sum it up in a few words: they kicked major ass!
Before the concert started the whole stage was shielded from the audience with a huge backdrop. Then a giant silhouette appeared on the backdrop. It dropped to reveal the band boom with their newest hit single, Your Time Has Come. They continued playing songs from both their two albums, Out Of Exile and self titled Audioslave.
Singer Chris Cornell psyched the crowd up for songs such as Doesn't Remind Me and Set It Off, while guitarist Tom Morello stole the spotlight with his amazing solo performances. The entire band was amazing throughout the entire concert. Even drummer Brad Wilk pumped the audience up by singing a rendition of Pearl Jam's Temple of the Dog, and bassist Tim Commerford also put on a superb performance.

Halfway through the show, Cornell took the energy down a few notches. He started playing acoustic versions of Getaway Car, The Curse, and other soothing favorites. Throughout the show, Audioslave also played hit classics such as Soundgarden songs like Spoonman and Black Hole Sun, as well as Rage Against the Machine songs. Towards the end the crowd went nuts to the classic Rage song, Killing in the Name Of. Finally they ended the concert with Cochise.
Audioslave put on a hell of a show, and I will never forget it. My ears are still ringing from this energetic, powerful show.

arozk (Julia)

I warn you now if you are offended by sex and drunkenness do not read anymore!!

July 16th was the last day of the school year and so we were celebrating our freedom for six weeks.

11:30 – Me, Stacey, Dan, James, Lauren, Lindsay and Andrew meet up in Beacon Park each carrying as much alcohol as possible.

11:35 – 7 beers have been opened and the conversation is so respectable that an elderly person wouldn’t have been intimidated by us.

12:00 – 4 beers finished, the girls are still working on theirs. 4 more beers opened as the conversation splits into two, becoming slightly less socially acceptable.

12:10 – Girls finish their first beer and announce that they want to have a race where by they do nothing. They wanted us to race while carrying them. We thought it would be fun so we agreed. I carried Stacey, Dan carried Lauren, James carried Lindsay and Andrew started it off. We raced across the field round this building and back to Andrew. James and Lindsay won mainly because she’s about as heavy as a bottle of beer. Me and Stacey came second and Dan and Lauren came last. <--- haha losers!!

12:30 – After recovering from the intense race the guys started drinking again, everyone finished their 2nd beer, opened their third and conversation started up again.

13:00 – Third beer finished and conversation took at a turn for the worst. A few parties, a lot of alcohol, spin the bottle, making out with guys, that’s basically how it goes. So back to the conversation; we were talking about crazy things we had done. How James had made out with a teacher, how Lindsay had flashed some guy she liked, how Andrew had streaked and how I had made out with guys. Andrew being the sceptic that he is didn’t believe me (we don’t really know each other that well).

13:10 – Still trying to convince Andrew that I’ve made out with guys. Decide there is only one way to prove it to him. You know what I did, and if you don’t, use your imagination. Surprisingly he let it happen.

13:12 – Stace found me making out with Andrew hot, so me and her starting making out. (Bear in mind this was in the middle of a park with children running around playing games.) We’re lying on the grass making out and we start feeling each other up until some child kicks a football which ends up hitting me on the back.

Okay now we skip forward a couple of hours because nothing that interesting happens. We drink, we talk, we play on the swings, we drink some more.

17:20 – Roughly drank 5 beers by now. Park is now pretty empty and it is really hot. I take my t-shirt off to cool down and end up performing a strip show for Stacey; before you get too excited I only went down to my boxers.

17:35 – After my lil bit o’ strippin I’m standing up and Dan walked past me to get another beer and he decided to slap my ass which then started a whole game of ass slapping. Chasing each other around slapping each others asses was great fun, especially when none of us were particularly sober.

17:55 – Ass slapping ends after Andrew falls in the stream still so funny to think about.

Skip forward a few more hours

21:00 – Drank 6 beers and half a bottle of wine. Me, Dan and James sitting there in our boxers, Andrew had his t-shirt off, Stace, Lindsay and Lauren in their skirts and trousers with bikini tops on. All of us playing truth or dare. Lindsay dares me to grope James (grope basically means to grab his crotch). Nobody thought that I would do it except Stace and James; how wrong everyone else was!

21:30 – 6 beers and a bottle of wine drank. Everyone disperses, me and Stace get a taxi back to her house where I finish my bottle of wine (before you ask or even think it NO I didn’t feel her up in the taxi)

21:50 – To put it bluntly; when we got back Stacey and I had sex!!

Wasn’t that a lovely story children? Tune in next week for more adventures and antics that push the boundaries of normal social conduct.

Now that it’s over you can stop laughing. Before I finish I would like to make a few things clear:

I am not gay, I am just unbelievably comfortable with my sexuality
I do not condone underage drinking but sometimes these things just have to be done
I do not regret anything I did and I am not embarrassed by it, if I was I wouldn’t have told anyone and I certainly wouldn’t have wrote this.
The only problem I have is that I was majorly hung-over the next morning and the effects were just wearing off when I wrote this.

Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do, which from what you’ve just read isn’t much.

TheSexiestDan (Dan)

Hard on the Upper Levels
by: Julys

Upper level college classes are a piece of cake!

…oh wait, NO they certainly are not!
I cannot for the life of me remember who told me that college was going to get easier as you progress into your higher level classes, but if I could remember I’d definitely have some words of annoyance and even anger to deliver to these “false-hope givers.”
Okay, I’m a second semester Junior, majoring in Mathematics, which I plan to teach in High School. I have to say that the word easy is not even close to any adjective I would use to describe my upper level classes. I’m completely done with all my General Education classes, which I found to actually not be so bad as most people told me would be my worst classes.

I still would like to know what college these people went to.

Or maybe I just need to consider my actual Major. While Math was an easy subject for me in High School, it is quite the opposite in college. When I have to take such classes as Calculus III, Abstract Algebra, Non-Euclidean Geometry, and Statistic Theory, it’s just not simple to say the least. Thankfully I’m starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. With only 2 more semesters left to go, and then 1 semester of Student Teaching, I will be ready for my very own classroom. My anxiousness for this day to come is spreading in me like wildfire. I cannot wait until I can actually be teaching the aspects of Math that I truly love.
While I’m working my butt off and having absolutely no life in order to make good grades, I’m beginning to find that when I am finally done; it will all be worth it. If any of you out there are in the same boat, and feel like things might be looking hopeless, never fear…you can make it through and it will all be worth it in the end.
Good luck to all my fellow college students, I know you can do it!

Julys (Lindsey)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and plenty of new additions since the previous three movies in the series. I know there's plenty of fans out there who haven't seen the movie yet, so don't worry: I won't give too much away. I will say that this is the "darkest" movie so far and it wasn't lacking in action and suspense, even if you've already read the book. There's dragons and immense hedge mazes, battles of wit and magic, and even dancing. There's an intense Triwizard Tournament and imposters, plus plenty more sneaking around after-hours. There's also an interesting new character, Professor Moody, who plays an integral part in The Goblet of Fire.

I spent the whole week before the release rewatching the first three movies as a refresher and can confidently say this is the best movie yet. All the characters have grown and matured and found the ability to focus their acting energy and make it a captivating film. I strongly recommend this film to everyone who wants to escape reality for a little while...but I think it's beneficial to read the books first as there are tons more information in the book that allows you to appreciate and understand the movie that much better. Oh, and see the first three movies before you see this one, of course!

I give this film a strong 4.5 stars.

A_Ramsell (Adriann)

Wannabe Musicians
A Special Bolt Help Club Feature

Awhile ago, the Bolt Help Club held a contest where members had to create their fantasy band, album, tracks and band members. What were the results? Read on!

azaleafrends17

Azzion Tower

Album Title: Ramification

Track Listing:

Black Mumba's Venom
Condemnation Within
Identity Revealed
The Rebirth
Wasted Time
Ramification
Thin Line
Guitarist's Melody
Freedom Awaits
Reloaded Fighters

GJ "The Bliff" Wrhon leads Azzion Tower through a powerhouse set of tracks.

cajuninferno

N.O. Cockatoos

Album Title: After the Storm

Track Listing:

New Orleans
Ode To A Jew
After The Storm
Birds of Paradise
We The People
We Got The Need
Wine N' Cheese
Two Lovers
Jackassanova
Tycoon

Elisa Navidad leads the N.O. Cockatoos through song after creatively titled song.

Angels-Dreams

Synthetic Darkness

Album Title: Midnight Tears

Julys

Blair7 Hotties

Album Title: Cheers!

Track Listing:

Power Hour and a Half
Panama City, Here We Come
Bacardi 151
Let's Go Out Tonight
Finally 21
One More Time (I Don't Remember Last Night)
Get Funky
Drunken Makeouts
You Coulda Been The One
Party Tonight

With ShuDog fronting the pack, it's all F***ing Harris, Hark and Grandma can do to keep up! (Free liquor for everyone at their shows. Cheers!)

A_Ramsell

Adriann

Album Title: Anywhere But Here

Track Listing:

Can't Believe I Didn't See It Coming
Anywhere But Here
What's The Difference?
If You Only Knew
Leave Me Alone
Oh, Jake
Selfish
Where Am I Going?
I Want You
My Little Secret

Adriann is a solo artist and an acoustic guitar virtuoso.

Fantasy_24

24 Lovin'

Album Title: Hours

Track Listing:

Hours
Neverending
A New Day
Another Tragedy
Chase
Cuff 'em
CTU
No Love, No Respect
Sigh & Cry
The Day Is Over

When JB24 hits the stage, prepare for Another Tragedy! (The band's hit single - not an actual tragedy.)

MysticGoddess265

Morbidly Sic

Album Title: Wrath of Destruction

Track Listing:

The Game
Mortally Ill
Caving In
Constant Pain
Freight Liner
Treading Temptations
Immortal Sins
Crazy 8's
Cradle of Death
Wrath of Destruction

With Morbidly Sic's patented blend of morbid music, you may not wish to leave the earplugs at home!

MadJoel
Thoughtless Murky

Album Title: Good Times at the Rosemont

Track Listing:

Eye Level
Self Exploration
Sticky Situation
Bizzare
Search For The Source
Sex Status
Pretentious Stares
Simulated Feelings
Store-Bought Goods
Damned & Dirty

With Six Kennedy's drums, this band really rocks hard. Emmy Rawlstein and Jerome Peeks (the band's synthesizing synthesizer) vocals bring it out front, Colin Quarter rips the guitar to shreds and Garett Gearson keeps up with Six's rhythm with brilliance.

Gossip Alert!

TheSexiestDan says: The BBRs are really secret agents part of a high-powered organisation... WalMart.
The guys have to wear tuxedos and the girls have to wear skimpy bikinis.

How to Submit to BM Magazine

So you've read the magazine and now your creative juices are starting to flow. What can you do to submit? Here's a few basic steps:

Take a deap breath.
Check out the Submission Guidelines page.
Figure out what you want to write.
Wax on, wax off. (RIP Mr. Miyagi)
Type to your little hearts content.
Send in your article with your Bolt Membername to bolthelp@earthlink.net

P.S. - There's a badge involved.

That's right folks. You can earn a badge simply for being featured in a magazine. Join up with the Bolt Help Club, place a simple code into your Bolt profile and have badges automatically added to your profile when you earn them. It's the first thing of it's kind and a hot item in the club.

All of the members featured here earned at least one of the following badges:

So join up, get writing and earn those badges, people!
- DistortedSmile, Editor

Issue #1 - October 2005

2005-09-30T08:30:00.000-04:00

Index

The Price On Music .::by::. Angels-Dreams
I See London, I See France... .::by::. JewelWings
Understaffing Woes .::by::. Julys
The Blame Game .::by::. jjlicious2000
Book Review - Aimee .::by::. TopAngel418
Movie Review - Flightplan .::by::. GiggleGirlyGirl
Band Review - 30 Seconds To Mars .::by::. stormfreak4rain
From The Editor - The Five Types of Board Posts

The Price On Music
by: Angels-Dreams

“What is your opinion on illegally downloading music?”

I’ve posed this question to many people and have received a variety of answers. Some think it’s wrong and should not be done, others think it's okay as long as you aren’t downloading millions of albums a night. Some think there’s nothing wrong with it at all.

Here’s an example of some of the answers I’ve got from people:
“The answer is in your question: It's ILLEGAL. It is wrong, therefore do not do it.”

“I do it and if I had the money I'd buy the cds too”

“I think that people should be able to download. It makes them listen and then they might go, 'Yeah lets buy the album, this isn't so bad.' It's a kick up the music industry's arse - which is needed! Music is too expensive and some shit they come out with sucks. Bring the prices down & allow downloading.”

“I personally have discovered so many bands that I wouldn't have normally, but I do go out and buy the CDs if I like what I hear.”

So which side are you on? For, or against?
I’m all for it: I’ve been downloading music for years. I have discovered so many bands that had I not been downloading music, I would of never heard of. If I download something from a band and I like their stuff, I will (assuming I have the money) go and buy their albums.

This leads me on to another aspect of why people download more then buy CDs: $$money$$.

CDs are over-priced. Even if you’re against downloading, you have to admit that. I’m not about to go and waste my money on an album by a band I hardly know, because I could pop it in the CD player and hate it! So that’s £15 wasted on something which I’ve discovered I don’t like. This is where downloading the music before-hand comes in handy...

I don’t know whether I really like this band/artist and I don’t want to waste my money on their album if it’s not all that good. So I’ll download some of their songs, maybe even the entire album. And if i like it? I will go and buy it.

Why do the bands and artists get all huffy about people downloading their music? Isn’t it, after all, about the music and the fans? By letting people download, the bands and the artists are gaining a much bigger fan base; a fan base they may not get if people can’t download.

Which leads me onto... When bands sue!

Flipping through a magazine one day, I came across an article about this young girl (14 or 15) who had been sued because she had been caught illegally downloading music. She was taken to Court and had to pay quite a lot of money.
According to the court's ruling in The Recording Industry Association of America v. Verizon Internet Services, entertainment companies have the right to get an individual's name, address and phone number if they have evidence he or she is using the Internet to get or pass on their copyrighted works. They can then use this information to pursue legal action against those who download or upload the illegally obtained music files.

Is this right? Has it really come so far as to taking someone to Court over something like this? I can see why they would be sued if they where burning CDs and selling them... But suing someone for downloading and listening to the music in the privacy of their own home! Isn’t that taking it a bit too far? It does makes me weary of downloading; the last thing I, or anyone else for that matter, need is the cops banging on my door and taking me to court... Though it hasn’t stopped me from downloading and it probably never will.

Angels-Dreams (Roxy)

I See London, I See France...
a Trend Bashing article by Jewel Wings

There is one trend I can't stand that has been around a few years.

I hate the way guys and sometimes even girls wearing baggy clothes. I don't mind outfits being loose, but when they are so loose they almost fall around down your ankles makes me crazy! I feel like going up behind them and taking their pants and pulling them up. It just drives me so crazy wishing they would dress properly and at least look decent.
I was always taught to at least look halfway decent when going out in public.

JewelWings (Dawn)

Understaffing Woes
a Speak Out! article by Julys

I absolutely love Bolt, don't get me wrong; however, I am just getting totally sick of how long everything is taking to be updated! It seems to me that Bolt must be VERY understaffed.
Hmm, let's see, where shall I start?
The Style channel only gets updated about every 3 days, sometimes a lot longer than that; and even then, it's usually only one new entry at a time!
Then of course we have the lovely T-Mobile contest, that said a challenge would be starting "next week." Next week was about 4 weeks ago, along with none of the polls being updated either.
The Fashion Critic badge claimed the same thing: there would be new polls each week. Now it's been about three weeks since anyone changed the pictures.
And I'm sure you all remember a few weeks ago when we had the same MOTD for 3 days in a row.

In my opinion, it's almost getting to the point that there isn't even any reason to log in every day. I still do, of course...but it's sad to hardly ever see things being updated on a regular basis. I think we need to get Bolt to hire some more workers, so that they can get everything back on track again!!

Julys

The Blame Game
by jjlicious2000

Hurricane Katrina was devastating to millions of people. Not just the people directly affected by the monstrous hurricane but everyone in the United States has been affected by this.
Everyone wants to blame someone else for this terrible event; but no one can really take all the blame, can they? Take President Bush for instance: he had the power to get everyone out of the areas that were demolished by this beforehand. He could have sent in buses to get the poor people out before the hurricane hit.
The New Orleans government could take lots of the blame here.... They could have tried to make their home safe, make the wall bigger. New Orleans also should have used buses to get the poor out of there.
The head of FEMA could take a lot of the blame. The whole idea of FEMA is to coordinate the response to a disaster, yet they didn't even know where the shelters were. There were no plans made on what to do before Katrina hit. This one ticks me off quite a bit! So much could have been done differently, planned better, and thousands of people would still be alive today.
The people of New Orleans and Mississippi can also take lots of the blame. What happened to helping your fellow neighbor? Churches could have helped get people to better safety, people leaving could have taken an extra passenger or two.

This whole thing could have been handled way better by many different people. It's very sad that we were unable to come together to get people out before the disaster. This is a major learning tool for everyone in the United States. We now know what to do in case this type thing happens again... At least, I hope we do.

jjlicious2000

Aimee
a book review by TopAngel418

I recently read the book Aimee by Mary Beth Miller.
It's a very interesting look into a teen's life. The main character, Zoe, finds herself in a place she doesn't want to be. She was being accused of killing her best friend in the world. She has been separated from everyone she ever knew and taken to another town to "start over," but her reputation soon follows. Zoe only makes things more difficult for herself by rejecting her new life.
This book is a must read.

TopAngel418

This movie stars Jodie Foster as a widowed mother who is flying back to the states with her 6 year old daughter and her husband’s body. She goes to sleep and wakes up to find her daughter missing. No one remembers her daughter boarding the plane.

Foster is trying to convince everyone that her daughter is on board and eventually starts her own search. This is no small task since this is a newly designed huge plane. It has two stories, 7 galleys, specious restrooms and more. It helps that Foster was one of the designers of the plane. There is a lot of suspense and enough twists in this movie that keep you guessing until the end. I was surprised.

That being said, this is definitely a Jodie Foster movie. She is the star. The supporting characters were not that great. Peter Sargaard as the air marshal was OK, but the flight attendants came off as cold and unconcerned. Also, I was disappointed that Sean Bean playing the plane’s captain did not have a bigger role.

I still give this movie 4 stars. I am a Jodie Foster fan and she did a great job. I may go see it again.

GiggleGirlyGirl

Are you a rock fan? Are you looking for something different? Something so different but still sounds like a local band playing concerts in their garage?

I have just the band. Odd name, I may say. I don't know how they got the name, but they are called 30 Seconds to Mars. I would say the reason that they chose this name is because their music has this kick-arse way of sounding really futuristic.

Let's talk about a song: it's called "Oblivion".
Oblivion starts off with this cool trance sound... and then all of a sudden, you hear the lead singer's voice. It's deep, mysterious, and it sounds cool. After the first verse, the chorus begins. This is where the rock begins in the song. The guitars are heavy, the lead singer's voice is powerful though and you can hear it over the guitars, which is awesome. Then all of a sudden, the chorus stops. The trance intro plays after the first chorus, and then it's on to the second verse. This band is having a really tough time trying to get out, which I do not understand.

I love this band. I think they are on tour right now with the Used (another favorite of mine) and I believe they are getting more popular with every show they play. They are definitely worth checking out if you like good song lyrics, good rock music, with a good futuristic theme! =)

Other songs I recommend are "Attack", "Edge of the Earth", and "Echelon".

4.5 stars out of 5!

stormfreak4rain (Jake)

From The Editor
The 5 Types of Board Posts

The boards are a place to go to for advice, for fun and for those moments when complete and utter boredom grabs hold of you and shakes you like a bad uncle. For Bolt members, they're also essentials to being in the know about what is going on in the Bolt world. At least, that's what you're conned into believing. It's all a sham. I'll let you in on the real secret of the Bolt boards.
You see, the boards are comprised of five primary things:

Off-topic posts.
Goodbye posts.
Wars (flame, grudge, annoyance)
Large threads
and, On-topic, straight-shooting posts.

Let's examine.

1.) Off-Topic posts

These are the most common types of board posts. You can spot these from a mile away if you see a subject line like any of the following:
a. *OT*
b. -OT-
c. /OT/
d. OMFG MY BOYFRIEND AND I FINALLY DID IT LAST NIGHT (hi mom!)

Off-topic posts are generally light-hearted and are usually geared to the regulars of that board. Actually, most off-topic posts are about the poster's REAL life and you won't even care about what they're writing anyway (real life? Come on, people. That's so boring.) But it will be worth the read if they happen to direct you to a ebaumsworld.com video at the end of their post or mention their drunk uncle and the neighbour's dog.

I read an off-topic post the other week that caught my immediate interest. The subject said: *OT* My Mom Died - Reminiscing. It sounded promising, so I leaned in towards the monitor and clicked. Five pages of writing comes up from some 26 year-old with fantastic grammar....and I just got finished drinking a pot of coffee whose texture reminds one of the sludge at the bottom of the Hudson River. I'm wired and have no patience to read all of this about someone I neither know, nor care about at the moment. But now that I spent all that time (read: 3 seconds) clicking to this particular page, I feel compelled to read and at least leave a comment of some sort. So I scan the page:

"My mother died last night....blah blah blah....feel bad about things I said to her on prom night....blah blah blah....suicidal thoughts...blah....can't take this anymore....blah....mom used to bake those kind of cookies that you could smell all through the house....blah blah blah....chocolate chip....blah....blah....need to go lie down...blah....bye guys. Pray for Mom. Goodbye."

I'm feeling extraordinarily compassionate right about now. So I write, "Mmm. Cookies! I love cookies! "

Hey, write an off-topic post - expect an off-topic answer.

The general rule with creating an off-topic post is to make sure that the board you're posting it in actually cares about your problems. And be prepared for smart-ass remarks.
The rule in replying is - never, ever mention cookies in a death post. It will inevitably lead to many posts following yours about your "insecurity" and "insensitivity" and a whole bunch of other "in" words that you won't like.

2.) Goodbye posts.

These posts come out of nowhere. There's no warning. You click on a different subject title and expect something fantabulous inside (because, let's face it, opening a board post is like opening a cereal box - somewhere inside is a plastic Roger Rabbit watch waiting for you amidst all the Cheerios). But, alas, your cool-looking subject line is followed by: "Well, guys...Time to go to bed. I'll talk to you all tomorrow!"

Wait a minute....Back it up. Who are you? Did you even say Hello? Why are you creating a whole new post just to say goodbye when you will be gone by the time anyone gets around to replying? Do you have a brain?
No, no...I'm guilty of it, too. But usually my "Goodbye" posts are fair warning that my site will be immobile for the time that I am gone. There is a purpose to me saying goodbye. But the majority of you....Why? What's the point? So you can brag about your Spongebob pajamas? The incredible amounts of sex you will have before you actually fall asleep?

These are the pointless posts. There usually isn't any stable reason for them to be there. It's just somebody wanting to grab some extra spotlight so they can wake up refreshed in the morning and use their Goodbye Post as a bookmark to get to all the brand-spanking NEW board posts. Oh, and don't forget the fact that they can read about all of their Spongebob Pajama Pants admirers.

General Rules - When posting, make sure you're not using the goodbye as a bookmark. Do that in someone else's thread. (I do it by placing a [:E] at the last available post.) Make sure there's a reason for you to be notifying all of Bolt that you're going to bed or going on vacation. (The rule is that if you've ever disappeared off of Bolt for five whole days and someone makes a post about you maybe having died while you're gone, then and only then are you important enough to be making a random Goodbye post.) And the only other time a Goodbye Post is acceptable is when you're a super-active, full-time regular of that board and more than two people might actually care.
General Rules - When replying to a goodbye post, don't. It will only encourage more goodbyes. I know that saying "G'nite" is just a reaction, but we must refrain from feeding the wildlife.

3.) Wars

Wars are fun, so long as you're not a participant. Watching from the sidelines is a fun, non-hazardous way to enjoy stupidity in full force. If you end up becoming completely engrossed in a war for whatever reason, always be aware that your account is on the line. All it takes is one pissed off techie to make your Bolt life go downhill fast.

There are four principal wars. We'll start with the semi-harmless and work our way up...

War #1: The Annoyance Wars - Thanks to the Active Threads feature, every annoying person can see what every board is up to at any given moment. Victims of this type of war can be found on the Clay Aiken board. They're happily chatting away about their idol (I don't understand them either, but that's besides the point) when some idiot decides to pop into a random post and say something in a mocking fashion or insult the age group of the posters on that board. These type of wars are generally short-lived by the block button, but it's still considered a war because it's (unfortunately) never-ending. Just like Hillary Clinton.

War #2: The Intelligence Wars - These wars are usually started within the realms of religion and politics. All starts out well - we're all cheerily discussing the advantanges of an anarchist society as opposed to communism when suddenly, OH NO, we have a disagreement. Now we break out the larger words and attempt to demean the other person's statement with a greater number of syllables. Whereas a normal mini-war of this sort would go on like this:

Anarchist: Nah, I don't agree with that.
Communist: Why not?
Anarchist: It just doesn't suit my beliefs, that's all.
Communist: It would really work better with your lifestyle, though.
Anarchist: It might, but I'm closeminded and will continue to argue with you for the sake of argument.
Communist: Okay.

...An Intelligence war will inevitably go more like this:

Anarchist: I'm not entirely sure that I will acquiesce to that proclamation.
Communist: Why ever would you annihilate such an enlightened approach?
Anarchist: It simply would not gratifty my situation nor benefit my ideologies.
Communist: Communism would most certainly assist and increase your dowry and capital, however.
Anarchist: It may very well warrant that, but I am very constricted and scant in my grey material resources and will carry forward an altercation with you for the overall objective of conducting an altercation.
Communist: I concur.

Both versions said the same thing, however the second went into a verbal, "my schlong is bigger than your schlong"-fest. Schlongs slung everywhere! Silly schlong-slingers.

General Rules - When participating in an Intelligence war, always have a thesaurus handy. Make sure you know your viewpoint before you speak and are ready to back it up - so long as you know where you stand, you can spend all the extra time thinking up a synonym for "simply" and "idea". And if worse comes to worse? Simply drop the argument and leave. The game was getting boring anyway and now you need a brain massage.
General Rules - When viewing an intelligence war, for God's sake, don't start posting. If you weren't there from the beginning, it's better not to jump in the pool when everyone's already fighting. You'll drown.

War #3: The Flame Wars - This is what happens when Wars #1 and #2 go bad. You'll see more cursing than you would at a New York City Harbour pub filled to the brim with sailors and dirty references so bad you'll actually want to chew on a bar of soap. The bad thing about flame wars is that they live up to their namesakes - they'll keep on burning until someone puts the fire out....And lemme tell ya - there are many more pyromaniacs on Bolt than there are firefighters. No one is brave enough to jump into a flame war and try to cool everyone off.

Hey, you try jumping into a mess like that only to say...."Now, now, everyone - calm down. There's no big thing here."
Someone will turn around and call you a fat cow whose mother nursed swine and next thing you know, you're joining in the fray.

General Rules - When posting in a flame war, be a firefighter. Flamers are so boring. Keep your cool and remember - it really is just words on a screen.

War #4: The Grudge Wars - Grudge wars are the worst. They can be started by one person, but they very rarely end. A good example of a grudge war could be descriped as a Bolt couple....There are two Bolt members who are dating over the internet - they call each other, put each others names in their profiles, dedicate tagbook questions to each other, meet with each other on the weekends...Awww, how sweet. <3
Uh-oh! Guy breaks up with Girl and Guy want to date New Girl! Old Girl gets mad and posts Guys phone number all of the boards with a fake account, trying to convince members that a child molestor lives at that phone number and "Please leave him horrible voicemail messages!" Old Girl creates a copycat account that looks almost exactly like Guys account name/icon and gets half of Bolt to hate him. Old Girl continues posting phone number all over internet and pictures for months on end, until she finally gets bored of Guy and finds New Guy (which is rarely, because Old Girl spends whole life with New Boyfriend, The Internet!)

It's a big mess, it's stupid and childish. Yet it has been known to happen.

General Rules - Don't turn into Old Girl.
General Rules - If you see the makings of a grudge war, don't block immediately - wait. If you happen to have a cell phone with free nights and weekends and see a phone number placed on the boards or somewhere on Bolt - call it. Let that person know what you saw, where you saw it and give them an e-mail so they can write to Bolt and get the person taken care of. Be a pal for a change.

4.) Large Threads

These are typically long, 900+ post threads that have no definitive topic. They are usually placed on some ridiculous board that no one ever uses (like the Cows board) so groups of friends can get together and chat without every breaking a post. They're really only entertaining if you have been keeping up with them since day one, but I certainly wouldn't recommend reading through all the previous pages of writing. Chances are that you'd die of old age before you got through all of the spelling errors and drama. But feel free to attempt to start one on a dead board.

5.) On-topic posts

These are a myth and the ones you see are really just Bolt conspiracies to cover up something off-topic and/or they're a piece of your imagination. Do not attempt to create an on-topic post or the regulars with attack you, lynch-mob style.

I hope this guide gives you a better understanding on the gears that turn behind the Bolt boards....and if it didn't? Well, go cry about wasting your time in an *OT* post somewhere. Just not on my boards.

DistortedSmile (Tará)

Issue #0 - Test Release

2005-09-01T22:11:00.000-04:00

Sample Front Cover