“Boom Boom Pow”, one of the Black Eyed Peas recent singles, roars to life as they take the stage at the Houston Rodeo. A crowd of over 70,000 people hop up off of their seats to start off an hour of non-stop dancing.
The Black Eyed Peas, wearing their signature futuristic outfits, put on a high-energy, cohesive set that spanned their entire career with Fergie, the female vocalist in the band. Fergie performed her hit single from here solo album, “Big Girls Don’t Cry”, which the crowd sang along to every word.
At one point, the band left the stage with the exception of Will.I.Am.,one the group’s male vocalist and DJ, and did a short turntable session. This was a big hit with the crowd.
The back up dancers were adorned in moveable speaker outfits, which can be seen in the “Imma Be” music video, providing an interesting visual affect adding to the Black Eyed Peas set.
Overall, this concert was a great experience, both visually and sound-wise.
The Black Eyed Peas first made a name for themselves back in the late ’90s as a neo-soul hip hop group, but their breakthrough album, Elephunk, came out in 2003. Ever since Elephunk, The Black Eyed Peas have made a steady climb to success. They have reached “superstar” status in the hip-hop/ pop world.
By now, everyone should have heard that the health care bill that President Obama and the Democrats have been battling the Republicans over for about a year now has been passed. This bill is suppose to universalize health care and provide health care to every American. Many Americans are quite skeptical about the bill because it will change the system as we know it for generations to come.
One regulation that will go into effect immediately is that insurance companies can no longer deny a person with a pre-existing condition. Other regulations will not go into effect until 2014, but the bill is expected to close the gap that Medicaid has created. Eventually, regulations from the bill will eventually force everyone to have health care, a practice that many other countries already have in place. Those who fail to get health care will be fined.
A lot of people, especially the Republicans (none of whom voted in favor of the bill), are opposed to the new bill. Many are fearful of the new changes, but the health care bill is suppose to be something to better our country.
With all of the issues that government has failed to properly address like health care, education, gay rights, abortion, and all the other main stream topics of today, it would seem like our government is ineffective. Many of us have complaints or are simply frustrated with the lack of progress that our lawmakers have made when all of these issues are at hand. The problems continue to mount up while the solutions are few and far in between. There is one issue that our government has done well to take care of because everyone agrees with this one: the veterans.
The Serviceman’s Readjustment Act of 1944, or more commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was initially passed after World War II in order to help the veterans get back on there feet after fighting in the war. The G.I. Bill has been modified several times since its existence, but the most recent was in August of 2009. The new G.I. Bill has been slightly tweaked and is geared more towards those brave men and women who have served after 9/11.
The new G.I. Bill has greatly expanded and now pays for most of the tuition, provides a housing allowance, and gives $1000 for books. Before the G.I. Bill only paid for a portion of the tuition in the past. This new bill is also transferable to dependents of veterans as well.
I am a dependent of a veteran, my father, who has served in Desert Storm and, more recently, Kuwait, one of the countries in the Middle East. My father decided to transfer his benefits to me. He and I filled out all of the forms before the new bill even took affect in August. Since it had to go through the government, which means a few weeks of waiting for paper work to be processed, I also did my financial aid in order to retain my classes for the semester. The bill came through, but I then had to go to the Veteran’s Affairs Office in the University Center for more paperwork and more information about what all the bill entailed. After that stop, I had to go to the registration office to turn in paperwork, to financial aid to figure out how my financial aid and loans would be affected, to an advisor to authenticate my class schedule for the semester, and finally back to VA office to turn in more paperwork before I could even find out when the bill would finally be coming through.After weeks of sitting on the edge of my seat, my funds disburshment came through.
Getting the G.I. Bill is one of those irritating governmental processes, but in the end of it all, it is definitely worth the time and headache.
If you’re into videogames at all, you know that the biggest and most anticipated game of this year so far, God of War 3, will be released March 16th. God of War 3 will only be released on through Sony Entertainment PS3, but it is still predicted to be a big seller. The series follows Kratos, an ex- Spartan soldier, who was betrayed by the Greek Gods and decides to wage war against them. The first two games are absolutely amazing and intense, and the third has been reported to be the same way. Here’s a trailer.
