Curating Your Own Festival of Films

Now that almost every computer can watch free full movies online, anyone with a few friends, some popcorn, and an interest in film can curate their own festival of films. It's a fun thing to do with your friends and great way to meet people who share your passion for film.

The first thing you need to do is make sure your home is prepared for guests to watch free new movies online. If you have a stable internet connection then all you need is either a monitor (you can get a big one for under $100) or a TV that hooks up to your computer, speakers (which you probably have or can be purchased for under $20), and enough seating.

The next thing you need to do is choose the films that you are going to feature. Don't feel limited to feature films; you can put together a film festival of funny videos online, short films online, or any combination of clips, shorts, and feature length films. Do research and scour the web for films and clips that you think your friends haven't seen. With so many free new movies online, as well as free classic films on the web, the world of film is at your fingertips.

They Call This a Public Library

We seem to have gotten so self-righteous and narrow-minded that we are now sending a clear message to our children that it is better not to borrow a book from a public library in case a policeman comes to your door to arrest you because you forgot to return it.

Do you think that this is far-fetched? Ask the five-year-old child who cried when she saw the policeman at the door because she thought he was going to arrest her.

Apparently, her fears weren't unfounded. According to a news source, "Christopher Anspach was sentenced to ten days in jail for failing to return his overdue library books after several months and multiple overdue notices." Christopher's mother said they didn't receive any notices; the public library said they sent them.

But, who cares that a child didn't return the books? What have we been reduced to that a public library has taken to strong-arming children to return books? We are so far behind most of the countries of the civilized world in education that you would think the libraries would be delighted that some children still want to read books.

Homeless Shelters Are More Than A Roof And A Bed

Homelessness can affect anyone. Even if you believe that your job is secure and your life is stable today it doesn't mean that things will remain the same in the future.

As the global economic downturn has caused more people to lose their jobs an increasingly large percentage of the population in the United States is having a more difficult time keeping up with their rent or mortgage payments. As a result many people who never even considered the possibility of being homeless are now finding that they are living on the streets or trying to get into a homeless shelter for the night.

Homeless shelters play a very important role in our society. Many people who suddenly find themselves without a home end up spending at least some of their nights in a homeless shelter.

The Darker Side Of Homeless Shelters

When a person tells someone that they're about to become homeless most of the people that they tell have the preconceived notion that the unfortunate soul will just be able to show up at a homeless shelter and that they will be housed for as long as is necessary. The reality is far from this perception.

Long Term Solutions Are Not Long Term At All

Although many homeless service providers will tell you all about the number of people that they have helped they rarely mention that the system is designed to be more of a revolving door than a long-term solution to the problem.

When a person shows up at a shelter he or she has to go through a process. They are asked a lot of questions and their answers are saved using homeless shelter software.

However, even if someone completes the process they still are not guaranteed that they will get either immediate or permanent housing. One of the reasons that this happens is because after going through the process pretty much everyone is put on a very long waiting list.

Stay Tuned Next Year For the Arab Perennial

If you thought the Arab Spring was only for springtime, then you haven't been watching the news throughout 2011. It seems that the Arab Spring is now perpetual, and therefore, I have dubbed it; the Arab Perennial. It seems one thing that the protesters love to do, whether it is the occupy protesters in the United States, Greek citizens challenging austerity programs, or Arab populations - is to get on TV. The protesters in the Middle East play to Al Jazeera, those in Europe wish to make their national TV stations, and the BBC.

Of course, here the United States we have an abundance of news outlets; CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, and FoxNews to name a few. The occupy protesters rely on the media to help keep this energy going, help with their recruitment, and stay in the news. By using the media they are able to project themselves as being larger than they actually are, while the media gets good ratings for broadcasting the sound and fury of the masses. Okay so, let's talk a little bit about Syria, because in Syria it's getting quite serious.

Syrians Protesting for Publicity - Is That What It's All About?

There was a very telling article in the New York Times on the last day of the year in 2011 titled; "Thousands Rally in Syria to Prove Their Discontent to Arab Monitors," by Kareem Fahim and Hwaida Saad. The article stated: