Corning Museum of Glass

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By: Genevieve Scholl

This past weekend, I went to the Corning Museum of Glass. It was very excited to tour the museum and different exhibits and see some of the amazing things that can be made out of glass. There were things from bowls to chandaliers to baseball bats! And we even went to the studio to make our own flowers out of glass! It is hard to explain the beauty of the glass and the amazing feeling you get as you walk through the halls, so please take a close look at the photographs below and enjoy!

Twilight

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This is not really a blog, but more of an opinion and suggestion. Everyone should go see Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 this weekend! Go! Now! Hurry, before the werewolves kick all the vampire butt!

Theatrical Trailer:

http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810158314/info

The Elevators on Campus

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I have noticed that a lot of the students and professors use the elevators on campus, but do any of you ever think about the man we have to thank for them? I’m going to guess that you don’t, so here is some background information about Elisha Otis.

He was a New York man, living in Troy, Albany, and Yonkers. He was just 39 years old when he invented the first useable and safe passenger elevator. Unfortunately, only ten years later he died. However, without his genius inventor mind, we would not be where we are today. We would still be climbing three flights of stairs every day we went to class, no matter what our situation.

So, the next time you get in the elevators on campus, think about Elisha Otis and send up a silent “thank you” to the heavens.

Buffalo Pride

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As I sit here, at my desk in Student Activities I cannot think. My mind is racing, I can’t sit still, and I keep talking in different voices to my boss. Why am I this way? Cabin Fever, my friends. Thank goodness my boss finds the different voices amusing; I am at least accomplishing a little something today.

I can’t explain the cabin fever, except to say that it is warm outside and I have arrived to the point in the semester where you can almost see the end in sight…. but it makes you loopy. You know the feeling. You’re so overwhelmed with work and school and everything else in your life that you simply go insane.

My friends…I am insane.

Now, the one bright spot in all this mess is Sunday because I AM GOING TO THE BILLS GAME.

If you remember just one thing about me, let it be that I am a HUGE  Buffalo Bills fan. Just hideously, ridiculously huge. And the fact that I am going to the game on a gorgeous Sunday morning in my beautiful Orchard Park, NY is almost too much to bear. So. For all you Bills fans out there I am going to give us a taste of the fantastic butt-kicking the Bills are going to unleash on the Jets this Sunday. Enjoy, and try not to tear down any goal posts!!

Emily

Dead University Conclusion

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By: Genevieve Scholl

 

Hey readers! Sorry I did not get the conclusion done yet, but I have been so exhausted from my illness. So, here is the conclusion…

 

Even as I spoke the words, I realized that it was a lie. That explained why none of the other students had seen the eerie green glow and had passed right by me with no care in the world. I was dead, but how did I die? Why didn’t I remember dying?

The cute ghost spoke again, “I’m Brian by the way,” he said.

“I’m…” That was weird, I couldn’t remember my name.

“Oh no need to introduce yourself, Marlena, I know all who are enrolled in Dead GCC,” he said as if reading my mind.

Marlena… That’s right, my name was Marlena Stevens, but I still didn’t remember dying. I wondered if that was something that was intentional. Did I block out my death because I was too traumatized?

Again, as if reading my mind, Brian looked at me with sympathy in his pale dead eyes. “Do not worry, Marlena, the memory of your death will come back to you in time. Right now, you are just getting used to the dead-life.” He chuckled, as if this was an inside joke. “Let me show you around.”

As he did, I suddenly noticed my surroundings. We were standing in a room made of glass, or at least that’s how it looked, and I could see the students walking the halls or sitting in the classrooms of GCC- normal, not dead. I couldn’t believe how this was possible, as I watched a teacher write something on the whiteboard in the classroom to my left. There was no way the students couldn’t see us. I mean, we were standing right in front of them, weren’t we?

As we continued to walk I heard, “Now, can confessions alone be used to convict someone of a crime in court?” The familiar voice of my Criminal Procedure Law professor brought a small sense of sorrow. I actually missed my classes and the things that Professor Wickle was teaching me. Would I ever learn the ins and outs of Criminal Justice? Was there even a need for Criminal Justice after death?

I asked Brian. “Well, believe it or not, yes there is. You will continue with your studies here, and eventually become the security guard for our world. You will not only keep these jokers in line, but you will also be the guard of the entire death world. You will have to make sure that no Breathers find our world. If they do, they will instantly die, and that’s not what we want.”

Well, that explained a lot; not to mention, put a lot of pressure on me. How was I suppose to go about doing that? I was dead, it wasn’t like I could stop a human from doing something… Could I?

As Brian continued my tour, I noticed that there was nothing different about Dead GCC then regular GCC, except of course for the bleeding wounds and missing limbs of some of the students. I knew I could be happy here. I knew this was the place for me and the place for me to essentially start over. I might have been dead, but at least I was still attending GCC. A giggle escaped my throat when I thought about the things I could do dead. Would Kevin, my supervisor, like a short visit?…

 

Sorry for leaving the suspense, but it was a creepy SHORT story 🙂 Hope you all enjoyed learning about DEAD GCC and the students and professors you never knew existed…

 

Dead University Part 2

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I was about to walk away when the bricks started to move. I watched as each of the thirteen bricks separated and slid apart, revealing a small black door. Golden letters adorned the front, blazing a foreign language that I didn’t recognize, even though I was fluent in nineteen different dialects.

It was somehow inviting, but still I wasn’t sure what I should do. If this was a dream, nothing could hurt me, but if it was reality, was my curiosity worth the consequences? Slowly, I turned the knob and the door mysteriously expanded to the size of an average door. By this point, my hesitation had flown out the open window and I walked through the door.

“D-E-A-D-G-C-C,” I heard as soon as the door closed behind me. “D-E-A-D-G-C-C!”

Dead GCC? Now I was completely confused. GCC was the name of my college, but what did Dead GCC mean?

“Welcome to your death,” I heard from behind me. Scared out of my skin, I spun around to see who had said that, but there was no one there. “Hey! Up here!”

Looking up, I saw a man sitting above the door. Or at least, I thought he was sitting, until he floated down to “stand” in front of me. At closer inspection, I could see that the man had no feet and was actually a ghost. My insides froze, but strangely I wasn’t afraid. Actually, he was sort of cute… for a ghost. He had wavy brown hair and bright (or they would have been if he was alive) blue eyes. Still, his presence only confused me more.

“Death?” I asked. “But, I’m not dead.”

Dear Readers,

Unfortunately I am not feeling the best and can’t finish this short story today, but I promise it will be finished by tomorrow. Have a happy halloween!

Genevieve

Dead University

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By: Genevieve Scholl

Hey everyone! I wanted to do something special for Halloween, but since there really isn’t anything to do I decided to share with you a short story that I started writing today. I will give you the conclusion on Monday!

I sat in a dark and empty hallway, with only the gentle hum of the overhead lights to keep me company. The bright red EXIT sign at the end of the hallway offers escape, but inside I know it will only bring me freedom from the building; only to push me into the first fresh snowfall of the season. What I really want, what I really need, is an escape from everything. I crave an escape from everyday life and my boring existence. Freedom from the people whom surround me, from the textbooks that bind me, from the time that limits me, and from the clothes that cover me.

My. My, isn’t that a lovely word. Some me-time would be the perfect solution to my trapped feeling. A complete surrender to myself, allowing my body and mind to act independently from the rest of the world. Or perhaps I needed a new world…

Yes, a new world in which I can completely start my entire life over and avoid the mistakes I had made in this one. Except, realistically I knew that wasn’t possible. This world and this life were my only option and I would just have to suck it up and take it one day at a time.

As I continued to sit on the hard tile floor, by classroom B252, I started to drift to sleep… or at least I thought I had, but that was the only logical explanation for the strange green glow coming from the dull gray wall. Wasn’t it? As I watched, the glow spread between the spaces separating thirteen of the bricks. One of the classes down the hall ended and students started passing me in the hall, rushing like cars on a highway at rush hour, but no one seemed to notice the strange light. How can they not see it, I thought to myself as I continued to watch.

The hallway cleared of students once more and the glow grew brighter, intriguing my interest. I slid closer to the wall; trying to explain the occurence, and hoping I was just hallucinating, but there was no explanation readily available for it. Being excited by unexplained and odd phenomena since I was a young child, I lifted my hand to press it against the bricks. Based on the radiant glow I had been expecting heat, but the wall was surprisingly cool… Cold, even.

I tore my hand away and hesitated. Should I even have been touching the green glow? What if it was radioactive? The glow seemed to pulsate like it was welcoming me to touch again, but still I hesitated.

Look for the conclusion on Monday…

 

The Horror of Wednesday Nights

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Hi everyone, Emily, here!!

As anyone who reads my blog knows, (does any read my blog?!?!) I am a huge supporter of community college (why would I be here, sitting at work, typing a blog if I wasnt?). It may be hard to be a college kid sometimes, but hey, you all know that a good education at a great price is a deal that a smart student just cant pass up. You don’t have to be in Math 091 to understand that.

So, I am going to take this opportunity to review my favorite class of this semester, in an effort to get other people excited about community college as well.

My favorite class (drum roll, please!!) is HUM 240-52, AKA, Horror in Film!!!

Now, you must understand something, I LOVE horror movies. Love them to pieces. So when I heard that there was a film class based entirely on horror films, I was psyched. This class, taught by Professor Adamson, is a unique experience that not a lot of students get to experience during their college careers.

Fear creates an interesting dynamic among peers. The first class in which we watched a movie, (Insidious was the film of choice. A disturbing film with a surprise ending that is sure to leave you scratching your head and gathering up your resolve so as to watch the movie a second time.) We all pretended to be big, bad, nothin scares us college kids who could handle anything. We sat up straight in our desks and scoffed at the fog rolling onto the screen. We were to mature for the creepy music, to in touch with ourselves to care about the foreshadowed plotline…and then came the screams.

Immediately following that scream, (I cant remember who it was, but we were all thinking it…she just ended up saying it) the mood and the attitudes of I and my fellow classmates changed for good. We no longer lied about thinking the movie was cheesy and “not scary at all.” We shifted our desks so as make it easier for others to see and be closer to friends (safety in numbers) at the same time. When someone gasped we didnt laugh, we nodded our heads. Girls unabashedly shielded their eyes from particularly disturbing bits and the boys held their heads high; bravery for the girls. It was then that we ceased to be a group of peers, thrown together and cold; and have since become a group of friends, facing fictional trials together, proud to emerge from the carnage unscathed.

I dont think that there is any other class out there that can create a feeling of camaraderie quite like ours. It is evident in the way our class discussions go after “the end” has been read and we blink into the bright, artificial light of D309. It happens the same way every time. Professor Adamson faces us and asks “Well, what did you think?” and we sit there in silence. It takes us coaxing each other into speaking and then our thoughts pour out.

We always have great discussions in that class about themes of films, characters and what they mean all jumbled together. We hardly ever disagree with what the other person says. I always end up learning something new about  a film, or director, or actor that I didnt know before.

If you get the chance, I would highly recommend taking HUM 240-52 with Professor Adamson. It is a fantastic class and I am sure that you will come out of it feeling more connected to your classmates; just as I do.

Until next time,

Emily

Kindness and Flat Out Respect

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By: Genevieve Scholl

Hey readers! Just wanted to talk to you today a little about the two elements of a good life (as I like to call them).

First, comes kindness. We all know what it means to be kind, but we don’t always practice it. Kindness should be like a reflex. Be kind to others and you will get kindness right back. I know this isn’t always the case, but for the most part it works. Now, I am not going to point out names or faces or anything, but other the last few days I have experienced quite a few moments where this sort of thing just doesn’t happen. From talking during class to just not caring one little bit about others. Why? I mean, is it really so hard just to be kind to others when they deserve it. We’re adults aren’t we?

Along with kindness, comes respect. As Aretha put it, R E S P E C T! “All I’m asking, is for a little respect.” That’s all I’m asking for from everyone. Respect everyone and their wishes. Like when you are asked to stop talking in class, do it. Why do we have to be a campus that feels like high school all over again?

I know you are all probably getting sick of listening to my complaints, but I feel (as adults) that we should tell each other these things and try to make our college experience a far better and more pleasant time.

But, I am not a total prude, so here’s a cookie on me…

Sorry if you just tried to lick the screen and tasted nothing… 🙂

Illness

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By: Genevieve Scholl

I have been sick for the past three days and it occurs to me that, as college students, we are more susceptible to illness. Between our poor eating habits and the elements we are exposed to on campus (cold, dust in the dorms, etc), illness is almost inevitable. At least four people I know have also been sick recently, which means it’s going around.

So, fight against the germs and stay healthy!

Hopefully, I can do the same 🙂