Letters to President Elect Obama

2009-01-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

Dear Sir Obama,

These are the first 10 things you should do as president:

1. Make everyone read books.
2. Don’t let teachers give kids hard homework.
3. Make a law where kids only get one page of homework per week.
4. Kids can go visit you whenever they want.
5. Make volunteer tutors get paid.
6. Let the tutors do all the thinking.
7. Make universities free.
8. Make students get extra credit for everything.
9. Give teachers raises.
10. If No. 4 is approved, let kids visit the Oval Office, but don’t make it boring.

— Mireya Perez, age 8, San Francisco

Dear President Obama,

Here is a list of the first 10 things you should do as president:

1. Fly to the White House in a helicopter.
2. Walk in.
3. Wipe feet.
4. Walk to the Oval Office.
5. Sit down in a chair.
6. Put hand-sanitizer on hands.
7. Enjoy moment.
8. Get up.
9. Get in car.
10. Go to the dog pound.

— Chandler Browne, age 12, Chicago

Check out the others at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/16/opinion/16lettersintro.html

A picture's worth a thousand words

2008-10-10T22:26:00.001-07:00

There are so many great pictures and stories out there in the world, but it seems sometimes we only hear the same ones over and over. So, I thought I'd compile a list of the Associated Press's most recent top stories and pictures. Here were a few I thought were noteworthy...

1.
A two and a half-month-old female tiger cub, no name yet given, looks on at the Novo Ogaryovo, residence of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, unseen, outside Moscow, on Thursday night, Oct. 9, 2008. The cub was presented to Putin on Oct. 7, when he was celebrating his 56 birthday. (AP Photo. RIA Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Pool)

2.
Two French poodles wearing Obama campaign endorsements are taken for a walk in Winston Salem, N.C., in this Oct. 8, 2008 photo. (Photo and caption submitted by Nunthany Johnson)

3.

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta draws thousands to Albuquerque, New Mexico each October to take in the awe-inspiring sight of hundreds of colorful balloons floating over the Rio Grande Valley for 10 days. Pilots travel from more than 25 countries for the annual event in the 'Hot Air Balloon Capital of the World.' Photo by Ron Berhmann. (PRNewsFoto/Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, Ron Berhmann)

Shortly after sunrise the sky is filled on the opening day Saturday, Oct. 4, 2008 during the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. (AP Photo/Craig Fritz)

4.
Leaves begin to change color along the Swift River in the White Mountain National Forest in Albany, N.H., Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

5.

A lion rides a horse in a circus show in Xiamen in southeast China's Fujian province Tuesday Sept. 30, 2008. The circus shows are being held during a golden week holiday to mark China's National Day, the 59th anniversary of the founding of communist China. (AP Photo)

6.

This undated mug shot released by the Middletown, Ohio, police department shows Michelle Allen, 32. Allen was arrested Sept. 27, 2008 after she allegedly impeded traffic, urinated on a neighbor's porch and chased children while wearing a cow suit, according to a Middletown police report. (AP Photo/Middletown Ohio Police department via Dayton Daily News)

7.
Two conjoined Nile Tilapia fish, dubbed "Siamese Twin", swim in a small aquarium in Bangkok October 3, 2008. They are both eight months old and share part of the skin together. The bigger fish tends to protect the smaller one from harm while the smaller one looks for food at the bottom of the aquarium. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang (THAILAND)

8.
Children run past statues of 1950-53 Korean War soldiers at a war museum in Seoul October 10, 2008. The United States and North Korea are near a compromise to save a crumbling nuclear deal, news reports said on Friday, while Japan said it could accept rewarding the North by taking it off a U.S. terrorism blacklist. REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak (SOUTH KOREA)

9.

This handout from the Phnom Penh Post shows a house sawed in half by a Cambodian couple as they were hoping to avoid the country's convoluted divorce process in Prey Veng province near Phnom Penh. (AFP/PHNOM PENH POST-HO)

10.
Fifteen year old Hippo Albert opens his mouth to catch a pumpkin fed to him in Cologne Zoo, western Germany, Thursday, Oct.2, 2008. (AP Photo/Roberto Pfeil)

Okay, so there's more than ten...
A dead elephant lies at freeway piramides north of Mexico City, September 23, 2008. A bus crashed into the elephant that escaped from a circus near some of Mexico's most famous pyramids, killing the nearly 5-ton animal and the bus driver, Mexican news reports said. The elephant, named Hilda and about 40 years old, broke free while being fed on Monday evening, crashed through a gate and later stumbled onto a major road near Mexico City at around midnight. REUTERS/Stringer (MEXICO)

Alright, just one more...
Pakistani girls show their hands painted with traditional henna in preparation for the upcoming Eid al-Fitr festival in Multan, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 29, 2008. Pakistani Muslims are preparing for Eid al-Fitr, a celebration that marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan this week. (AP Photo/Khalid Tanveer)

What are your top ten photos? Email to marnilv@byuh.edu!

Top Ten Paul Newman movies

2008-10-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

In memory of the actor and philanthropist Paul Newman who died on Sept. 26, 2008 at the age of 83. He made more than 50 movies in his 50-plus year career and won an Oscar for his role in The Color of Money.

1. The Sting
2. Cool Hand Luke
3. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
4. The Hustler
5. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
6. Road to Perdition
7. The Color of Money
8. Cars
9. Absence of Malice
10. Message in a Bottle

What Girls Want in Guys

2008-09-18T14:42:00.000-07:00

Chris Woehrl, of Denver, volunteers with the SPCA disaster team

by caring for domestic animals left behind in a makeshift shelter

Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008, in Galveston, Texas.
(AP Photo/Houston Chronicle, Nick de la Torre)

1. Personality
2. Talkative
3. Nice to Everyone
4. Handsome
5. Height
6. Same Hobby
7. Mature
8. Passion
9. Fashionable
10. Smart

Ke Alaka'i Top 10

Letters to President Elect Obama

A picture's worth a thousand words

Top Ten Paul Newman movies

What Girls Want in Guys