Johnny Eaton

I’m going to go to Fredericksburg this weekend to go check out all the Christmas lights and do a little shopping!! So, that’s about the only thing that I have to look forward to this weekend. Fredericksburg is a city located in Gillespie County, Texas, just seventy miles west of Austin in the central part of the county. This county is loaded with German culture; from the hundreds to German shops to the people, food, and beer! So I’m heading there to shop for my Mom a Christmas present and also to get to know, and understand the German culture a little bit more. The Ausländer Restaurant and Biergarten has been Fredericksburg's most popular eating establishment for over twenty years. The Ausländer (meaning outsider, foreigner, or tourist) offers some of the finest in authentic German cuisines. I just happened to run into this restaurant about a year ago, where I decided to have the Bratwurst, a traditional white sausage made of smoked veal and pork, and have been eating that ever since. I know it sounds disgusting, and trust me, it looked worse than it sounded, but I have to admit, it really fulfills my appetite and was exactly what I want when digesting all of this German ethnicity!! (HAHA PUN!)

Texans’ of German birth or descent have, since the mid-19th century, made up one of the largest ethnic groups in the state. Germans who chose Texas as a home were, in the migrations from 1830 to 1900, anything but a uniform group. Early emigration came from a land of provinces, not a unified Germany, and from many backgrounds. Fredericksburg was founded in 1846 by Baron Otfried Hans von Meusebach, the new Commissioner General of the “Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas,” also known as the “Noblemen’s Society,” and named it in honor of Prince Frederick of Prussia, nephew of the Prussians’ King Frederick William III. Baron no Meusebach renounced his noble title and became known in Texas as John O. Meusebach. Because Gillespie County settled largely by liberal, educated Germans fleeing the Revolution of 1848, the county voted against secession, a formal with draw from an organization, prior to the American Civil War. Today, we hold celebrations for the existing German heritage. Oktoberfest is a colorful, festive celebration of Fredericksburg, Texas’ German heritage, which has become an annual tradition around the world. Too bad it just past ☹ I should have learned about the history of Fredericksburg a little earlier.

In the 1980’s, Fredericksburg had thirty-eight restaurants, thirteen motels, a resort farm, a campground, three art galleries, and twenty antique stores. In addition, the town was the site of a number of annual events, many of which recall Fredericksburg’s German pioneer past, which attracted visitors from throughout the United States. And that was just in the 1980’s. Think of what Fredericksburg is now like today!

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Ohhhhhh Madonna!! That is all I have to say. The concert was really good I suppose. The music was good, the lights and sound were unbelievable even with the $120.00 cheap seats I had. Haa! But there were just a lot of quarks about the concert that set me off. First of all, the concert was supposed to start at 7:30PM, but Madonna did not come on till 9:30PM!!!!!! And the sad part about it was there was nothing to do for those 2 hours but sit and wait. Supposedly, she did the exact same thing in LA, California too, which I think is absolutely absurd! So after she finally got on stage, I was feeling a little bit better, but then she made this outrageous comment later on that really ticked me off again! Madonna said that if we (Houston that is) played our cards right, she would come back for a second time. First of all, Madonna has been to Houston like 3 times before this concert, so I don’t know what she was thinking. The next morning, all the Houston radio stations were re-quoting this comment and saying that Madonna had to be “on something.” Secondly, it was almost like Madonna was saying that she really didn’t want to be in Houston, or wasn’t planning on coming back if she were to have another tour. I really don’t know what was wrong with her that night, but by that time I was getting a little annoyed.

During the concert, Madonna told the audience that it was our turn to pick a song that we really wanted to hear. So she picked some random guy from the first row and asked him what he wanted to hear. The stupid guy picked some random song off some random CD that no one even had heard of. Heck, even Madonna asked the guy in the microphone if he was really sure that he wanted to hear that song. I didn’t even know what the stupid song was called; I have never herd it before, and it wasn’t even that good. After the song was over, Madonna even admitted that she couldn’t remember when the last time that she played that song was, and said that she forgot some of the lyrics. It was pretty pathetic! Anyways, I know that was totally not Madonna’s fault, however I was still annoyed with the whole ordeal.

So the concert ended at 11:30PM and I didn’t get to bed till 1:30 in the morning! And just to put the icing on the cake, I had to wake up at 5:15AM in order to get back to Schreiner before 10:00AM to take a test in cell biology that I didn’t even study for. I also had a test in global issues that I just got finished with as well. So I’m a little shaky right now. I’m going to try to get my homework done before 10:00 tonight so that I can go to bed early. I really, really need it. Well, I’m off the get some work done. Buh bye.

Posted by Johnny Eaton at 5:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have to talk about the Ethics Team since my good friend Kathy is on it! The Schreiner University’s Ethics Team brought home two trophies and $500 from the 2008 Ethics Match, an annual competition sponsored by the Texas Independent College Foundation. Team members Kathy, a junior from Kerrville; Kristi, a senior from Dallas; Nichole, a senior from Harper; Samantha, a senior from Kerrville; and Kelli, a senior from Johnson City took second place in the East Division competition and third place overall. The Ethics Match was established to provide a forum to discuss applied business ethics and to raise awareness of the value of independent higher education and of the discussion and reasoned argument that are the foundation of liberal arts education. So congratulations too all on the Ethics Team; great job girls (:

And on another note, EVERYONE needs to go see “August Rush” if you haven’t already!!! I watched it the other day and I though it was absolutely wonderful! "August Rush" is a fairy tale. It doesn't have princes, princesses, evil stepmothers, witches, or big bad wolves, but it's a fairy tale nonetheless. This movie is told in the language of music, and it exemplifies the vocal connections between a family, the rhythmic relationships that can never be broken in spite of distance and time. It's also told in the language of faith, of the belief that love will indeed conquer all. The story is of a charming young Irish guitarist and a sheltered young cellist who have one magical night above New York’s Washington Square. They are soon torn apart, leaving their infant, August Rush, now an orphaned, by incident. August now performs on the streets of New York, and cared for by a mysterious stranger. This is one of those films that you can escape to when the so-called “real life” is bringing you down to raise your spirit up.

I’m not a very good person at summing up this movie, but I’m begging you to give it a chance. It gets my approval anyways! Well, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! Buy Bye!!!

Posted by Johnny Eaton at 11:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

So I completely forgot to mention something about Schreiner Saturday last weekend in my last blog!!! But last Saturday was the first of three Saturdays, which prospective students, that are at least some what interested in Schreiner, come to take a tour of our University, meet with the president, and professors of their choice major, and also have the chance to apply. I’ll have to admit that it was a very eventful day jammed with tons of things to accomplish. And sadly enough, this was also my last time to be a part of the Schreiner Saturday program as part of the Schreiner Ambassador team ): As an Ambassador, it is my duty to give tours, and talk about the “Schreiner experience.” It’s a lot of work, but I really enjoyed it. When you come the Schreiner to tour the campus, the tours usually last anywhere from 45 minuets to an hour depending on how many questions the student might have. Well I gave three tours last Saturday, and I can tell you that my feet were killing me!!! But within the process, I met some really nice people who were really interested in Schreiner. There are only two Schreiner Saturdays left, so if you missed the last one, you still have a chance to come to the other two. Even if you are confused on how the whole application system works, we have counselors who are more that willing to help you out, and assist you on anything that you might need help with. Rather that is financial aid, or for what major you are looking to go into; the staff at Schreiner are amazing, so don’t be afraid to ask any random question that you might have!!!!

Well I’m off to studying again at the Logan Library. Have a good night. Buh Bye!

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I so had absolutely had no idea that It’s a Grind Coffee House had free internet services for its customers!!! I have been going to Borders Books for about 2 years not getting coffee in San Antonio, but they pretty much just lost my business. I’m sick and tired of needing to get on the Internet at Borders, and not being able to because it’s a T-Mobil hot spot. For a twenty-four hour period, they charge you $9.99!! I’m a freaking poor college student; this is ridiculous!! So seeing how It’s a Grind Coffee House is only about 2 minutes from Borders Books, this is a much better deal for me and ALL poor college students in general. Haa! Anyways, I did a little research on this coffee house and was very impressed on what they have to offer. It’s A Grind begins with the finest Arabica coffees, micro-roasted in small batches to create the smoothest, best tasting coffee. This unique roasting process allows us to achieve maximum flavor while delivering the freshest roasted coffee within days of roasting, not weeks or months as do some of the other notable coffee companies. This coffee house constantly measures itself against the finest European coffee masters, assuring its customers only the best tasting coffees. And boy it is really, really good; might I recommend the Vanilla Nut flavored blend! Can you tell that I’m a coffee connoisseur?

So anyways, all is good with classes. We are working on the last month of school pretty much. One of my good friends from Schreiner said something that kind of woke me up the other day. She asked me how I felt to only have 20 more class days left of my college career. I guess I felt a lot of mixed emotions at the time. I am sad first of all to leave Schreiner because I’m so am relaxed and settled here. It obviously made me happy as well due to the fact that I’m graduating and moving on with my life. But I think that thought is now what is stressing me out to the max!!! Now that I realize that I only have about a month and a half of college left and about 15 million things to do. Ahhhh, and head is spinning right now. I wish I were one of those people who could just put all the stress at the back of their minds and forget about it. But yeah that’s not me…. I need some coffee, buh bye!

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I know that my online blogging is to talk about Schreiner University and how oh so wonderful it is, but I absolutely have to talk about this new technology. I don’t know how plausible the idea really is, but this ultimately concept of “going green.”

So not to hold you in suspense any longer… I’m proud to introduce you to the idea of air-powered cars, which will be released in December of 2010!!! A company called Tata Motors invested 30 million dollars to get the cars on the road in India and Europe, and now they are coming to the United States. The cars’ fun off air that is compressed into an extremely strong tank, and then is slowly released, driving an engine that can propel the American version of the car up to 95 miles per hour and more than triples the vehicle’s range. Now I know what you are thinking… the tank can only hold so much air, so how are one extend the range and power to meet the high standards of America? Well, as many science majors hopefully know, air expands when it is heated. The company has developed a way for the car to heat the air thus receiving a range of over 800 miles. A company in America called Zero Pollution Motors has already set a price for $17,800. Now what is the catch?? Well the whole point of the air-powered car is to produce zero pollution, however you will have to fill up both a gasoline tank and an air tank to get the car to work. So I guess you could say that is pretty much defeats the purpose huh? But I guess if the car gets an effective 106 miles per gallon when traveling above 35 miles per hour WITHOUT using a single drop of gas, that’s pretty amazing!! Another problem is that is takes about an hour to fill the air tank, but you would think that the car would come with an at-home charger, since being parked at a gas station for an hour long fill up would be inacceptable! But weighting the advantages to the disadvantages, I think that this car at this point in time would be a great idea for an exchange in high gas prices for the American lifestyle

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“We know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime - two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century… There's new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair. The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.

- Barack Obama

Incase you missed it, Senator Barack Obama spoke at a rally in Grant Park in Chicago, Illinois, after winning the race for the White House Tuesday night, now 44th president of the United States. Obama won 53 percent of the nation's popular vote, and had a 349 – 163 advantage in electoral votes Wednesday morning, thanks to victories in several swing and traditionally Republican states. These included Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, and Florida according to CNN.

The results are a stunning and hard won victory for a candidate who began the race as a relative newcomer to the national political stage, and ended it as first African-American to win the White House. So congratulations Barack Obama; I tip my hat to you!

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So a couple of days ago, I received an email that congratulated me on my nomination for the Who’s Who award. It is an award that is given to Schreiner seniors who are chosen based on their academic achievement, service to the community, leadership in extracurricular activities, and their potential for continued success. Any senior that receives the award this year will be honored in the 2008 edition of the annual directory, which was first published in 1934. Anyways, it’s a big honor for me to even be nominated! If order for the board to make their final selections on the Who’s Who award, they need to see a complete resume of my accomplishments, work, and volunteer work. In other words more work for me to do before a dead line hits. I need to write up a resume anyways for graduate school, but it is just going to take a while. So I guess this will give me an incentive to do all of this. I think its due in a week in a half, so I have a good while to complete it.

But right now, I’m In Houston visiting my family and helping my cousin move into his new house. This weekend has been so busy for me!! Next weekend I’ll probably just be studying and working on the resume, but the weekend after that, I’ll be in Houston again for the Madonna concert!!!!!!!!! It’s going to be huge!!! I’m so excited for that. My physical chemistry test got moved to this coming Tuesday, so I’m going to have to go study for that now. Good luck with this week everyone, it should be a little more relaxed than the last one. Buh Bye

Posted by Johnny Eaton at 6:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Health and well being are important aspects of everyday life. When a Schreiner student, or any student for that matter, is not mentally or physically fit, it can affect everything from schoolwork to social interaction. Schreiner University’s health fair, sponsored by the Health and Wellness Center, is an event that is meant to bring to light the importance of being healthy and will educate students on how to be healthy - "Mind, Body and Soul." **Not to go yoga or anything on you**

It incorporated all elements of health and wellness including both the mental and physical aspects. Many activities, giveaways, and demonstrations are planned and numerous displays will be set up. More than 50 health and wellness related exhibitors and professionals offered health screenings, chair massages, vascular scans, body fat tests, and even tips for going green. Display boards showing concern for cardiac health, sleep and hygiene, glucose and cholesterol levels, first aid and many others were also part of the health fair as well.

The health fair at Schreiner was a huge success this semester bringing in tons of students! My hope is that it will only get larger and larger for the years to come. Hope everyone has a healthy weekend this Halloween!! Buh bye!

Posted by Johnny Eaton at 1:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thousands of women and men came together in Atlanta, Georgia last weekend, raising money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund. The commitment to end breast cancer was taken one step further in which 60 miles of ground was walked over the course of three days. The event was called ‘Breast Cancer 3-Day,’ and two of my science professors: Dr. Comuzzie (professor of biology and dean of the science and mathematics department), and Mrs. Presley (professor of biology) participated. Both of the professors come back with tons of stories and shared with me the great news that the Breast Cancer 3-Day raised around 8.3 million dollars!!!!!! That is absolutely amazing!!!

Since its start in 1982, the Susan G. Komen foundation has raised over $1 billion for research, education, and health services, making it the largest breast cancer charity in the US. Komen has more than 75,000 volunteers nationwide, and 122 member organizations in the United States! Eighty-five percent of the net proceeds of the Breast Cancer 3-Day went to Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The remaining fifteen percent of net funds goes to the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund to provide a permanent endowment for ongoing support of breast cancer initiatives.

Schreiner is having a breast cancer awareness day going on today as well. There is a band playing right now made up of some of our own professors. They are called “Fill In The Blank!!” Haha, I think that’s pretty funny, so I’m going to go check them out. Have a good night! Buh bye!

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