Beltane: A Day of Decisions,College choices, a Fertile Season

Hello World family,
Falcon, here. Happy May Day, Beltane, or whatever you call it.

College D-Day

It’s the day high school seniors who have been accepted to colleges pay them the big matriculation fees to say “YES” to attending that particular college. It is a hard decision, but make one today. That way, you have a school to attend, even if it isn’t your First Choice School.

Wait-listed? Write a very nice letter letting them know that you really want to attend that school. Accept elsewhere and send the money in, but write the letter to your fav anyway. It may be just what you need to get in the door.

Remember: most colleges over-accept. That is, they have sent acceptance letters to more students than they can really handle. They assume about 20% will probably attend elsewhere (note: these are averages; if you are accepted to an Ivy, it’s more like 10% over).

Want to attend a really nice “new Ivy”? You know, CMU, Rice, Drexel…or a highly competitive art and design school…RISD, SCAD, Emerson, Columbia College…better accept. It is hard enough to get in, much less wait past May 1. If you aren’t sure if you can pay for it, send the fee, and tell them you may need more scholarship money (merit money). Many schools have lots of ways new students can qualify. Reality check: This will be a very hard year. Many scholarship organizations disappeared after the evil Bernie Madoff and other Ponzi schemers put the funds of many into a black hole of oblivion. Yet, colleges are sympathetic, and receptive. If they have accepted you, they want you. Let your admissions counselor work with you and your family to find a resolution to the gap in funding. You are not out of options. Say yes, and keep working to fill that gap.

They are plenty of scholarships available for summer, too. Go to:

www.fastweb.com

Check out what may be due right now that could take the fear out of the ‘payment due’ date.

Arlen Specter: Jedi

Okay, not quite. He clearly had a wake-up and dream experience, though. It was coming for awhile. Serving the Republican Party all these years and watching it become a mockery of itself was very painful for him. Eventually, he realized that he had to go with self-preservation. He had to go with the things that mattered. He had to see his legacy through…and that meant a change of party. So, now Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is a Democrat. He is a new man, and it’s a new day. That’s because he knows that now that he is in the latter years of his life, every day matters. He has stared death in the face with illness, and defeated it. Death will come to us all, but this is a new Arlen that recognizes that he has days numbered to make a difference that will crown his legacy. It wanted to make sure he could still make a real difference to Pennsylvanians. Thank you, Arlen. We appreciate that. Wow, I guess that does make you Jedi! Yes!

Oh, and to the Republican Party, this word of advice: grow up. This was once the party of the enfranchising everyman, who embraced the opportunity to move the country forward. Not any more: fear mongering, and xenophobia is the call of the day. This was once the party of less government and taxation and more American freedoms. Now, it is the party of inflated government, debt, and tax everyone but the rich guys. Freedoms? This is Big Brother on steroids, eroding the Constitution except where owning an automatic weapon is concerned, then it’s freedom for all! Whatever happened to real Republicans? Individuals who never feared that justice would prevail because a just and fair republic was the goal of the party? Now it is the party of misinformation and rumor-mill. Want to change things? Grow up, suck it up, and turn it up for real, and people will follow genuine leadership coupled with sensible science for the new frontiers. Stop looking for a new spin on the same old song: write a new song. See the world without boundaries and boxes; without an ‘us and them’. Come to the proverbial table like grown ups and see the wonder of cooperation and bipartisanship shine through.

The Pittsburgh Marathon is back! Fundraiser for the Homeless

Everyone in town from everywhere…WELCOME! We are glad to have you! The weather should be ideal, not too hot or cold. It may be a little rainy, but not awful. There will cheerleading squads from various Pittsburgh schools to cheer you all on, so have fun, be safe, and go for it! They had a huge waiting list for this race, and that is a wonderful sign for the future of the event.

Don’t forget the Concert for the Homeless on Saturday, May 2 from 1pm-11pm in the Lawrenceville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. There are a ton of great bands performing, including Falcon and Dove friend, Jack Knight.

Movies this weekend

The Ghosts of Girlfriends Past is hysterical! Great, genuine acting by Jennifer Garner and Matthew Mc Conaughey make this film work well. The script is well written and well shot.

Wolverine is intense. Does it work? The action is so good, no one will care.

May 8, Star Trek for all those fans (go Pittsburgher Zack Quinto), Little Ashes for those into independent films who may want to see Robert Pattinson doing something besides Teen oriented material. He plays Salvador Dali…magnificently!

Have a great weekend!
Peace,
Falcon and Dove