Lion King 3D: Need I Say More?

Seventeen years after the release of (in my opinion) one of the best Disney movies ever made, The Lion King was re-released to theaters in 3D! Not only did the movie give viewers a 3-Dimensional experience with the beloved cats, but the film also featured new and improved scenery throughout the film to make it look more realistic, and it really took the viewing experience of The Lion King to a whole new level. The animals of the African savannah seemed to only be inches away from my movie seats, and the water in the movie is so enhanced that it appears to be silky smooth and the rain even looks to be real.

The new and improved effects of the movie really make it more memorable for the audience, and I was absolutely thrilled when I was finally able to go see it last night. In addition to making a memorable impression on the audience, The Lion King made over $29 million the opening weekend of the 3-D event. In it's original release back in 1994, the film made over $312 million total at the box office, and became the highest-grossing film of it's time. In its entire lifetime, The Lion King has grossed over $422 million over the past 17 years.

Disney might have even started a trend with releasing one of its classics, because early next year, another classic is said to be hitting the big screen again. That's right, fans of the movie, Beauty and the Beast have something to look forward to in the new year. The film will be presented in 3-D with enhanced picture and sound and is said to hit theaters on January 13, 2012. Maybe The Little Mermaid will be next in line, who knows!

Stressed Out Students in a Stressful Economy

College students are probably, for the most part, mentally and physically some of the unhealthiest group of people. They're sleep deprived, usually don't have the time or money to make consistent healthy meals so they're eating crap, and most commonly, they're stressed out. It makes me angry when I've had friends tell me how much busier they are then I am or that they're way more stressed than I am, because really, every college student is stressed with their own problems.

However, in recent years, studies have shown that the stress levels of college students have increased to alarming rates. In 1985, a survey asked students if they felt their emotional health was above average or below average, and the results showed that only 35% of students said they felt they were below average, and the remaining 65% said it was above average. The same survey was taken again last year, and the results have changed dramatically. In just 26 years, 49% of students felt their health was below average, and 51% felt it was above average. Other studies have found that more students are being prescribed medication for depression and stress even before they get to college.

So why the sudden change? The answer is most likely our ongoing declining economy, which adds to students financial stress, and not just the expenses of college, but also their own college debt as well as the job prospects once they graduate. I happen to be one of these college students, I'm supposed to graduate with a degree in Integrated Multimedia next year, and I'm terrified of being unable to find a job. The truth is, when I was growing up, myself and people in my classes were told that we would go to college, get degrees, and get good jobs and be successful like our parents. That is what we were all promised. That is not the case today, more people than ever are losing their jobs and people with master's degrees are applying for jobs they are over-qualified for.

Students today are going into college knowing that their graduating class is more likely to be less successful than when our parents were in college, and everyone's worried that even with a college degree they won't find a job that pays more than minimum wage. A lot of students in college can't afford it to begin with, and more students are taking out loans than ever before, so the debt they will have to pay is another ongoing crisis.

Act of War: The Overthrow of the Hawaiian Nation

The documentary "Act of War" tells the story of how the United States pretty much took over the monarchy of Hawaii. The film begins by showing a local hawaiian woman standing in front of a crowd of hundreds of hawaiians yelling, "We are not American! We will die as Hawaiians! We will never be American!" I always knew that the islands of Hawaii were stolen from the locals, but I didn't know the full history until I saw this documentary.

In 1893, armed troops from the U.S.S. Boston came to Honolulu looking for support of a treasonous coup d'etat against the constitutional sovereign of the Hawaiian monarch, Queen Lili'uokalani. Former U.S. President Grover Cleveland described these events as "an act of war." Queen Lili'uokalani ended up yielding her throne to what she called, "the superior force of the United States of America" in order to avoid bloodshed in her land. She trusted that the United States would eventually right the wrong they had done to her and the Hawaiian people, but obviously that never happened.

Throughout the few years I've been here in Hawaii, I've had a couple times where this subject has come up and conversation while talking to some of my local friends. It's funny because some of the people I've talked to will say that what happened to Hawaii was a good thing because now Hawaii is a developed state and because of all the tourism, it creates more jobs for the locals. Other locals have a different opinion though, they hate the fact that Hawaii has become a number one tourist destination, and how a lot of the forests have been torn down and replaced by skyscrapers and hotels.

An interesting fact about Waikiki in particular is that before it became one of the most famous beaches in the world, it was a marsh. That's right, for people who don't know, the town of Waikiki was marsh and wetlands that often flooded, so Waikiki beach isn't really even a real beach. Authorities have to keep replacing the sand every couple weeks to keep a beach for the tourists, and they actually end up taking the sand from the North Shore of Oahu. I think a lot of Hawaiians are angry that Waikiki is really this man-made tourist destination that replaced the true agriculture of the island.

Jade Bio

Hi! My name is Jade Summer Storms and this is my third year living in Hawaii and attending Hawaii Pacific University. After my first year at HPU, I decided to take a year off from school to travel, during which I went to France, Portugal, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Bali, and Panama. It was an amazing experience for me and by the time the year was up, I was really excited to go back to school.

I've been studying graphic/web design at HPU, and it's definitely something I really enjoy as my major. I'm not sure what exactly I'll do with it, but I wouldn't mind working in a design agency for a couple years. Ultimately I would like to own my own bakery business, and the way I see it is that I could use my web design skills to market my business to the public, and plus I just really love to bake. But who knows, I can be really indecisive most of the time and so I'm not really making any long term decisions right now. After I graduate, I would love to travel to more places all over the world. It was such an amazing experience to see other cultures in Bali and Panama, but it was just a small fraction compared to the rest of the world, so it really made me want to just travel the entire globe!

In my free time when I'm not working or doing homework, I love to paint, draw, surf, read, bake, and just relax and hang out. I love being outside whether it's doing a hike or going to the beach, I'm always down for adventure and trying new things!