Who Will It Be?

As the whole world knows Pope Benedict XVI has resigned, being the first to do so in centuries. Most Popes are Pope until death. So now all the Cardinals who are eligible to vote (younger than 80) are eligible to vote in the Conclave. There are over 100 Cardinals attending, where they will discuss who should be the next Pope and then vote on it.
The media of course is already weighing in on who it should be. Some of the favorites are Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the U.S. (who I'm personally hoping for), as well as Mark Ouellet of Canada, Peter Turkson of Ghana and many others. Who ever the Conclave chooses will have a lot to look forward to in the future. Technically, the Pope doesn't have to be one of the Cardinals, it can be any baptized male so that means it could very well be me. However, I strongly doubt that it would me, but I would make a darn good Pope if I do say so.
However, one must look to the favorite options. I think that it would be in the church's best interest to pick someone not from Europe to increase the diversity of the church and to promote non-European expansion of the Catholic church. Being a Catholic, I strongly favor advancing the Catholic church. It says that there are more conservative than liberal leaning cardinals than before so there is no chance of the church "modernizing" its stances on abortion, gay marriage, and other religious affiliated political and moral issues. While, I agree with the church's stances on said items, I believe that they need to become either more modern or accepting or even more transparent with their specific beliefs. If a younger and non-European Pope was to be elected the Papacy and church would look different and possibly gain back parishioners and expand the Catholic church and make it more appealing to younger generations and more cultures.

Single's Awareness Day

Single's Awareness Day as I like to call it, along with many other single people in the world, or better known as Valentine's Day to those who have loved one's is today.

This tradition began a long time ago, during the Roman Empire, but became more spiritual following the death of St. Valentine. Valentine's Day has evolved from a day to show love in simple ways to a costly and important holiday for couples. Couples spend anywhere from $10 (middle school relationships) to upwards of $500 (my guess is married couples or serious relationships). It is the holiday with the second most amount of cards sent in the mail to loved ones. It has also developed more from couples to any sort of loved ones such as friends and family. Many parents send or give their children gifts, especially children who are single. 

Personally, I don't see the big deal about the holiday and I don't see why people think it's such a great holiday. I absolutely hate it, most likely due to my relationship status, but I like to think it brings awareness to us single folk. What happened to the good ole days called elementary school where each student passed out Valentines Day cards and candy to their classmates and it was just a friendly holiday. That is when I actually used to look forward to this day, now I dread it. I find it to be depressing and pointless. People shouldn't express their love for people on just one day a year because the calendar tells them to. People should always show their love for anyone they truly love in their lives everyday of the year. What makes our love so special on this one day? Absolutely nothing. It is just a reason for people to get gifts, cards, and feel more loved than every other day. I think it would be better for marriages and relationships to spread out the gifts, cards, and love throughout the year and always keeping them surprised and interested. Also, what is the point in generalizing the holiday for everyone? It isn't and we single people accept it and accept the pity love and gifts we get from people we are non-romantic with. So here is to all those with a special someone in your life, enjoy today, but don't forget to show your love every other day of the year. 

How Super Is The Super Bowl?

The Super Bowl is the second most watched sporting event in the world far behind the World Cup. However, it is the most watched sporting event in America! So what is so super about the Super Bowl? The fact that the 2 greatest teams of that NFL season fight for the championship title and the Lombardi trophy in addition to the fame and fortune that come along with it. This is the moment that all NFL fans ,who religiously watch football every Sunday, have waited for! They obviously hope that there team is the one playing. (Side note: I'm sad that my favorite team that I religiously watch, The New England Patriots, weren't in it this year.)

Everyone can agree that this is the most momentous occasion in sports. The culture behind the Super Bowl is great! We can show off our pride for America through the patriotism that can be seen when "The Star-Spangled Banner" and "America The Beautiful" are being sung. May I say Alicia Keys did great, but I was brought more to tears when I heard Jennifer Hudson and the children from Sandy Hook Elementary School sing. The tremendous singing of these magnificent songs add to our patriotism. Another cultural aspect, the half-time show. This year it was done by Beyonce, who did a great job might I say since she didn't lip sync. She sang great when she did and like all artists before her didn't sing a lot of parts either. The half-time show has become more than just a singing show, but into a theatrical show as well (probably to attract more women to watch it). The final cultural aspect, is of course the hilarious commercials. My personal favorite from this year, the Oreo commercial in the library. These advertisement went for $4 million this year. That is insane! Companies think that by having a memorable 30 second commercial it will attract more revenue and make more profits. I have some belief that it does, but not enough.

However, in the end I think that the cultural values of the Super Bowl being so super, outweigh the costs that are attributed with it coming to town. The building of new stadiums help to attract more people and instill more pride for that city and teams fans. Some say the revenue attributed with the Super Bowl isn't sufficient, but I disagree. With so much money coming into the city and surrounding area, while prices are raised for everything, people there are willing to spend the money, otherwise they wouldn't be there. I think that the revenue they bring in is enough to pay off the stadium costs quicker than 30 years, especially when one hosts the Super Bowl 1+ times. Even if money is being spent at the stadium or national chains, more money is still being brought into the local economy than normal. Not to mention places that close for any sporting event often make more by having people pay to park than they would make anyways if they were to be open for business.

Well congrats to the Baltimore Ravens on there victory and hard fought battle. Don't worry fellow Pats fans, there's always next year. (We are the favorite to win next year 7-1!)