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“It’s going to rain tomorrow,” someone will
say to their friend. Another will say, “I heard it’s go-
ing to snow about 5 to 10 inches overnight, so maybe
we won’t have classes!”
We find ourselves frequently conversing about the
weather, perhaps even on a daily basis. So why is it
such a sometimes “hot” topic? We can’t do much to
change Mother Nature’s mood swings, but we can
alter how we react to her affects — the least we can do
is talk about it. :
r Depending on the kind of weather, what falls
from the sky or how cold it is outside will really af-
fect how we go on with our days. We’ll either bundle
up with five layers of clothing or brave the icy flakes
or whip out the umbrella and slip on the rain boots.
The weather may cause us to cancel plans or organize
a last minute trip to the beach. It could even ruin
our day, as we watch the rain drip down the window
and lament over our soggy socks, or conversely
brighten our day because of an unexpected sunny sky.
Because weather so greatly influences our lives, it
becomes an easy topic for conversation. :
Weather also is a part of our environment —
it’s everywhere. So when an awkward silence sneaks
its way into a conversation, people may natural use
The Lion’s Eye
Ordinary Tipster i
- £
#
the weather as a topic to start up the talking again.
We even jokingly say, “Some weather we’re having,
huh?” or “Beautiful day, isn’t it?” because we hear
those phrases so often they generic conversational
phrases, such as “How are you?” :
Additionally, from a student standpoint, a
~ change in the weather could mean a day off, particu-
larly if it’s a snow day, so no wonder we’d want to
talk about the weather. It’s an uncontrollable force
that grown-ups cannot stop from happening and the
anticipation of the night before the snow-storm is ex-
citing, especially when you check the school website
and see, “SCHOOL CLOSED” — a happy-snow-day-
dance commences on the bed. :
Also, in using the weather as a topic to break
awkward silences, the weather is a very relatable
topic because it affects all of us. It’s difficult to talk
to a neurosurgeon about Super Mario Bros. or a po-
lice officer about Chemistry homework, but bring up |
the current weather conditions, and you may have just
started a conversation.
You could imagine people hundreds of years
ago, at sea waiting for the enemy ship or walking
a cobblestone street with a parasol in hand, talking
about the weather. Remember “global warming?”
February 19, 2010
a By Christina Felizzi
bey Lion's Eye Editor in Chief
f ; clf5050@psu.edu
Movies like The Day After Tomorrow, 2012, A Per-
fect Storm, Twister and Dante’s Peak? Sunglasses?
Wind-shield wipérs? Umbrellas? Mittens? Hurricane
Schwartz on NBC 10? We wouldn’t have all of these
without weather.
No matter how you look it, weather has a
significant impact on our lives, “weather” we like it or
not.
Photo Courtsey of http://www.about-philadelphiapa.com
The Wooden SPOON:
Kermit knew what he was talking about when
he sang his infamous song on the Muppet Show. What
I'mean is that “it’s not easy being the minority” in
any country. History is currently repeating itself (as
it typically does) but just in another variance in Italy
right now. Illegal African Immigrants are flocking
to Italy for jobs picking fruit and other crops just so
they can provide for their families. What is casting a
murky shadow on this “job filling” is that some native
Italians cannot find work, but even worse than that is
most of the crops are owned by mafia or people affili-
ated with them. :
This past January, riots broke out in my moth-
er’s native region of Calabria over what else?--racism.
It only takes a few ignorant humans or one match
to start the fire. According to a Time online article,
Africans were shot at with pellet guns thus launching
outrage among the immigrant community. Most of
these communities, by the way, are temporary. These
are slums not unlike the tent cities being erected in
Haiti currently because their homes were destroyed.
The living conditions are very similar as well.
These people, or a majority of them, are hon-
est and hard-working just trying to find work so they
“It’s Not Eas
By Nancy Perone
Being
ion’s Eye Worl
Green”
nd Local Editor - nip5014@psu.edu
can provide for their families. Many of them are being
suckered into providing the mafia which they are deal-
ing with a good sum of their wages or are required to
pay a fee to them because they are giving them work.
The Pope, who has a major presence in Italy, even
asked the citizens to go easy on illegal immigrants as
they are humans too. Italy is quickly out-doing Britain
in regards to the numbers of immigrants to the country
but it still remains a good portion of native born Ital-
ians.
This is where the problem lies: with all
the encouragement in the world from Italy’s Prime
Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, anti-immigration isn’ta
new thing being pushed among their society. Many
Italians have compared it to the Native Americans be-
ing forced onto reservations here in America, but this
clearly is an over-exaggeration. ee
So, without me naming names, have you
noticed any similarities here? Oh, say to America and
its illegal Mexican immigrants. For years, we have
said that “they take away our jobs”, “they’re danger-
ous”, or “it’s just not legal”. So why don’t we make it
legal? Is there anything really wrong with people from
underdeveloped and possibly even corrupt countries
going to another country for work? This work is
‘usually labor intensive and not popular among the
country’s native citizens, but is something that they
don’t mind doing. This, then, produces a stigma, made
up of racist remarks, branding people who are already
struggling and consequently making life even harder
for them. ; ; .
I’m not an expert on immigration laws or the
like, but I do know this: racism doesn’t make the situ-
ation any better. Thinking you’re better than some-
body else because of where you’re from, what social
class you belong to, or because of your culture is ig-
norance. I was raised to believe that we can all coexist
as long as we keep open minds and hearts. Everybody
should have an equal opportunity at everything in life
because we are all people. I promise that not all of the
articles I write will focus on racism, but this one just
‘hits so close to home.
To read an interactive version of this article,
complete with video coverage of Italy’s immigrant
crisis from major news resources, please visit The
Wooden Spoon online at http://ilcucchiaiodilegno-
thewoodenspoon.blogspot.com/.
People Poll with Tiffany Morris
What's your favorite thing to do when snowed in?
Joel Koshy
“Watching my
Favorite Movies
12°
Charlene Pressley
Roth Soy
“Sleeping and watching
“Sleep...”
| Rd
movies
Lauren Jerla
“Watching a good
movie and baking!”