The more than 6,000 miles that separate them means nothing to Dong-Joon Lee, junior vocal performance major, and Sun Suk Lee, 2009 Emporia State graduate. They plan to get married and live in the U.S.

“We got engaged so we are going to get married soon,” Dong-Joon said. “It’s a lot. But it’s OK. Sometimes I really miss her. Distance does not matter. It can’t be an excuse.”

But until then, Dong-Joon will not make the nearly 20 hour flight to see Sun Suk in their home country of South Korea. He said that it’s hard, but it’s only for this semester.

“We cannot see each other,” Dong-Joon said. “That’s the only part (that’s hard). Everything else is fine.”

While Andrew Thomas, senior economics major, is only a little over an hour away from his girlfriend, Megan Litchkowski, senior elementary education major, it is still hard. But not as difficult as when he studied abroad last semester in The Netherlands.

“Obviously (the biggest change) was not being able to see each other or talk to each other,” Thomas said. “Before I left, we lived together and we saw each other all day, every day.”

Dong-Joon and Sun Suk have been dating for over a year and they met here at ESU. With this being their first semester apart, Dong-Joon and Sun Suk utilize modern technologies to keep in touch.

“We have phone and email and an internet phone,” Dong-Joon said. “(It’s like Skype) but it’s a system only for Koreans. It works anywhere in the world and it’s totally free. We communicate a lot.”

Thomas said that the use of Skype also made things a lot easier to deal with for him.

“I used Skype for everything,” Thomas said. “Every once in a while I used an international cell phone, but it’s just so expensive.”

And as the saying goes, distance makes the heart grow fonder.

“We miss each other a lot,” Dong-Joon said. “That makes us keep up communication. I don’t usually express (my feelings) to her. Now I express (myself) more than before due to the distance.”

Relationships between international students usually break up when one person involved leaves, Dong-Joon said.

“Most (international relationships) break up,” Dong-Joon said. “There are barriers between students from other countries. They like hanging out with students from their own country. After finishing their degree, they go back to their country and it’s easy to break up.”

Back in Korea, Dong-Joon’s family lives in Seoul. Sun Suk is currently about an hour to the south in Uiwang.

“It’s not that far, not that close,” Dong-Joon said. “I’ve been there once last summer to meet her parents.”

Now that Thomas is back in the U.S., Litchkowski has moved to Olathe to student teach.

“Now we see each other every weekend,” Thomas said. “It’s a lot easier than it was.”

Thomas said that with two and a half years already under their belt, the decision to continue the relationship, through the distance, was an easy one.

“The only reason that it really worked in our situation was because we had already been dating so long,” Thomas said. “We had enough trust in each other that we were able to make it work.”

Dong-Joon advised persons considering a long distance relationship to think about the decision.

“They should think about it,” Dong-Joon said, “because (they need to know) one thing for sure – if they really love each other. You hear it a lot ‘out of sight out of mind.’ But if you really love each other, it should be ‘out of sight into the mind.’”

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Warfare is perhaps the single thread that has permeated all of human history. Whether you view war as the unfortunate bloodshed that is necessary to change the world, or as the ultimate demonstration of man’s greed and stupidity, it has some great rhetoric associated with it. Hollywood portrays most epic battle sequences with a speech directly before the action, and sometimes it makes us feel like we’re part of the always under-equipped and outnumbered army. So here is Josh’s Top 5 spine-tingling, ass-kicking inducing movie pre-battle speeches.

5. Aragorn’s speech at the Black Gate from “Lord of the Rings: Return of the King” – Up until this point in “Lord of the Rings,” we’ve sat through a movie so lengthy that even the talking trees merited a hooray for some excitement. Following the massively scaled and miracle laden battle of Minas Tirith, we are treated to the even more desperate battle at the Black Gate of Mordor. When this speech is delivered to the men of Rohan and Gondor that face certain death at the hands of the forces of Sauron, you’ll want to go hunt some Orc yourself. That being said, you still can’t excuse the Fellowship’s bed scene at the end of the movie. Favorite line: “A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship – but it is not this day!”

4. Plataea speech from “300” – This speech was delivered at the end of “300” by the ridiculously ripped and one eyed character Dilios who is played by David Wenham. The audience has just seen the death of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans play out, and they took a few thousand Persians with them. Their sacrifice at Thermopylae has inspired the armies of Greece to get together and unload both barrels on the Persians. During the speech, the Persians with 3:1 odds in their favor, are off-screen apparently crapping their pants at the prospect of fighting 10,000 Spartans and 30,000 other Greeks – bona-fide badass. Favorite line: “This day we rescue a world from mysticism and tyranny and usher in a future brighter than anything we can imagine.”

3. Speech at Area 51 from “Independence Day” – This speech is sure to make anybody want to piss red, white and blue. The city sized spaceships of an alien race have decimated the cities of the entire Earth, and their ships have a shield that protects them from any weapon humanity has. A character played by Jeff Goldblum discovers a computer virus that can disable the aliens’ shields and a worldwide counterstrike against the invaders is coordinated, with the good ol’USA leading the charge with Bill Pullman and an alcoholic crop duster as the heroes. God Bless America. Favorite line: “And should we win the day, the 4th of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day when the world declared in one voice: ‘We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive!’ Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!”

2. Speech before the Battle of Stirling from “Braveheart” – In any other set of circumstances the occurrence of a bunch of men in skirts with blue faces might be seen as a tad peculiar. In “Braveheart,” it’s about the manliest damn thing you can imagine. William Wallace is motivating his Scottish rebels to hold their ground and fight alongside him against the mass of English knights across the field. This speech gives me chills every time, simply for the fact that he acknowledges that his men have the choice to go home and die a peaceful death in their beds sometime in the future, but that staying there and kicking the shit out of the English gives testament to their Y-Chromosomes. Favorite line: “And dying in your beds many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that for one chance, just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!!!”

1. St. Crispin’s Day speech from “Henry V” – This was the original speech that inspired every “let’s take a few of the bastards with us” type speeches that we know today. Originally written by William Shakespeare in 1599 for the stage, this speech comes from the title character right before the Battle of Agincourt. For the best version of this on film, I recommend Kenneth Branagh’s 1989 version. The historical battle’s details may be different, but in the play, Henry’s English forces are outnumbered by the French 5:1. Henry has to motivate his men to go out onto the muddy field of Agincourt and face the knights of France. Henry’s men are tired, few and the visiting team. I won’t spoil the ending. Favorite line: “We band of brothers; for he to-day that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.”

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Our kids are going to have some fancy toys, aren’t they? Everything is downloadable this, upgrade that, or just go buy another one of those in your favorite color. We live in the digital age, and we all grew up right in the midst of it. When the ‘90s weren’t ramming a boy band down our throats, it was coming up with a new way to rob our parents blind with the newest toy fad. Here are the Top 5 Toys of Our Generation.

5. Tamagotchi/Gigapet – These keychain sized digital pets debuted in 1996 across the Pacific pond in Japan. The idea was to give people a pet on a tiny screen in an egg-shaped housing. One was required to clean up the poo, feed and “play” with their little animal (be it a dog, cat, or even a dinosaur, in some incarnations). The biggest problem came when school rolled around and you couldn’t take it with you, and in most cases you came home to a dead digi-pet. Let that heavy weight sink on your seven-year-old conscience.

4. Action figures/Barbie dolls – Action figures and Barbie dolls in the ‘90s did just about anything conceivable – even if it didn’t make any sense. Need a Batman action figure that parachutes, changes color in cold water, or shoots a missile out of a jetpack he never had? They’ve got that taken care of for you. As for Barbies, the release of “Pretty in Plaid” Barbie alongside the belly shirt and overall wearing “Cool Color Teresa” reminds us all of how AWESOME ‘90s fashion was. Just prepare to claw your eyes out with small plastic hands when you lay eyes on the neon green, fanny pack toting glory of Rollerblades Ken in short shorts.

3. Mighty Max/Polly Pocket – Get ready for some hardcore childhood gender role formation, readers. These tiny sized play sets could’ve ended the life of your infant little brother with their choke hazardtastic pieces, but you didn’t care about that. You were the godlike driving force in a micro-sized fantasy world of monsters for Mighty Max, or pink squishy things in Polly Pocket. Mighty Max play sets were monster shaped, or oriented, play sets that came with this little kid and several monsters and side characters. The kid named Max wore a baseball cap that could transport him through portals whenever it was turned backwards, therefore allowing him to have all his micro-sized adventures. Polly inhabited compact sized play worlds that involved school, dances, or adventures with her conveniently multi-cultural friends.

2. Themed Lego kits – Lego kits were perhaps this writer’s greatest vice growing up. With the sudden explosion of several different types of Lego kits, every birthday and Christmas gift for several years was accounted for. Star Wars, ancient Egypt, undersea adventures, feudal Japan and even outer space were all universes that were converted into Lego kits. Not only was the building with instructions fun, but afterwards you could tear everything apart and build a new world where Darth Maul could kick the crap out of a car driving ninja with a scuba suit if you pleased. It’s a good bet that many would-be engineers got their start with Legos.

1. Pokemon cards – If engineers got started with Legos, then today’s successful drug dealers probably got their start in that shady part of the playground with these Japanese monstrosities. Pokemon cards, short for Pocket Monsters, were the offshoot of the successful Game Boy video game series of the same name. The cards had a cute little monster with abilities listed below the picture; and people paid good money for them. After the cards made their way to the United States they quickly “evolved” into a drug-like addiction for many kids. Most schools placed bans or limits on the cards due to their disruptive nature, but the hall monitor Gestapo often didn’t extend its reach to the playground. Kids would circle around others that were carrying Charizard, Mewtwo, or at the then elusive Mew and try to haggle the little Pokemon dealer down so they could get their card fix. It’s no small wonder that some uber-religious families shielded their children from what they considered the work of Beelzebub. I say it’s more the work of Bulbasaur, but in any case Pokemon’s insanity continues to this day with 493 different species to collect and no end in sight.

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“Islam is about peace,” he said. “In our holy book, it talks about peace. It never said anything about war. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the war.” Illustration by Juhye Bak

Waseem Afzal, doctorate student in library and information management, has lived in the U.S. for seven years and said he has never felt any hostility from Emporians about his beliefs. He is a believer in Islam.

“We have a very flexible orientation towards life,” Afzal said. “Islam is not a religion but a way of life. It encompasses all aspects of life.”

Originally from Pakistan, Afzal has completed all of his coursework at Emporia State.

“I found the people here, and all over the United States wherever I’ve travelled, to be very open,” Afzal said. “I have never felt or experienced any kind of negative sentiment whenever I mention (my beliefs).”

Other Muslim students at ESU said they feel the same way.

“Here in Emporia there is a lot of freedom, said Qassim Almukhtar, junior computer information systems major. “You can do whatever you believe. Religious people here in town, they accept other cultures.”

Almukhtar has been in the U.S. for four years and is originally from Saudi Arabia. He said that it is very easy for students to practice their beliefs in Emporia because of the openness of the community and the availability of the Islamic Center, 1125 Mechanic St.

Women’s roles in Islamic society are often questioned by Western societies.

“Islam never forced women to do anything,” Almukhtar said. “The hijab is not to close up her face. That is why I think people have misunderstandings. Our religion never said to women to cover their whole body or never show it to anybody else. I feel it is kind of an appreciation to women.”

One thing that Afzal wanted to stress about Islam is its similarities to Christianity and Judaism, which he thinks may help people understand Islam.

“The core belief of Islam is shared with Judaism and Christianity,” Afzal said, “and that is the belief in one God.”

Like in other religions, prayer is a very important part of Islam.

“One of the main practices in our religion is that we pray five times per day,” Almukhtar said.”

In Islam, there is also a belief in prophets, including Abraham, Moses, Daniel, Jesus and Mohammad.

The holiest time of the year in Islam is known as Ramadan.

“Back home during Ramadan, you will not see anyone in the street eating or drinking,” Almukhtar. “When I first came here it was difficult for me to see other people drinking and eating while I was fasting.”

There is also a belief that the holy books, including the Bible, the Quran and the Torah, are complimentary to each other.

“There are chapters in the Bible that relate to some of the things that are mentioned in the Quran,” Afzal said. “The Quran talks about the ark of Noah. The Torah talks about Moses. The Quran talks about Moses. Islam does not negate those books. The Quran completes them.”

Almukhtar was also able to talk about the similarities in the three religion’s holy books.

“In our book, we have a whole chapter about Mary, the mother of Jesus,” Almukhtar said. “We have whole chapters about Jesus. We love Jesus. We believe in him.”

Afzal said that the United States’ war with the Middle Eastern countries has not really affected him.

“It gives me the ability to understand some of the core issues from multiple perspectives,” Afzal said. “If I had been in my home country I would have looked at (the war) from that perspective. I think it deepened my understanding (of the issues).”

Almukhtar agreed.

“(Americans) have misunderstood,” he said. “Back home in Saudi Arabia, we have no problems with Americans. We are good with Americans. Different countries in the Arab world have problems.”

For Afzal, Islam is about each person taking responsibility for his or her actions.

“An individual will be responsible at an individual level for his or her own actions on the day of judgment,” Afzal said. “The belief is one thing that is inside and inherent. But the beliefs should also be manifested in actions in the everyday life.”

This concept is one that is very similar to Christian teachings.

“The belief should translate into the highest moral, ethical standards,” Afzal said. “The literal meaning of Islam is ‘to submit.’ A believer is a person who submits. Submits to what? The will of God.”

Afzal thinks that a lot of the problems that the Islamic religion faces could be solved through better communication.

“Sometimes it happens that people present a very bad depiction of a beautiful thing,” Afzal said. “There are instances when the theory is misunderstood. When some of the bad examples are depicted by the people who don’t have enough grounding in knowledge, it leads to a lot of misunderstandings in parts of the world about Islam.”

Almukhtar also believed that there is a certain amount of miscommunication between Islam and the Western world.

“Islam is about peace,” he said. “In our holy book, it talks about peace. It never said anything about war. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the war. When you go over the Quran, it doesn’t say anything about war. Lots of people say that when it comes to Islam, they start wars, start problems with other people.”

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Valentine’s Day is in a couple of days folks, and make no bones about it – people will be getting it on. The traditional tunes of the horizontal mambo are timeless: “Let’s Get It On” by Marvin Gaye, “Cant’s Get Enough of Your Love Babe” by Barry White or even “Songbird” by Kenny G. Those are all well and good, but I am sure you’d prefer to not be doing the dirty to the same song you were conceived to. For those of you looking to add a different, perhaps freakier, spice to your Valentine’s Day loving, it’s Josh’s Top 5 “Atypical Getting it on Songs.”

5. “Take a Bow” by Muse – Some may be cocking their eyebrows about now, but this song that many consider a mere song about the evils of abused political power contains one of the coolest continuous buildups in modern music. From beginning to end it’s nothing but a build of sound to one climactic moment… wait a minute. That sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it? Give it a whirl and you may just be motivated to stick it to the man – and possibly your significant other.

4. “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails – Listening to this while having sex may make you feel like you’re supposed to be the creeper guy on an episode of “Criminal Minds.” But the raw sexual nature of the lyrics may provide the perfect fuel for some nasty leather clad fantasy fulfillment. With some dirty sounding bass, self deprecating lyrics and references to feeling people from the inside, it may be time to whip out your cuffs and safe words.

3. “Fever Dream” by Tyler Bates – Hornets, prepare for glory! This song from the “300” soundtrack can provide the necessary fuel for any man to feel like a Greek god with his lady friend. You may not be piling up the bodies of slain Persians, but you’ll insure that any female passerby knows that there by manly law you lie. Just make sure your performance doesn’t make her want to fantasize about Gerard Butler in a leather speedo.

2. “Le Disko” by Shiny Toy Guns – You ladies didn’t think I was going to forget your song did you? Turn this synth-pop tune on when you’re boy thinks he’s got it all figured out and then turn the tables on him as the song exclaims “little boys, little toys.” Give him the night he’ll never forget and leave some scratches up and down his back like the lyrics say, ‘cause every girl deserves her turn on top.

1. “The Bad Touch” by Bloodhound Gang – This song lays it all out on the table (pun intended). The song’s chorus states it best when it says, “You and me baby ain’t nothing but mammals, so let’s do it like they do on the discovery channel.” Nothing says freaky romance like a night of animalistic copulation. Lastly, with a beat that’s too legit to quit and enough innuendo to make even Prince cringe, you’ll be knocking boots for hours.

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There are many legends that tell the story of how the modern world came to celebrate Valentine’s Day. While the holiday is a western invention, countries across the globe have come to observe the U.S. version, as well as their own. Kellen Jenkins/ The Bulletin

There are many legends that tell the story of how the modern world came to celebrate Valentine’s Day. While the holiday is a western invention, countries across the globe have come to observe the U.S. version, as well as their own.

People in China celebrate Valentine’s Day on Feb. 14 in the western style with gift exchanges and fancy dinners.

“The tradition is that the ladies would pray to the goddess to become a better woman and if she’s not married, she may want to pray for a handsome husband,” said Henry Yu, graduate student in business administration from China. “Ladies who aren’t married would do art work to compete to see who has the better skills.”

But there will also be a more traditional lover’s celebration called Qi Xi, the Seventh Night Festival. This year’s celebration falls on Aug. 16., the seventh night of summer on the lunar calendar.

The story goes that the seventh daughter of the Jade Lord came to earth, fell in love with a poor farmer and married him. When her mother discovered what she had done, she was so upset that she created the ‘star river’ (the universe) to flow between and separate them.

In an attempt to help the sad couple, millions of birds made a bridge across the universe so that the farmer could see his wife again. But the birds could only hold the bridge for one day and this was the only day each year the couple could be reunited.

“The story inspired people to develop a tradition to celebrate lovers,” Yu said. “The story is unique. People around (the couple) are good and helpful and they can meet once a year. It inspires people to value the relationship they are having now.”

However, these traditions are somewhat outdated and time consuming and are no longer practiced.

“Now ladies makes chocolates and give them to her boyfriend or a boy that she likes,” Yu said. “Between the boys there is a competition to see who gets the most chocolates.”

Koreans, Vietnamese and Japanese celebrate a holiday that is similar to the seventh night festival, Yu said.

In Paraguay, the locals celebrate what they call Día de los Enamorados or Lover’s Day.

“We do celebrate Valentine’s Day in Paraguay,” said Alex Vuyk, masters in special education in an email interview from Paraguay. “Even though that is the official name, we don’t call it that.”

The method for celebrating is very similar to what is done in the U.S., including gift, flower and chocolate exchanges. Clubs in Paraguay throw anti-love parties for singles.

“It is not a day for friends, only romantic love is celebrated,” Vuyk said. “Friends have their day on July 30, which is Friendship Day.”

Ugandans celebrate a more relaxed version of Valentine’s Day.

“It’s not really a holiday,” said Strap Nkoba, sophomore graphic design major from Uganda. “People spend time with the ones they love. There’s a lot of red stuff and it’s really westernized. “

Roses are a typical Valentine’s gift in Uganda.

“We export roses,” Nkoba said. “It’s a tropical country.”

However, Nkoba thinks that affection should not be saved for Valentine’s Day.

“If you want to show affection to someone, you should show affection every day,” he said.

According to the History Channel, the most popular Valentine’s origin legends stem from stories of a war hungry Roman emperor who outlawed marriage with the belief that single men made better soldiers than married ones.

St. Valentine defied the emperor and married young couples in secret. When he was found out, he was jailed and fell in love with a young woman who visited him.

Before being put to death, Valentine wrote her a letter that he signed “From your Valentine.”

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Valentine’s Day is this Sunday, and it’s a perfect time to show your love to those special people in your life and the planet at the same time! Here are a few tips you can put into use when purchasing your Valentine’s Day gifts:

            Use fabric or cloth bags to wrap presents. Instead of using wrapping paper that’s a onetime use, and usually thrown away instead of recycled, how about using cloth to wrap your presents?  There are plenty of sites online that offer cheap fabrics that could be used time and time again to wrap presents. Failing that, use newspapers or old maps in place of wrapping paper. It’ll give it that homemade feel!

            Speaking of homemade, one of the easiest ways to help the planet, and to impress your loved ones, is to make a gift from the home. Most of the gifts we send and receive on holidays are produced and assembled in other countries and shipped here at an incredible cost. Instead of getting your gift from half-way around the world, find out what you have in your very own home. Decorate a picture frame with an important photo, write a story or a poem, or maybe a song about all the reasons you love your gift-recipient. Not only will you be cutting down on the travel of goods, you save money, too.

            Buy local. If you buy all or part of your gifts, make the purchases as local as possible. The shorter your gift has to travel to get to you, the better it is for the environment. Emporia is full of wonderful gift opportunities. Buy tickets to see a movie at The Granada, get chocolates at the Sweet Granada, or maybe a delicious meal at Amanda’s Bakery.

            Avoid diamonds at all cost. I don’t think this will be a major option for most college students, especially in this economy, but I feel the need to say it just in case. The process of mining for diamonds and other jewels is terribly painful on the planet, and creates areas that will not return to normal for hundreds of years. The work being done in mines these days in the name of diamonds is having disastrous consequences around the world. If you want to buy some jewelry, find a more eco-conscious jewel that can be purchased.

            Give gifts they need, not just want. Real love is knowing what a person needs, not just what they want. There are plenty of things out there that we would all like to have, but don’t want to spend the money on. Make this holiday the time to splurge for that someone. Get them a nice reusable mug or thermos to hold their drinks and cut down on use of plastic bottles. Buy them some reusable shopping bags, rechargeable batteries, gift cards to a natural food store, or some eco-friendly bathroom products like shampoo or bath salts.

            If you really want to do your part, talk to your partner about donating money to a good cause. Instead of spending money on each other, pick a good environmental charity and donate the money you would have spent on that. Greenpeace, Humane Society and the World Wildlife Fund are all great places to start.

            No matter what you do, just keep in mind that this holiday is all about love – not just for our friends and family, but for our planet too. Let’s make it a holiday of red and green.

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Chicken Salad Wraps

Prep Time: 10 Min

Ready In: 10 Min

Servings: Original Recipe: 6 servings

Ingredients

2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, chopped and drained

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup mayonnaise

4 tablespoons fresh salsa

salt and pepper to taste

6 (10 inch) flour tortillas

lettuce

Directions:

In a small bowl combine the chicken, onion, mayonnaise, salsa, salt and pepper. Mix together.

Line each tortilla with two lettuce leaves, then divide chicken salad mixture evenly among each tortilla and roll up, or “wrap.”

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving 

Calories: 464 | Total Fat: 14.8g | Cholesterol: 61mg

***EDITOR’S NOTE: In the last issue of The Bulletin, the directions for Dourmet stated to cover meat with foil before placing it in the microwave. Foil should not be placed in a microwave. The Bulletin regrets the error.

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As an inquisitive environmentalist, I’m always trying to learn more about what I can do to help the planet. This column will be an ongoing list of tips and tricks that any college student can employ to lessen their impact on the environment.

With all of these tips the important thing to remember is that though they might seem insignificant, it is about getting into the habit of daily activity that will make the difference. Getting one person to recycle one bottle might not make a big impact, but if we can get a thousand people to recycle every day, then we’d start to see a change.

For the first tip I want to address one of the easiest ways we can reduce our energy consumption at home and at school. I’m talking about combating vampire energy. Vampire Energy, also known as standby energy, is a term that refers to energy that is consumed when appliances and electronics are in idle mode.

Take your cell phone charger for example. When it’s plugged in, even when your phone isn’t charging, it still draws power. Though the amount of energy that is eaten up by unused, plugged in appliances is relatively small, it can quickly add up. Think of all the different appliances you have plugged in at home and times it over the course of a year.

According to one Web site on energy consumption, vampire energy costs America almost $4 billion annually. It accounts for 1 percent of the nation’s carbon emissions. That’s a lot of energy considering it’s from just appliances sitting around not being used.

And cell phones are just the tip of the energy iceberg. TVs, computers and microwaves use up way more energy, just while sitting there. It’s wasted through simple idling.

So what can be done? First and foremost, you can start unplugging your appliances. Just remembering everyday to unplug your cell phone charger, TV or laptop will save a percent of that energy.

The next step would be investing in EnergyStar appliances. These energy efficient machines can help reduce your idling energy up to 70 percent, according to the EnergyStar website.

Another really simple action we all could take right now is to remove the screensaver from our computer. Like many of us I was raised to believe a screensaver was helping the computer save energy. The truth is screensavers prevent the computer from entering its full idle mode.

If you are leaving your computer for an extended period of time, 20 minutes or more, turn off your computer. Following that put the computer into rest mode and shut off your monitor.

You might not notice the drop in your electricity bills, but on the large scale, if groups of people start this action, then we can see a difference. This advice could reduce carbon emissions by half a percent nationally, or the same as removing 18 million cars from the roads.

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Throughout history, the possession of a beard has had different meanings to different cultures, but it is the opinion of this humble writer that a beard can be a symbol of non-conformity and unhindered masculinity. Herein are the individuals I believe to be the most mantastic bearers of the beard to have walked the Earth thus far.

As the Greek’s say, “There are two kinds of people in this world that go around beardless—boys and women—and I am neither one.”

Leonidas

5.   King Leonidas I of Sparta – This king of Sparta may be more familiar to Top 5 readers as the muscle bound killing machine played by Gerard Butler in the grossly exaggerated film “300.” In actual history, 300 Spartans along with a few thousand other Greeks held the pass of Thermopylae against a significantly larger force (perhaps 200,000 plus) Persians. No small odds to be sure, and the fact that he went down in a hail of arrow fire after three days of consecutive ass kicking means that Leonidas’ legacy as a take-no-shit military commander will live on in memory for years to come.

Leonardo DaVinci

4.   Leonardo DaVinci – Renaissance badass defined, Davinci was perhaps the most brilliant mind of his age. DaVinci filled numerous notebooks with ideas in his characteristic backwards facing script. He was an inventor, sculptor, painter, mathematician, architect, writer and scientist that was at the top of the heap in an era that included such minds as Michelangelo, Copernicus, Durer and Galileo. The best part is, he is still inspiring poorly researched fiction and endless numbers of history channel specials.

Edward Teach

3.   Edward Teach a.k.a Blackbeard – Infamous pirate of the early 18^th century. This crazy yahoo terrorized the Caribbean and western Atlantic back before piracy was made sexy by Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. Blackbeard hunted the seas in his ship the Queen Anne’s Revenge. Allegedly going into battle with flaming fuses intertwined with his hair, multiple pistols and blades in his belt and bandolier and a crazed look in his eyes, Blackbeard inspired fear and respect from his men and enemies. In his final battle, the legendary pirate supposedly survived five pistol shots and up to 20 sword wounds before being beheaded.

John Brown

2.   John Brown – Perhaps the most famous Kansan that isn’t Fred Phelps, Brown was a highly controversial abolitionist best known for his attempt to start a slave rebellion with weapons he hoped to procure at a raid on the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia in 1859. Moving from the occupation of tanner to all around American badass, Brown dedicated his life to the eradication of slavery by any means necessary. Brown was dissatisfied with the lack of action of other Abolitionists, and instead elected for violence over discussion. He was unsuccessful in his attempt to start a slave rebellion, but was successful in polarizing the nation on the issue of slavery. That’s right folks, according to author Professor David M. Potter and other historians, Brown’s raid solidified the public’s positions on slavery. This man single-handedly helped light the powder keg of emotion and politics that started the Civil War.

Grigori Rasputin

1.    Grigori Rasputin – Known throughout history as “The Mad Monk,” Rasputin was a Russian monk in the court of the last Czar, Nicholas the II, in the early part of the 20^th century. Indulging in sex and alcohol to increase grace by sinning more, (no typos there folks) Rasputin gained a negative reputation so intense that he was once stabbed by an ex-prostitute that claimed “I have killed the Anti-Christ!” The Mad Monk survived. Later on, the Czar ordered the assassination of Rasputin and he was fed cake poisoned with enough cyanide to kill five men – but he was unaffected. Seeing this, his assassins promptly shot him. Not willing to go to hell alone, Rasputin got up and tried to strangle one of them and was shot three more times. Still breathing, he was then clubbed, castrated and rolled into a carpet to be thrown in the Nevea River. He then clawed his way out of the carpet only to be trapped beneath the icy river and drowned. So died a bearded, perhaps totally evil, badass.

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