Ski cross is my new favorite sport, and all because of Canadian ski crosser Chris Del Bosco. A ski prodigy from practically the time he could walk, alcohol addiction derailed his career for a while. Now, twenty-seven years old and six years sober, he was a major contender in the ski cross competition. In fact, he was in solid position to win the bronze medal until he took a huge risk and ended up crashing, costing himself a medal. His response? "I wasn't content with just ... I don't know, third, I guess, is all right for some people, but I wanted to give 100% for my sport and my country." He wouldn't settle for anything less than gold. How's that for Olympic spirit?
Today's bonus prize comes from an author who knows the hardships of highs and lows, and has been gracious enough to share her experiences through her words: a signed box set of CRANK and GLASS by Ellen Hopkins. Here are the blurbs:
Kristina Georgia Snow is the perfect daughter: gifted high school junior, quiet, never any trouble. But on a trip to visit her absentee father, Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree is the exact opposite of Kristina -- she's fearless.
Through a boy, Bree meets the monster: crank. And what begins as a wild, ecstatic ride turns into a struggle through hell for her mind, her soul -- her life.
Crank. Glass. Ice. Crystal. Whatever you call it, it's all the same: a monster. And once it's got hold of you, this monster will never let you go.(Please note these books are intended for readers age 14 and up.)
Kristina thinks she can control it. Now with a baby to care for, she's determined to be the one deciding when and how much, the one calling the shots. But the monster is too strong, and before she knows it, Kristina is back in its grips. She needs the monster to keep going, to face the pressures of day-to-day life. She needs it to feel alive.
Once again the monster takes over Kristina's life and she will do anything for it, including giving up the one person who gives her the unconditional love she craves -- her baby.
The sequel to Crank, this is the continuing story of Kristina and her descent back to hell. Told in verse, it's a harrowing and disturbing look at addiction and the damage that it inflicts.
For me, the most moving part of these stories is that they are semi-autobiographical, based on stories from Ellen Hopkins's own experience. That she has the artistic courage to share them with the world amazes me.
To enter today's contest, tell me what ill you would like to eradicate from the world? Poverty, disease, drugs, war, famine, terror, illiteracy, racism, pollution, animal cruelty... the list goes on. If you could snap your fingers and one thing that plagues us would be gone for good, what would you choose? Answer in comments for your chance to win Oh. My. Gods. and Goddess Boot Camp and a boxed set of CRANK and GLASS by Ellen Hopkins.
FREESTYLE SKIING CONTEST
Answer this question: Which of the world's problems would you like to eradicate?
PRIZES
(1) copy of Oh. My. Gods.
(1) copy of Goddess Boot Camp
(1) copy of CRANK by Ellen Hopkins
(1) copy of GLASS by Ellen Hopkins
Enter below and check back tomorrow (and the day after that and the day after that) for a new contest. Winners of all contests will be posted after February 28th.
And don't forget the other contests:
Gold Medal Contest
COOP2 1 HEIST SOCIETY by Ally Carter
COOP2 2 MY SOUL TO TAKE and MY SOUL TO SAVE by Rachel Vincent
COOP2 3 TATTOO and FATE by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
COOP2 4 BALLADS OF SUBURBIA by Stephanie Kuehnert
COOP2 5 LOVESTRUCK SUMMER by Melissa Walker
COOP2 6 TMI by Sarah Quigley
COOP2 7 JARS OF GLASS, DREAM FACTORY, and THE CUPCAKE QUEEN by Heather Hepler
COOP2 8 HEX HALL by Rachel Hawkins
COOP2 9 THE CINDERELLA SOCIETY by Kay Cassidy
COOP2 10 THE SPLENDOR FALLS by Rosemary Clement-Moore
COOP2 11 UNDONE by Brooke Taylor
COOP2 12 LYNNVISIBLE by Julia DeVillers
COOP2 13 THE FALSE PRINCESS by Eilis O'Neal
Hugs,
TLC
71 comments:
The world problem that I'd like to eradicate would be diseases.
I had this very close friend who was like a big brother to me. He suffered from leukaemia when he was just 23 years old, gained remission just to relapsed again a year later. Then he contracted veno-occlusive disease (VOD) post marrow transplant that ended up took him away from us.
I believe that no one deserve to suffer as much and seeing the one you love went through such ordeal just to be defeated by the disease is totally heartbreaking :(
Shy
shy8629 at gmail dot com
Poverty. If everyone had the money they needed then they could afford shelter, food, and healthcare.
Slavery, specifically child prostitution. It's so incredibly rampant all over the world, but very few people seem to realize that it's going on. Girls as young as 6 years old are kidnapped and forced to provide sex acts for their entire lives... short lives, that is, as they often die young from abuse or disease. It's horrifying.
This is just so hard. How can there be just an answer when there's so much causing destruction and pain? All, if I could. However..
If I could pick just and only one, it would be to eradicate lying. Though that doesn't sound like much, it's still a little thing - which is a big sin - and now it's being done without a second thought. Just to rid the fact of telling extreme lies, even to not hurt someone you care about won't hurt anyone but yourself.
It's a very brooding, pensive idea and there are so many things against telling all the truth, but it's just what I feel. Small things are the first step, and usually the easiest.
Poverty, mostly because I think solving that one problem would help with other problems too - like disease (health care in general really), education problems, homelessness and all that in third world countries... I also think there would be less fighting within undevelopted countries if poverty wasn't an issue.
If not that then... prejudice? (towards race, sexuality, nationality etc.)
What i would like to take away is the lack of empathy in humans - or in other words: the ability to look away when something cruel is happening.
I think if more people allowed themselves to be aware of what horrible things exist, they would help. Also, any kind of violence would be made impossible by this.
This is one of the hardest questions...
I would either get rid of disease or hate against the LGBT community. Actually, just hate in general.
Poverty. It would be really great to see everyone be able to eat regularly, live in proper houses, and for everyone to have stable jobs to help them meet their daily needs.
I think poverty, becouse it's something that really affects to all world, and with that fixed, there are another problems, that it would be easier to solve.
luli_.22@hotmail.com
Hunger would be what I want to eradicate.
I would probably get rid of disease. I've seen how people suffer through disease and it breaks my heart every time.
I typed up a post claiming I'd eradicate dishonesty, but in the end, I had to erase it because what I truly want is for the world to suddenly be incapable of VIOLENCE towards people and animals. If our violent tendencies were gone, there would be no war, there would be compassion, and there would be freedom from oppression. Children would no longer be abused.
Hmmm. This requires some thinking. If we could eliminate destruction in all forms...disease wouldn't have the power to destroy our bodies and our families, natural disasters would be averted, war would be a thing of the past, and bullying would be replaced by kindness. Children would have a chance to grow up with self-confidence and strong self-esteem because they're not afflicted with youcan'tdoititis, so if they were faced with challenges, they could handle it--no problem.
I would have to say Poverty. Eradicating poverty would lower crime rates, health problems, world hunger, and many more problems. When people don't have enough money, there is a higher chance for them resorting to illegal means to get what they need. Its one reason to get into stealing and then elevate to maybe even drugs or drug dealing. I am in a low economic state so i can tell you from experience that its tough and sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. I never actually did anything like drug deal but I know people who has. So if i could snap my fingers and eradicate one world problem, it would have to be poverty.
i would get rid of humanity's judgemental nature.
The world problem that I would like to erradicate is money. I know most people dont believe that this is a problem but it is. If everything in this world was free then everybody could have a home and food and everything they need. Money only creates power hungry people that only need more the second they get what they want. There is so much money in this world that people strive to get. People go to work and work their butts off for as much money as they can get and a lot of those people end up missing out on a lot of stuff in life. If there were no money then those people who worked would already have everything they need to provide for their family and then they would be able to spend time with their spouse and their kids. Life would be so much simpler and happier if money did not exist and everything was free.
I would like to erridicate my ex boyfriends depression. I might not mean the world to him, but he means the world to me. I just want to help make his life better and help his family lose the pain and grief. He's been a mess for years, and our breakup hasnt helped him. He's planning on killing himself and I don't want to lose him. ):
If I could eradicate any ill in the world with a snap of my fingers I would have to go with drugs. I think in a alot of ways drugs contribute to a lot of other problems in the world including, violence, murder, greed, rape, and the list goes on. If there were no drugs in the world I believe tons of violence and murder would be eliminated because statistically speaking, drugs are the cause of violent crimes whether it be a successful person or a gangbanger. Also, if there were no drugs, most people would remain in the right mind frame and wouldn't commit half of the haneous acts we hear of. I think eradicating drugs would eradicate a lot of other ills in the world.
If I could get rid of one problem it would be illiteracy. I think that (and education) is the one thing that can hold back a person faster than anything else. Learning has such power and it all starts with the basics folks!
i would eradicate the problem of animal cruelty.The animal that are being treated like this are innocent animals. Even with vicious animals something has to happen to make them like that. All animal are nice until something or someone has made them inferior of that
If I good snap my fingers and be rid of one thing it would be alliteracy. I hate that some people know how to read but choose not to read for pleasure.
I agree with maclibrary, above. (and I promise ,that was what I planned to write!) If we could rid the world of illiteracy, it would help eradicate so many other problems. ANd we should have a national Drop Everything And Read time (DEAR).
I'd say poverty, which would have such a ripple effect on so many other ills.
I would eradicate ignorance. I believe that ignorance plagues humanity the worst because people hate, spread misinformation, and hinder processess to stop problems all with their ignorance. Think about it, if people would educate themselves, and spread the right information we can eliminate HIV/AIDS; stopping it's spread through clean needles, gloves, and condoms if people wouldn't still think of it as a "gay" disease, or have the irrationality of thinking they can get it by touching, kissing or toilet seats. We could eliminate poverty, if people stopped remaining ignorant and really looked at it's causes and cycles it would give everyone the chance to bring others out of it. People would stop letting our society think for them, stop listening to the stupid music, trusting in misrepresented ads, or believing unrealistic movies/television; and start seeing the world as it is and as it should be. Kids would stay in school longer, parents would spend more time with their kids, and the youth would feel better about themselves; Instead of worrying about how they look or their status, they would think about how they can remain empowered and how to empower their fellow youth. Adults would start to listen to the youth who stand up and help to put their ideas into motion. Gangs would be a thing of the past, and there would be no more useless deaths. If people as a whole were eradicated of their ignorance, the world would stand to not only feel better, but be better. Ghandi said we must be the change we want to see, if more people followed that, rather than blindly being led by societal norms...life would be not only bearable, but beautiful all the time.
poverty and the lack of health care.
I would eradicate negativity. We have the ability to do so much, but as soon as you doubt yourself/others, it all falls apart.
This is an extremely hard question because all of these things are terrible truths in our world. I am a middle school teacher and think that the biggest problem facing our future is literacy. We have children who are coming through school who cannot read and turn to behavior as a way to hide their weakness. Many children turn to bullying and gangs to disguise their inability to read. As they grow up, this violence can become more and more extreme. Illiteracy also can create depression and embarrassment in students, created a self-hated and violence against themselves. We need to teach our children to read and get them to enjoy reading and then we will see some real changes in our worlds.
The world problem that I would like to eradicate is the tendencies that we, as humans, have today. I am a student and personally I think that the world is beganning to change too fast for its own good. I would like to slow down our progression because as humans, it may be in our nature to think we can do all, but right now what we must concentrate on is bringing this "all" together.
Oh man, I really want these books.
If I could eradicate anything, then it would be inequality. What would it be like if we all cared about each other more than ourself? We wouldn't strive to be one-up on each other. In helping people out, we would fix a lot of problems like poverty, illiteracy, and things that are caused by hatred and pride...
The world problem that I'd like to eradicate is homelessness. I have personally dealt with it several times in my life. People say that those who are homeless put themselves in that situation, perhaps in some cases this is true. The children most often do not though. I never wanted to be homeless as a child. There are programs to assist with this issue, to help the children who have no say so, but as I have learned in my life there are loopholes around that. that is why I would The world problem that I'd like to eradicate homelessness. I live in fredericktown, MO and while homelessness isnt a particularly big issue in such a small town, it does exist. I have struggled my entire life to be where I am today, to overcome the course of life I was delt with. I am currently enrolled in college and I have applied for the americorp because unfortunatly this along with several other issues cant be erased with a snap of your fingers. Love the books btw.
I'd like to see hate eraditcated. If people accepted each other, they would help one another, eliminating hunger, homelessness, etc.
Betsy Ickes
I would eliminate apathy. If people could learn to look beyond themselve and know that one person can make a difference, we could work together to end the rest of the world's problems. When you see injustice, do you look away or speak out? When you see someone in need, do you offer a helping hand or cross to the other side of the street? If each one of us took the time to care and to act, the world would be a better place.
Kay Jernigan McGriff
I would get rid of alcholism. I have several people in my family that suffer from this. Everyday I watch it slowly kill them. It is killing our family slowly..and I know that it is killing other families all around the world. I know that maybe I chose something that isn't as important as getting rid of cancer or something like that. However, any one who has to deal with this knows that this is a big problem that needs to be solved!
Do i have to pick one? violence, discrimination, ignorance of what is happening to our brothers and sisters around the world. The apathetic attitude that people seem to have towards important current events. Hunger. Racism. Ethnic boundaries. There are so many problems with this world; we are all in our own little bubble, when we could be out there making a difference in somebodys life. Changing for the better. Helping somebody find God.
And that's just the beginning of stuff I would change. And don't just write about what you change guys. Be the one who goes out and actually does something about it. Inspire. Live. Laugh. Love. And help others to do the same/
<3
Mollie Nichole
It would be so hard to just pick one, but something I feel strongly against are drugs. if I could, Id banish every form, alcohol, smoking, pot, cocaine, ect. Generally, it seems that one thing will lead to another, which will lead to another problem (Like in Ellen Hopkins book, Tricks, they start prostituting because they are high, and if it werent for the drugs, they may not have gone down that road) Eliminating drugs could in turn, elimnate or decrease other problems in our world. Drugs effect families, friends, and more people then you could imagine, people you wouldnt think would be effected by it. Drugs hurt everyone, and they effect the entire world.
Humans. I know that sounds, I dont know, sick, but there will always be issues because humans are humans. So if I wanted to rid the world of one issue, it would be humans.
If I had to pick just one it would be famine. Food is an essential to life and no one should have to go without it.
Poverty. There are so many things in the world that can be linked back to poverty. People are starving, without homes. Its devastating to see.
If I could snap my fingers and end one thing in this world, it would most definitely be abortion. It is inhumane. No child should have their voice taken away because they are "an inconveniance." Killing is wrong. Abortion is murder. And the murder is against someone the mother doesn't even know. People are ignorant to the truth. They try to justify themselves in many ways. But when it all comes down to it, abortion is murder. It needs to be stopped.
I would eliminate hate from the world. If hate was gone we would have world peace and happiness.The abolishment of hate would bring all the countries together and get rid of all the other problems we face each day. War would be gone, poverty, homelessness, segregation etc. I would love to eliminate hate.
Poverty. It's so wrong that the rich are getting obscenely richer and the poor are getting poorer. Half the world's problem will disappear once the balance is made.
Child Poverty / Hunger! There's nothing that breaks my heart than seeing an innocent child hungry, cold, sick and lonely. As a child, they are helpless to help themselves. It really sucks!
I agree with what everyone else said completely but I'm going to be completely selfish on this one. I would get rid of cancer. I've had it. My dad died from it. I've watched little kids die from it. There is nothing good about it.
i would choose racism. if we could get along we could work together to solve the other problems. if it really was easy just to snap my fingers i wouldnt stop at just one problem.
If I could snap my fingers and get rid of a problem in the world it would have to be racism. We are all humans and no one deserves to be treated badly because of the color of their skin. It's just so horrible to watch people in the world turn against each other just because they are different colors. I can sit in a room and hear something on the news about a crime and sometimes instantly someone I know says something about how it must have been a black person or a Mexican or something and it's like they don't even believe that a white person could've done it. I believe everyone is equal and we all need to start realizing it or we're going to have a lot of problems for the rest of our lives.
I think I would have a hard time choosing one. It seems like in school they teach us not to fight with other kids to get what we want and our parents also teach us not to hit or hurt other people. I just think there is a more peaceful way to deal with things than war and that it should be used. Although they are both tragic poverty and hate are harmful in a more personal way. Unlike disease though war, poverty, and hate are caused by people in someway. I also think that drugs are harmful and a horrible way to fix problems. Some people start smoking, drinking or doing drugs at an early age and don't relize the concequences until it's too late but, I might erraticate disease because the rest could be helped in other ways.
Being a doctor I think I have seen enough kids suffer these incurable diseases. Tumors that can' be operated , infections that resist treatments , taking away the life out of kids who should have been enjoying life rather than spending their time waiting for the next dose of their medication or praying for some miracle so that their condition is cured.
I would eradicate every single disease that takes away the right of life from these kids.
Cancer. Kids as young as 11 years old can get cancer. It's really sad and unfair. I wish cancer was gone for good. And AIDs too. Especially those children who gotten AIDs from their mothers, they don't deserve it.
kate.readthisbook at gmail dot com
I so want to read these books!
This is hard, but if I could eradicate something with the click of my fingers, I'd eradicate hatred. I think hatred is the key source of all problems whether directly or indirectly, and if people start caring, instead of looking away or hating, it can solve tons of problems.
That is such a hard question to answer as unfortunately the world has so many major problems at the moment.
I think that if you eradicate poverty and world debt then that should be a stepping stone in the right direction. Allowing improvements in health care therefore eradicating some diseases. Everyone will have enough money for food and clean water, so again health would improve.
Education would also improve, allowing further advance in health and science.
So yes getting rid of poverty would be the start of a long chain of progressive events.
Ohhh for that kind of utopia :)
If I could, I would erradicate... disease. Life is tough enough without having to deal illness and disease, whether your own or that of a loved one.
Cruelty to animals. They deserve a peaceful life on this planet as much as we do. So, please stop mistreating them people.
Wow, that's hard. I would have to say poverty. If all countries are well-educated, they could be equal and live a good life.
Which of the world's problems would you like to eradicate?
Difficult. I'd say no one should be lacking of education. People who have that are always better person, because now you understand why there are things that are mean or you can't do.
Poverty :( And I would love to end all the wars and just have peace :)
Homelessness. I really think we should have more places where homeless people can go. The saddest case was a boy I knew from high school came into the library and couldn't get a library card because he was homeless. Instead, he would just read at the library until we closed and then head to wherever he spent his nights. How sad is that?
I'm going to sound like a Miss America contestant right now, but i really would would like everyone to stop fighting. I'm hopeful, and naive i know. And i would want to solve poverty.
I would want to eradicate pollution and basically environmental damage in general. At the rate we're going, if we continue to destroy the environment, there won't be much of a future for humans, and we could quite possibly face extinction.
I would eradicate Cancer. It's a horrible and unexplainable disease. Millions of innocent lives are taken, and my heart goes out to all those families that mourn the victims of the disaster. Cancer, needs to be ridden over, and blown out of the spectrum, so that millions of lives can be saved and cherished.
*I forgot to put in my link.
I would eradicate Cancer. It's a horrible and unexplainable disease. Millions of innocent lives are taken, and my heart goes out to all those families that mourn the victims of the disaster. Cancer, needs to be ridden over, and blown out of the spectrum, so that millions of lives can be saved and cherished.
Abortion. It is killing, and there is nothing right about it.
If I could get rid of something I would say illness, especially terminal/chronic illnesses. Two of my siblings have a chronic illness and it sucks having to see them like that. Plus, I think if they went away that would solve a lot of poverty issues (at least in the US).
War. Or hatred. I don't know, but sometimes I think that diseases are created as part of war. :/
I would love to get rid of Aids. Especially in Africa, I find it horrible of how uneducated they are. That's partially why I donated $20 to Project Red...I know it's not much but it's something.
Wow.. tough question. I think I would love to rid the world of illiteracy. There are so many great worlds out there to be discovered in a book, yet many do not have the ability to explore this.
There are so many things wrong in this world, I can't just pick one. But since I have to, I would say the war we are fighting in Iraq because it was basically started over nothing, and could've been prevented. We're loosing millions of dollars because of it, causing our country to go into an even bigger downfall than there already is.
I think I would make everyone have some basic knowledge: make everyone go to school.
I would get rid of war because everyone needs to understand that they have differences and just live with it. I'm not saying that we need to ignore people being mistreated but we do need to understand what other poeple are going through.
Famine. Food should be available to everyone.
Wow. There is so much that if taken away, the world would be a much better place. But, to choose only one, I'd opt to eradicate all forms of bias and prejudice. There would be less violence and more respect. It'd be easier for people to find the truth in all matters as well. It makes me kind of sad to think about this because I know that it will never happen.
I wouldn't be able to pick just one. I guess I would choose to get rid of world hunger because that is just terrible.
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