Tips for taking pictures

From what I saw, the following are very elemental in photography:
- Learn to use a plain background
- Learning how to use flash outdoors
- Locking the focus
- Taking vertical pictures
- Being a picture director

The difference between the Kodak pictures that were shown to us and pictures we will be taking pictures for  Journalism is that the Kodak pictures were posed.
I'd say that the two most important factors when it comes to photography are: Creativity and use of lighting

Destroy all which is evil, so that which is good may flourish

Boondock Saints is the best movie Evurrr!

It is what it is.

Those type of questions are kinda rhetorical for me. Personally, I believe that it all depends where you hang around, who you hang around with, and what you do that defines whether you will be safe. Whether it be here in the states or in a third-world country.
I lived in Mexico for thirteen years, it's my home, I really don't have a problem with hearing gunshots every time there is a holiday or something like that. And although I moved here 3 years ago (around the time it really started getting bad), I've been held at gun-point, and my brother has been mugged while in Switzerland. I honestly do not feel safe anywhere, although I do feel a little safer in "the valley".

I've had some senior moments early.

Once upon a time, two Sharyland students would skip around eight times a semester because that was the allowed amount until you lost credit. They would find ways to pass the time, Barnes & Noble, parks, and anything that seemed fun to do. Senior skip day they would hit the beach. Run away from cops, no stops. Enjoy life, not a care in the world. Every day of their lives was a "senior moment".