Dowling: Mediated: October 2010

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Internet: The New Place for Drug Deals

Don't be misled by the title. No one is reporting that the internet is a one stop shop for all drugs. I doubt any drug dealer would be ballsy enough to publicly admit that unless they were looking to get busted. Rather, think of this as something a little more simpler: Domain Names. There has recently been a dramatic boost in the last couple of years in domain names being registered in order to profit off of one drug in particular.

http://www.clevescene.com/images/blogimages/2009/08/19/1250694960-weed.gif

Yea, that's right. Marijuana. One of the hot topics in politics right now. Particularly in California, where in the next week or so, citizens will vote one way or the other on Prop 19. Ooo my bad, did I accidentally place my opinion on the table. Whoops! Anyways, if Prop 19 were to pass, domain names will be need to sell the product online. Afterall, in this day and age, who actually goes to the store anymore if you can buy something online and have it by tomorrow. We're lazy. Plus gas is too high to be wasting it. We can put that money elsewhere... like buying pot. And that's the point. People will be able to buy weed, bongs, treats, and etc. online if Prop 19 passes. Which in turn means people like Kevin Faler will cash in on something he made many people cash out on.

Faler is a former narcotics officer. Long story short, he has over 1,000 registered domain names all dealing with marijuana. He's not the only one either. There are plenty of people trying to make a quick buck by purchasing domain names with the intent to resell them for a far greater amount of money. Some of the domain names include, "marijuanapastry.com", "potfordogs.com, and a whole list of funny and ridiculous names.

In the end, Faler and others believe that selling internet real estate will offer enough money for them to retire, pass money down to their kids, and even buy condos.

Even cops are accepting of Prop 19. No shock since one of them could make a killing, the legal kind, off of its success.

Can You Hear Me Now?

The BlackBerry. Or as some people call it, the “CrackBerry.” But who knew that cell phones could be almost as dangerous as using crack? Studies have shown that not only do cell phones give you carpal tunnel, but they can also have other severe side effects on your health, especially brain cancer and tumors.

Even though the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) has not formally come out and said that cell phones cause cancer, that doesn’t mean that the radiation coming from them isn’t harmful. Also, the FCC’s studies are outdated and do not reflect the drastic increase in cell phone users over the past decade; 270 million people in the United States now use cell phones, including children.

Children seem to be in the utmost of danger zones for this radiation because their skulls have not fully developed yet and the radiation can easily penetrate into their brain cells. Adults are at risk as well, there is no question about that, but children are more susceptible.

So, I guess the obvious question is what do we do now? Stop talking on our cell phones? I think everyone knows that’s definitely not going to happen; I for one am certainly not. However, in Europe they have already addressed some of these issues by experimenting with, not entirely wiping out radiation, that might be impossible, but just limiting the dose. Also, they are urging cell phone companies, by way of legislation, to make clear that there is some risk to putting a mobile device right next to your brain. (Did you know that you’re supposed to keep your phone one inch away from your ear? Supposedly when you get a new cell phone that comes in the instructions. Do you read that closely?)

The best solution for now is to just beware and educate ourselves on the potential dangers. Besides, I don’t think kids under the age of 12 or 13 should have a cell phone anyway.

Second Life: A Substitute For Reality?

As we saw in the PBS video, second life is a popular and continuously growing virtual world. Through this world, avatars are created to resemble yourself or even the person that you may wish to be. Facial features are chosen, you can buy clothing and accessories, choose an occupations, etc. all are designed to represent yourself and identify yourself from others. Although it may all seem harmless, I can't help but ask, is there possibly a dark side to this, like we have seen appear in other new technologies?

First of all, I think that having something like this enables people with socialization problems to avoid fixing them. If a person has anxiety of socializing with other people they may use this second life as a way to escape facing their problems/ fears. They would obviously rather stay inside their house and pretend to socialize with people rather than actually having to do so. Is it really healthy to hide behind a computer screen or to develop relationships with a virtual character instead of another human being?

Second, I think that it becomes very easy for people to lose themselves in this virtual world. For many people who are constantly using this, it seems that it would be possible to lose a sense of reality in all of the pretending. Avatars are given the ability to spend actual money in this second life. It has its own currency, but if you wanted to buy something your U.S. dollars would be converted. What kind of a toll is this taking on the economy? With all the problems that we have with the economy at the moment, I'm sure this is not helping at all. I also have a hard time understanding why anyone would actually want to buy something on here. I personally would have a hard time spending money that I worked for on something that is stuck inside the computer. What good does clothing, a cell phone or other electronics, accessories, etc. do for me if I can not actually use them? It just seems like a waste of money to me, I guess everyone's values are different though.

Third, I also feel that safety may be a concern. If people began to make friends though this world and at some point decide they'd like to actually meet in reality, they could be meeting someone dangerous. Just because they portray themselves as a certain person in second life does not mean that this is realistic to the person that they actually are. This could be especially dangerous for young women and children. A harmless meeting could end horribly because unfortunately you can not see who is actually on the other end of the computer.

A fourth problem I found with this was in the business world. It appeared very strange to me that corporations and companies were using this second life for meetings with employees, some of whom they had never actually met. In the business world I think the social aspect of meetings and business deals is essential. How can companies have CEOs communicating with their employees through this world, when they have never actually met or are living in another country on the other side of the world. Is there a safety issue in this too? How can you be certain who you are speaking about these important issues with?

I'm not saying that this second life technology is a bad idea, but where does it stop? How far does it go before it crosses a moral or an ethical line? Socialization is an important aspect of human life and is essential to developing as a person. If second life is eliminating this aspect of life for some people what effect will it have on them in the future?

Limewire Shut down!

After a four year legal battle the Federal Court in New York issues a "permanent injunction” on LimeWire. LimeWire is now being held legally responsible of copyright infringement committed over the last decade. A trial will be held in January to determine the amount of compensate the record companies will get for the billions of dollars worth of damages caused by the filesharing company.

More Students, More Textbooks

Will there be an end towards books?
NO!
Students rather have textbooks over digital books, blogs, and websites. Students will be the man leading group where books are used most. Though websites and digital books are cheaper than the traditional textbook, but because there is Amazon.com, books are cheaper and more accesible.
Now, where can this lead?
Books will be very hard to get rid of. As time goes by, technology will advance itself . Newspapers will be gone and probably magazines will be gone.
I believe books are here to stay.

WHY PAY?

There are over 200 channels on iO TV and yet there fails to be a single show that interests me.

As I was flipping through the channels earlier, I passed show after show that all consisted of the same clichéd topics: sex, violence, and plain stupidity. BORING, I thought to myself. The sitcoms are basically the same story every week just taking place in different situations, and the “reality shows,” which aren’t even real, accomplish nothing but a showcase of irrational behavior.

Where are all the thought-provoking shows? Why is everything so mindless and unoriginal? I’ve actually asked a few people these questions and I always get, “It’s what people want to see…it’s what sells.” But why? Why do people care about who hooked up with who, or who lost the most weight this week? It’s all so irrelevant to real life.

The only things that remotely interested me were the movie channels, such as HBO and Starz. But if I wanted to watch a movie, I could just go down to the local movie store (of course not Blockbuster since it closed down a few weeks ago), or download one on Netflix (if I actually had that), and not have to pay a bill once a month. Which then makes me think: Why am I even paying a monthly bill for dozens of TV channels I don’t even watch? I don’t even like TV, except for Prison Break which ended last year. I’d probably be just as happy with an antenna on the roof and channeling free TV like they did in the old days. (There’s even a website that locates the best broadcaster in the area: antennaweb !)

But the bottom line is that TV has gotten way out of hand. How many CSI’s do we need? or Real Housewives or Law & Order? It’s getting a bit redundant. I feel like the media is shoving these shows down our throats because they’re always on! Season after season; repeat after repeat. When is enough, enough?

Maybe I stand alone on this, but out of all the hundreds of channels I pay for, I’d like for there to be one, maybe two, shows that are completely original and (gasp) artistic! But until that awakening happens, I’ll just focus on attaching an antenna to the roof.

Politics in the Media

So clearly I like wrestling. Most of, if not each one of, my posts have mentioned or centered around wrestling (I wonder what I will be writing my final paper on, hint hint) so it doesn't surprise me nor should it surprise you that this post will center around... drum roll please... wrestling!

Except this time, it will more specifically address politics and the media's constant outrage at the "fake sport" I love. For those of you who don't know Linda McMahon is running for Senate in Connecticut this year. She has pumped out a whopping $50 million dollars in campaign spending. Her critics and the people she is running against have constantly used her pro wrestling background against her. Keep in mind, Jesse Ventura, a former pro wrestler was in office not to long ago in Minnesota. So does one's past life reflect what they will do in the future?

When she first announced her decision to run, most in the political-media world laughed it off. Until they found out how much of HER OWN money she was willing to spend. She is still way behind in the polls but she is starting to catch up and now she will have to wrestle away from more than one attacker. In a clear sign of desperation, possibly even jealousy, Nancy DiNardo filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission. Nancy DiNardo is the chairwoman of the Connecticut Democrats.

Everything keeps circling around her WWE past. It is as if the Democrats she is running against want her to divorce her husband. Just because she is running for office, does not mean she must be responsible for what her husband does with his company. Even more so, after settling out of court over 10 years ago, Martha Hart, widow of Owen Hart, is now suing the WWE and many claim it is to hurt Linda's campaign.

So the question remains, should politicians focus on the media gaga or should they focus on the issues at hand? It seems as if politicians are more concerned with saving face than they are with doing their job which is serving the people. Besides, after all these attacks, does this lady seem shaken?

Besides, you gotta love a woman who has enough wit and humor to once have one of the wrestlers employed by her to do a gimmick like this.

Friends on Facebook does not equal friends in real life.

Sorry. But it's true. I can't measure the strength of our friendship via a poke or a like. The illusion that Facebook gives off is the fact that you can keep in touch with friends you haven't seen in ages, as well as family members that you have a hard time keeping track with, a way to stay in the loop as it were. But the cold hard fact is that it is nothing more than a front to procrastinate and "talk" to people you full well know you wouldn't talk to at all in the "real world."

But, how did Facebook's mission statement end up this way? Simple. We are a generation of impersonality. There is little to no interaction between anybody anymore. In fact, I bet you that if I walked into average high school classroom today, I could find 10-12 people texting or IM-ing instead of actually TALKING to a person next to them. It's disheartening really.

Nothing's Killing Radio

I've often thought about how long radio has been a part of society, and I could never picture my life without it because, well, I've never had to. It makes me contemplate exactly how such a technology can sustain all of the changing times so much that it's been around even before my parents. (oh! low blow! hahaha) The obvious answer is because it is wisely used for music, which is constantly changing as time changes. In our society, especially my generation, we have attention spans that barely measure up to that of a goldfish; that is why change is key because we've become such masters at it.

The other day, I was watching Eyewitness News on channel 7 to try to catch up on what's going on in the world around me, even though it's so darn depressing. During a commercial break, I saw an advertisement for a new car, but I didn't remember anything about it-not the name of the car, not the make, not the slogan, or anything that would be essential in a car commercial. That doesn't say much because I don't really pay attention to commercials anyway, but I am usually able to catch the basic details. The only thing that I actually did remember was a fact about the radio in the car: it was able to pause, rewind, or fast forward, just as a DVR does for a television. I went to my computer and googled what car had been showcased on that advertisement, while also checking if I heard correctly. The automobile turned out to be the 2010 Buick Lacrosse, and no, my ears have not failed me yet, for the information I absorbed about the radio was in fact true.

To me, this feels like we've just hopped right over a ginormous boulder that was obstructing our path to even more advanced technology. Some may argue that it isn't that great of a deal because they only took what they already do to television and applied it to radio...But personally, I think it's a tremendous move that was made. I started pondering about the ways that this is going to affect radio. I'm not quite sure if it will have that much of an impact on the number of people who listen to music on the radio, but what it will severely influence is advertising companies.

Radio is predominantly about the music, but it is also heavily situated on advertising. Companies rely on the commercials between songs to reach listeners, but now, they're going to be replaced by the sound of fast-forwarding. Granted, most people change the station they are listening to as soon as they hear a commercial, or at least I know that's what I do. However, when I'm driving and don't want to hit ten different buttons to find some music, I'll leave the station on and let the advertisement play. Sometimes, I actually find myself interested, but if all it takes is one button to skip over the commercial, that's obviously what I'm going to do.

On the other hand though, I honestly think this is so cool. It almost turns live radio into an iPod, just with songs that they pick for you. Radio hasn't drastically changed for a long time because the music does that itself, but this is a much different element of radio that even furthermore secures its place in our lives. The Buggles may have sang that "Video Killed the Radio Star," but I can assure you that radio is not going anywhere anytime soon.

Working from home, good or bad?

Ive noticed lately that there are a lot of job listings looking for people with a background in web design, excel, e-mail etc., all things computer related. Most job listings have little need for personal experience in communication and/or public speaking, basic people skills. These jobs are being made accessible from ones home(or anywhere for that matter), with no specific hours or expectations. This may seem like a dream job to most people, but is it really? Or is this just encouraging our lazy society to be even more lazy? Imagine having a job that didnt require you to go anywhere, wake up at any specific time or report to anyone. This could potentially be one of the best jobs in the world, or the worst. Depending on the person of course this job could be great. This type of job could give you more time with your kids, or more time to workout and get back into shape, maybe more time to get all your school work done so you could study more and potentially do better in school. On the other hand, this new job could be the reason why your eating, sleeping, and exercising schedule is totally thrown out of whack. I did some research on the topic and stumbled upon several evaluations of what working at home would be like for the average person, and this is what i found. 5 downsides of working at home; You're always home, you're always at work, your often times alone, self-control becomes an issue, While you're home can you...? I couldn't find a top 5 upsides of working at home but i did find that it is the most beneficial to disabled people, stay at home mom's or mothers who are out of work temporarily, home bodies, and people who have been working with in the same company for a long time and find it difficult to commute 5 days a week. Everyone has their own opinion on whether or not the recent trend of working from home is an overall good thing or bad. what is your opinion?

I am sure by now that almost everyone is aware of the Cablevision and Fox dispute. For those who are unaware here are the basics: It was time for the television companies to renew contracts with the television networks,and according to Cablevison,Fox network is asking for over 150 million dollars in fees,also according to Cablevision, the original fee was around 75 million dollars. Fox news has commented that they have tried to reach out to Cablevision to solve this matter immediately, but Cablevision will not cooperate. Currently 3 million viewers are unable to watch programs such as House,Glee, NFL games, and what most are worried about, the World Series games.

Cablevision has stated that Fox is attempting to charge more than what NBC,CBS,and ABC charge combined.

It has been reported that Fox and Cablevision are meeting again on Sunday and are resorting to binding arbitration.

In my opinion, it is hard to say who is right and who is wrong in this situation. Any type of media is extremely misleading and can take advantage of and maniupulate people.Cablevision may be reporting fake numbers, or Fox actually may be asking for a ridiculous amount of money.But as of right now I am one of millions of extremely dissapointed viewers that is missing out on Glee, House, and possibly the world series.

Picture Perfect

For as long as i can remember memories have always been stored in the form as a picture. Our parents would tell everyone to get together and say "cheese" as they pulled out huge devices known as Polaroids and snapped a still shot that would last forever.

But then ironically the same device used to store memories quickly became one. They were replaced by Kodak cameras, which soon became replaced by digital cameras. as time evolves so does technology. Now most people don't even need cameras, because all phone nowadays come equipped with one, some even high definition.

This raises major concern to camera companies. how do they compete with the cell phone which is the most important thing in a humans everyday life. with a person being able to snap a picture with their mobile device the need to have another gadget is at a low. With the death of standard point and shoot cameras brings life of a new age of smart phones with decent cameras.

Having a laptop quickly went from a luxury to a must have, and a must have to a have not. People are starting to second guess the choice of a laptop, and getting tablets instead. Products like the apple Ipad and the hp tablet are quickly becoming fan favorites. Laptops are being push to the side and are becoming less popular with every passing year.
It’s no surprise that apple laptops are still in the hunt though. Apple makes sure that all of their products are safe when it comes to being obsolete. They do a really good job of making sure their products stay fresh.
With the apple Ipad being out for only a couple of month’s version 2.0 is surely on its way. Leaving something out of their first product only leaves room for improvement in their second one. By leaving out a camera version 2.0 of the Ipad might have a camera in the picture, along with a voice caller. Apple seems to be monopolizing when it comes to gizmo's and gadgets, but how long is it before someone takes a bite out of apple and throws them away??????????

A long time ago, I realized that people stopped listening to the music, and eventually started looking at it.

So what does MTV stand for now? Because it damn sure ain't "Music Television." You know, I did a little research and found out that MTV's very first music video was "Video Killed the Radio Star," almost 30 years later that statement can't be more than true.As I alluded to in my previous post, (here) pop music has been in a steady decline, due to unoriginality. However, sadly, what was once heralded as original at it's peak is what inspires unoriginality.

Thanks to 30 years of this, music has stopped being about whoever has the best musical innovation, and more about the look. Who has the best video, appearance and the resulting "name factor" after all is said and done. Thus we wind up with music that has little to no detail, and overuse of the same topics, making what was once exciting bland and cookie cutter.

And MTV realized this. So they began to faze out the music with catchy teen game shows and and reality TV (which is another topic of mine altogether, just you wait and see.) But with that, music was all but eternally filed away, used as a prop to sell other things in the MTV backdrop. In fact, what proves this the most is the fact that MTV has 1 music video block, and that alone is on at 6am to 8am. A timeslot which arguably, most of viewership does not care for.

Hmmm, Statistics show...

People must know this! The top gadget for the average american is the Cell Phone! It is common sense, People will prefer a gadget more portable with the abilities to read news, talk on the phone, and be on the social network.
Pew Research Report

Here is a graph from the NYtimes. It explains the percentage of 3,001 adults and what device or system they own. This shows that when it comes down to staying connected, people have that ability more on there phones since it has become "Man's bestfriend." Why does the e-Book and Tablet computer have the lowest percent in this graph? Because those devices just came out! Those devices are technically cheaper and more portable compared to Laptops and Desktops which means, these devices will come to a rise!
As for understanding the preferable Medium here, the People, which are the Cell phone, Desktop, Laptop, Console, e-Reader, and Tablet users prefer using the internet for mostly everything.
"What about other kinds of Mediums?"
Television and Radio will soon collaborate with these portable devices. It is only a matter of time where one thing will have everything.

   As technology becomes more advance so do video game graphics and connectivity. Because of this Video games are becoming increasingly complex, detailed, and compelling to a growing international audience of players. With better graphics, more realistic characters, and greater strategic challenges, it’s not surprising that some teens would rather play the latest video game than hang out with friends, play sports, or even watch television. For example the game "Call of Duty Modern Warfare" is probably one of the most addictive games on the current market. Not only can players network, talk, and play with each other all over the world. But they do so in a very complex sensory way.
Now not only are players watching and listening to what they have to do to win the game, they are now subject to internet game bulling via microphone. This is more aggressive then Facebook messaging bulling, because now tone and vulgar language is involved. So not only players becoming addicted to these games because of their sensory involvement, but now they are getting bullied and learning vulgar language at the same time.
     Of course, all gamers are not addicts – many teens can play video games a few hours a week, successfully balancing school activities, grades, friends, and family obligations. But for some, gaming has become an uncontrollable compulsion. Studies estimate that 10 percent to 15 percent of gamers exhibit signs that meet the World Health Organization’s criteria for addiction. Just like gambling and other compulsive behaviors, teens can become so enthralled in the fantasy world of gaming that they neglect their family, friends, work, and school.
<object width="960" height="745"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/18joS1IP2oc?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/18joS1IP2oc?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="960" height="745"></embed></object>
   All in all I believe video game addiction as well as video game internet bullying is a very dangerous combination because not only are teenagers being less productive spending more of their time playing video games instead of going out and hanging out with friends, but now you throw that internet bulling concept in the mix and it becomes a concern. What's worse is that parents can't censor what other players online want to say, whatever players what to say in a room they can without any consequences. The only counter attack other players have is to mute that one particular player, even then he or she can still harass you via text message, and picture messages. The best way to combat this form of internet bulling is to make parents and students more aware of the dangers of online gaming, and to institute a more strict internet gaming police to monitor and ban any players that violate the rules.

Is Reality T.V. Actually Reality?

Is reality television real? Does this actually happen? These are the questions that haunt us all. I was very curious to know the answer. I’ve heard both sides. I’ve heard rumors, but what is the truth?
Reality TV is basically people being filmed while living their everyday lives. Though, some parts may be scripted. So, the answer is…reality television is partially scripted. Ever wonder why there is so much drama in reality television? Well, sometimes the producers like to get involved and cause conflict. Why? It gives everything a change of pace. It becomes interesting and the viewers find it entertaining.

This makes me think back to all of the reality shows I’ve ever watched. On” The Real World: New Orleans”, was the feud between Ryan and Preston real? Do they seriously hate each other?

On “Laguna Beach”, did Lauren and Kristin really not get along?

And On “The Hills”, Is Lauren and Heidi’s friendship really over?

I wonder…

The Media may not like Pro athletes, but people do

Sports have always been an outlet for me, like most people I tend to look to sports to get my mind off of the more serious things going on around me like school and work, this is why I am so upset with the direction professional athletes have taken lately. Obviously the first headliner that comes to mind is the Favre scandal, I had many mixed emotions about this but after reading a few articles from espn to the daily news it really got me thinking. The first thing that went through my mind is how early we are into the season, we are only coming up on week 7 and there have already been charges brought against Favre (QB), Braylon Edwards (WR), and Ben Rothlisberger (QB). And that’s just this season; other names that come to mind are Michael Vick (QB), Plaxico Burress (WR), and Seau (LB). Now I understand that these players aren’t guilty of doing anything that non high profile athletes aren’t also guilty of but we aren’t talking about your every day low lives here. Professional athletes, more now than ever, are looked upon by most people as “super people”, people who, whether they like it or not, are role models for a good chunk of the population. Now, I can’t help but feel like our star athletes have been doing us a disservice lately by not being active enough in programs designed to help our earth grow and prosper, and if they are it is not what we are seeing. We are seeing athletes in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, and it needs to change. I do believe that these men and women (professional athletes) have a direct effect on today’s youth and people’s behavior in general. The masses tend to look into things and generally believe almost anything they hear and see, this is a flaw in society, but it is something that needs to be in the back of everyone’s mind, that you just can’t believe everything you hear because it’s on fox 5 news. It’s funny though because professional athletes (like they do in most cases) receive special treatment in that department as well. For some reason although most people will go their whole entire lives without ever meeting one professional athlete they always want to give them the benefit of the doubt. They don’t want to believe that their favorite quarterback since they’re 10 years old is a pervert who prays on young women, they don’t want to hear that their wide receiver is getting busted for drunk driving, or that their star quarterback is sending inappropriate pictures to a former sideline reporter etc. But just because it is harder for us to swallow doesn’t mean that we should go on pretending like it never happened either. It seems that the NFL sure is, and it’s despicable. When Favre was asked his feelings on the recent situation he has found himself in, this past Sunday, this is what he had to say… “ I don’t expect anything, I’m concerned about the next game.” It is like he isn’t even fazed by his lewd behavior, not to mention the fact that he has yet to take any responsibility for the event. Goodell claimed on the Today show that “ we apply the “policy” (personal conduct policy) whether you’re a high profile athlete or not.” We have yet to see any proof of this. Anyway, this is not a bash on the NFL association nor is it a bash on NFL players as a whole, it is just very disconcerting to watch as high profile (mostly NFL) athletes are allowing themselves to be portrayed in the media today as careless, selfish, criminals. It’s time that these athletes use their fame to help better the place in which they live.

Women in the Media

Women have always had their insecurities, there’s no doubt about that, but I don’t think it has ever been made so clear until now, just what they had to be insecure about. Granted, the media has been instructing women what to do and what not to do since there was such a thing as the typewriter, but it has never been this in your face before. Media is everywhere, on your computers, in your books and magazines, in your phones, on the streets, and even in your homes, there is no escaping it. But why would you want to? Media and technology are such wonderful things that will only keep evolving as time goes on… Right? Well to some that is debatable, and when it comes to women although we are glad to get the newest looks and styles just a click away, we are almost reluctant to look. Hot media shows like TMZ, VH1, access Hollywood, and many more update their material every day, as they do their sites. Popular websites that women generally view consist of anything between high fashion mags and Hollywood sleez (is there really a difference these days?). It has been made very apparent what society views as attractive and not attractive, where i feel that more was left to mystery before all of this mass media b.s. It’s like we are all supposed to look like Kim Kardashian or something. “Keeping up with the the Kardashians”, has got to be one of the worst shows on television right now, right up there with Klhoe and Courtney take Miami, and Jersey Shore, and I say that because there are some people who can watch it and laugh and there are people that take these shows seriously and look to it as an example. I think that it’s time that people realize that half of the things that they see on T.V. and magazines are not real! Including people. Everything these days is airbrushed and diddied up to look perfect when in reality there is no such thing. Now, there are beautiful almost flawless human beings, they consist of about 1 % of the population. If you are not in that 1 % it’s okay because I’ve got news for you, the other 99% is in the same boat as you are. Although I disagree with most of the messages that are being sent to women, especially young women, I also feel that it is bad to shield yourself and your kids from this mass media society that we have become. I think that it is good for young women to see society for what it really is, not perfect. Because I think it will be then, and only then, that women can except and truly appreciate themselves for the lovely, unique human beings they are.

Second Generations Apple TV...Is It Better Then Just Having Netflix??

The internet movie and TV show rental business has become an extremely competitive market in recent years. This is because people want higher resolution movies, while being convenient to get, and being user friendly in the process. Recently apple engineers have developed a complete answer to consumers wants and needs, meet the second generation Apple TV...

   The sleek new apple TV has been redesigned from the ground up to optimize entertainment. It's 80 percent smaller then the previous model, even with a internal power supply built in. Therefore you can put it anywhere and still save space. Furthermore the new Apple TV is more energy efficient(it uses less power then a night light), and it stays very quiet during operation because there is no internal fan.
   It works very similar to iTunes, in the sense that you can rent and stream TV shows and movie rentals directly to your apple TV and other apple devices. But it's better then Netflix because, Netflix only offers a limited amount of HD movie rentals over, and most of the time when a new release comes out that title is only offered in DVD format. You can also rent your favorite TV shows in HD, and keep them saved for one month until you start watching them, then you have 24 hours to watch the show.
<object width="1280" height="745"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hp6vm1NsNN0?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hp6vm1NsNN0?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="1280" height="745"></embed></object>
   Another cool feature of the Apple TV is that it has Netflix, YouTube, MobieMe, and Flickr built in. You can also upload Pics, Videos, and music from your other internet devices via Airtime sharing. Furthermore you can stream whatever your watching on your Apple TV to your iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone with a click of a button while on WiFi. So if you want to watch the movie while you chance rooms inside your house you don't have to miss a beat!
   Personally I think the Apple TV is the best video and TV rental system available because its compact, fast, stylish, gives you options by letting you select where you want to purchase your movies from, its energy efficient, and environmental safe. So why just get Netflix when you have have more new releases in HD, and TV shows from iTunes as well as it being compatible with all your other apple devices?
Second Generation Apple TV

How many of you sit at your computer for hours without even realizing it? I know I do. You look at the time wondering where it all went and realizing that you wasted most of it basically doing nothing. You were probably on Facebook, Twitter, or even MySpace (Yes, some people still use their MySpace...I still use mine for music). I don’t get it...why do we spend all of our time on social networking sites? We should be out having fun, hanging out with our friends, and even doing homework.

These sites are pretty addicting and also cause us to procrastinate. For example, during senior year, in high school there was a research paper that all of the students had to do in order to graduate. My friend decided to push off her research paper. One thing that never changed is the fact that she was always on Facebook. She would waste her time on this website instead of working on her research paper. A couple of other friends and I tried to help her and give her some advice for the paper, but she still didn’t work on it and kept putting it off. This eventually led her to do the only thing that became her last hope, she had to delete her Facebook account. It was the only way she could get the paper done. Deleting her account was actually successful. She handed in the paper...it was a few weeks late, but she still handed it in. Of course, after all of this she eventually made a new account. I think that these social networking sites help us escape from all of the work that we have as students.

We figure that we will just check our newsfeed for a minute and then we end up being online for a few hours. Then we realize that we forgot about the tons of work we had to do this week. I can’t log off Facebook or Twitter until a few minutes before I leave my house or my dorm. I just check my newsfeed, post statuses, and comment. That’s it! Yet, I spend most of my day on these sites. Not only can we access these sites from our computers, but also from our cell phones. I think that we should start a revolution where we only use social networking sites for only a few hours a day. It would make our lives easier. I think that if we keep this up, there will be rehab and addiction groups...if there aren’t any already. It will be just as bad as being an alcoholic or a drug addict. So let’s try to change the world, it’s basically up to us. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use your everyday social networking sites; I’m just suggesting that you use them slightly less. It's something that I am trying to work on too. You should enjoy life and be able to live freely. I know it’s not easy, but let’s all start together!

I would assume it's safe to say that every person who has a television, or has a set of ears, has heard of the show Jersey Shore. The only reason I've come to know the names of everyone on Jersey Shore is because when the show starts, I lose all "remote privileges" because my girlfriend can't get enough of it.

I had no idea that one reality television show could impact everyone around me as much as it does. I feel like I can't go anywhere without seeing someone who wants to look like a gorilla, hearing quotes from the show, or fist pumping. The Haunted House I went to last weekend was haunt-less for me due to everyone in the Haunted Corn Maze yelling " TEE SHIRT TIME!!" to each other. Personally, after the first commercial break, I'm already bustin' out the earplugs (not really).

So what is it about this show that has everyone so hooked? Maybe it's so popular because girls like to be able to scream "PARTIES HEREEE" every time they walk into a party; or maybe guys like the show because you get to look at girls in short dresses dancing at clubs for an hour straight. Whatever the case; people go hard trying to impersonate, dress like, and live like the stars if the show. People even make videos about the characters on the show.. such as this one.

Who would have thought that a bunch of "guido's" from the Tri-State area would have an appearance at an event like the VMA's.

I do have to admit, that after watching a couple episodes, I actually began to care about what was happening in the show. One of the bright sides of the show being so popular is that, if I miss an episode, all I have to do is go on Facebook and scroll through pages and pages and pages and pages of posts all dealing with Jersey Shore.

These people have gone from being average people, to being superstars, in a matter of months. The show took off and gained popularity so fast, it was shocking. Is this show a fad that will die out such as Pokemon, Razor Scooters, or Sabrina the Teenage Witch? I suppose that only next season's ratings can answer that question.

Video Games? Or an Alternate Reality?

Whenever someone hears the words "World of Warcraft", immediately, the image of a chubby, red haired kid with glasses and braces covered in cheese doodle powder comes to mind. These stereotypes, however cruel they may be, are not too far from the truth. Sure, there are plenty of people who can make the best use of their time, and play games like World of Warcraft, Call of Duty Modern Warfare, and Halo in moderation; but there is an increasing amount of teens who are having trouble drawing the line between whats reality, and whats a virtual world.

We've all heard about or seen the video of the teenage boy who... let's say, gets a little more than upset when his mother cancels his World of Warcraft character. Although this may seem dramatic and far from possible, I personally have witnessed friends when I was younger throwing temper tantrums, screaming, crying, drooling, and looking more and more like the cartoon face on the wrapper of a "Warhead" candy, simply because his mother took away his favorite Nintendo game. I've heard stories ranging from people getting married because they met on an online game, to mothers and fathers neglecting their children because they had to get to the next level before passing out for two hours before having to wake up for work the next morning.

I had a group of friends in High School who basically lived on their computers and on their gaming platforms. If you walked into a classroom full of them, the only things you would hear would have to do with things going on in the virtual online world where they spent over half of their day.

From doodles in class, to playing hooky in order to play video games; these kids would entirely devote their lives to making their online character as "epic" as it could possibly be. I overheard a conversation between two of my friends one time where they both agreed that they were more concerned with how much gold their online character had, than how much money they had in their own wallet. Instead of going outside on the weekends, or going to parties, they spent their time in front of a screen.

What is it about these games that

make them so addicting? Could it be that the boy/girl needs an escape from a hard life at home? Or could it be that they need something to entertain themselves with at all times without having to leave their homes? Whatever it is; it sure seems to be working. Video game companies have grown so large that they can afford to pay well known celebrities to advertise their product.

The picture shown is from a commercial where Mr. T rants on and on about how incredible and fun World of Warcraft is. Who would have guessed that Hulk Hogan's partner at the first WrestleMania would be promoting a video game where people sit still for hours at a time to build a virtual person in a fantasy world. All I have to say is I pity the fool who neglects their life to further an online life.

Am I saying video games are bad? Absolutely not; I'm a 19 year old boy.. of course I play video games. The main thing that I want to point out is the difference between playing an hour of video games a day, and playing 10 hours a day. Kids are losing out on time they will never get back because they're absorbed in a virtual world where the problems of the real world don't exist. You don't need to pay rent in a video game, or pay taxes, or feed your cat. Hell, you don't even need to shower in the virtual world. It's as if it's a perfect world where you can ride unicorns or shoot zombies wearing Nazi Uniforms without moving a muscle. The only problem is; it doesn't really exist. I worry for my friends and these young kids who spend over half of their day on video games when they could be out with friends or spending time with their families or working.

Video games becoming more realistic and the internet becoming more and more powerful is proving to be a difficult issue for parents who want their children to do anything besides stare at a screen all day. Technology will never stop improving and people will never stop being fascinated by it, which is obvious. The only thing I worry about is what the future will look like, when people don't even use a pen and paper to do anything, or when people rely on machines to the point that we digress evolutionarily. I just hope that my children don't grow up in a world where they spend more time in places that look like this, than outside enjoying being young.

Is Learning About the History of Our World More Important Than Focusing on its Future?

For years schools have began a child's education with several main subjects of focus. Most commonly they have included history, math, English, science, art and music. Don't get me wrong I think that having some knowledge of all of these things is important, however, to what extent should it be taken to? It is definitely important to allow children to experience and learn about all of these things so that we will continue to have careers of scientists, historians, artists, musicians etc. in the future. All of these things will be necessary in continuing to help our world to develop. However, I think that after a certain grade we should be able to choose for ourselves what classes we would like to continue taking and what subjects we would like to continue learning about. The only subject that is an essential part to life and communicating in the world is English; we all need to learn how to properly read and write no matter what we would like to become in the future. But, once we have the basic knowledge of other subjects, why is it necessary to continue learning about something that does not appeal to us as individuals?

I am currently on my third year of college and am a business major, yet I am only taking two business classes this semester. I can't help but ask myself; when will I need to know about modern political thought, drama history or natural science when entering the business world? Maybe it's just me but at this point in my education, it just seems like it is a waste of my time as well as money. Both our world and society today clearly have a technological focus that is continuously developing and at a fairly rapid pace. It seems that it may make more sense for our education to be including ways to continue developing our already advanced society rather than looking down upon it. Our generation today is perceived to be self indulged and maybe too technological for our own good. But, when growing up with cell phones, computers and other commonly used technological devices from such a young age how can we not be somewhat dependent on these items? The fact is that times have changed over the years and the focus has shifted.

Instead of focusing on the past and what has been, maybe we should be focusing more on our future and the possible developments that we could be making. Some schools have already taken the step in including laptops in their learning environment and I think that this is a step in the right direction. Laptops as well as cell phones have now become part of our daily lives. By including these in our education it may make the development of different things easier and probably somewhat faster as well. Overall, it doesn't seem like a bad idea for our education system to begin to somewhat change with our society. Computers, cell phones, etc. are not all bad as some older generations may think. They have lead us to many important discoveries and advancements. By including these in the education system we are allowing children to explore different aspects of them which ultimately could lead us to new discoveries. Technology whether we like it or not will continue to hold importance in our futures and it should be something that we embrace.

NFL: A Different Game

Over the past 4 to 5 years the National Football League commonly known as the NFL has really changed the ways it’s played and the way it portrays its product. Any football player in the NFL in the 80’s and 90’s would tell you that football is the most dangerous sport to play. Old school football as it’s sometimes referred as is known by the players and its viewers as hard nose, helmet to helmet, dirty football in which big hits and injuries were common. Also in old school football you would see games being played in all types of weather it was snowing, pouring or below 0 degree temps. I bring this up because anyone who is a common NFL follower saw what happen this weekend and what has been changing in the NFL over the past 4 to 5 years. The NFL has been changing its product the last few years, unlike what I described before as old school football the NFL over the past few years has implemented rules and suspensions for things such as big hits and late hits. Big hits and dirty plays if you ask any old school football player would tell you it’s always been a part of the game but now a day with guys being more athletic and stronger than ever things are changing. Over the past 5 to 6 years the NFL has been constantly adding rules to overly protect its players whether it be hitting the QB to high or too low or even to late and hitting WR’s that are defenseless in the field of play.

The reason I bring this up is because anyone that has been watching football this season has seen the many injuries that have been occurring and specify the amount of concussions. Just this weekend alone 5 players got concussions and 1 even broke his neck and was pronounced paralyzed from his neck down. I will post a video at the bottom of the page of a game I was watching this weekend in which WR from the Eagles Desean Jackson was hit with a helmet to helmet hit which knocked him out and even gave him memory loss. Though the hit was not that dirty and there didn’t seem like there was any intent to cause harm, the helmet to helmet contact is because a major issue in football one which was never even considered in old school football.

The summary of these big hits specifically helmet to helmet hits are being cracked down on and after this weekend the NFL has decided to start suspending players that so called “lay a big hit” or use their helmet to tackle another player. This has started a real buzz around the league because the NFL is changing the whole product of the NFL is a hard nose, dangerous game to it more now being about strategy and just speed.

iPhone Goes To Space

Who would of ever thought of sending there phone to space? A Brooklyn father and his son both spent eight months equipping a "Hot air Balloon" in which they sent there cellphone to space into the Stratosphere. Personally, I was amazed at the footage. I was even more amazed with the talent this father had. He used everyday items from styrofoam to handwarmers, to make this dream happen for him and his son. The footage on the video in which I previewed was remmarkable and was soemthing that "I thought was only seen on TV". But prooving me wrong, your ordinary everyday father, made this footage possible.
My point? Im not debating anything, I'm not speaking about anything controversial. I'm simply giving my opinion on how I was astonished about this article I read. It made me happy to see that for once, The government didn't get involved and that the most simple, ordinary people can make huge dreams come true. If the Government was involved they probably would have "hid the footage" from us just like they hide a lot of other stuff from us and on top of that they would have spent millions of dollars on this take off. This father is an inspiration to his son and others around him and I admire ordinary people like him to make such amazing discoveries. Bravo!

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

Vampires and TV

Some of the most talked about and highest rated movies and TV shows are based on vampires. Vampires seem to be the big thing at the moment and people can't get enough of it. Take for example the two biggest vampire fixtures in the media today, True Blood and Twilight.

Twilight divided America into Team Jacob or Team Edward. Stephanie Meyer, the author of the books, knew what she was doing when she wrote about a "plain Jane" girl named Bella that is easy to relate to. The story of a love triangle between Bella, her werewolf best friend and her vampire boyfriend led to four bestselling books and three movies with two more still on the way. Overnight stars were made just by being cast into roles for the movie.

True Blood, on the other hand, is a more adult oriented show based on books and airs on HBO. The show centers around Sookie Stackhouse and her lover Bill Compton, a two hundred year old vampire. The show is filled with swearing, violence, drugs, and sex. It clearly aims for the older demographic, unlike Twilight, and it still comes out on top of cable ratings. Once again, the show has created new stars just by being cast in roles.

These two shows aren't the only two vampire based productions in the past decade. Wesley Snipes starred in three rated-R movies as “Blade”, the only vampire who could walk in sunlight because he was half human. The “Underworld” movies revealed the ancient feud between vampires and werewolves. Not to mention other movies like "30 Days of Night", "Vampires Suck", and "Day Breakers" have all raked in money over the past couple of years due to our obsession with the vampires.

Zombies are making a comeback thanks in part to the huge success of "Zombieland". AMC is making a TV show base on the comic book “The Walking Dead”. This show is expected to be a big hit. Also a zombie series called “Code Z” is in the making. I believe zombies maybe the next big supernatural obession.

Networking in Music Before Y2K

We all know that networking, in basic terms, is the ability to spread information very rapidly amongst a certain group of people. But what about a time before social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook, when a social network had nothing to do with computers? One case I would like to highlight for this subject is Dave Matthews Band. This band wasn't like others, smearing themselves all over MTV and the radio so much that you get sick of hearing them only after a few short weeks. This band has sold out the largest stadiums, arenas, concert halls, amphitheaters and other venues all over the world. They made the top ten list for highest earning musicians in the year 2005 at somewhere around $74 million. Typically, you don't see their videos much on TV, or you don't hear their songs much on the radio. Additionally, not everyone is even a fan. Probably less than 50% of my friends would even go to a concert of theirs, never mind listen to them on a regular basis. Despite this loose consensus, their popularity has grown exponentially over the years, and continues to do so. Their latest album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 charts, which would make that five consecutive album releases at number one. The only other band that has done likewise is Metallica. So how are they so successful?

The answer is networking.

Not the type of networking you and I are used to. It took a whole different meaning before the Information Age. Their start in 1990 would only be the beginning of 20 straight summers of touring, their first summer off from touring is coming next year. They did something unique though, something that isn't heard of very often. They let fans audio record their live performances with the hopes that the music would get out there. A college student fan base was quickly established and is likely the cause of their great success. I'm sure it was a gamble because the goal was to have listeners only trade audio tapes, not sell them for a profit which would defeat the purpose of this networking idea. The band has lately been penalizing individuals for copying and selling their music for profit on a major scale. Apparently it worked, probably better than expected. Their fan base has grown each year mostly because of word of mouth. I never saw them on MTV when I used to watch music videos as a teenager; I only became a fan because of my sister, who became a fan because of my brother, who became a fan because of my older brother, who listened to them while attending college in Massachusetts. Their method of networking is never seen, in fact it's quite the opposite from the way today's hottest artists like Lady GaGa and Ke$sha have been made successful. I guess you could say they did it the hard way since music is much easier to get out there now because of mp3 files and MySpace. Copies of their live music is in such high demand that they recorded 16 performances since 1993 and made them into individual albums, the latest one being 2010 from Citi Field in Queens. For a band whose live performances I'd only describe as 'epic', I find it amazing that their success was based on a relatively primitive form of networking, compared to today's standards. To my knowledge, this is the only case where a musical artist has risen to fame in such a fashion.

Twitter in Plain English

4 The Love of the Game

So the reason I titled my blog “4 The Love of the Game” is because over the past 6-7 years I have come to realize that it seems as years go by sports fans are no longer rooting for there teams for the soul purpose of pride. Now a day’s people are watching sports for other reasons, if not the soul purpose of things such as fantasy teams and gambling. It came to my attention last week when I was watching a football game with my older brother. Like me he is a big New York Jets fan, but as we were watching the game and watching the Jets slowly blow the lead I could see him keep looking up stats on the computer. It only took me a few minutes for me to realize that he had Brett Favre on his fantasy team and he needed him to have a good game so he could win his fantasy league. So while were watching this game together he was trying to figure out scenarios in which he could still win his fantasy league and also have the Jets come out with a victory. This was not the 1st time I have seen this happen; I’ve had it happen to my friends and even me. Anyone who is a common fantasy player usually comes a time when you have someone on your fantasy team that it playing against your favorite team or you have someone on your fantasy team that is arch rivals with your favorite team. To give a quick example would be like being a big New York Yankees fan and having to root for David Ortiz on the Boston Red Sox or being a New York Jet fan and rooting for Tom Brady on the Pats (never will happen in my lifetime by the way). It’ weird to me to see how popular fantasy leagues are becoming in all sports and what’s most surprising is that the results of people’s fantasy leagues are becoming more important than the actual results of the game. I have heard countless times people say “yea I know they lost but it’s alright I won in fantasy this week or yea I know he had 2 home runs but at least he was on my fantasy team”.

It doesn’t surprise me that this is happening because of what fantasy leagues provide. Fantasy leagues are provided on all different websites weather it be ESPN, CBS, and Yahoo. Fantasy leagues provide customers with a few things such as keeping in touch with friends, getting you more interested in other sports and the most important gambling. There are leagues for all sports weather it be NFL, MLB, and NBA and though there are a lot of people that do these leagues for fun, there is also a majority of them that gamble or wager on them. Today most sports fanatics get a group of there buddies together and each throw a wager down on there fantasy teams, the wager can be small something like 10 dollars or up to 200 dollars. So now your fantasy team becomes even more important because you have money invested in it. I feel like fantasy leagues are becoming more popular because its making you part of something that’s bigger than you and people like to feel like rush of not knowing what’s going to happen next. Fantasy leagues make you feel like that by investing your time and money into these athletes to perform well and if they do they came sometimes make you a nice load of cash. Gambling has always been a part of sports no matter how you look at it, but now more than ever sports gambling is very popular here in the U.S and overseas and you see these sites being promoted on TV and having sponsored links on the internet. Sites such as Bodog, Sportsbook and etc are everywhere being promoted so what makes you think they wouldn’t spread. Just look at horse racing at different race tracks all over the world, some people live off wagering on horses on the daily and that’s what major sports are turning into. People are not starting to care weather the Jets or Giants won, no they want to know how this guy did or how many points they won or lost by because I had money on the spread.

I think that as technology continues to expand sports culture in general might expand but for the wrong reasons. It won’t be expanding over its product or for pride and ambition but for the simple fact of things such as fantasy leagues and sports gambling. Look at all the news electronic products coming out in today’s society like the I phone and Blackberry most of them today you can now download an app or sign up/download programs that will give up to sec information about sports or more specifically how your fantasy team is doing. With the creation of these fantasy apps and such things as ESPN Mobile, Yahoo Alert and other programs being constantly promoted on the internet on a major TV stations I think the issue will just continue to worsen. With all this said I will be the 1st to say that I have become a victim of this because most of the time the 1st thing I check when I sign onto my comp is my fantasy teams. Not just for the sake of seeing if anything new is happening or if there is any major news, but to see if my friends I am in the league posted anything, I love it because it’s something me and all my friends have in common and something we can all come together for while where all away at school.

Revival of Vinyl?

As you all know, CDs are dying out and music is going digital. It's crazy how the world of music is changing. Everything is on the internet. People rarely buy CDs these days. You never see cassette tapes anymore. Vinyl has been dead for the longest time…or so you thought. It actually turns out that vinyl is rising from the dead. In 2009, I went to Looney Tunes, a record store located in West Babylon, just to look around. I happened to find an LP of Taking Back Sunday’s latest album, New Again. I thought it was so cool and so rare and I had to have it. Even if I couldn’t play it, it would still be cool to own. I had never seen that anywhere.

One day during either the spring or summer, I walked into Looney Tunes again. I found something that I never thought I would see… vinyl albums of bands that I love. Then I noticed that Hot Topic started carrying vinyl records too and Urban Outfitters recently started doing the same. Now, it’s not uncommon to see vinyl albums from today’s bands/artists.

So, who would buy these vinyl records when there are CDs and MP3s? Well, it turns out that a lot of people actually prefer vinyl over CDs and MP3s. Most prefer the sound quality and others just like to have the physical copy. The music trends keep changing, but for now, vinyl continues to live on.

Google is at it again!

   Just by reading the title above you, you already feel like you know what just happened. Yes, Google is launching their first Television. The Sony Internet TV, which is a combination of Sony and Google, will provide TV viewers the experience of having the internet and cable TV at the same time. Now, Does this have an affect towards technology?
Yes.
With this Google TV, people will no longer need to go back and forth from their TV and computer, cell phone, or even video game console, since most of them have internet in them. Google TV has also KILLED competition till further notice because Apple, Logitech, Roku, and Boxee have been wanting to combine with television, but there issue was the Set-top boxes.
   Google TV has no Set-top box, it is merely the Television on its own with a built in software that provides the internet.
   As for Prices, they're affordable to some. 24-inch ($600), 32-inch ($800), 40-inch ($1,000), and 46-inch ($1,400).  They will be available starting this weekend.
   Will this be the start of more ideas?
Yes.
   Starting this will only create more and more ideas to the entertainment system universe. It is only a matter of time where something will be better!
Good Luck Google TV

The immediate inspiration that made me have to post a second blog today was when my dad forwarded me an email this morning on how the Catholic League President Bill Donahue believes that Glee is a "garbage" show and attacked Christianity several times. The gay character in the show explained that he was atheist and said that the church didn't think highly of gay people, women, or science. The truth is that the majority of them do not think highly of the said things. It is known throughout our nation and our history. I do not have a problem coming out saying that I am in fact a Roman-Catholic and attend mass every Sunday morning, but me or my church do not have any grudges against women, gays, or science. My best friend attends church with me when she is home from school and is an open lesbian, she is treated with acceptance and respect. However she cannot say she is treated the same loving way in many other places and has experienced mistreatment in a church by her college.

The episode of Glee was about how a character Finn created a "Grilled Cheesus" and would pray to it and most of his prayers were heard and then when one was not he sang about "Losing his Religion". The character Kurt's father had a heart attack and was clinging to life and when his friends from Glee gave their prayers and invited him to church he declined because he did not believe in God. The members respected that but prayed for his father and provided their help anyway. Sue Sylvester (the mean cheerleading coach out to destroy Glee club) was supporting Kurt's decision and when asked why she said that her older sister who has Down's Syndrome was ruthlessly tortured as a child and said that God ignored her prayers.

In my opinion Glee glorified Christian, Jewish, and Islamic beliefs and those who belong to those faiths. They showed how those that belonged to the said religions stayed true to their faiths and although Kurt attacked every religion, they held all of their prayers in Kurt's father's hospital room while he lay unconscious and supported Kurt anyway. Sue Sylvester visited her older sister in the care center which she lived and Sue's sister told her that she believed in God because God made her special, he did not disappoint her.

Why is that when the Christian religion is attacked in the media that was provided for entertainment of comedy, they believe it is personal and evil? If the "Grilled Cheesus" episode was "attacking" Christianity, then every other episode attacks homosexuality, sports, Hollywood, different races, and everything else in the world. But whenever other religions, races, or sexual orientations are nothing becomes of it? I believe it is because most have an understanding that the "offensive remarks" are not meant to be offensive, it's the media's way of trying to make these things socially acceptable, and most are thankful for that.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Friday, October 15, 2010

Thursday, October 14, 2010