Black Eye Friday

Everyone knows that the day after Thanksgiving is notorious for being... a little more than hectic for those who wish to participate in the festivities of bargain hunting. Whether you ate turkey at 5pm and have been napping ever since, or you had to deal with your crazy family and didn't finish eating till midnight, there's a good chance you'll be standing outside the mall at 4am waiting for the doors to open.

In hopes of changing things up a bit his year, I spent my Black Friday swimming with sea turtles, far away from home. Some might say that nothing is worth missing the amazing deals you find only on that one day of the year, but I'd have to disagree. I have to say that I'd rather be followed by a 5 foot barracuda for thirty minutes again, than be kicked and shoved into an isle by a 4 foot tall, 80 year old woman, with her eyes set on that last box of moth balls that are marked down 60%.

Major corporations, from clothing to electronics, film commercials, post ads in papers and

hang up poster ads all in hopes of getting the most people in their stores on the biggest shopping

day of the year. Some commercials, such as the one below, exaggerate (hopefully) what people act

do in preparation for this big day.

So what's the big deal? Is it really worth it to leave your family on Thanksgiving to stand in front of a shopping mall in the freezing cold to spend 50 dollars less on an Xbox? That's obviously a personal preference, but I'd like to point out that saving 50 dollars on anything isn't something to sneeze at in these hard economic times. Would I trample an employee opening store doors? No. Would I stay up all night standing outside a store to be the first in line? No. Would I shove a small child through a clothing rack, attempting to take MY 50% off shoes? Well.. maybe.

Some people's reasoning is that it's a tradition, and if it's not a tradition, some like to be caught up in the moment, viewing it as a social gathering. Whether it's tradition, a night of shopping, a time to get your family's Christmas list over and done with, or your own unique way of relieving stress by running old ladies over with your shopping cart, there's something here for everyone. Although I must say I can't be upset that I spent my Black Friday in the Caribbean, I am a little... curious as to what my Black Friday experience would have been like if I were home. Maybe next year I'll actually wait outside Westfield Mall at 12pm to get a fresh pair of Nike's for half price, but who knows, maybe I wont.

Tradition? Fun? Stress relief? A night out? I want to know what your reason is, if any, to participate, or not to participate every year on Black Friday.

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Celebrities Boycott Social Networks

Celebrity Alicia Keys is at it once again. Hoping to raise funds for her charity, "Keep A Child Alive", Misses Keys has started a new campaign she calls Digital Life Sacrifice. The idea is to have celebrities join together and sign off of their favored social network starting tomorrow, December 1. Celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Usher, and Justin Timberlake have agreed not to sign back onto their social network accounts until 1 million dollars has been raised for the Keep A Child Alive charity.

This call to arms has grown quite popular and has spread throughout the celebrity community. Other public figures such as Ryan Seacrest, Jennifer Hudson, Kim Kardashian, Elijah Wood, and Key's husband, Swizz Beatz have all filmed videos, known as "last tweet and

testament".

These videos will be shown in ads which depict each celebrity laying in a coffin, signifying their "digital death".

As you can see, Kim Kardashian is shown on the left, on her campaign add.

The Foundation, started in 2003, is accepting donations via text messages and bar-code scanning, which is featured in the charities "Buying Life" campaign. Alicia states that "it's really important and super-cool to use mediums that we naturally are on". Seeing as almost everyone I know and their mother... and grandmother has a facebook or twitter, I'd have to say that she's taking strides in the right direction.

President and co-founder of the Keep A Child Alive foundation, Leigh Blake reports that "We're trying to sort of make the remark: Why do we care so much about the death of once celebrity opposed to millions and millions of people dying in the place that we're all from". All raised efforts are being used to support families effected by HIV/AIDS in Africa and India. She goes on the say "It's about love and respect and human dignity".

With popular backing, and enough media coverage, I hope that this campaign will easily raise not only 1 million, but much much more. Will you be one to help?

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Is The Verizon iPhone Finally Here!?

     The rivarly between iPhone(AT&T) users and Android(Verizon) users seems to have been carrying on longer then the Isreali-Palestine rivarly in the middle east.  Only until recently has fustrated Verizon users seen the light, this is because several news sources have official proof that the long awaited Verizon iPhone 5 is coming soon and here to stay.  Fortune magazine has issued perhaps the strongest-worded statement to date on the Verizon iPhone, confirming that the device does exist, and that it will ship in early 2011. In a lengthy cover article published online on Oct. 29, Fortune contributor Sarah Ellison says that the Verizon iPhone is a "fait accompli," and notes that the device has been configured to work on Verizon's CDMA network.

     But what does this mean for AT&T?  According to several financial sources it won't put too much of a dent into AT&T's sales of the current iPhone 4, and they predict they won't loose many users to the new Verizon iPhone.  Primarly because current AT&T users don't won't to pay a termination fee if they choose to reactive their contract with Verizon Wireless.
     As a current iPhone user, what fustrates me is that the new Verizon iPhone 5 is rumored to have better performance upgrades, bug fixes, better network, and a slightly bigger screen.  While the current iPhone 4 will remain unchanged.  In my own personal opinion if AT&T doesn't want to loose valuable customers they should either come out with the same updated iPhone 5 as Verizon is getting at the same time.  Or if they don't get the updated phone they should offer current customers cheaper rate plans, because I would't want to pay extra money for a inferior service provider that has a reputation for dropped calls and high premiums.

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Blog #4: Warner's Edgy ' Harry Potter' Campaign Pays Off, by Brooks Barnes

The new movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1 generated 125.1 million in its first weekend. This was the second biggest opening for the Harry Potter franchise. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire grossed 127.4 million in the first 3 days in November 2005 of its release. Harry Potter is very popular amoung people of all ages. Publicity for the movie was widespread. They used initals HP7 and put fake blood on billboards to advertise the movie. According to Barnes, 25% of the audience in North America was in the age range of 18 to 34 years olds. In contrast 10% of the audienice for the first Harry Potter came from that age braket.

This Movie Alice In Wonderland to be the opeining movie in history of IMAX. 12.4 million in the box offfic sales accorced for the IMAX showing. IMAX international showings accounted for 16.6. By compariosn Alice In Wonderland only took in 12.1 million in the u.s in IMAX showing at 15.3 in international IMAX showing Mr. Fellman, Warner's preisdent of domestic distribution of films says that no other franchise has been able to expand through the age groups. Extensive advertising has help the sals greatly

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Please remove your shoes, and your outfit while you're at it

If you traveled in the air recently, I'm sure you've come across these full body scanners they're using now. This is an extremely controversial topic, as the country is basically split 50/50 for and against this new form of security. It's either get felt up by a Transportation Security Agent or have your naked body visible to a monitor in a remote location. Some have protested the heightened security precautions, but that's up to them. The issue here is trust. Recently, a Florida courthouse leaked 100 body scans onto the internet taken by U.S. Marshall's that were very revealing. Similar body scans are taken at airport security checkpoints, which raises concern for some travelers. The TSA says it does not save images taken by the body scanner, in fact they're deleted shortly after you're finished, even if they find something suspicious.

So far, no news stories have come up that would jeopardize this statement. With that being said, some people are still skeptical and simply do not trust our government. They probably think that the government always lies to us, so why wouldn't they now? Or they believe that if U.S. Marshall's in Florida can do it, why can't the TSA? It's the travelers judgment call I suppose, but I would probably choose whichever security method is quicker, as the airport is no place to delay. Hopefully those 100 are the only and last ones that will ever end up online because no one deserves to have their civil rights violated to such a degree where their naked body ends up on the internet. Another equally controversial sub-story is the exemption of children to this new security. Some people don't want their children to be scanned or felt up because they're too young. I feel children should not be exempt because the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are animals and will not hesitate to strap a bomb to a kid in order to take a plane out of the sky. To ensure continued security in the air, I'm for these new "close" and "thorough" security upgrades.

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NFL tackling rules, should the rules be changed?

The National Football League announced Tuesday it will immediately begin suspending players for “egregious and elevated hits” that violate rules, particularly those involving helmets.

In the past, players were either fined or ejected for illegal hits. But after the series of recent flagrant tackles last Sunday, several of which resulted in concussions, the NFL ramped up the punishment.

Among the hits getting attention last weekend:
—The Eagles' DeSean Jackson and the Falcons' Dunta Robinson were knocked out of their game after a frightening collision in which Robinson launched himself head first to make a tackle. Both sustained concussions.

—Ravens tight end Todd Heap took a vicious hit from Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather that Heap called "one of those hits that shouldn't happen."

—The Steelers' James Harrison sidelined two Browns players with head injuries after jarring hits. (FOX news)

Now, it seems to me like everyone is concerned about NFL players there is no doubt about that, but mostly they are concerned about the next generation of football players, the kids. Over time it has been proven that Athletes, more precisely, professional football players, have a shorter life expectancy mostly because they are prone to problems with memory, focus and concentration, and early signs of Alzheimer’s and dementia. Due to hard hits to the head, neck, and spine football players endure many concussions in their careers, as well as joint and muscle problems. This is a risk that all football players take when they decide to play the game. Football is a contact sport, a collision sport. In fact, it would appear that the popularity of this sport is mainly because of the brutality of it. A “real mans sport” so to speak. Having said this, It has been made apparent to some (why it has only hit them now I’m not too sure, pun intended) that the game is too brutal. Now it is all over ESPN that the NFL wants to go ahead and change the tackling rules to thus avoid more unnecessary injuries. There are so many things wrong with this I don’t even know where to start, but I’m going to try. First of all, we are more than half way through the season (several concussions in), this would have been a good thing to discuss after the first NFL player was paralyzed for the rest of his life not several there after. Second of all the rules are fine just the way they are, the problem is with in the way that they are being enforced (hardly at all). If the supposed illegal contacts/hits were taken more seriously by implementing punishment such as fines and suspension of players without pay, I believe the players would tread a little more lightly. Not to mention the fact that most if not all players would be relieved that they were a little safer on the field knowing what was at stake for all players. Third of all changing the rules at this point in history may change the entire game and the way that people know it today. Many may feel as though they are taking away from the sport by changing it. Not to mention the money the NFL may lose due to the fines the players and corporation will receive as well as the amount of time these players may see off the field. Is this changing of the rules a good thing intended to better protect our athletes, or just a way for the NFL to try and make themselves feel better about being one of the most brutal and sometimes maybe even fatal sport around?

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/10/20/nfl-tackling-rules-step-right-direction/

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Maybe Jay Z had a point when he made his recent hit “Death of Auto-tune”, These days the pitch corrector seems to be the death of all real music artists, or is it?

Auto-tune, is a voice/pitch corrector made to help singers get that perfect sound they are looking for (that is, what you hear on every music station today). Made by Andy Hildebrand in late 1996, this Instrument was first used for the, oh so irritating, “Believe” By Cher in 1998. This was not the way that Hildebrand had intended it to be used, "I never figured anyone in their right mind would want to do that," he said. Like most of the trends brought about by Cher this “abuse” of auto-tune soon died out, until another artist by the name of t-pain, figured out a way to use auto-tune to jump start his career in 2003. "It just worked for my voice," says T-Pain. "And there wasn't anyone else doing it." (Time magazine)

The point is, that this device, this “auto-tune” is making it so that now, not only do you not have to be able to dance and sing to your own music, but you can make it appear as though you can, to the untrained eye. I know what you’re probably thinking, Well that would mean that damn near anyone could do this whole entertainment thing. Has it really come to this? I would like to think not but the evidence is in the pudding. You probably couldn’t find one single artist today that could tell you that they didn’t use it, and if they did, chances are, they are lying. So is this sudden obsession with auto-tune a good thing or a bad thing? And most of all, Is this something that is now permanently part of the music industry or just another passing fad?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui86peQZ74s&feature=related

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WIZARD OF REMAKE

Why, oh why is the movie industry obsessed with remaking things? Do we honestly need another Wizard of Oz? Really? Is the first one not creepy enough?

I don’t understand how any classic, such as The Wizard of Oz, can be remade…it’s called a classic for a reason! There is no more Judy Garland and honestly there is no actress that could ever replace her, but I am curious to see who they cast as Dorothy. And what are they going to do for the Munchkins? Animation, maybe? I’m thinking Tim Burton’s Oompa Loompas' in Charlie and the Chocloate Factory. Imagine: Tim Burton directing the new Wizard of Oz, wouldn’t that be a sight to see! And it is rumored that the remake of the The Wizard of Oz is going to be using the same exact original script! Now that’s just asking for trouble. Are they just going to change the clothes or something? What exactly are they going to “remake?”

And this just in: The Great Gatsby is also being redone! Surprise, surprise. Let’s take a classic book and completely ruin it on screen (all of the movie attempts have failed miserably). The book is fabulous, the movie not so much…but a new rendition staring Leonardo Dicaprio as Jay Gatsby, Toby Maguire as Nick Carraway, and Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan? That’s kind of scary.

I don’t know why but something about this whole “remake” business bothers me. Once I see a movie, I’m good. I don’t need to see a sequel, or a new version, or a remake. Just leave it alone, I say. And I’d like to know why there are less and less original and new ideas coming to screen. There is a slew of comic books coming to screen and book adaptations, but where are all the completely made from scratch movies? Is originality that scarce in Hollywood? As a lover of movies, I’d much rather go see an independent film shown only in select theatres than a huge blockbuster hit that is most likely derived from some type of already published media.

So Hollywood, please, please, please start adopting creativity and originality into your future movies!

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Smile for the camera

This woman must have been listening in on our recent lectures. While the issue at hand here wasn't catching a violent act on video, it was still illegal. She didn't catch the actual exposure on film, but she got the suspects face at least. The story can be found here. And if this video is going to be used as evidence, judging by the woman's reaction, I'm sure the actual act probably didn't need to be caught on video.


This story just came out yesterday when a woman was flashed in a New York City subway car and someone else caught the results on video. In a situation like this, I wouldn't necessarily intervene but if it escalated for whatever reason, the camera probably should've been put away to help mediate the situation. Also, they say that she shouldn't have reacted the way she did if the subway car was empty. Maybe she flipped out because she knew she was being filmed? Who knows. An indecent person like that is unpredictable, so maybe it was a good thing that she called his bluff in a packed subway car instead of an empty one.

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Even the New York Times had come to the dark side!

Fairley recently newspapers have taken a different path. It seems that printing the actual paper is making them loose money and customers. With the iPad there is now a chance for newspapers to be players in a completely different field! The iPad generally attracts younger people and with the New York Times app now it allows the younger generation to read the newspaper in a way that there more accustom too. With the New York Times app the consumer will be able to find the top stories on business, sports etc…. and be able to choose from roughly 8 to 10 articles. Lance Whitney; a writer for CNET News wrote and article entitled New York Times prominent among media iPad apps states with the application “the app is free and supported by advertisers, but the Times said it’s planning a paid app that would offer more content”. (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20001661-37.html). The article also says that USA today and The Wall Street journal are two other newspapers hopping on board. And magazines too such as Men’s Health and GQ have also learned that having an app is a great decision and can provide them with the tools to cater to a different age group. It’s a scary thought to me personally that everything is going to be online its hard cause we all mostly grew up watching others on the train or our parents at the kitchen table with there glasses, coffee and newspaper. Now we simply see and iPad..I mean hey! Newspapers and magazines know they have to conform to the “new hottest technology” or die. At least they don’t have electronic glasses or coffees so we can all hold on to that. But…than again you never know what the future is going to bring!

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Is Reality T.V. Fake? Well, It's Already Gone Silicone

I hate to break it to you like a Kit Kat bar, but more often than not, reality television is either scripted or filmed in a particular way to make things seem differently than they are in actuality. It's kind of like professional wrestling. It may appear to the viewer that there are two oponents working against each other, but on the contrary, they are actually in cahoots! When it comes to reality television, many people find themselves pondering the idea of whether or not what they are witnessing is authentic. Hakuna matata because the answer has finally arrived! Is it fake? Well, from now on, just refer to reality television as Pamela Anderson because it's already gone silicone.

After a long day, all I want to do is kick back in my Lay-Z Boy recliner and wind down like a broken clock. My fidgeting fingers navigate their way across the numbers of the remote (except for the 3's and 8's because those numbers freak me out). I stumble upon Dr. 90210, which showcases a countless number of cosmetic surgeries on a neverceasing list of people who don't even need it. At the sight of the first tummy tuck, I gag and decide it's channel changing time. I find an episode of Bridezilla, and the only vow I will ever make is to never be like one of those monsters. Godzilla has nothing on them. Bridezillas are a species that would have all of Korea screaming longer than their mouths are actually moving. Just imagine if these two shows were to ever join forces. Oh, wait! You don't need to imagine because they've already collided.

Let's play a guessing game. I'll start you off with an easy one. What do you get when you cross a chicken with a bell? An alarm cluck. Now, for a tougher one: What do you get when you combine a boob job with an engagement? I have faith that you'll think of the answer. Dr. 902zilla? As a Grinch-like Jim Carrey would say, "Wrong-O!" You'd end up with a wonderful and completely sane new series known as Bridalplasty. A kind of name that really does say it all.

When I saw the commercial for this show, I couldn't help but think "Holy pickles. This is not really happening." As if it wasn't bad enough that Danielle Staub is having a spin off show, the reality television industry decides they also need to round up a bunch of psychotic brides-to-be and have them battle each other. Oh! Even more exciting and totally rational: the winner gets to be cut! Irony at its finest or no? It's official: E! executives may need to be institutionalized. I know there's that exclamation point after the E to let you know that it's a wild and rowdy channel (yes, some grammatical devices can talk to you), but have they completely gone Ty Pennington and loosened some screws?! I can see this whole thing going over really well with the public. [Insert Sarcasm Here]

Already, there has been tremendous back fat...oops! I mean backlash...about the upcoming series, and I must say, I strongly stand on that side of the opinion line as well. What is this show really going to unveil upon viewers? As we all are perfectly aware, the media loves to make women-young, old, and in between-unable to happily look at themselves in the mirror. This show is obviously a step in the right direction towards solving that problem. [More Sarcasm] I am more than concerned about how this is going to further affect women. I know there are plenty of shows out there that are just as terrible in that sense, but this one cuts right to the chase and augments its message to say "You cannot be fully loved until you are nipped and tucked to the point of virtual physical perfection."

The future brides have to savagely run wild like a pack of wildebeests hoping to acquire a new set of wildebreasts while the husbands are probably sitting back and clapping their hands in giddy excitement hoping for a cat fight. That was really stereotypical of me, right? Well, that's exactly what the show is, so I tried to get into the same mindset. The more important question I have is this: Are they fruit loops?! Who is going to honestly sit down to watch brides-to-be fighting like a herd of rhinos to win some free rhinoplasty? The apocolypse really must be approaching because I believed that the day I'd witness this kind of nonsense on my television screen would mark the end of the world. Hopefully, they at least show the wedding of the winning bride, just to see if she pops an implant at the alter. If I were her, I'd make sure the first dance is to "Thriller," so if her nose falls off, she can just say she was channeling the spirit of Michael Jackson.

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Facebook Takes Over Communication,Once Again.

To get in contact with a potential client you wish you recruit, to speak to your boss about a problem you had at the office that day, to correspond with your professors about work you didn't understand in class or to speak with relatives who live over seas or who are states away, what do we use? Email. Different email accounts for different types of organizations you are assosciated with. For example a school email account which pertains to a more formal means of communication or a regular G-Mail account or Yahoo account which you can use as a more personal type of communication where you can use with your friends or give to stores for special promotions. But what if you want to email someone and you don't know there email? What if you want an email account that does not email you spam? Because who loves spam emails, right? Well, Facebook wins again. Facebook will be comming out with a new means of communication. Email.Facebook will make it easier for you to keep track of all threads and soon be combining text, phone calls, and emails all in one place. Facebook email = finding the person you which to contact alot more easily by having there email listed for you, and all of there information if they wish to give it out. Facebook email also makes sure you recieve no spam mail and makes sure you get no junk mail. It makes means of communicating alot more easier and straightforward.

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Man Down, Let's Tweet!

A person faints as they’re walking directly in front of you: what do you do?

Do you stop what you’re doing and rush over to help them? Or do you stand idle only to take out your cell phone and tweet the present incident? That’s right, I said tweet. And that is exactly what students at the University of Southern California did when Bill Nye was approaching the podium to give a presentation.

Our favorite childhood scientist and TV personality, Bill Nye, (as I sing “Bill Nye the Science Guy” in my head) collapsed and fainted mid-sentence as he was walking up to the podium. Hundreds of students saw him go down but not one of them rushed over to his aid. Instead, they “pulled out their mobile devices to post information about Nye's loss of consciousness.” …… Really? Really?! An entire sea of people with phones out, TWEETING...never mind calling oh, say I don't know...911?! If I was an audience member, the last thing on my mind would be a virtual update; I literally would have gotten off my bum and ran over to him. It’s kind of despicable otherwise.

People like these students are allowing technology to run their lives and that’s not okay! Instead of living in the present moment of reality, they live in a virtual world where basically something has not happened or does not have proper credibility unless it is written about somewhere on the internet.

I personally see no point in twitter, unless it’s being utilized as a promotion tool (i.e. Lady Gaga). Just like the Facebook status, I simply do not care what people are doing every minute of their day. I have my own things to worry about and I don’t need to be reading about someone’s bad day because they got a bad hair cut or they have to sit next to some stinky person on the train, so please stop cluttering up my news feed.

It really is sad and disappointing that nobody helped Mr. Nye. How a twitter update is more important that a real person’s life, is just beyond me.

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ITunes Now Has The Beatles! FINALLY

We have all at some point asked ourselves where is the music? Though there are a ton of new artists emerging on iTunes every day there are a million songs they don’t have. I have never really understood why some artists don’t even show up on iTunes or even curtain songs like the song “Im a Bitch” by Alanis Morissette. This sucks cause when your “lame” like me and only download your music legally from iTunes not being able to find a song pretty much means you might have to turn to the dark side and go to LimeWire for the record (I have not). Some artists don’t want to have their music on the sight god knows why!? But there is the face that money is floating around. It brakes down to a good chunk of money having to go to iTunes and a smaller portion going to the actual artist. But that’s how the music business works! Unfortunately to make it you need to be represented by others and if you (the artist) are talented those “others” end up doing pretty well on the work and talent you put in. and what’s even worse is that your on a contract so your hands are pretty tied most of the time. That’s why people such as JZ and other BIG names have started their own label to cut out the middleman and keep the revenue for themselves. Legal wrangles at Apple prevented the official issue of previously unreleased Beatle material for over two decades (although much of it was frequently bootlegged). In an article is read “Beatles label EMI and Apple Corps Ltd., which manages the affairs of the legendary group, announced the change Tuesday in a joint news release with Apple Inc” Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/11/16/itunes-apple.html#ixzz15aYt5jis But now after much waited time the legacy and apple have joined together and this can only bring good things. Once you crack the Beatles your pretty much in…so I will be here iTunes…waiting for my Alanis Morissette song…patiently I might add.

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Lost in Translation

Sometimes I find myself wanting to be that "annoying" friend, you know, the one that corrects everyone's grammar. To know the difference between "you're" and "your" is actually not difficult. I happen to be very good at English and grammar, but as I can see on Facebook, not everyone is... or are they? I have to be honest, it does make me slightly uneasy seeing awful spelling on Facebook and SMS messages. I'm not a teacher, so I can't see if any one of my friends are actually good writers, or if it's just shorthand used specifically for digital communication. With that being said, I don't feel that it's my place to correct people because I'm simply not qualified to, so I don't.



I found an article on this, published just about two years ago (which is a long time when it comes to mass communication) but I do feel it's still relevant. It can be found here.



I kind of wish I was an English teacher at times, just to see if today's students can actually distinguish between what they text and what they write structurally for school. You'll see in the article that it's actually a bunch of short paragraphs written by different people. Some of them say that texting will ruin grammar skills in young individuals, some say it will not and others say it has already. Someone named Evan Sawyer said that the more people text, the more their grammar skills will deteriorate. Supposedly this is true because more and more teachers are seeing digital shorthand like "lol" and "u" spill over onto school assignments. Do students really know the difference, or is it just laziness?

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The Beatles on iTunes!

If anyone noticed that iTunes had clocks on the iTunes store telling you to come back on Nov. 17 for a surprise. Well if you went back to check it out and you’re a Beatles fan then you were probably a really happy person. For a while I had been wondering went The Beatles will be available on iTunes and the day has come. Now you can buy 13 premastered Beatles albums and three post–breakup compilations. And for those die heart Beatles fans you can now get a $149 box set that includes all the albums and videos on the band’s 1964 concert at the Washington Coliseum. You can’t get these downloads on Amazon’s MP3 store so Apples will be the only place to get them people! I only wonder if there are people out there who don't all ready have these albums?

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Social Networking or the Destruction of Human Communication?

Sights such as MySpace, facebook and twitter rare supposed to be helping people communicate with others right?
Wrong
Though they enable us to stay in touch they take the real element of human communication out. Sights such as facebook especially make it easy to talk to anyone at any time but people also use it as a crutch. Would you rather go on a date and meet a stranger and face the awkwardness or meet someone on facebook where you feel secure because you not face to face but behind a screen? it happens to be the easier way and its less scary because your behind a computer screen. Social networking can be an easy to escape reality by portraying yourself as something you would “like” to be rather than what you are. You can make yourself hot and desirable with an outgoing personality, but what about when you actually have to face humans in the real world you choke.
Some people get so lost being someone that there not that they cant face the real world and are unable to communicate with others. The ability to talk and be able to hold a normal conversation is vital, without actual social skills the possibility of being able to go far in life and succeed is a distant dream.
Technology is supposed to make humans smarter but there is a possibility that it is making us “socially retarded” for lack of a better phrase. It’s a scary thought that the world of communication is evolving so rapidly and people are becoming dependent on the Internet to communicate with other humans. There is a huge difference between talking to someone online or texting vs. having a real talk in person. The two don’t compare.
We as this generation are saved because relatively speaking we haven’t exactly grown up with these social networking sights our whole lives but the younger population are exposed to these sites every day and use them for everything.
We need to stop this epidemic and teach ourselves and others to communicate because human-to-human contact is the most important skill t have in life.

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Lime Unwired

Limewire the leading program used to download mp3 has finally been sued and isn't allowed to supply music anymore. For as long as i can remember people would use Limewire as a means of obtaining new and old music. But now the government has put a band on downloading and sharing music. it leads us to wonder Limewire definitely got in trouble but are we in trouble as well???
Now what, is a question that a lot of people are asking when it comes to obtaining music. The average person is not willing to pay for music when they can simply download it and listen for free. This goes to show that people of our generation have gotten spoiled and used to piracy. In the earlier days when music first became available to the public people had to buy single records to listen to them.
Life without Limewire isn't hard to imagine at all. We all just have to be "honest" and actually buy the songs we like. OR...... find another way to steal music!!!!!!

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Danielle Staub: The Real Psycho of New Jersey

Everyone has their guilty pleasures when it comes to television shows. They're like the Twix bar that we know we shouldn't eat, but it's so delicious that we do anyway. For half of America, their guilty pleasure series is Jersey Shore; for closet dorks like me, it's Ghosthunters; for the rest of the world, it's The Real Housewives of... whichever place sparks their interest. Anyone who has ever seen the series would probably agree with me that the housewives of New Jersey, New York, and Orange County have been the most entertaining to watch. They seem to have been the supreme masters at overtaking the tabloids, whether it be by flipping tables, "singing" about being a Countess, or toilet papering a former housewife's house.

At this moment, on my desk, there is an issue of In Touch magazine with New Jersey housewife, Teresa Giudice (the ultimate table-flipper), on the front cover with her four little girls. There are six pages dedicated to a cover story on how her husband did not cheat on her. Honestly, who cares? For reasons that I cannot seem to comprehend, a lot of people apparently do. In the cover story, Teresa speaks of how Danielle Staub, the Devil of the New Jersey housewives, has tried to bombard her life with rumors and make it crumble like a burnt cookie. Danielle seems to have that effect on people. After reading the issue of the magazine, I went to Internet Explorer to check my e-mail, and on the aol.com homepage was a story about this horror show of a housewife. Consequently, I found out two things that I could not even begin to fathom: 1. She believes that she's the "Susan Lucci of reality t.v." and 2. It's actually legal for her to get a spin off show.

I am completely flabbergasted at how this could be possible. In the article, she is quoted saying, "It's gonna be all about me, my family, and the real Danielle Staub that my fans and loved ones have been dying to see." Firstly, fans?! Plural?! With an 's' at the end and everything?! Wow, she really must be delusional if she thinks she has more than one. Secondly, any fan that she does have will be gone faster than you can say "psychotic" if she shows them "the real Danielle." I'm not sure if Jenna Jameson herself could swallow a pill that big. She goes on to vow that she will be 100 percent real for the entire time on the new show. Uhh.. is she missing something? She was already part of a series called The REAL Housewives, and she couldn't even be authentic on that.

Whichever television channel is willing to air this spin off show is seriously mistaken. That would be like pressing the self-destruct button or summoning its own death sentence. There are television stars that people hate to love, love to love, and love to hate. Well, Danielle is one of the rare "stars" that people just plain hate. She's the kind of person who can irritate to no avail and even make a Care Bear fall into her web of insanity. I'm merely just making an estimated guess, but my spidey senses are telling me that this show isn't going to blow up anytime soon; it'll simply just blow... And so, I say 'boo' to the spin off. Danielle, do us all a favor, and please replace "spin" with another four letter word that comes to mind.

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NPR's 40th Anniversary

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning I begrudgingly get up, make myself a pot of coffee, and eventually put myself in my car and turn on Z100. Honestly, without Elvis Duran and his crew, my morning commute would be unbearable.

            It has already been established that radio is not going anywhere, including NPR (National Public Radio). However, to some it seems obsolete. Why listen to some “blowhard” that thinks they know what they’re talking about on the radio when you can watch Bill O’Reilly make an ass out of himself on TV?  Well, for one, maybe some people don’t need/want a visual (example: 9/11), and radio can stretch its arms a lot further than domestic television.

            This year, NPR is celebrating its 40^th birthday and to do that there is a chronicled, scrapbook coming out called This Is NPR. This illustrates the beginnings of NPR, starting in the 1970’s and ending in present day. Everything from the feminist movement to Newt Gingrich’s outrageous proposal to shut down public radio are all outlined.

            Even though NPR still may seem dry, it has modernized in the way that it follows the SNL trend of bashing people, like Sarah Palin, and having outlandish personalities, like Rush Limbaugh, on its airwaves.

            Another reason why NPR can still survive today is because it is publically funded, and as long as people hear what they want to hear, they will keep donating money. NPR, actually terrestrial radio itself, it’s safe to say, will probably be a part of our lives for a long time.

            Now, only if Sirius/XM could figure something like this out. I mean, they’re great at giving away money; they just need to figure out how to make it back…

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Lake shore VS Jersey Shore

To sum it up, Jersey Shore is a show where a group of Italian Americans all get paid to be on Televsion to make complete idiots out of themselves. I personally do not like the show, being an Italian American, I find it offensive. They portray Italians in this negative light, when we really don't act like that what so ever.
Lake shore however is a spin off of Jersey Shore, Canadian Style. This show is exactly like Jersey Shore but instead of Italian Americans, they are more diverse and have different cast members of different cultures. After viewing random clips of the show, I found my self in totally loss of words. My jaw dropped after watching the trailer because I honestly didn't know that there are other people in the world that can be EVEN MORE stupid than the cast members of Jersey Shore. What makes them more dumb? Heres a quote form one of the girls on the show : "I'm not rascist, because you know why? I hate everybody equally. Especially Jewish people." Anti Semitism, Ignorant, and down right obnoxious. It takes censorship to the extent level. It boggles my mind that these people are getting paid to act like complete jackasses.

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Goodbye Windows Desktop, Hello Windows Phone?

Do we reallllllly need yet ANOTHER phone??? The Windows Phone is one of the newest cell phones on the market. Or should I say one of the newest laptop/phone?
Phones like the iTouch, Blackberry, Droid....they all come equipped with different apps, and games and things to keep you busy. The Windows Phone actually have Microsoft Software equipped to them as well as everything you could possibly have on your desktop. So really, why do you need a computer? I mean yeah, I'm not gonna lie, I have a BlackBerry and sadly, I dont know what I would do without it. I'm addicted to BBM and am on my laptop a lot less often because I'm either on my Blackberry or my iTouch with both have WiFi. My laptop usually sits on my desk in my room untill I need to type up Homework or a paper, because I don't have the access to Microsoft on either devices, only memo-pad or memo-pad-like apps. Now, even though I am addicted to my Blackberry, I am kinda jealous of the Windows Phone. But will these new phones take over computers? Honestly, I think so. I think that cell phones have been taking them over and will deffinitley within the next five years. I remember five years ago I was addicted to my Laptop because on my family plan with Sprint I didn't have access to Internet on my phone. Now, it's a nessessity to have internet and wiFi, and even more of a nessissity if it's a fast easy to reach smaller device (like the phone). This phone also has Xbox and other different video games installed in the phone. Soon one day I think that different gaming systems will be wiped out as well. I strongly think that phones are replacing computers and even video game systems, and I think that the Windows Phone took it to the next level.

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Why Are Wii So Fat??

I think it is safe to say that everyone knows that Americans are fat. Even Americans, themselves, know that they’re fat. The questions as to why have pretty much been answered, and now we just have to figure out how to correct this awful epidemic. However, the most affected by this are children.

            Of course, the disgusting food that is out there, like MacDonald’s, Wendy’s, Taco Bell, the lists goes on for miles, is the main problem; but it is also the lack of activity. One of the main contributors to that is today’s growing technology.

            When we were all younger, our parents would always throw us outside, dragging us away from the TV, telling us to get some fresh air, and we obeyed. Now, I’m glad I obeyed because I had so much fun running around and creating mischief with my imagination. I used to go bike riding, hiking, played with sticks, built forts, now all kids want to do is to be glued to some inanimate object. And I have to admit, I was a chubby child, who loved her TV and Oreos, but at some point I turned over and new leaf and most people find it hard to believe that I had even an ounce of fat on my body. Thank you Pilates and Mr. Treadmill! Anyway…  

                “Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.” This statistic is sad, but true.
            Like I said, it’s not just the unhealthy food these kids are consuming; it’s the fact that they’re not moving. They sit on their butts all day in front of a computer or TV, either watching or playing video games; and they have no interest in doing anything else. The combination of these high caloric foods and the lack of movement all adds up to overweight children.
            But now it seems like since this became such a huge problem, video games companies have come out with more physically challenging games, like Wii Fit and Guitar Hero. This enables kids, and adults, to still do what they like, while doing something that benefits their health at the same time.
            This appears to be moving all in the right direction but, I say that parents should skip the drive-thru, pick up some veggies, put them in a pan, and then throw their kids outside and tell them to get some freaking exercise!  
Technology and Childhood Obesity

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Kik Messenger

So while on Facebook the last couple of days I began to notice that several of my friends' status updates had mentioned something about "Kik." I had never heard of this before reading it on here and I became curious, so naturally I went to Google and searched it. What I had found was that Kik or Kik Messenger is a new tool used for texting that had just been released to the public in April 2010.

If any of you have a BlackBerry such as myself, I found that it seems strangely similar to the BlackBerry Messenger feature that we are provided with. It enables its users to know when their texts to their friends have been sent, delivered, read and even when they are writing a message as long as they also have Kik messenger. It does not yet have the ability to upload profile pictures or send files. It does however utilize the ability to use data instead of text message allowance like the BlackBerry Messenger. Rather than having a pin like the BBM, it instead uses a username to add friends. It also scans your contacts and if it finds that one of your contacts also has a Kik account and also has you as a contact they will suggest you become friends and allow you to message that contact. I also noticed a difference within the setup of the chat. Unlike the BBM, it separates each person in the chat to their own side, similar to the Iphone.

There is also another major contrast between the BlackBerry Messenger and the Kik Messenger. The Kik Messenger is an App that can be downloaded onto any smartphone; Iphone/Ipod, Android or BlackBerry. By making it available to any smartphone it allows for an Iphone user to communicate with an Anroid or BlackBerry user and vice versa. This is a step above the BlackBerry Messenger because the BBM feature only allows you to communicate with other BlackBerry users.

Many people I know who have a BlackBerry say the only reason that they would not want to switch to another smartphone is because they would not want to lose the BBM feature. Some of them have many complaints about the BlackBerry but hold on to it just for the sole purpose of the BBM feature. It makes me wonder if this new application may have the ability to damage the growing popularity of the BlackBerry.

While researching this new application I also found that they are working on another big step. They are working to add free (legal) music sharing, something that I think will make their application skyrocket higher than it already has at this point in their early stages. Using different features from all of the latest technologies they are putting together the ideal commuication tool. While the application is still very young and still growing, I think that it has a lot of potential for the future!

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Let's talk about sex(ting) baby... Let's talk about you and me...

You've probably done it and don't even realize it. Okay... you probably realize it. But do teenagers realize the implications of this act? What am I talking about? I'm talking about "sexting." Ooo yea! The cat is out of the bag. Why you'd put a cat in a bag, I would never know. We're not animal abusers are we? Here's looking at you Mike Vick.

Sexting is on the rise in this country, primarily in the teenage demographic. Sexting is the act of sending either text messages or picture messages with your phone to simulate sexual actions and/or flirting. Seems kind of pointless, doesn't it? But there it is, everyone. Most likely your child, your brother, your sister, your mother (that might be a bitter pill to swallow), and the alike have done it. Your best friend most definitely has.

Whatever happened to the good old days when you liked someone, you took them out on a date, and at the end of the night you either got the kiss or you didn't? Nowadays with the teenage demographic, their first dates are most likely occurring in separate rooms, separate houses, one town over and physical intimacy is replaced with digital dependency. "But Ryan, I rather my kid sext than have sex." (Insert best Jim Carrey impression)... Ree-aaa-lll-yyy?

Keep in mind, whatever is set into the world when we live in the age of the internet, will forever be there. If you are worried about your kid getting pregnant, have the chat about the birds and the bees. Keep Michael Vick away from them. If your child sends out a text message with his or her "private" regions exposed, they won't become so private anymore. Just ask Brett Favre. See what he thinks of sexting nowadays.

There is a website dedicated to this phenomenon. Browse through it. See some of the pointers they give on how to prevent your child or even yourself from sexting in the future. It'll catch yo to you sooner than later. It's even got it's own anthem now.



The best way to prevent this problem is to keep it in your pants... your phone that is. Get your mind out of the gutter!

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