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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