Funny news

People are crazy, heres proof.

http://www.wgme.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wgme_vid_2754.shtml


This article is a report from WGME in Maine that there have been numerous "bigfoot" sighting in the area. People claim to have seen a 7ft tall hair man crossing the road (sounds like Chewbacca). A crypto-zoologist (is that the latin for "nutcase"?) visited the area and did his own investigation on the rumors. Giant footprints can be seen in the above video that seem to indicate the existence of bigfoot. The best part of this report was this (FTA): "In 2006 - there was a mysterious beast thought to live in Turner. It was later confirmed to just be a dog. Wow, good work guys making all of Maine look bad.

Well Walmart has managed to piss more people off, specifically the Black Community. This news story tells us how Walmart has discounted "Black Barbie" in order to clear more shelf space for their spring inventory. This is rediculous. Not only is Walmarts move and reason rediculous, but it is rediculous that people actually care enough to call this news. Who cares about barbies, even if one is painted black. Clearly they are both plastic toys and equating them to people would be ludicrous in itself. If anything wouldnt it be better for young kids wanting to play with black barbie. SHE'S CHEAPER NOW! Fail.

Lil Wayne is going to jail for having a gun on board his tour bus. Wow, I didn't know rappers used or claimed to have firearms. Interesting strategy, I wonder how it will work out for him. I think the funniest part of this story comes at the end. From the Article: "His sentencing came after several delays. The first date was postponed to allow the rapper to have dental work." I guess
being a good lawyer is really being good at making excuses. I should be king of the lawyers.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/03/06/window-cleaner-kills-himself-with-giant-souvenir-pencil-inquest-hears-115875-22088838/

In this article a man kills himself with a giant souvenir pencil by repeatedly stabbing himself in the groin. Jesus Christ what is wrong with the world.

Parenting

Forget branding and logos, one of the most powerful forces in our society has to be parenting. Fortunately for my future child, I am not a parent right now, but I nearing the border between offspring and potential parent. I know that my parents have been an extremely large influence in my life and I am thankful every day for that fact. The role my parents have played in my life is significant not just because they have taught me how to act in certain situations, but because of the freedom they have given me. Giving me freedom while keeping me in bounds has been a very effective and enjoyable parenting technique for both my parents and myself. Each of my parents have a different style of parenting, but both have their pro's and con's.

I found a CNN article on how each parent has different parenting techniques and what that means for the child. As mentioned in the article, Mothers tend to be more concerned for the childs physical safety and dont allow their children to take risks as often as the Father does. This balance is effective in giving a child experience while keeping him or her intact.

From the CNN Article:

"If kids don't experience somewhat risky physical fun, it might make them more cautious and less willing to try things they haven't quite mastered yet," says Kyle Pruett, Ph.D., a clinical professor of child psychiatry at Yale University and author of "Fatherneed: Why Father Care Is as Essential as Mother Care for Your Child.

I agree with this statement because to my knowledge most of my progress as an athlete and a human being has been because of risk. There has always been a risk of being rejected, but the steps forward have definately outweighed the times I have stumbled.

Thank you parents. We love you.

- Children

The award winnign short film: Logorama

This short film seems to tie in perfectly with the media studies class I am currently enrolled in. Logorama is a short film about a thief and smuggling Ronald McDonald who is chased by the police unti he falls into the crumbling world around him. The film is comprised totally of corporate logos, that bring clutter in Times Square to a whole other level. Everything is a logo. The street lamps are T-Mobile signs, the helicopters are Logos, all the people are logos, even the butterflies are little MSN logos. At first the sight is quite comical, as you see AOL people walk around and look at the Hot Wheels rollercoaster, but then it dawns on you. This world is not totally unlike our own. Most things in our society are branded, and if not probably will be in another couple years.

The characters in the movie were all very unapealing and rude at every turn. Even the Michelin Man police man were mean. Not only were these lively logos mean, but they were selfish. At every turn the people in this corporate world were exhibiting the dark side of capitalism and the corporate structure: greed. I thought this was great symbolism for a part of the corporate business model that a lot of times preaches philanthropic ideas, but practices whatever behavior brings in the most profit. This is an effective economic model, but sometimes economics need to be differentiated from other solutions that dont involve a profit.

I am not preaching anti-capitalism, I am just trying to better the capitalist model by identifying the bad parts. There are certan ideals that are good to strive towards, even if they do not provide the highest financial return. The problem with corporate intentions is that it will go against the society's moral ideals if the risk is financially suitable.

The short film ended with all the corporate brands collapsing and ruining the earth and the society that they have dominated. This might be a subtle suggestion that what we create might actually lead to our downfall. That sort of irony would be painfully funny to any historian. With this in mind, I urge you to think as a citizen and not as only a consumer of brands. The clutter that surrounds us can be removed if we as citizens do not want it.

Video Games

Video games have been a popular fad every since the arrival of the Nintendo and Atari game systems were introduced to American households. The amount that video games have evolved is enormous, even when comparing the Playstation 2 to the X-Box 360. Video games have gone from games like Frogger and Pac Man to what some people call the best video game to date, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Video game designers have been seeking to turn the gaming experience into an experience that is more like an interactive movie. In the past there have been video games that are made after a movie has been produced, but that step has been totally cut out recently. The video game Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 aimed to bring the movie experience to you while you played the game. I own the game and I have to admit it is quite good.

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/modernwarfare2/review.html

The action is intense and even gruelling at times but the story line is as good as a Hollywood action movie. The story line was very complicated and being able to play as two different characters was very appealing. In the game, a russian terrorist killed a airport full of civilians and pinning an American CIA agent with the crime. This sparks international controversy between the two superpowers and Russia declares war on the United States. In the game, you are a soldier fighting in suburban Virginia as Russian soldiers destroy local fast food businesses and drive millions of Americans from their homes. This really hit close to home for me, because fortunately for us, Americans have not experienced a war on thier own soil in quite a long time.

The video game ends with the main character unveiling a secret story about how an America general plotted the whole thing to strengthen America's patriotism especially when it comes to joining the millitary. At the end, the general and the main character fight to the death in the middle of a middle eastern desert.

This really brought the excitement of a movie into a video game. I think this is the direction video games will be heading, and this industry will only grow.

China update

As our debt increases, Americans are increasingly putting their political and financial fate in China. Right now China is keeping our lifestyle afloat to a certain extent. While many people are losing their jobs and companies continue to struggle, the reason we arent burning and crashing into a cliff is because of our recent "friend" China. Today, China's alliegance to our debt problem seems that much stronger because of this Reuters article.



I wonder how this current relationship will affect future relationships with China. I believe that while it does not empower our nation at the moment, this might instead entice these ideological opposites to become allies. This might be a very good, or a very bad thing depending on how you view a hyperpower squared. If the United States and China worked together in a symbiotic relationship, the two countries might benefit more than ever before.




Regardless of how this friendship turns out for the United States, I think it is a very good move by China to purchase our debt. This will enable China to have a stake in the most influential nation in the world. This might be a little scary for the average American, but this is just standard politics.



This alliegance will affect companies as well as nations around the world. Whether or not a company will prosper from a good China-US relationship. Google might not exactly prosper or even tolerate China's decisions if China tries to control the stream of information going through Google every day. Google is looking to provide the user of their search engine with as much information as possible without any roadblocks.

Companies that could use China's cheap labor force might really prosper from this relationship, because it would make outsourcing to China that much easier. A problem that I could see with China down the road is their violation of human rights, especially when it comes to their own citizens. I would not want to live under a system built upon fear.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/110317/saturday-night-live-china-cold-open

War in the media

After the Hurt Locker won so many Oscars at the Academy Awards, I have been paying more attention to war in the media. I was especially curious to see the reaction of soldiers to the movie itself. In this segment of interviews, the soldiers say they enjoyed the film, but thought that the idea of the main character "going rogue" was not a very realistic or accurate portrayel of people in the armed services. The Army is all about being "An Army of one" and listening to your superiors in order to function effectively as a group, so i can understand why the soldiers did not particularly subscribe to the notion of going rogue in the movie.

The movie and the movie's recent fame does a good job of highlighting the heroic actions of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan today. This self sacrifice needs to be appreciated even if your opinions on the war are negative. I believe that the film also highlighted all the problems that come with war, such as stress and the violence that affects people's lives on a day to day basis. The Hurt Locker really brought the war from the back of our minds to the forefront. I feel that people in America have sort of tuned the war out. It is not a recent development and the negative emotions associated with violence and death is not appealing to anyone. The news still covers the war but I feel like the number of stories decreases by the day.

And yet the reality of the war is still here with us. A British soldier just saved himself and other members of his troup by making an instinctual decision of throwing a live grenade away from the roof they were on.

This man above was a hero today regardless of the reason he was in the situation. The media does not need to repeat this to us, but instead we as people need to become the heros and pressure the politicians in our country to end this war. Maybe we are doing good, but the war piece of it is really bothering me. This difficult situation needs to be resolved so this man doesnt have to pick shrapnel out of his face for the next 4 years.

Nike: Just Do It... with Nike stuff on

Nike is probably the most influential sporting goods company of its time and the way they continue to promote this image is by giving the consumer evidence of their greatness. The best athletes of our time do advertising for Nike. Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods (well he did), and Lance Armstrong all do advertising for Nike. If the best athletes in the world are telling you, a young teenage athlete, to buy their product or work hard in Nike gear, there is a very high chance you will listen to the ads.



Personally I take my sport of hockey very seriously, much like a lot of other teenage athletes in America. The values of hard work and dedication against all odds have been instilled in us since we first started loving our sport. Motivation to become the best is a very powerful driving force in a young athletes life, and looking toward motivational sayings or speaches is a common thing to do if you are an athlete.

Personally, I find a lot of inspiration in Nike's advertisements. The ones with Michael Jordan are the most inspirational.



Here are a couple Jordan commercials long with some Mello commercials.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zSVu76AX3I



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvGDh9dd14o



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wIRTbY5HNM

Nike has also done a great job of transforming Lance Armstrong's personal battle with cancer as a symbol of strength and resilience that can be seen in the brand. Nike wants to be seen as a brand that can help you achieve the impossible and battle even the greatest enemies. By tagging onto Lance's courageous story, Nike builds a courageous brand.

These commercials strike a chord with aspiring athletes, because it highlights the hard work necessary for succeeding. Also they seem to tell the viewer that they too can do it with hard work. Hard work has to be done in the gym. I need gym shoes. Oh why dont I get Nikes.



...

Volkswagen

Volkswagen is a "people's car" and the major way Volkswagen tries to brand itself is by being affordable and reliable. This common man's car plays off the idea that a German product is somehow better engineered than any other countries cars.

Volkswagen likes to talk about this by making fun of Germans by portraying their German engineers and even cars as geeky. In this commercial, Volkswagen portrays their engineer as a crazy German scientist who thinks he knows how to "pimp" someones ride. By giving the young hipster a new VW car, somehow he has pimped the previous car that has been crushed by the VW. These advertisements combat the negative stereotypes some Americans have of Germans by reaffirming them in a funny self scrutinizing way. Apart from the commercials being reasonably funny, the message that they are getting accross is also effective. Having a normal affordable car that is engineered by funny sounding Germans is cool.

This next VW commercial is pointing to an already existing game that involves people punching other people on the shoulder when they see a VW Bug. This commercial really intrigues people because it points out how this game that you might have played as a little kid can be felt again by being around a VW. In the commercial, the people punching another person were comprised of all different age groups, proffesions, and races. By adding some humor into the mix VW makes a commercial that makes people feel warm and fuzzy inside while making them laugh out loud when the little kid punches the grandpa in the genitals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQ3wgX2Oruo

The brand isn't trying to sell one specific type of idea to the public, but to identify with consumers enough to entice them to buy. The common man approach seems to be working the best for VW.

Le Oscars

The Oscars, a collision between the most famous people in the world and the logos to match them. The actors who attended the Oscars were scrutinized for their clothing as much as they were for their acting. When Jeff Bridges (whom the media loved) was interviewed on the red carpet, him and his wife were immediately asked "who" were they wearing. This was a very interesting way of asking a question about someone's clothing. It was as if the clothing worn was supposed to match the brand's image. Jeff responded by telling the reporter he was wearing Gucci, he was "all Guccied up", and his wife was wearing some other expensive designer brand. The women were critiqued very seriously on how their dress looked and what that dress was supposed to say. Some dresses were revealing, and the commentators judged whether the amount of revealed skin was "appropriate" or not. Likewise, when some women had fancy and complicated dresses a lot of people watching the Oscars would comment on "how much was too much". Here is Halle Berry in her dress.
The men were not really picked apart like the women were. Mostly because the men did not put as much effort into their appearence and the all wore suites. The men had it easy during the Oscars because they could look much more laid back than the women. George Clooney looked very calm at the Oscars, even though the media and even the other stars were all over him.

Apart from the dresses and Gucci suites, the branding seen at the Oscars lied predominantly in the advertisements. Almost every advertisement was for a clothing, luxury car, or personal hygene product company during the commercial breaks. Every product tried to either strengthen their current luxury brand, or rebrand to give off a luxury vibe. Mercedes Benz was the major luxury car company that I remember advertised during the Oscars. They had a commercial that featured their latest model driving through a city street with chandalliers instead of street lamps. J.C. Penny advertised during the Oscars. J.C. Penny isnt exactly a luxury brand, but in their advertisements they promoted their designer clothing line and the perfumes they sold.

The Oscars makes every average Joe sitting at home feel like they are a part of the clebrity action, which the advertisers fed off of by promoting their brands in a elitest sense. Everyone wants to be part of the club.

Culture Control

Who controls culture? Do the people who create culture own it? My answer is yes. I do not think that J.K. Rowling owns the culture of Harry Potter, because she did not create the culture. J.K. Rowling created Harry Potter. Its that easy. I think it is wrong that J.K. Rowling sued a little girl over fan fiction, because J.K. Rowling does not own fan fiction in my opinion. The fan fiction is an exaggurated version of the Harry Potter story, written by J.K. Rowling online in a non-profit setting. Voldemort approves though.

If the creators of the objects that a culture evolves around owned the culture, the sixties would be owned by a lot of weed and LSD.

I mean seriously, I understand that good original ideas are hard to comeby, but sueing a little girl for fan fiction she created in her spare time with no profits. I would like to point out that writing is the only part of conversation that is censored and critiqued. What if this fan fiction was verbal? What if people attended shows where this girl created fan fiction with her friends and these kids made a profit? Would J.K. Rowling intervene? The question might sound rediculous at first, but it is such a basic point that is rarely examined. Why is writing fan fiction different than saying fan fiction in front of an audience. The same end is achieved, but the only difference is that one is spoken and one is written.

I suppose that the difference between speaking and writing is that writing can be read over and over again and the words on the page are somewhat permanent. With speach, a set of words that is spoken vanishes without a trace once they are said.

Chat Roullete

Chat Roullete is a new fad that has hit the online scene, giving people with a microphone and a video camera to "meet" strangers on the web. This website has been given a lot of attention by the media. Fox News says, "Chatroulette Is 'Predator's Paradise" because of the accessibility of the site and the need for many site users to expose themselves. The picture above was taken from the Fox News article that I embedded, and the man in the picture claimed to be a member of the U.S. Army. He is probably the most normal person on chatroullete.

I have been on chatroullete and half of the people on there are naked men, which is pretty disgusting no matter what way you look at it. However, from my personal experience, there are some interesting people you can meet on chatroullete. When I was on the site I talked to a member of the Armed Services, who was killing time.

As exciting as the site is, I dont think chatroullete is going to be a powerful new media outlet, because it is plagued with perverts and the quality of the conversation is seriously lacking intelligence. The site is purely a spectacle. Now news is actually being spread with people cycling through other video streams and trying to avoid nudity. Also, the platform on which you communicate is always in jeopardy on chatroullete, whereas on facebook you can always refer back to your homepage and post information that will be there more permanently than on chatroullete.

John Stewart did a great piece on chatroullete last night. He examined what the news sources said about chatroullete, and the funny part of the sequence was that the reporters did not realize how many inapropriate conduct is on the site. John Stewart then proceeds to test out chatroullete online himself. He encounters random reporters who act like they do on their professional venues. It is pretty hilarious

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-march-4-2010/tech-talch---chatroulette

Showbiz

As I was doing research for my economics paper, I stumbled across a couple advertisements for American Idol on economics websites. The advertisements featured the American Idol cast helping Haiti victims, which I though was a really nice effort to bring attention to a problem. I'm sure there was some self interest in this pitch to enhance the brand of American Idol, but as long as this image is supported by action, I dont care.

The shows themselves, usually mean nothing. In fact, a Washington Post article explains how little the writers know about the season finale. The writers seem to admit that they will leave a lot of questions unanswered. I wonder if the finale will just be someone waking up in the middle of a night and proclaiming, "boy that was a really crazy dream". I think there would be massive protests and even riots if that happened. The Oakland Raiders fans would lock themselves in their houses and cry if they saw what Lost fans were doing. Some people I know are so hooked on shows like Lost and Prison Break that I only hear them talking about that crap.

On a serious note, I think it is important to take a look at what role these shows play in a persons life. If the answer is actually a major role, there might be something wrong with you. Spike Lee was right when he told our school that reality T.V. is crap that will pollute our mind. Instead, I think looking at a daily show episode might be more productive to giving you news that will make you a more informed citizen.

This is a total recall

As if on cue, this past month most of the major auto companies have been recalling their vehicles. Schwarzenegger approves.

Let's start with the basics. Toyota. We all know that Toyota recalled most of their vehicles because of faulty break pads and a sticky accelerator. This month at a European car show Toyota officially apologized to the European consumers for their faulty products. Out of the nearly 8.5 million cars recalled, 2 million were sold in Europe. Ms. Andrea Formica, Vice president of Toyota Europe says, "All the vehicles currently being produced meet the highest safety and quality standards." I mean I really hope so. I just want to point out that this was "being done" before and during the recall so this statement is nothing more than vague crap. I mean even the fixed cars are still broken according to some Americans. In the embedded article, Stewart Stogel, a free lance journalist tells us how his Camry accelerated and the breaks did not engage immediately, resulting in Stewart to almost hit a wall. Ok, fine, everyone makes mistakes even if its with peoples lives on a large scale. How bad can it be?

Oh great, Nissan recalls 539,864 cars to fix a break pedal problem. Apparently Nissan sold faulty models and parts to the US. From the embedded article, "Fred Standish, a spokesman for the company’s U.S. unit in Franklin, Tennessee, said there have been no accidents or injuries related to the flaws and that U.S. regulators “didn’t pressure or push the company” to recall the vehicles." http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-02/nissan-to-recall-539-864-vehicles-to-fix-brake-pedals-gauges.html>

So this is an "us and them" type of deal huh? The Japanese are selling us bad stuff are they? At least we have good old American cars that can be relied on. I mean really whats left to screw up... tires? Steering? Flip a coin. Heads is tires, tails is steering.

Tails Never Fails

Mergers and Partnerships, another example of convergence culture

Mergers and partnerships are a common sight in the corporate world today. Much like the Power Rangers, these giant corporations morph together to create even bigger creatures.

Some mergers create efficient corporate machines that are very sucessful, but others just boggle our mind. One example of a ludacris partnership is McDonalds with Weight Watchers. Let me repeat that for those of you with a short attention span, MCDONALDS IS PARTNERING WITH WEIGHT WATCHERS!

From the article: "
In the new deal, McDonald's will use the Weight Watchers logo on its menu boards and tray mats. Weight Watchers will promote McDonald's to dieters."

At first I thought this was a genius way for McDonalds to make you fat and then send you right off to Weight Watchers, which would in turn create an intense craving for McDonalds making the cycle go full circle. Unfortunately, the people at McDonalds dont have as sick of a mind as myself. Instead, Mcdonalds will lure the people who are looking to lose weight (who are ironically the biggest eaters) with the Weight Watchers symbol, but these people will most likely consume a lot of food, including non "Weight Watchers" entres. Smart, but literally deadly. (Picture found here)

Another merger that has stirred up some legal controversy has been the T-Mobile (Owned by Deutch Telecom) and Orange (Owned by French Telecom). The merger was approved by the European Union after they agreed on a network sharing agreement to help out competition.

Facebook advertising

Since new media is a popular mechanism with which consumers (mainly young consumers who happen to be the most likely to buy) shape their lives via collective information, the information present on new media outlets is very precious for advertisers. However, since the content on new media sites is personal, advertisers need to be careful not to creep out the users. Since the advertisers want to target people interested in their products, an advertiser will pay for you to see the advertisement if you have selected certain things as your interests on facebook. For example, I have a lot of hockey ads on the right side of my facebook page at the moment. This is a good thing for advertisers because anyone who knows me, knows that I love the sport and am always interested in new developments surrounding hockey.



I read a New York Times article about advertising on Facebook, and the article focused on poor advertising techniques on facebook pages. The article mentions a woman being advertised "Plan-B" or the morning after pill. This did not go over well with the women who did not want her sexual behavior to be questioned. ouch.

I have to agree with The Times that sometimes advertisements on facebook are targeting the wrong people. I myself have seen an ad for a U-19 rugby team and the picture below it was a bunch of women huddling in a circle. I have no idea how that is supposed to entice me to play rugby or why would I even play rugby.

Actually, I dont really care how misplaced the ads are on facebook, because I dont want there to be advertising clutter on my facebook page. If advertising stayed away from facebook I dont think I would be very upset.

Dominos Pizza has been going through a "re-evaluation" process in the last couple of months in their advertisements as a public relations campaign. Admitting that your pizza sucks seems like a very grown up thing to do and yet it is a reverse psychology pitch that has probably never been seen before. The Washington Post examines it here. The commercials stand out from other commercials by startling the consumer with a critical reflection of the franchises pizza taste. Even just by standing out, this advertisement will ingrain the Dominos brand into the memories of consumers. Standing out of the clutter is key for advertisers.

Here is the ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AH5R56jILag

Well the results are in. Dominos has doubled their profits in a year. The combined effort of their advertising campaign and enhancing their pizza recipe has actually produced results during the worst economic times. Of course, Dominos has been lowering the price of their pizzas and designing "deals" such as two medium pizzas for $11.98. This three pronged attack on our wallets has obviously been successful and should force other fast food restaurants to compete with Dominos.

Welcome To Google, Kansas!

The mayor of Topeka, Kansas has anounced that he will rename the city to "Google" for a month. The mayor of Topeka has renamed his city to Google in order to entice the company to test out their new internet connection that operates at 1 Gigabite a second. This is a very

interesting step to take as a city. I want to point out how the power dynamic has changed in our society if a town has renamed itself in order to entice a giant corporation to test its new internet program in their city. It seems that this is either the most lobbied and corrupt city in the world or the consumer has gone to extreme lengths to have a taste of a product. Unfortunately, it looks like the latter is true in this case. Usually it is the case that large corporations play fetch with cities and government entities in order to be able to sell and market their products to the people. It is alarming that we have become so accepting of corporations as a pet dog is to his master. (Picture found here) The reason this is alarming is because corporations are designed to create profits and not always look out for the peoples best interest. With this mindset a corporation would not care if it hurt someone if the profit margin was satisfying. Because of this, I think we should be careful to how much power we give corporations over our lifestyles.

Ok, enough rabble rabble. What is actually going on in Topeka? Well google has a broadband connection that has the ability to send information at the speed of 1 Gigabit a second. Is that a lot? Well according to this guy the average speed of broadband in america is 3.9 Megabits a second. One Gigabit is 1024 Megabit. So this connection speed will be 256 times faster than the average broadband speed. Woah.

Maybe Google, Kansas doesnt sound that bad if you put it that way. Just kidding.

The negatives of new media

New media may be a great and entertaining tool for people in the world today, but we must be careful not to bow at the altar of new media.

There are certain negative aspects of new media that must be addressed.

The negatives of new media:

-New media is very free from censorship and is anonymous in many ways, so the quality of the information presented on new media websites is unknown. Not only is it possible for my little brother to post online about politics, but the people posting information might be lying. Whether they are lying for strategic reasons, or just out of jest, the information picked up on twitter can be totally false. In fact the "people" posting the content might be fake.




-There are times when information can be very dangerous, especially if the truth is not something that should be shared with the public. If the "truth" will put people in harms way, it should not be totally withheld, but a strategy of informing the public is usually necessary. Panic is not an easy thing to contain once it has fully developed. This can be anything from someones sexual preferences, to top secret government plans.







-The fact that not everyone is an expert on what they know is an important negative aspect of new media. I may be able to tell you what I see happening in front of me, but usually people are not experts at articulating and explaining why they see what they see. Old media outlets usually hire people with expertise to report on subjects that require a thorough understanding of the subject. In this way, information that might be "true" can be understood in the wrong way by people with no knowledge of the news story.

- New media does not value scholarly writing as much as old media does. Grammar and style mistakes are overlooked in new media. In newspapers, journalists and editors pride themselves on their ability to write well technically and they pride themselves on writing interesting articles.

Power of New Media

The internet has brought about a change in the way humans communicate with each other, especially when it comes to long distance communication. The emergence of blogs, twitter, youtube, and Facebook, among many other forms of new media, have shaped society in positive and negative ways.

The positives:

-People you dont actually know are much more approachable on-line. If someone seems to be intimidating in real life, talking to them on facebook may be the solution.

-Most new media is free if you have access to a computer and internet

-The platform for communication does not discriminate against location. If your friend from California wants to talk to you, the fact that it takes 9 hours to see you in person will not affect your ability to communicate

-Facebook is the most common example of this. It is much easier for people to get to know people through facebook, especially people of the opposite sex. Because there is a medium between conversation and human contact, people who might have a tough time meeting others may be more successful through new media.

-The lack of censorship on most new media sites will allow a less regulated flow of information. This can be good or bad depending on how truthful and powerful the bite of information is. Positive examples of this can be seen when individuals are reporting with a hands on perspective in controversial news stories. If a disaster hit a town or city with new media outlets, the public could get a real, uncensored and quick news story as it develops.

-The most important aspect of new media is the diverse viewpoints that can be found on blogs or twitter because they rely on individuals to give their take on a situation. The collective knowledge that an individual can take from new media outlets may be much more in depth than the paragraph write up in a weekly newspaper.

Google's endless quest to dominate

As I started up my new operating system, Windows 7, I noticed the sleek icons and aesthetically pleasing desktop background. I browsed through the features and started up my internet explorer. I went to the search engine toolbar and I noticed a blue "B" emblem. After further investigation I realize that Microsoft's Bing was the default search on my internet provider.


hmm.

Google will have to combat microsofts gremlin with more advertising and more upgrades to their search engine, found here.

Google will also have to fight major countries over its secrets, much like it did with China and now with Italy.

Olympic Hockey

Olympic hockey, one of the only olympic sports that showcases the best professional athletes from a variety of leagues worldwide. Many times you will see players who are teammates during the regular season go head to head as they play for their respective countries. These elite players meet at the Olympic venue with minimal corporate sponsorships and all the virtues of playing for their native country.

The olympic stadium has been draped with the Vancouver Olympics symbol instead of the usual sponsors at the Vancouver Canucks venue. The stadium is Called the Hockey Canada Place instead of the General Motors arena. The lack of corporate sponsorships at the Olympics is a very distinct move that tries to elevate the games to a higher level than pure spectacle.

These olympics have been full of high intensity games between old rivals and dominant powerhouses. Just yesterday Canada beat Russia in a blockbuster game that ended 7-3.

The U.S. has been doing great by winning all the games they have played so far, including a 5-3 upset over Canada. The interesting thing about that is, quite frankly, no one in the United States really cares. To put it into perspective, this is what the Czech Republic looked like after they won the gold in the 1998 Nagano Olympics.

There would be no crowding in Washington, because winning is normal for Americans, which might take the fun out of winning. I hope we all celebrate to our fullest when we win a medal.

Sports and the real world

Roger Federer has finally done it. He has won 16 grand slam titles. After beating Andy Murray in the Australian open, Roger has reached yet another stop on his glorious rise to the top. (photo found here) We, here at Extra! Extra! applaud you Roger. Even if you may be a tidbit pretentious.

In other news there has been a big controversy around the NFL's copyright on the words: "Who dat". This phrase that apparently originated in New Orleans has even had some politicians up in arms. Louisiana Senator David Vitter has challenged the NFL's patent by printing t-shirts with "Who dat".

EVERYONE PANIC, FIRST CLASS WILL BE A THING OF THE PAST. The economic recession has affected everyone, even those lucky birds flying first class. I mean seriously, even the clowns are sad. (Picture found here)

Believe it or not, even clowns are having a tough time staying happy. The shortage of extravagant birthday parties has led to a decreased demand for clown services. That's some pretty sad stuff if you ask me (at least more so than no more 1st class).

The State of Our Union

America is going through a rough patch right now. People nationwide are showing their distress. People have been crying out at public forums, protesting, and even flying the American flag upside down. This couple has been flying their flag upside down to show their distress. In this direct quotation from the article embeded, the couple gives their reasoning, "In Section 8, Article A of the American Legion’s “code of flag etiquette,” it states that flying the flag upside down is recognized as a sign of distress, or as a threat to life or one’s personal property." (Photo from www.moveleft.org)
This may just be interesting hype that is ultimately meaningless, but this is one of many signs of a troubled America. Labels such as, "The Economy", "Health Care", and "The War" have become rich media fronts. While these problems are present and extremely important, the media seems to skim over the backstage events of the America we love. For example, I am willing to be that the Supreme Court case allowing corporations to "donate" unlimited funds to a political campaign has received significantly less attention than the late night talk show debacles. The President was right in saying that this case has opened the floodgate for political corruption. I don't want to sound like Johnny Raincloud over here but I have a bad feeling this will negatively, and (more importantly) SILENTLY, revolutionize corruption in our political system. It is clear that a candidate who is more enticing to corporate OR UNION (CAN'T FORGET THE UNIONS BECAUSE THEY HAVE SO MUCH INFLUENCE) will be funded and pressured to advance the interests of the "donor". (Photo from here) This is hogwash on all fronts and I urge the public to respond to this issue. This has nothing to do with "Republicans" or "Democrats", this actually has to do with the public and how our political power will be further diluted. If you require an authority to tell you what to do and what is wrong please listen to President Lincoln. (Photo found here)
If you dont want to hear this, here is some brain ice cream courtesy of Daily Mail.

"The incredible journey: How Baltic the mongrel drifted 20 miles out to sea on river ice and survived"

The crisis in Haiti has become a global concern as the body count climbs. More and more dead bodies are being found as the rubble that trapped so many is being removed. As this tragedy unfolds, I am disgusted to find that certain media outlets are taking advantage of such a horrific event. Rush Limbaugh was quick to jump on President Obama for reacting in order to better his political career. Fortunately Mr. Limbaugh's comments have no influence on the work going on to help Haitians. Unfortunately, as ridiculous of a personality Rush is, he has a broad fan base on radio stations because he is a crude source of entertainment. Former presidents Bush and Clinton held a press conference Sunday, dismissing Limbaugh's statements. Story here.

CNN chose to report on how IMA's CEO was trapped under a collapsed roof during the Haiti quake. Interesting. The title:

"Haiti quake survivor: Sharing hope, talk, and a Tootsie Pop"

I wonder if any native Haitians were trapped underneath the rubble. Its not news its... well I guess its news.

The man who tried to kill the pope in 1981 has been released. Now that the BBC has released his picture and name along with the article, I really wonder if he wasn't better off staying in jail. This guy is going to have some enemies.

Picture from BBC website.

WARNING CENSORED

This week one of the most powerful news tycoons met with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal about future investments in News Corp. Rupert Murdoch's office stated that the two parties might be seeking an "alliance" with each other.

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/alwaleed-meets-murdoch-to-discuss-alliances-2010-01-16

After reading the comments on this news story I have realized that this alliance may be able to give the middle east "better" news coverage because Prince Alwaleed might relate to the middle eastern market more than Murdoch does.

Speaking of the middle east, I found that Turkish law can censor the internet. Of course, human rights watchdog groups are calling for change because this limits people's access to information. After all, the internet is one of the loosest forms of news, giving it more independence and less of an agenda. Reuters has the full article here.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60H2WJ20100118?type=technologyNews

Picture from Reuters.



Another interesting censorship story comes from our friends down under in Australia. Southern Australia has banned pictures or posters promoting "R" rated movies. This ban would require movies rated "R" to exclude pictures on the DVD case. Only the title would be visible.



Censorship has always been a hot topic, but the line between freedom of the press and acceptable use of media is still blury. The power of censorship is immense if the censored news shapes a person's outlook on the world. Think about it.

Newstime

A common thread linking news outlets this week has been President Obama's press conference about the failed Christmas day bombing. The President seems to have taken full responsibility for the security breach and is working with the National Security Council to strengthen homeland security. (Reuters) The new measures will include full body scans at airports and I'm sure the average non terrorist will be pestered more than they already are. At least someone is taking the blame and taking measures to prevent future attacks of wanna-be terrorists. I would hate to see another blame-off between the mysterious CIA and the cops at the FBI.


In sports, most of the U.S. news outlets have featured front page articles about Alabama beating Texas in the BCS Championship last night. The loss for Texas was even more devastating after star Texas quarterback Colt McCoy injured his arm on his first play. This snuffed out the dream of becoming college footballs most winning-est quarterback as Texas fell to Alabama. I felt horrible for Colt when interviewers insisted on asking him how he felt about not being able to set the record, being injured, and losing in the national championship in the space of a couple hours. Really? Take a guess.


In the scientific world, a preliminary study shows that cell phone radiation might actually be useful for something, other than killing sperm in males and apparently damaging ear tissue. On NPR, a scientist studied mice with Alzheimer's disease and subjected them to the same electromagnetic field given off by cell phones and found out that when the mice were subjected to the radiation, the rate at which they lost memory was sharply reduced and signs of memory recovery were also present. This study could help cure Alzheimer's by subjecting people diagnosed with the disease to undergo electromagnetic treatment similar to the radiation given off by a cell phone. Pretty cool stuff.

All three of these stories are pretty newsworthy and I found the scientific study especially amazing because of all the myths I've heard surrounding the waves given off by cell phones.

As far as entertainment goes I would like to show you the most entertaining clip I saw all break. Here it is, you're moment of zen.

My Media Exposure

Healthy skepticism of news outlet agendas drives and saturates my understanding of "the news". By diversifying my media sources I create an opportunity to understand current events and scholarly opinions. I watch CNN, NBC, ESPN, Czech TV1, and The Daily Show. I listen to National Public Radio a lot. I read Fark.com, Al Jazeera online, NHL.com and any newspaper that comes my way. This variety of news outlets does not only give me multiple angles on a single story, but sometimes a clearer and more complete story. When I find out about a major international story about the United States, I make sure to read foreign news outlets to complement what I read from the U.S. news corporations. Crises involving Americans are a regular occurrence in the middle east and because of distance, a language barrier, and bias the news I receive from U.S. news corporations often contrasts Al Jazeera and even European news outlets.
On a less serious note, I enjoy sports news, Fark's funny selection of real news, and even John Stewart's "fake news" on The Daily Show. These news sources are hilarious and give me a light and exciting view of the news.