Video blog

I made a video blog. Having a history in Broadcast Journalism, and being in love with Final Cut Pro, I thought I'd edit it a little. A little too much, I suppose. I broke my blog I think.

Imperative Internet

Cell phones have had access to the internet for a few years now, but the trend has only just begun. With everyone and their mother.. and daughter.. and grandma clutching a cell phone, internet access has crossed the fence from trend to necessity.

It was not too long ago that cell phones were emergency use only. In early nineties movies, it was always business that carried around the mobile--making them look hurried and busy. Of course now every twelve year old and up has got a cell phone somewhere on their person (and if they don't have it, they're probably undergoing a panic attack because of it).

And ever since the internet became accessable through our wireless talking machines, having an internet ready phone has been desired. But, it's only been recently that, because of their availability, internet phones are not just a want--they're a need.

Verizon Wireless, along with most other cell phone companies, allow you to upgrade your phone every two years. A friend of mine, ready to upgrade, refused to get anything other than a Blackberry, one of the internet ready phones available today. Her parents didn't want to pay the extra thirty dollars a month for the internet, so my friend left with no phone at all. To this day, three months later, she still has her old phone; waiting for her Blackberry.

Why are we so concerned with have internet at our fingertips, when internet became available only a few decades ago? It could be that a necessity for some was intensified by the consumer driven society we live in. Now, a twenty something girl NEEDS to get on the internet any time of the day--we can't live without facebook for more than an hour. So what's next then, I wonder? I can only hope, whatever it is, it comes after we all have our internet phones.

Statesman newsroom adventure

The smooth white columns were the first to greet me. The door swung with me--escorting me through.
"May I help you?" he asked.
I signed in and waiting. The newest issue of the Statesman, of course, layed quaintly on the coffee table in the lobby.
"You found it ok?" Mr. Barnes stood there by the elevator. I was surprised he had so swiftly come down to take me to the newsroom.
Once the elevator doors opened, the newsroom exploded with energy. The desks scattered in a seemingly non-sensical pattern filled the floor. The room, though small, kept going.
The courtyard at the center of the building welcomed a tranquility that the newsroom failed to give off. Busy, rushed atmosphere was quieted by just a few trees. The green also was in keeping with the Austin way--nature is a necessary part of life--it's at the center of everything.
Pinatas and cheerful signs comforted me. Stress that had initially consumed me upon walking through those elevator doors disappeared after seeing a brick labeled "aggie bowling ball" and a "Sue Crossing" sign on the desk where I sat.
A fortune too, from a chinese restaurant trip in the past, by Sue perhaps, was pinned to the cubicle.
Laughs circulated through.
Cheerful people were there and they chattered away.
"Did you hear Rachel Ray was coming in?"

TV-Change for the better?

If we're not taking off someone's unsightly fat or tearing down and rebuilding their house, we're sticking a camera in their face and documenting their every move. "Oh what a shame." "Oh poor guy." "Makes me grateful for the life I have."

It seems everything gracing the television screen these days is in need of help.

And it sells! We love to watch others overcoming odds. Americans can't get enough of the heartwarming sob-fests that have taken over televison. Extreme Home Makeover is raking in millions every week for doing a good deed. It's easy to fall in love with the host, Ty's, ADHD charm, the weeping, the crying. And, we're part of the action. We saw their lives change for the better.

When some people cannot be helped so dramatically like on Extreme Home Makeover, we find thrill in watching them try and function.

TLC is notorious for "oh how do they manage" documentary style shows. From Jon & Kate plus Eight to their sporadic specials like Tree Man or The Littlest People in the World or The World's Heaviest Man, TLC finds a way to incorporate modern day circus-like curiosity into cable television. We admire their will to live and how they function so unlike the norm.

But why is it so interesting? Does our society find it exciting to document lives unlike ours--or bring them into the circle of normality?

5 Entertainment Trends

1. TV-Change for the better: we're either fixing people's lives or highlighting lives in struggle.
2. Get on line on your phone. Internet is imperative.
3. Documentaries are wedging their way in.
4. Get moving--Wii, Dance reality shows, etc. Let's stop being known for our weight and start looking great. How we're getting fit today.
5. We're so popular that even the earth likes us: green is going commerical.

Taped Journals

Research papers. Blogs. Articles. I have my entire life written down.

I stumbled upon a LiveJournal I had my sophomore year. It was silly--rambunctious banter about who was dating whom, who was in a fight with whom: "I hate Jillian. Hilary's a liar. Sean! Brandon! yadda yadda yadda".

I blushed when I read it. I mean, how embarrassing is it to not only see your horrendous grammar in action but think about the relationships you have with these people now and how ridiculous you were being then. In a LiveJournal, you of your past is preaching about how they are right--you of today is realizing how wrong past you is. And yet, it's sweet.

At nineteen, because I've had my life written, I can reminisce about things that happened less than five years ago. So about that debate: "to blog or not to blog?" I say, why not. It will bring you joy in the end.

Nostalgia and porn

(Caution: I use the word "dick" in this... a lot)

On a weekend getaway in my hometown, my very best friend Hilary and I reminisced about experiences we had in Highschool and College. There were the cute tales of who dated whom, or who had a crush on what, etc. But my favorite of all of my encounters over the years was an adventure a college friend and I had last year.

I went over to my friend's apartment to spend the afternoon. No homework, nothing to study for. I wanted to just chill out. His roommate was a bit of a weird-o, but I considered him a good friend as well. Good enough that I could have fun with him. His roommate was very funny about his things; one of those people who would freak out if anything was out of place. So, out of jest, I decided to change the background on his computer.

It was then that the fun started.

I went into his My Pictures folder. There, I found four sub folders: Me, Girls, Washington, My birthday. I went with My Birthday--nothing good. I overlooked Washington--boring. Girls--well, duh. It was porn. But it was the Me folder that ruined my life. When I opened the folder, the computer exploded with images of dicks. Big dicks, long dicks, black dicks, white dicks. I screamed my friends name. He came running over and we both, then, sat huddled in a corner on the floor. Where did they come from? Who's were they? WHY WERE THEY THERE? And then to add to the shock, at the bottom of the page of genitalia, was the lone picture of a redneck holding a prize trout (no dick included). To make matters worse, in my shock I had accidentally clicked on a picture of one, making it the background to his computer.

Once I peeled myself from the floor to change the picture back to the original background, of course, I couldn't find it. I found the most similar one I could. Yet, his roommate came home and asked me if I had been tampering with his things. I said no. I mean, how could I tell him. "Oh yeah, I tried to change it back but there were too many dicks in my way."