Media- Thumbs Up or Down?

Watching Gay Engaged and Underage on MTV.. which is so so awesome! It may still be reality television on what's supposed to be MUSIC television- but still so cool that MTV is sending out such a positive message.

On the downside, one of the news headlines today was something like "Lindsay Caught Picking at Her Nose."

Fashion Cash-in

Not that I can afford even one piece of these lines, but these are my niches in fashion, if that even makes sense.

Cheap Monday (especially their awesome skinny jean choices and colors)

April 77 is a line that I think is my new favorite- ever! The mens and womens lines are amazing- I love the punk-rockish look without being too Hot Topic. This line defnitely seems to be worth the pretty penny. I love it! Even cooler, a record label from the designers with a hip-hop sound called April 77 Records has been started.

Salasai hails from New Zealand. It's edgy, while still being feminine and classy. I love the color palatte- blacks, reds, dark blues, gold/beiges. A lot of the pieces can be mixed and matched too.

Salasai
Salasai

Cheap Monday Black Skinny Jeans
April 77
April 77- awesome shiny skinny jeans!!

Internet Takes Over Lives

I deactivated my facebook!

**Note that deactivate means I can get it back exactly how I left it at anytime.

Jonas Jonas Jonas

Right now I'm watching (one of) my fantasies: Jonas Brothers + Pete Wentz on FN MTV.

They also just announced that they are performing on the VMA's. Their pants, their shoes, their scarves.. I love it so much.

*photo from usmagazine.com

A Big Loss

Tony Snow, former White House press secretary, and someone's whose work I always respected, passed away. I was so surprised when I heard the news today, even though it's been out that he had been diagnosed with cancer.

Here's another great article in which CNN reporters reflect on Tony and his work.

Music Music Music/Chicago

At the Taste of Chicago yesterday (Sunday), I caught a free and very very up-close concert with Josh Kelley and the Plain White T's.

It rained pretty much the whole time- but at the booths AND at the performance which drew a huge crowd, it didn't look like ANYONE left.

Josh Kelley aka Katherine Heigl's husband has a few songs that I love- and seeing him perform "Almost Honest" and "Amazing" live was so awesome. He was pretty funny too, as was the rest of his band.

He played this song taken from his CD that is going to be played during the Olympics- joking that it will be the new montage song that will replace Sarah McLachlan's.

I seriously thought Plain White T's were just going to play their set and not really say much, but the lead singer is pretty funny! I've seen them comment on the "I Love.." shows on VH1, where they made me laugh and it didn't stop there. They played a new song from their album out this fall which they had never played before, along with "Our Time Now" (some people know this as the Greek theme song), "Hate(I Really Don't Like You), and "Hey There, Delilah."

The Chicago Sun-Times wrote a perfect article explaining their set, how the pouring rain that I stood in tied in with their music, and more.

Both performances were really really good- awesome for a free show!

*photo from marlerblog.com

Career

My major is Public Relations (or Communications, I don't know yet). A short article defines the entire field. As of right now, I want to work in the music industry. PR to me can be exciting at the top, but to me it seems like the long road to that is mostly/partly in an office.

Now, I don't mind interning (I am now, at a radio station 102.3 XLC) because I can observe, learn new things about the business, and gain contacts. But I just don't want to do something that's not interesting/exciting to me. I really really like the type of people that are in the music industry that I have met so far (well, I haven't had too much time with major record labels' top employees yet) -the creativity, artistic minds, and a lot more.

I like that the music industry is always on the go- touring, new music, festivals, etc. The experiences that I have had so far this past year have been really great, and I'm excited to see what will happen next!

Music Music Music

Love The Black Lips! Categorized on MySpace as "psychedelic/comedy" might make you think they're a joke without giving this group a listen. "O Katrina" and "Bad Kids" are two very very cool songs.

And they're playing Lollapalooza this year!

Cool Cause + Music

The Nike+ Human Race is being advertised as the world's largest one day running event. It will take place in 25 cities on August 31 of this year. "Money will be raised via givebacks from registration fees, a percentage of Nike+ Human Race t-shirt sales and a donation of USD $1 million from Nike. " (from this article). There is also an online tool where users can pledge money.

Lance Armstrong already committed to the race, along with many other athletes. Staying true to modern uses of the internet, nikeplus.com offers a place where you can create a user profile and has access to information about the race and pre-race training.

There will be 25 major recording artists in each of the 25 cities- including Kanye West in the Los Angeles race and Fall Out Boy in the Chicago (yay!) race. Other cities include London, Paris, and Madrid.

This sounds pretty cool, and there is already a great source of more information for participants at nikeplus.com. I wonder if any of it will be televised? Hopefully, the turnout will be really really successful- I'm sure the huge performers + the cause itself is enough for people to get interested. Once on the website, you choose which city you want to run in, and also the charity you would like your proceeds to be donated to- pretty cool. The FAQ section will probably give you even more incentive to join, there's a lot of information in here! (this one is for Chicago's race).

Money made will be donated to each of the three organizations: WWF, the global conservation organization, Lance Armstrong Foundation and UN refugee agency's ninemillion.org campaign.

More Music Industry

A very very interesting piece was written, again on the changing music industry. The article weighs in on rap stars and their soon-ending contracts, and their next steps. One of the main points that looking into being signed on a record label is not necessarily a priority is the music industry's new focus on digital media and online social networks and the entire boom of music and products on the Internet in general.

The money is not necessarily just in the records themselves, but in a whole new form of branding on the internet. Sales from rap albums, as well as others, are down from just last year. These artists (LL Cool J, Jay-z) are already huge and established, and could do well on their own. There are more do-it-all entrepreneurs than ever- think Diddy. What they choose to do will without a doubt have a huge impact on the future of the music business.

The Future (should be) Now

*photos from inhabit.com

Wow! First, here's the picture. Yes, that's a CAR. Branded as a "solar, human, and gas-electric hybrid vehicle," it has a 150+ miles per gallon fuel efficiency- complete with solar panels on the roof! Where did this come from? Hungary, where it's titled as the Antro Solo and set to come out in 2012 for the price of $20,000.

I Love.. 'I Love..'

VH1's I Love the New Millenium started this week, starting with 2000/2001. Maybe it's just not as fun to hear about something I'm extremely familiar about that only happened a few years ago. I Love the 80's and I Love the 90's seemed to flow better and had more of a variety of what the network chose to show on the series. It's still good though, but maybe should have waited a few more years to recap events that only happened very recently. You just don't get that "Oh yeah, I forgot about that!" reaction from this series really at all. They did do a good piece (no humor was used) on 9/11 though in the 2001 hour.

Music Industry

Recent studies show "consumers acquired more music in 2007, but spent less." No kidding! That would be just one of the causes of changes /problems in the music industry today.

The Real World

Good news for us soon-to-be grads in Illinois!

Northside Pride

It's time for.. the CUBS/SOX series this weekend! Awesome time to be in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune has started a new blog featuring both Cubs and Sox team players in posted videos on the site, plus other really unique things from around the Internet.

**UPDATE: Cubs swept the Sox this weekend- still another Cubs/Sox series coming up!

The Taste of Chicago in Grant Park- which is increasing ticket prices and I think having less vendors this year- is also coming up in a little over a week. It's really fun though, lots of people, only comes once a year, live music- definitely worth it! One of my favorite bands, A Cursive Memory is set to play.

Lollapalooza is coming up in early August, which I will be interning at- should be cool! Also Warped tour- which is the same weekend! Not so good.

Jonas

Yeah, I just bought People magazine's Special Collector's Edition of the Jonas Brothers. Moving way up on my list of people to meet is their stylist, Michelle Tomaszewski. They're ALWAYS dressed extremely well AND coordinated with one another!

Late Night News

Larry the Cable guy has ruined Deal or No Deal for me!! On The Tonight Show, he jokes, "I had a dream last night about the Deal or No Deal Girls. They were all prostitutes and the amount in the case was the amount you paid for them. And it's like "Come on 10 dollars!!"

Also, right after watching a segment of some guy that jumped over 8 interns on the Late Show, the announcer says "Stay tuned for Spencer Pratt." WHAT?! So weird. Except I still think the FN MTV commercials are funny.

Indie Rock

*photo from indierockcafe.com

After catching these guys perform a great live show at Club Firestone this past weekend, I did a little searching on the indie/pop/rock group Vampire Weekend. Here's one review from their album released earlier this year. Vampire Weekend put on an awesome live show and definitely won me over with that and their great sound. I love them!

So, I don't obsess over/love all indie music. I think I once described what I do like of Indie music is the more "upbeat sounds." I like The Strokes, Radiohead(in smaller doses, don't kill me), Muse, The Killers, etc.

But I just don't listen to all of what indie music has to offer. However, I do think it's great and probably one of the most creative sounds of today. I don't think I have to just stick to one type of music though. I love learning about different bands and different sounds, but have a hard time focusing on just one ALL the time.

What I'm saying is, when I'm listening to music to bring a good mood, enjoy my time, have fun, etc. I would say I mostly like listening to other forms of rock (pop, classic) or punk. I'm absolutely not saying that there's anything wrong with "indie" music- it's extremely creative and I'm impressed with every said band that I listen to.

I'm saying that for example, if I'm going for a drive, The Libertines wouldn't necessarily be the first band that I feel like cruising to. I wouldn't spend my life's savings on tickets for The Kooks. I can listen to and enjoy this type of music; it's just not the very first response I would give out when talking about my favorite music.

I hope it doesn't sound like I don't like this type of music, the point is that I do! I just am not always in the right place to WANT to feel like listening to it. That's all!

Funny Funny Funny

*photo from phillymag.com

Can never get enough of this awesome impressionist, Frank Caliendo! He is so so so good at what he does. This is one of the best and funniest sets of his from the David Letterman Show.

There are a lot of aspiring comedians who aren't funny, too over the top, too raunchy, too repetitive, etc. But Caliendo puts on a great act; very funny! I've seen most of his stuff, and he should definitely come out with some new material soon.

More Hacking

This, about the Chinese hacking computers of those in U.S. Congress, sounds like an episode of 24.

Pete Wentz

*photo from people.com

Ok.. this commercial for Pete's new show promising music on "F'N MTV" is pretty funny, even though you try not to laugh. But you can't help it! (You have to watch until the very end!).

Mission Space

There's really nothing else to say about it, except this new space mission is pretty cool! I remember sophomore year of high school in my environmental geoscience class, my teacher read from Stephen Hawkings' book "A Brief History in Time," about black holes, endless space, etc.

The device that left for space today was described as a "flashlight that will shine in space" where it can discover things not yet known or seen out there.

Also, the Kennedy Space Center is like a half hour from where I live and I've still never been there!!

Reality TV

In this clip, Jeff Lewis, a crazy, funny guy who renovates expensive homes and sells them on his reality show "Flipping Out," refers to last season where he "flipped out" because his assistant brought him an order of food with onions- you can only guess how he felt about this, and he's not afraid to say it.

The show is coming back on June 17th!!

Myspace Gets Outsmarted!

Reportedly, Myspace user "Jesse" hacked into pop group Boys Like Girls' Myspace all day today. He hacked their account, posting bulletins titled "Add him! He is the reason we're here," giving his own link inside. Inside the bulletin, user "Jesse" writes,

"Add the guy that got us where we are now! This is the guy that basically got us started from the ground up and really enjoyed helping us. He's an all around nice type of guy but recently got deleted.He help us as much as many others start off and since he has gotten deleted we want to help him out like he did so add him you might recongnize his face but help him get up there again!"

This story is only reportedly true.. with over 6,000 friends this guy is a genius, but also an idiot! What's the point? To get more friends.. on the internet? Or to show off?

He even went as far as to put himself on the band's top friends. Boys Like Girls has gotten very popular recently, with help of MTV and major radio airplay and are also signed to Columbia Records. The band from Boston has hundreds of thousands of friends, a lot of whom have potentially read the many bulletins posted today by the hacker.

The band may not yet have realized they have been hacked, and no statement has been released or update posted.

***Updated: Jesse's MySpace account was deleted

Dave's Top 10

Sometimes David Letterman's Top 10 is funny, sometimes it's a little bit less. This was from last night's show called "Top Ten Messages Heard on Barack Obama's Answering Machine." Very, very funny.

Chicago

The weather in Chicago is getting warm- for my coming home! Not really, but the news says that in Chicago the high today is 92 and it was something like 72 degrees now (9:06 AM CT).

Same weather as here in Orlando, awesome! About one week until I'm home!! Except, oh yeah, I still have to get through the statistics final. Well actually I still have to get through the statistics project due in an hour and a half.

Sex and the City

*photo courtesy of amazon.com

The Sex and the City soundtrack is getting great reviews! The soundtrack includes songs from artists Fergie, Jennifer Hudson (also in the film), Morningwood, The Weepies, and Joss Stone.

Still can't wait to see the movie!! Also, I'm still trying to avoid hearing people talk about it, which is hard.

Twitter on CNN

Twitter breakthrough! On the front page, the headlining CNN story is entitled, "Freed student uses Twitter to demand translator's release." I talked a little about Twitter in the first post. It's a website that many people- mostly 18+, businesspeople- can compose statuses which are updated right away on the Twitter website, from the site itself and/or from their cell phone or Facebook. There's a word limit,which makes it easily readable and a quick process.

It takes a little to get use to remembering to go to it- but users can make connections and send important information through their updated statuses.

This is a great example. A student alerted his friends he was arrested by updating his Twitter status through his cell as "Arrested," in which his friends were then aware of the situatuon. The student and his teacher were taken into custody while at a protest concerning the economy. He was let out of jail by help of a lawyer he hired. This has lead some to reaearch concerning a "Twitter network that would allow those in trouble to directly let someone know that they are in danger."

Interesting! Look what technology has come to. This is really cool, especially considering Twitter is kind of a newer site. It's fast, quick approach opens a lot of doors for researchers, and I'm sure there will be a lot of good that comes out of this.

That's Nice!

Reported from the huffingtonpost.com:

On the topic of Vice President Dick Cheney and Senator Barack Obama's recent findings of being distantly related,

"Cheney explained that during the course of researching his family lineage for Lynne's memoir "Blue Skies, No Fences" last year, he learned there were Cheneys on both his father's and his mother's side of the family. There was a Richard Cheney on his mother's side, the vice president said, 'So I had Cheneys on both sides of the family and we don't even live in West Virginia," Cheney quipped.'

Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia was not amused:

'...Now that he or the Administration he represents no longer needs their vote, Mr. Cheney apparently feels that he is now free to mock and belittle the people of West Virginia. With his trademark arrogance, the Vice President even added 'You can say those things when you're not running for re-election.'"
"This pitiful comment is not entirely surprising when you consider the source. Vice President Cheney's words reflect the attitude of an administration and a party that says what they must to get elected and then turns their backs on those they promised to represent.' "

Yeah, that's nice.

Internships

I apply to so many different internships/volunteer opportunities/etc. that sometimes it's hard to keep track.. but I do remember the Lollapalooza one which would be so awesome to do.

Also, when I apply to intern or work at a record label- whenever that is- I think I don't want to start off with Major labels. That sounds backward, but this is just my opinion that those in the major record labels have been in the business for years and it's ALL about the money. I think that like, for indie record labels, more of the music- since it IS indie- is a bigger factor. That's really not the only reason at all because it could definitely not be true. I like a lot of music these days from labels like Drive-Thru Records, Tooth & Nail, and others. I think it's important to actually believe in, support, and understand the type of music that I would be working for.

I also don't want to end up working for a huge corporation (which who knows, I could end up happily doing that) because eventually I want to start/co-start my own company. I'm not exactly sure what kind, and hopefully I can start more than one unique organization, not necessarily all related to music or the music industry either.

Fashion, or Something Like It

Recently, New York City held the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards- a huge huge deal for the fashion industry.

*photo courtesy of jared.buzznet.com

Anyway, I caught sight of Hilary Duff's sparkling Michael Kors dress and it proves again how much I love her recent fashion choices. Seriously, I know when people see the name Hilary Duff they think, "yeah yeah, perky blonde teen Disney star, what else is new?" But do you see her getting DUI's, stealing, stumbling out of clubs drunk, or being admitted to rehab? Absolutely not!

Her style has definitely become her own too.

*photos courtesy of hilarystyle.org and people.com

Fashion Blues

I don't want this to turn into any sort of gossip writing , but thought this was definitely important.

Very, very famous and iconic designer Yves Saint Laurent passed away today at 71. He is an icon in the fashion world.

When Heath Ledger passed away earlier this year, there was a lot of controversy on why his death was so highlighted when so, so many people die every day. Of course it's sad when ANYONE dies, but the reason celebrities' passings are made so public are because they're just that-celebrities, aka in the spotlight. They are recognized and followed by many for a great talent of theirs, and it's tragic when they pass and they can no longer share and improve on their talent for the world to see.

Some of his talented designs below (from the YSL site):

MTV

Wow wow wow! The only highlight of the Music Television's MTV MOVIE awards, which was pretty much a huge advertisement for Mike Meyers and his new movie "The Love Guru," was Seth Rogan and his co-presenter smoking, as they were commenting on exactly what they were doing as they were doing it, at the award platform on stage!!

I'm pretty sure they actually did, as I could tell by the camera's shots of the reaction from the shockes audience members.

The whole time this went on on the stage, the only shot of the presenters was from the furthest away camera, probably from the balcony, where you could barely make out who they were. It was pretty funny!!

Web

Cool site: IBeatYou.com

Users create various competitions- by video- that other users can enter in.

No more explaining needed, you just have to go to it for yourself! I looked around, but the video that drew me into the site was a piece made by a marine and his dedicated girlfriend.

Needs to be Fixed

The subject of teen car crashes seems to me like it's been on the rise in the media. Is the media just featuring more of this topic, or are there actually more incidents of car crashes involving teeangers? The article, distributed by PRnewswire.com, emphasizes the important role of parents in all this.

When I was at home, especially since I can remember starting in 2005 at my first year in college, I remember hearing about a ton of crashes involving teens in my area and surrounding areas. The causes including drunk driving, speeding, risky behavior behind the wheel, and accidents.

I think that parents should definitely be monitering their kids closely, especially when driving at young ages. The article also suggests having talks with your kids- which may sound cheesy, unnecessary, or uncomfortable. But it doesn't have to be long AND can make a huge difference.

The things parents say to their kids mold and shape them, and since this topic proves fatal, it's really important that this is paid attention to and addressed.

Why Don't You Do Something

Being lazy on a Saturday.. but summer school is over in 2 weeks and then it's back to Illinois!

Speaking of Florida..

The Boston Globe is reporting on considered plans for what to do about the Florida and Michigan votes.

The primaries for both states were, against rules, moved to later dates than scheduled this Jaunuary. Both remained on the Florida ballot, while Obama took his name off of the Michigan ballot.

Clinton is calling for full votes, while Senator Obama is calling for "half" votes. What?! What's a half vote- what's the point? Clinton just wants the full numbers to prove the polls wrong.

*photo courtesy of nytimes.com

I don't understand why they wouldn't just count ALL the votes, not "half-votes."



Recount: Part 2, is already in production..

Great Great Great Music

THE HOODIES! Really good pop/indie/punk music. (can indie and punk go together..?)

Oh well, these guys are good and have great, catchy songs.
Their song "Elegy" reeled me in right away!!

Hey Chicago what do ya say..

This is awesome! A compilation of spirited tunes supporting the Cubs is released for purchase. As a Chicago Cubs baseball fan, this is something that it seems only huge enough fans would purchase. Good to see the support of the Chicago Cubs team though.

But I kind of think a portion of the proceeds should go to one of the organizations the Chicago Cubs has donated to.

Just my opinion for someone who made a CD about the Cubs with track titles such as "Everywhere I go, go Cubs," and "Let Your Cubs Flag Fly."

SATC

No, I didn't see Sex and the City yet. But I saw a clip on VH1 where SATC'S Kim Catrall said there is a surprise ending, and a bunch of characters (from Jason lewis to Sarah Jessica Parker) pretty much hinted toward that same idea.

I just thought it was going to be a 2 hour episode of Sex and the City- which isn't a bad thing! But now that I know that there's a "surprise ending," I'm even more excited to see it.

Now I'm just scared that there will be spoilers all over tv, the Internet, and with people talking that I can not hear!!

Texas Polygamy Ranch...

Ok so I addressed the news about the Texas Polygamist ranch child custody case a couple days ago. I came across this article in the NY Times. There's a ton of information about the case and individual instances in this lengthy article.

There just seems to be more and more evidence that illegal acts are more possible than ever to have occured on the ranch with underage kids. But I just can't help thinking it's still very very sad how these YOUNG kids were whisked away from their families how they were.

I understand that it was for safety reasons of course for the kids, but the fact that the court overturned this ruling based on no evidence just proves for controversy in this case.

That's definitely not to say court rulings are always just and valid. But, these children will be affected for the rest of their lives because of this, not to mention their exposure from the huge media spotlight.

Late Night

I'm a huge huge Conan O'Brien fan, and one of the shows originally aired awhile ago was aired this week..

*photo courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

I couldn't go without posting the very funny video clip from one of my favorite segments of his!!

Go green

Besides turning the water off while brushing my teeth (most of the time) I'm trying again to help the environment. I'm not buying water bottles anymore (which is pretty much the only thing I drink every day) and bought a Pur filter for the sink.

I also bought one of those Starbucks mugs that keeps cold liquids cold and hot liquids hot (I never drink coffee and needed to make use of my Starbucks giftcard sometime!), to carry around clean, filtered water in.

Totally doing my part!

Gas and Music

Article from thedailychorus.com



"My Thoughts....
After reading a recent Chicago Tribune article on how gas prices are affecting touring bands, it made me want to re-emphasize the importance of online sales (and community) to a band's success.



There are several bands on our Top Unsigned list selling over 5,000 songs (a couple over 10,000) on iTunes a month and about half are selling about 1,000 a month.Until producers costs come down, the costs of recording an album will be the same. But singles are what people want now.



People want to pay for good songs, not an album of fillers. Incorporating exclusive merchandise with new singles is a way to create income.



There is a lot of money to be made by unsigned bands. It is an unsigned market.Find forward-thinking management. That is key. Research and find licensing deals with merch and distribution.



Many companies are shifting their business models to take on unsigned bands. Don't let the rising gas prices and falling CD sales scare you. It should only shift your bands business model to a more profitable future, that's less dependent on labels.



Posted by tim.towner on May 29, 2008"



*photo courtesy of http://www.bized.co.uk

This is so so well-said! It's exactly to the point about the position of the music industry NOW. This is definitely something that should be addressed, as the music industry is changing with the rise of popularity of unsigned bands and independent labels. i.e.: artists/managers/etc supporting themselves!!!



These artists are reprenting a bigger piece of the industry now. I definitely agree with what Towner has to say about how business models should adjust accordingly in these new times for music.



That said, it's important for the band to work hard for this as well. It's unlikely that the band itself can do this without the help of promoters, managers, and/or agents.



I learned from the CEO of a social media marketing firm here in Orlando that the bands should create and perform the music and instead of trying to juggle promotions, websites,and materials, to hand it over to professionals, which is a great business decision.



It's not necessarily about the money for marketing companies, but about GREAT promoting of the entire package. Not just flyers. Not just websites. Not just fan interaction. But all of that and more must be paid attention to in order for a band to become a success. Plus, the band has to be able to deliver and attract crowds in a unique way- the most important aspect in my opinion. Producing new ways, especially with technology and the internet, are great starts to gaining some sort of incoming dollars for the band.



According to a recent panel of music industry execs and musicians themselves at the Florida Music Festival, a lot of people in the music business are solely in it for the money. But, again as an optimist, I think that there are a lot of people on the business side of music who begin with a passion for music- at least I would hope so! Such a shame if that's not the majority of cases..


Still don't know a ton about how this business works, but just some thoughts.

Rock Star Syndrome

*photo courtesy of allposters.com

According to the Associated Press, Steven Tyler entered rehab for peace and quiet to recover from physical therapy.

The article ended with this sentence, "The 60-year-old was known for heavy drug and alcohol abuse in the 1970s and early 1980s, but completed rehabilitation in 1986, after which Aerosmith enjoyed a successful revival."

Let him be! If Tyler's going for addiction problems, he should be commended for trying to get better.

Needs to Stop

I'm a huge believer in equality- between EVERYONE. One shouldn't judge anyone based on anything- that says it all. There have been a high number of student crimes in Chicago, which is so so terrible.

These kids are just that- kids, and they're passing way way before their time due to violence, gangs, and overall differences.

It's hard to say what needs to be done to stop this, and I know it's not just in Chicago and needs to stop. There's no reason for this kind of violence to be going on; the reasoning comes down to differences between people.

Why judge other people? Why resort to VIOLENCE and crimes? The effort for after school programs , activities, and such to keep kids "off the streets" has potential but obviously it needs a lot more work.

Maybe the schools need to be more involved with their students, maybe not. It's hard to say, there are factors to consider for both sides.

Should the teachers with their already full days be reponsible for students after school hours? Is it the school's responsibility, in teaching a well-rounded curriculum and giving a good education to kids, to enforce programs or should that be led by outside organizations? Is it poor education in itself leading to children getting into trouble out of school hours?

It's not necessarily about the school itself, but it has got to be someone's responsibility to better the lives of kids and keep them out of trouble.

A cool example of some programs in Chicago.

Speaking of Florida..

Watching "Recount" on HBO.

Especially is interesting in how they don't show the faces of actors playing Bush and Gore.

*Update: It's a documentary with real footage of the news from the election day until the Supreme Court ruling to reject the recount.

It was actually really good, I'd watch it again; it's a pretty fast-paced piece. The acting was really good and like the reviews said, the film went into a lot of detail about events during those weeks that maybe the average person hadn't known.

Oh, and Kevin Spacey, who always chooses interesting roles, is also good.

Tech Tech Tech

*photo courtesy of cnet.com

attention alien lovers? Check out this new laptop, called the Alienware Area 51 m15x (from boutique manufacturer Alienware).

This picture shows the colors on the keyboard- one cool feature of this is that you can customize your color.

It's going for 5,000$$$. Cool to look at though.

for the children..

*photo courtesy of cnn.com

In The Texas Polygamy child custody case, a court ruling has been issued and the 400 kids taken away from their parents will be returned.

Upon discovering the polygamist ranch, the children were taken away based on reports of "abuse."

So sad for those kids to be taken away from their families quickly, but critics say there was no evidence to whisk them away from their families.

This is such a controversial case, but hopefully the truth will be found out. I'm an optimist and hope that as mothers, these women wouldn't let anything bad happen to their own children. It looks like it will be a drawn out case to get to the bottom.

TV Land

Love my daily O.C at 4pm, thanks Soapnet!

The Difference Between Want and Need

Love this dress above from Urban Outfitters.

Isn't it perfect for like a date night? I just need to find the date part.

Math Rules!

15 more minutes til stats test, and that's 15 minutes I have to start and finish studying

White House Rendezvous

The White House is defending President Bush and the Administration against commentary in Scott McClellan's new piece, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception."

(photo courtesy of amazon.com)

"If he had these moral qualms," former Chief of Staff Karl Rove says, "he should have spoken up about them."

In the book, McClellan addresses the Administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, Iraq, as well as various figures in the White House.

Oh well, let freedom of speech be.

I mean, I understand their need to defend against what they may see are false claims or altered ideas and events and their questioning of credibility and why he only chose to speak up now.

It's hard what to believe anymore, it's kind of like O.J. Simpson's former (agent?) speaking out about how O.J. confessed to him and his new published book- which was widely questioned on why this man published his book years after the verdict.

Anyway, like said I'm all for freedom of speech. What is this gonna do anyway, bring the polls down.. more?

Sex And The City

The day before the big opening, Sex and the City reviews are mostly all in. With words like "half-hearted," none of the reviews are looking good!!! Also, apparently boom mics were seen in some of the scenes- where's the editing on this high-budget movie?

Won't stop anyone from seeing it though. As a pop culture phenomenon, it probably doesn't matter if the movie was the worst in the world, the money is still gonna be brought in.

Taking over the world one young person at a time

Yeaaah for young people!

HOME

A friend told me I might be sad coming from warm Orlando weather home to cold weather in IL. Ahhhh.

YouTube is still taking over..

Does anyone else love watching covers on YouTube? Once I get started, it's hard to stop.

From the network that gave us The Hills, Next, and Undressed..

Just like the show "Celebrity Rehab" on VH1 glamourized addiction, rapper T.I., convicted of possession of firearms along with other crimes is set to star in a documentary about his community service. Oh, and the conclusion will be when he starts his jail sentence.



*photo courtesy of tvguide.com

Jail, felon, firearms- just because it's a celebrity at hand, does that make it right to glamourize his or her wrongdoings by creating a documentary on very popular tv networks geared toward younger viewers?

MTV already pushes buttons, with its lack of music on a music television network (recently called out by artists Justin Timberlake and Pete Wentz) or its change to not tape Total Request Live.. well, live.

Celebrities of ANY kind should not receive compensation of any kind, let alone "hit" TV shows, for breaking the law! MTV knows it attracts younger viewers; this sends out a very poor and irresponsible message to them.

Why should this convict literally receive star treatment and star in his own show for committing a crime? Doesn't make any sense.

Think of Twitter as a 24/7 Facebook status.

Whoa, Twitter. Still a little young to get the real use out of Twitter, it's pretty interesting to see how important and, *cough* "busy" business people make use of their day. Just kidding..

But really, it sort of puts everyone on the same level which is cool. Also an efficient stalking method where the "stalkee" will never know you are doing so. It'll be cool once I have good stuff to "Twit" about.