MGMT Concert

So who here likes the band MGMT? I really enjoy their style of music- a genre called Electro-Pop. Tuesday they are playing a concert at the Bank of America Pivilion on Tuesday and I REALLYYY want to go. They are not easily categorized because they have so many different styles infused into one unique sound. My friend Jill introduced me to the group about a year ago, and I can not get enough of them. I highly reccommend that people listen to one of their songs, some popular ones are- "Kids" and "Electric Feel". If I had the money (Just got my car towed, 113 bucks down the drain... that's a non-media related story or else I'd discuss it), then I would absolutely be there. Maybe some of you are lucky enough to go, if so I'm so jealous. Let me know how it was!!!!

Finding a Media Related (or any) Job

So in about three months (god willing) I will be on the wonderful search for a full time job like thousands of recent grads. Of my friends who've graduated, none of them have found a job that has anything to do with their field of study. This kind of worries me, due to the fact that I love my major and am passionate about working in media through some form or another. Right now I work at an insurance company called Utica National. It's a wonderful company with locations all around the country, yet it isn't something I could see myself doing forever. On the other hand, the marketing dept. is something that is of interest to me due to the fact that they are barely ever in the office. They spend their time going from agency to agency selling the products our company offers. As of now, I'm a part time mail clerk, as low on the totem pole as you can get. Even though the president himself said he'd give me a personal reference if I find a job else where, I still have that sense of fear- not knowing whether or not I'll obtain a job that meets my personal standards. I'm sure that I'm not the only one who feels this way, how do other people feel about getting a job once they graduate? Should I just go to grad school at this rate?

Red Sox vs. Indians

I went to the Red Sox game with my boyfriend and the game did not disappoint me one bit. All my friends got stuck watching the madness on TV, but we got to see it first hand. Whenever you can go watch your favorite team play, drink beer, have Lowell come back from the disabled list to homer at his first at bat, and have Beckett look like his old self you know your in for a good night.  The fight that broke out in the 8th that got Beckett ejected from the game was the icing on the cake for me.  I never knew Beckett would be at the forefront of the madness; the kid has some heart. 

One disappointing thing however was Yuk' being put on the disabled list.  We definately could use his bat during the dog days of summer.  The Sox need to have a couple of the players step up and stay consistent in order for them to go to the playoffs, but I know they have the ability to do it. 

Bottomline, if you're a Sox fan, get out to Fenway and support your team and you will surely have a great time.  And to you partiers, pre-game beforehand and sneak booze in because $9 beers will put a dent in your wallet in a hurry!

The Social Network Trailer

I wanted to share this trailer with everyone because of its significance to our generation. The whole invention of Facebook was geared towards young adults in college. I remember when I first got a Facebook, I couldn't wait to recieve my email from Bridgewater to set up an account. Today, only four years later, there are approx. 500 MILLION users. Now the majority of the people are not just students and young adults, yet generations upon generations from my eight year old brother to my 80 year old grandfather all have a Facebook account. I am excited to see this movie, mainly because I did a semester long project on Facebook and I know a lot about the scandals surrounding Mark Z. and his so called friends who sued him for hundreds of millions. So is anyone else excited to see this movie?

True Blood, too much?

Does anyone watch True Blood on HBO? WHAT A CRAZZYYYY show that is! Tonight was a new episode, and I couldn't even keep watching it because it got so intense. The blood and gore on that show has really gotten a little out of hand, but no one can stop watching it! My boyfriend and his boss are so obsessed with it that during the hour it's on, neither one of them speaks. What's even worse is that we have DVR on the TV so they can just fast forward through the commericals leaving no time for conversation, or for me to complain about the show. The plot itself is exciting and keeps you on your toes, yet sometimes it's hard to keep up with what's going on. I don't know if it's just me, but you should definitely check it out if you haven't already seen it....

Texting and Driving

Today I was driving home from work and got a text from my friend. Lately I've been trying really really hard not to text and drive, but for some reason I felt the need to respond to a not-so-important text. It's raining out and obviously I didn't take that into account while texting. I swirved and came SO CLOSE to hitting a telephone pole that I swear I saw my life flash before me... well not really but you get how close of a call it was. PLEASE do not text and drive. It's not worth using your life or someone elses to respond to a text that said 'hey whats up'. I know too many people that are guilty of this, including my parents and other relatives. I am going to start to make a concious effort to not text, or even talk on the phone while driving for the matter. Trust me, it's NOT worth it!!

The Invention of Lying

While researching on hte Massachusetts Film Office website for my paper, I was looking at all the movies filmed in Mass. Little did I know that one of my favorite movies seen this year, The Invention of Lying, was actually filmed in the state in which I live! I couldn't believe that I hadn't recognized any of the scenary in the film, for it was shot in Lowell and Andover. Andover is only two towns away from where I live in Reading, and Lowell is not far either. Jennifer Garner and Ricky Gervais are just two of the many talented and famous people in this halarious comedy. Imagine living in a world where lying does not exist. When someone asks you "How are you today" and you actually tell them how you REALLY feel rather than replying "Good, and you?". The movie is funny and entertaining, and if you haven't seen it I would definitely reccommend it.

BBC News

After reading the research chapter of the book I wanted to check out the http://www.bbc.co.uk/ website to see how effective and informative it really is. The coolest part about the site was where you could chose from any location around the world and click on it on the map. Once you chose a location, the site directed you to your destination of choice where you could learn all bout the Continent and which places are best to visit. What I found funny about the North American site was that it redirected me to a page called www.lonelyplanet.com/NorthAmerica. At the top of the page there is a map of North America and you can chose from any location on the continent. There is a picture gallery of sites around North America and attractions such as Vegas and beautiful beaches in Canada. I could spend hours on this site, and I suggest anyone who is going somewhere or thinking about traveling to check it out!

Facebook Rules over Social Networks around the World

In an article in the New York Times media section, it discussed how Facebook has grown immensly over the past six years, beginning in a Harvard dorm room, transforming into a Social Network site found in hundreds of languages used around the World. "Facebook is growing at a dizzying rate around the globe, surging to nearly 500 million users, from 200 million users just 15 months ago." It's hard to imagine that it only took a little over a year for 300 million people to create accounts on Facebook. I didn't realize that so many other countries around the world were as up-to-date with such social networks. In fact, Facebook has forced many other social Networking sites seen in other parts of the globe to go 'out of business'. Such sites as StudiVZ in Germany and Bebo in Britain, have become irrelevant next to the infamous Facebook site. MySpace has become less popular in the U.S.- I used to have a MySpace, and right when I got Facebook, I realized how much better it was (to me) and quickly deleted my MySpace account... poor Tom.  Mark Z, creator of Facebook, has such confidence in the site that he believes, and even guarantees, that Facebook will reach a billion users... meaning that 1/6 of the worlds population will be participating in the social networking frenzy. WOW!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/08/technology/companies/08facebook.html?_r=1&ref=media

Mobile Media Alerts= Lazy

It's strange to me, still, to think of how many people rely on their cell phones, a device used to get in touch with another person at any moment in time, for so many other things than just that. A perfect example would be an article I read about such matters where 2,000 adults were surveyed and more than half agreed that they would like to get alerts for mobile discount programs. Groceries, national restaurant chains and entertainment as well as fast food were such aspects in which people would like to have sent to their phones. To me this is just pure laziness. Considering what people wanted most of (food), it is not very surprising considering the stats: "One-third of Americans who currently have signed up for mobile marketing alerts indicate that such services impact their decision to go into stores and 27 percent report that mobile programs have impacted their decision to buy products in physical retail locations". This just screams lazy, and takes the fun out of shopping all-together. I understand if your a busy mother with a family it can be convenient at times but do people really need to be alerted with coupons everytime such industries decide to send one out? Wouldn't that be annoying too?

The Twilight Saga Eclipse

Is anyone as excited as I am to see this? The weird thing about it is that it comes out on a Wednesday... Good for me because I don't have to work, but still strange since most movies come out on a Friday. I am not an avid reader of the Twilight series, however I do enjoy watching all the movies. My fourteen year old sister is probably not even as excited as I am (okay bad example she has all the books and like 10 posters). The only issue for me is that NONE of my friends like it.. and she is at that age where she is too cool to go w/ her sis to a movie. So I will prob end up seeing this by myself... which is fine because the last time I went to the movies and saw Twilight with my friend she would NOT shut up. So I guess I am better off drooling over Taylor Lautner by myself.

Congrats Alex!

I just found out from Bjorn's Facebook page and the news section on Blackboard that a fellow classmate, Alex Perry, had just won several awards for his video Grow Grass Grow! It won Best Comedy in the whole NATION! Even better, he broke a record by having his video win 2 years in a row!

Congratulations Alex! I loved watching your video and I look forward to seeing future videos of yours.

Celtics vs. Lakers Game Seven Update

Lets go Celtics lets go! They are currently only winning by 2, 4 minutes ago they were winning by 8! Just goes to show how basketball games can change up at ANY time!
Now they are up by seven! This is so intense..

I am watching it with my best girl friend our boy friends are not even here and we are screaming. Earlier on a friends facebook their status read that there was a poll shown on the news: How many people like Celtics vs. lakers. Only two states sad Celts...MA and like Utah! What is THAT? That's more of a reason why we deserve to win! Perkins not playing is clearly having know affect on the Celts, Shrek, or should i say Baby Davis, is doing great!!! It's almost half time and we are going strong.

Who else is bloggin and watchin the game right now?

P.S. I <3 Rondo

Skype- The New International Comm Phenomenon

My friend Shauna went to Spain last year for a semester. So far away from friends and family, with only ten dollars on her card, she found a way to talk face to face for little or no fee. She explained to me how Skype works, for I have never gotten the chance to use it but would really like to. Her dad, whom used to live in Mexico, has left behind many family members and talking to them used to be a fortune. Now, fortunately for him and his family, Skype has allowed them to contact one another, so he gets to see his mom, dad and brothers on a some what daily basis. He went on to tell me how he even gets to watch bull fights and soccer games with them at the, something I found very different and interesting. Do other people use Skype to conctact friends or family over seas?

MTV looking for Twitter Jockey

I know NOTHING about Twitter..except that you can post 140 characters about what you are doing or going to do throughout the day. I can do that on Facebook so I don't really see the point in having both Twitter and Facebook to let the world know my every move. However, MTV does not feel the same way. They are looking for a "Twitter Jockey", someone who can connect with the MTV audience through this social networking site. The competition is long and fierce, with 20 finalist competing throughout the summer in challenges online. At the end of the summer, 5 lucky finalist will be on a live show and fans get to pick who the new 'TJ' is. Who would of thought that it would come to this point... I am sure a lot of people did actually. Now that I think more and more about it, what a sweet job it would be to Twitter about events and issues related to MTV. I kind of wish I got more involved with Twitter now... What do other people think about Twitter and would you recommend it?

Media Addiction

In the text book we are reading for our class, in chapter 8 there is a discussion question that many might not wanted to ask them... so I'll ask it.




Do you ever describe yourself as an 'addict' of a media form (TV programme, media magazine, novel)?



When I hear the term addict, my thought process automatically associates the term with drugs and alcohol. However, there are so many other aspects of life in which people can be 'addicted' to something. Whether it's food or fitness, people have become 'obsessed' (for lack of better terms) with such activities, so it is not far-fetched to assume that people could become dependent on outlets such as TV or even computer sites like Facebook and other social networking channels. There are formal and informal definitions of the term ‘addict’, but in many cases the usage of the word is serious. Personally, I could find myself becoming ‘addicted’ to Facebook, in by addicted I mean not being able to go a day without checking my profile and constantly thinking about who posted what where. Luckily, I have enough will power (and life) to restrain from going on Facebook everyday, multiple times a day. I have seen people become ‘addicted’ to Facebook and other media forms like video games and television shows. Will anyone be willing to admit that they may be addicted to such media texts?

Media Multi-Tasking... ADD?

I am currently using several different media devices at this very moment; one important use being watching the Celtics!! It is the fourth quarter and we are up by six or eight ( Didn't see the last shot before the commercial because  I was on the computer). Anyways, the game is really intense but I am also blogging AND on Facebook right now (I know I said I would delete it..ugh). I also just sent texts to my friends freaking out about the game. (It's back on, they are up by 7). The constant changes that occur in every second of my life help me to better understand why so many people have attenton deficit disorders. I wonder if there is any correlation between the constant changes of media outlets and the amounts of people diagnosed with ADD, or even worse ADHD. Maybe it is a chemical embalance of the brain, but I also wonder if ths has anything to do with it. Any thoughts? 

 Celts are up by 10 now woohoo!!!

Facebook, Facebook, FACEBOOK!!!

UGHHHH!!!!

I am so sick of Facebook. What fun is it now when EVERY SINGLE family member has it so I have to censor EVERYTHING about it! Whether it's my pictures, videos, status, or comments I have to watch everything I say. I think that eight year old boys should not be allowed to access Facebook, yet for some reason my eight year old brother has an account. There is something that should be done about this, esp. since it started for COLLEGE STUDENTS!! ie. my eighty year old grandfather should NOT have a Facebook. I am really comtemplating on deleting my account... but I have said that for so long now. Mark Z. is a genius in creating this social media site, but think of how many people are actually addicted to Facebook, spending hours and hours a day searching through OTHER PEOPLES lives. Now that I think about it, it's pretty sad actually. Does anyone else feel this way or am I just crazy?

Comedy Central gone too far?

Everyone knows that Comedy Central loves to cross the line as far as they can; but how far is too far? According to Huffingtonpost.com, a news site centered on media, Comedy Central has concocted a plan to create a show based on Jesus Christ. Although it’s nothing more than idea, and is one of dozens of series in the works, many social activist groups are highly against this idea of a JC series. How is this fair to South Park’s Muhammad denial either? “The newly formed Citizens against Religious Bigotry said Thursday that it believes the "JC" series would be offensive. They accuse Comedy Central of a double standard in mocking Christian figures and beliefs while recently refusing to let "South Park" depict the Prophet Muhammad for fear of offending Muslims (Bauder, 2010).” I believe that if South Park can’t satirize the Muslim religion on Comedy Central, then it would be unfair to allow such a show as JC, which would be satirizing the Christian religion. What does anyone else think about this idea?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/03/comedy-centrals-jesus-sho_n_599430.html

Why do people plan their days around shows?

Okay, so I understand the Celtics are on tonight and it's game one of the play offs, so it's okay for people to plan their nights around that. But yesterday I asked my friend to go out for a drink, she said she would but she HAD to be back for THE HILLS. Out of ALL the shows in the world, you're telling me you can't miss The Hills? That's unheard of! Yah, so I just wanted to share how mad this made me because it's becoming more and more apparent that people base their lives around television. What is up with this?

iPad magic sub:E

So I went on YouTube to find a good media video to post on my blog and this video was considered most popular under the Entertainment section. Posted just the other day, it already has over half a million views. This short video uses magic to display the changes in communication throughout history. It's a very clever video, utilizing the world's most recent communication creation- the IPad. I enjoyed watching this video, and I hope everyone else likes it- if you haven't already seen it of course. Let me know what you think!

iPad magic sub:E

Music at Work

So I work at an insurance company where I am in charge of all the mail to be posted and sent out. I am so isolated in this one room for hours by myself, thank goodness I have my Ipod Touch. Without it, I think I would go insane. It's also nice to have in order to drown out the noises of complaints from all the people working in claims--I could NEVER work for an insurance company!! Today I was in an up-beat mood, also in the mood for some old school Alanis Morisette<--Love her!!

Does anyone else listen to music at work in order to stay sane?

First Blog

I just created my first blog site ever! It's very exciting and I could legit spend hours playing around with it (It's Saturday morning and gorgeous out btw). I am anxious to start posting on other peoples sites... I need to think of a good topic to discuss on mine, if anyone has any ideas let me know!