At the end, you often reflect on the beginning

For one of my final blogs (for this class anyways) I started to think about the beginning. I enjoy blogging, but never really had much direction. I found with a media focus, to be writing mostly about all the media things I already love. On that note, here is another television blog. Today ends shark week. Every year about this time, the Discovery Channel dedicates and entire week to sharks. I love it. I want more of it. Let's dedicate a whole month! I love that they take a week and year after year come up with riveting programing that educates and enlightens you on a creature that is often cast in a negative media light. They cannot speak, and thus cannot defend themselves when they attach and person or a seal. They are represented as monsters of the sea, killing without reason. I love that the Discovery channel gives a voice to these misunderstood creatures. They are not just mindless killers, but are intelligent creatures that have evolved over millions of years. Thank you shark week for completing my summer.

Relaxing

Work is starting to gear up for the school year, and with that I have approximately 3 weekends left of freedom. Once the school year starts, I basically live at work for the last week of august, and the first 2 weeks of September. So in honor of this, I am dedicating this weekend to relaxing. Last night I enjoyed staying up a little later and watching 2 episodes of the wire. Today I did all my laundry (relaxing for me....) and just laied in a pool for about 2 hours with a waterproof book, reading stories about swimming by Oates, Heminway, and Updike. Now, I am helping to prepare for a tailgating fiesta with my boyfriend, his brother, and cousin. We are going to the New England Revolution game this evening. I plan on having a few beers, eating some deliciously grilled entres and enjoying one of my favorite summer past times, watching the New England Revolution kick some DC United butt.

It's too late for prop 8.

With all the driving I've been doing this week (my parents were in new york and I was house sitting... going from work, to their house, and then back home) and subsequently listening to a lot of NPR's All Things Considered. It seems to make the drive go by much faster, and I should know this since when I drove across country to Oklahoma the most time seemed to pass when listening to an Audio Book. I think someone talking to you via the airwaves just passes time faster. Anyways, I've been feeling very news involved this week. I know about how BP finally started pumping mud into the oil well and it is going well. (I didn't mean for that to rhyme). They are now contemplating pumping in cement. There was the horrific active shooter incident at a beer distributer in Connecticut, and most importantly (to me anyways) a Federal judge ruled that Prop 8 in California is unconstitutional. All of these things happened this week, and I feel more informed about these issues. I like that I could have a lively debate on these issues, and know the facts behind them. Some weeks I pay more attention to the News than others, and I should just make a consistent effort to know what is going on in the world. Perhaps that is a goal for the rest of the summer, know more about news!

AMC Sundays

Tonight Mad Men season 4 premiers on AMC. I cannot tell a lie, I have only seen a few episodes over the past 4 seasons and generally I have no idea what is going on. All I know is that Zoey Bartlett (West Wing complete series... President Bartlett's youngest daughter... ad I have no idea what the actress's name is) is on the show. Also that it is about an Ad agency in New York. I think this show is actually a great medium to examine our current media through. It gives a window into the 1960s and how products were pushed. I think looking at the past is a great window into our present and future. It also makes me want to look like a movie star. My normal garb includes jeans, t-shirt, and flip flops. These girls are in heals and dresses everyday. It makes me think of my Grandmother too. During the 1960s she worked on Madison Avenue for a real estate company doing the closings on high end apartments/condos in the city. As an adult she had crooked toes, and she always used to tell me she liked to her heals to be HIGH and she was paying for it later on in life. I can only imagine how much of a fashionista she must have been.

On the Road Again

As I previously posted I'm heading to Maine, in oh about 15 minutes or so. I am so excited for the wedding, as it is really the first one of our group of friends to get married... and by that I mean that EVERYONE is going! I'm so excited. My friend Kelly is even in from San Diego (she just moved there). I think what I am loving the most about the start to this weekend, is the road trip that is about to ensue! I love driving with a purpose for a long period of time and knowing when you get to the end there will be lobster rolls, or whatever else you might find at the end of your trip. I love making a mix on my ipod for the occasion. I love road games and finding those off the beaten path places when taking a road trip. I drove from Massachusetts to Oklahoma about 4 years ago and I have to say that was one of the all time greatest road trips. I think the media might play into this notion of the American Road trip as well. There are tv shows that drive around the country looking for good food, and movies that portray the freedom of the open road. Well hollywood, you got me. I've bought into the perception, and I LOVE IT. Bring it on Maine!

Reality Television:

I have mentioned this before, but I watch far to much television. Currently I am watching Bethany Getting Married?... I have last night's episode dvr'd. Reality television is my vice. I love it, I need it, I want more of it! I know its stupid. Why would I bother wasting my time by watching someone else's life taped and edited on television? I have no idea!! But I LOVE IT. Its funny and entertaining, and mindless. I think after a whole day of thinking and thinking and doing and doing that mindless television is just something I can have on and not pay total attention too, but I can tune in and out and not really miss much. Currently Bethany's assistant was sent out to buy her post pregnancy underwear. See funny! Also, I am going to Maine tomorrow, two of my friends are getting married tomorrow! Lobster Roll here I come!

What to Listen For

On my 45 minute ride to and from work everyday, I usually have two options for my listening pleasure. In the morning it's usually Toucher and Rich on 98.5 The Sports Hub, and my Ipod on the way home. But the last couple of days, I plugged myself into NPR on the WGBH station out of Boston. I'm not usually one to listen to the news, I mean I do listen to some NPR pod-casts, but I typically watch my nightly news so I feel somewhat connected with the world. I have to say, it has been wonderful. I forgot how much I loved the news stories, and the quirky things they cover on all things considered. Also, I have a new found love for the Tour de France, and guess what!? Today on NPR I got an in-depth update about stage 17 through the highest peaks of the Pyrenees! I forgot that this is why I love radio so much, and the reason I am a COMM major. It is a medium where you can literally cover anything in the world, and make an audio story to go along with it. YAY NPR!

VIVA ESPANA!!!!

Well kids, it has been quite a ride. I have to say this World Cup was full of highs, and lows, and unexpected outcomes per usual. I am so happy Spain won! They were my 2nd favorite team after the United States got the boot, and frankly I couldn't be any happier. Oh wait, I would be if I were in say Madrid or Barcelona tonight celebrating with the rest of the Spanish people! It was an amazing finish for a team who only scored 8 goals over the course of their World Cup run. It only takes one to win. I feel like every four years, we get media coverage for a week before, and the month during the cup, and then soccer falls back off the face of the planet. There are some great friendly matches going on this summer including one at Fenway Park! I just want the media hype (at least in the US) to continue for our MLS players, and to keep the dream alive about 2014!

Yellow Fever

Summertime is an excellent time to catch up on my reading. I would say that I am an above average reader. I enjoy books, and having a kindle has just made my reading life that much easier. I am a big non-fiction person. I tend to like to find off the beaten path non-fiction to read. Mark Kurlansky is one of my favorite non-fiction authors. Anyone who can write books about oysters, salt, and cod and make all of them some of the most interesting things I've ever read is amazing. I mean come on, COD!?! Seriously you don't know what you are missing. So currently on my reading list, and in my purse is a book called the American Plague by Molly Crosby. Currently I'm about half way through. I have to say, it is some riveting stuff. I had no idea how much of our country's medical history was shaped by the silent but extremely deadly disease know as Yellow Fever. The epidemic of 1878 in Memphis pretty much wiped the city out. It shaped the south. It also terrorized the US Army in Cuba during the early 1900s. Yellow fever also was one of the best studied diseases during the early 1900s in this country. It helped shape the medical research field we know today. If you can stomach the gory descriptions, and handle that when you go outside and see a mosquito you shouldn't freak out, then I would say this book is for you.

To Be Young Again...

This weekend was one of the better ones I've had in a while. Relaxing, full of good food, and company. While I was attending a graduation party, I got involved in a conversation with a 4th grader going into 5th. I had asked her what is with those silly bandz!? She explained that they were shaped elastics and they were banned from school along with japanese erasers. (I had no IDEA what the japanese erasers were.) The party goes on, and I spend a thrilling Saturday night watching Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I can't say enough about how much I love the book series, and the movies actually. So this all leads me to a question: why do some things take off and some do not? Children are very fickle. How do things like silly bandz become so popular, and so popular they are banned from schools?? How have such series as harry potter taken off with movies, books, and merchandise while others fade away?

Another World Cup Blog

Ok people. We are through game 2. And by "we" I mean the USA World Cup Team. It was a nail biter today! I was working all day, but snuck out of my office to watch 5-10 minutes of action everyone once in a while today. The second half... AMAZING. After being down 2 goals in the first half to Slovenia, we came back.... actually had a THIRD GOAL that would have given us the win, but the officiating sucked today, and our 3rd goal was discounted. GRRRRRR. But, given that the outcome was a tie, we are still in it. Our group is pretty evenly matched, and with an England/Algeria 0-0 tie today we are looking good in our group. So here are the standing after the first 2 games.

Slovenia: 4

United States 2

England 2

Algeria 1

So here is an explination of the points. A win in your group play at the world cup gets you 3 points. A tie gets you 1 point, and a loss gets you nothing. The final game match ups are as follows: USA vs. Algeria and England vs. Slovenia. And here is a break down of the MATH: Get ready it gets a little complicated

If the United States Wins: 5 points If England Wins: 5 points

Loses: 2 points Loses: 2 points

Tie: 3 points Tie: 3 points

If Algeria Wins: 4 points If Slovenia Wins: 7 points

Loses: 1 point Loses: 4 points

Ties: 2 points Ties: 5 points

AHH I love the World Cup!

Everyone wants, what nobody needs

This week has been very musically oriented. I hadn't found anything new to listen to in a while, and this week proved to be an exceptional new music week. I have a problem with CDs. I blame this on my father who always infected our house with music morning, noon, and night. Our father/daughter adventures usually involved a run to Tower Records (RIP), Borders, or Newbury Comics to check out new music, or just scour through the stacks of CDs for something he or I didn't already own. I think our CD collecting (some may call it purchasing, or a sickness) is something I have always found comforting. I have moved onto the digital version of our shopping excursions, but every now and again I'll find something that I really want on CD. I have to be careful when I shop, or else I end up with $50 worth of music before I can even blink an eye. Anyways, let me get back to sharing my new find this week. One of the greatest bands right now is called Delta Spirit. They are from California, and their 2nd full length album came out last week. History from Below is amazing. It has exceeded my expectations for this band. They bring their heart and soul to all of their songs, and such passion! Delta Spirit has so much soul. That's the best thing I can say about them. They are rock and roll, blues, soul, and a bit of California all rolled into one. My suggestion for a sampling would be to download Bushwick Blues off the new album, People C'mon and Children from Ode to Sunshine. This will give you a small slice of all that is Delta Spirit. Or hell, just go out and buy the two albums and you won't be disappointed.

FIFA

I'm continuing my World Cup obsession by blogging about it. Today was the kick off day for World Cup 2010 South Africa. Just to keep everyone up to date: today South Africa played Mexico in the kick-off match, and it ended a tie 1-1. Not a bad showing for the South African team considering that they come into the tournament ranked lower than Mexico. Also Uraguay pulled off a 0-0 tie with France today. Now, for all you out there who don't know. I hate France. I hate France more than any other team in the World Cup. Here is why. France knocked out the Republic of Ireland from the world cup on a HAND BALL goal during the qualifiers and the call didn't get reversed. Ireland was robbed, and since that is my mother's homeland, they would have been my 2nd team to root for after the US. So naturally anything that happens bad for France, is good for me. So tomorrow is the day of all days. The match of all matches. The USA vs. England match is tomorrow. Pre-game coverage starts at 1:30 on ABC. So I have to go to a wedding tomorrow. It's a day wedding. I am excited for the wedding. I am also excited to make friends with the bar tender so he or she puts the game on at the bar. My whole media related portion of this post is to say the the ESPN commercial leading up the match is epic. I saw it 3 or 4 times today while watching RSA vs. MX and UR vs. FR. It has such a great build up, and I think that if they were playing that more and more, and not just on ESPN there would be a lot more hype about the match. More over, I love that the world is involved in watching one sport, for one month. I LOVE the FIFA WORLD CUP!!

Podcast by Bill Simmons, yes please!

I was recently introduced to Bill Simmons Podcast on itunes. If you haven't heard, he doesn't just talk about Basketball. He has recently been talking about what is considered the biggest sporting event in the world that is happening in 1 week (eek!!!) the FIFA 2010 World Cup. Over the last year, I found myself falling deeper and deeper into the world of Soccer. So in 1 week, what is arguably the greatest world sporting event is going to take place. Fans and countries all over the world wait 4 years for another chance at the World Cup. It funny thing is in the United States, there doesn't seem to be that much hype about it. I was a bbq this weekend, and myself and my boyfriend were the only two remotely excited about it, or knew much about it. I've been mapping out a schedule of games, and times and trying to figure out how I'm going to get to watch some of the matches during the day. All over the world, things stop when a match is on. That is all a whole country will focus on for 90 minutes. So this Podcast was with an English journalist who write for ESPN covering world soccer events and news. It was great to hear a global perspective on the world cup. More interesting was hear that the rest of the world, especially global press don't even think the US has a chance at the Cup. I think this particular podcast really got me thinking about global media and, using the world cup as an example, has a completely different view of the world than we do. I think its fascinating to see how we are represented in the global press just with soccer. I can't imagine how the world perceives us on other issues. In any event, the FIFA 2010 WORLD CUP starts this Friday June 11th. If you are looking for one of the greatest match ups this century watch the USA vs. England match June 12th and 2pm. GO USA! And remember, don't shoot until you see the whites of their eyes.

"this is the NBA, you don't go back to shirts and skins!"

I have figured out, that I am a media junkie. Specifically, I love television. I shouldn't. I know this. It rots your brain. I enjoy going outside, and going on adventures. I play softball, and run (or try too) and generally have a sunny disposition. I however, am addicted to television. There, I've said it. So that being said I'm compiling a list of my favorite television shows (top 5). Pictures may be included. So here we go. In NO particular order:

1.LOST!!!!

I laughed, I cried, and I was puzzled over what the heck was going on half the time! This show for me was like no other. I came in when the second season was airing. I got a 2 hour tutorial of all the characters drawn as stick figures by my (at the time) soon to be boyfriend. After that I was hooked. For this television show was unique because you knew there was going to be an end. They knew they would have 6 season to tell this amazingly character driven tale about an island and all the people who were stuck there. I loved that they fully got to explore all the characters and then threw in nerdy things for you to look up afterwards. The sci-fi aspect was amazing. And to be honest, it now covers the last 4 years of my life. I can tell time by Lost. Weather or not you liked or hated the ending, it was still an amazing ride.

2. The WEST WING. I know this has been off the air for a while (but if you want to catch all the action just watch bravo from 8-10 a.m., they re-run episodes every weekday morning), but I was the lucky recipiant of the complete DVD box set last Christmas. I was able to go through 7 seasons in about 3 months. This show again, is completely character driven. Cj, Toby, Josh, and President Bartlett ran a White House full of problems, screw ups, accomplishment, and very dry and witty humor. The story line mirrored what our country was going through politically at certain points, and I have to say I passed a bunch of my POLI 172 with the knowledge I had collected about our government from that show. (filibuster anyone?)

3. The Gilmore Girls. I admit, one of my all time favorite shows. Again I own the complete series box set. I love this mother daughter drama/comedy and all the fast talking and quick wit along with it. I can literally watch these episodes over and over and never get bored, and still laugh at some of the jokes that I have heard at least 4 or 5 times. I love the characters and the writing. I hold it is some of the best on television.

4. Friday Night Lights. Step one: sign up for netflix. Step two: start watching FNL season 1. Step three: complete season 1 and move onto FNL season 2. Step four: finish season 2 get the discs for FNL season 3, watch and enjoy. Step five: start watching the current season on NBC. Go... now... trust me.

5. Veronica Mars. This show was only on for 3 seasons, and then

cancelled. This teen detective drama had some of the best writing, acting, and story lines that I've watched in a long time. I love love love love this show. It took a whole season to work out a really big crime, but within each episode you got (shocker here!) tons of character development, and lots of drama. I loved loved loved this show.

So I think that I love character driven dramas that include bits of witty humor and lots of plot and character development. I have a problem. Or do I??

Welcome to Baltimore

So this Memorial Day Weekend (which isn't over yet!) has been relaxing so far. With another day off ahead, I have decided to reflect and add a media related idea! So while down in New Jersey for my cousin's graduation party I was mingling with family and catching up and whatnot. One of my cousins, works for the NYPD down in the Bronx. He works in narcotics and usually has a crazy story or two for us. This got us into a discussion about the television show The Wire. He says it is the closest television portrayal of his job that he has ever seen. My boyfriend has seen seasons 1-4, (there are 5 all together) and I have seen none. So, this conversation has now launched my own Wire marathon that started today. I am halfway through season 1. I keep asking my boyfriend, "Is Baltimore really like that?" and I keep having to reaffirm that I understand what is going on, but so far so good. So this leads me to my question (finally!) are television shows that portray what is really happening better for the American psyche or should we just stick to Glee? I mean I know I've picked two polar opposite shows, and I have a raised a question that is multi-facetted, but if you do narcotics work 7 days a week for 40+ hours a week, do you really want to go home and watch a tv shows that mimics your life for entertainment?

be true to your school (or your summer comm class)

Hello... and welcome fellow COMM 229 classmates to my blog. I am an occasional blogger, but hopefully with this class, it will become a more frequent occurrence. I welcome all feedback and comments!