Woman “imprisoned” on Scientology cruise ship for 12 years

I have always been very skeptical of the Scientology thing but I honestly don't know if this woman is telling the truth or not.


http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/woman-imprisoned-scientology-cruise-ship-12-years-145114448.html

Case Study 2

First I want to start off by saying this, when can we get into Pottermore? Because I am growing quite impatient! Okay, moving on now. When I first got to the site I read the article by Adam Penenberg on the main page. His article was well written and gave you the introductory leap into transmedia, as well as introducing me to Michael Grant whose books I have already looked up on Amazon.com.

I do have to admit that the video on the main page totally freaked me out and made me wonder why multiple times in the moments after the video ended playing.

I believe that more information is needed to truly define transmedia. However from what I understand thus far transmedia is a way of storytelling that is told across multiple digital platforms and technologies. To me I think that means that you can read a story using websites and videos on computers, phones, tablets and so on.

Transmedia storytelling is something that will take the reader to a whole new world in which they can interact with the story that they are reading. “Rather than simply watch a movie, viewers can interact with characters on websites, experience the world in games, follow leads on Twitter, as well as participate in a vast array of other opportunities on various platforms.” (Lisette Vitter).

This new wave in storytelling is taking an idea that most people have thought about and now they can enjoy it. Who hasn’t read a story and thought wow, I wish I could see or interact with these characters? Now you can through multiple digital medias.

Now, using transmedia, you can. And the fact that it links so closely with social medias really connects with this class and what it’s about. The above quote mentions Twitter and I bet that Facebook will be quick to follow if transmedia turns out to be as big as everything thinks it is.

Most of the sites that I found that discussed transmedia all had the same information. I think that in the near future more will be out there for us to read and then we can truly define what transmedia means, how to use it and all of the digital levels that it will be offered on. I personally can’t wait to see what comes of transmedia and to use it in the future.

Case Study 1

the So I thought I handed this in like three weeks ago...turns out I only wrote the first paragraph....total fail.

Everywhere you look someone has an I-Pad, I-Phone, smart phone, regular cell phone, laptop, etc...I think that it would be safe to say that these ways of internet browsing and communication have opened new doors to people and that these things are going to be around for a while. Apple it seems is coming out with something new every other week and most of the time they are capitalizing on things that they already have created.

When it comes to who the top players are for the mobile device market I think that there is a clear winner…I-Phones and Androids. These two phones are big time winners but if it came down to the two of them, I would say that the I-Phone will be around longer than the Android. Many of my friends have Droids but end up getting new ones because the technology on Droids changes so often they feel outdated.

The I-Phone, while yes a new one comes out every so often and what not, they are still basically the same. Sure some might get faster internet than others but come on, these days as long as people can check their mobile Facebook all is right in the world. They can’t check their Facebook? They’ll freak the hell out and throw their phone, I have seen it happen.

Next we have our tablets. Hello I-Pad! Whenever I think of the word tablet I automatically think of the Apple I-Pad. My sister, my cousin and my cousin’s husband all own one. And my Aunt wants to buy her husband one for Christmas instead of getting him a new laptop. I honestly did not know much about other available tablets until this assignment. Although I have seen the stuff about the Kindle Fire, makes my Kindle look so sad.

When you’re a corporation as big as Apple you want to protect what is yours. Which could be the cause for the multiple lawsuits against other companies, hello Samsung, saying that said companies are violating Apple’s patents when they produce similar phones and or tablets.

In my opinion I say that people sell tablets. Apple’s profits don’t seem to be taking a major hit as of yet and I myself prefer their I-Pad to others, it’s a nice screen to play Angry Birds on. With everything that you can do on a tablet, watch movies, play games, read books and so on I think it makes sense for there to be multiple choices so a person can pick which one suits them best. Even with the price being what they are people will still buy.

I went into an Apple store in PA with my sister who was just going to look around. The hour that we were in there five I-Pads were sold, including one to go to my sister. I’d say that isn’t a bad day price wise especially when you think about the people in their looking specifically at phones, I-Pods and computers.

The Fusion Garage Grid10 is honestly something I had not heard of until reading a peers blog (Thanks Gina!). When I read that this product was Android based with access to the Amazon appstore I was highly intrigued. If anyone like me is a huge Amazon fan, and buys most of theirs things from Amazon including textbooks for school, than the Fusion could be a key competitor.

Looking ten years down the road I would say that it could be difficult to see who the major power player will be. But if Apple keeps going the way it is then I can see them thriving still ten years from now. With new things being created everyday then maybe ten years from now a whole new tablet or file format could be the big thing, the top seller. I think that the best we can do it review, research and see what works best for us as the customer.

20 Kids and Counting

First of all I understand that people have their own beliefs and so on but this is ridiculous! When the Duggar family had their 19th child she was born at 25 weeks and barely survived and Doctor's told them that trying again would be a bad idea. Why risk not only your own health but the health of your child? Can a woman's body really go through 20 pregnancies? Do all 20 of your kids get the proper attention deserved? Do you keep doing this to yourself so TLC throws more money at you?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/08/michelle-duggar-20th-pregnancy_n_1081534.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009

And let's not forget that all the names start with J, and yes, I took the time to look it up and share with you all:
Josh, Jana, John, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johanna, Jennifer, Jordyn, Josie and little to be named something made up that starts with J cause they can't think of anything else.

How Far is to Far?

A coach breaks his 13 year old players Collarbone in a football practice drill gone wrong. My question is this, what was a grown man thinking strapping on a helmet and knocking around a bunch of pre teen kids? I understand the urge to teach and the want to win but shouldn't people know when they go to far? Or stop think about the situation and stop themselves before hand?




http://rivals.yahoo.com/highschool/blog/prep_rally/post/Coach-breaks-13-year-old-8217-s-collarbone-with?urn=highschool-wp8230

Shocked? Not so much...

I am sure that you are all just as sick of Lindsay Lohan as I am...but honestly this is getting ridiculous. What would happen if you or I acted like this and did the things she did? We sure as hell wouldn't be released from jail after only 4 1/2 hours.



http://scoop.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/07/8679032-lindsay-lohan-reports-to-jail-released-hours-later

The Fallout of Divorce

While the downfall of Kim Kardashian's "Marriage" has been a little but fun to watch, because honestly who didn't see that one coming, it has brought up many issues through the social networking world. People are livid at the amount of press she is receiving, the amount of money and gifts it appears her and her soon to be ex-husband have made/received and one of the biggest issues, how can people say that same sex marriage ruins the sanctity of marriage when this is going on? We all know that the Kardashian clan lives and breathes for the spotlight but I don't think I have seen this much fall out from a "celebrity divorce" before. Congrats Kim, a whole new generation of people not can't stand too look at you.

$5.00 = Jailtime

This couple was arrested and their daughter was taken into State Custody all because they forgot to pay for two chicken sandwiches that cost about $5.00.




http://news.yahoo.com/pregnant-mom-says-sandwich-arrest-horrifying-214407004.html

72 Days

It's upsetting to me that the top news story right now is that fact that Kim Kardashian is getting a divorce after 72 days of marriage...first of all I totally called that and second, there are more important things going on in the world than this. Boo Hoo, she will be married again next year to someone else, so let's move on and try to focus on things like war or poverty if that is worth making the news tomorrow.

The Dark Side of Park Place

Woman repeatedly stabs boyfriend after he allegedly cheats at Monopoly. I know that this isn't something that should be laughed at in any way but seriously?? Getting this ticked off about a board game??

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/woman-stabbed-boyfriend-over-alleged-monopoly-cheating-165913443.html

Annoying

Fair warning, this is just to vent



Just a quick bit about how annoying having a social network on your computer can be....EVERY SINGLE POST TODAY HAS BEEN ABOUT SNOW....we get it, some places have snow. However, we are in New York State, we have seen snow before in October and chances are it will happen again. How about we shift our focus from the snow to oh I don't know...actual news?

Prolonging the pain?

Bath, NY: In 2010 Bryan Ashline was arrested for the brutal stabbing of his girlfriend and their child. Sometimes it baffles me, the lengthy process that families have to go through, how long it can truly take the judicial system to get things done. Why does it have to take so long? Why make the families suffer over and over?

http://www.wetmtv.com/news/local/story/Victims-Family-Testifies-In-Ashline-Double-Murder/O6SWIR86ZUehgizmjqovQw.cspx

Antisocial side of social media helps police track gangs

Newsflash dude, if you are in a gang, pushing drugs and know the police are looking for you...take a break from the updates. But seriously....has facebook become such an addiction to some people that they wouldn't even think about if the police are looking for them and still update? I think this shows that Facebook can in fact be a helpful tool to police and so on but really if the people are that stupid they deserve to get caught.



http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/antisocial-side-of-social-media-helps-police-track-gangs/2011/10/13/gIQAWzRgAM_story.html

Good Time for a Good Cause

"Diamonds and Denim" is a charity event in my hometown. It is in it's second year and the purpose is to raise money for St. James Mercy Foundation. This year over $26,000 was raised.

http://www.eveningtribune.com/features/x464390946/-Diamonds-Denim-charity-event-raises-over-26-000-for-St-James

Barbie Causes Outrage....Again

Parents are freaking out about the new limited edition Barbie. She comes with Pink hair and tattoos. I personally think its cool, but the parents? Not so much. But here's the thing...nobody is telling you to go out and buy this for your child, nobody is forcing your kid to play with it...relax.


http://www.postchronicle.com/news/strange/article_212387290.shtml

This deserves news space why?

Why does this deserve space in the paper when there are other more important stories out there? He called the guy brother, I doubt he meant anything by saying it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/rick-perry-called-herman-cain-brother-why/2011/10/19/gIQA9UFwxL_blog.html

Dirty Politics....Shocking

This is a town where the Mayor has been Mayor for over 20 years. When it came out that he would not run again it was like a surge of people came out of the woodwork wanting to be the new Mayor, but is it really necessary to throw someone under the bus when they don't want the job in the first place?

http://www.eveningtribune.com/features/x485798753/Hornell-alderman-accuses-opponent-of-spreading-mayoral-rumors

As busy as ever on stage and screen, Bill Pullman of Hornell worries about his trees

http://www.eveningtribune.com/topstories/x597433086/As-busy-as-ever-on-stage-and-screen-Bill-Pullman-of-Hornell-worries-about-his-trees

Each Welcome to Hornell sign in my Hometown has a plaque under it that says Home of Bill Pullman (well almost every one, there is one on main street that says Home of the 2009-2010 State Championship Football Team). My town is very proud of the fact that Bill Pullman grew up there so a couple of times a year they do stories about him...apparently it was a slow news day in Hornell.

Survey Findings

On surveymonkey.com I created a nine question survey and titled it the Print, Web and Social Networking survey. I displayed the link through a Facebook message to the friends that I knew would take the survey and be honest with their questions. The first question that I asked was what resource they used to gather most of their news? The answers to this question varied. Some said that they relied on their social networks like Facebook and Twitter to receive their news, some had feeds on personal tablets and another said that they go to sites like Yahoo and stream through the newsfeed on the homepage.

I then asked whether or not that they believed that the pieces they read were objective. Almost every person said yes, while two people said that it depends on the news itself and where exactly they are reading it from leading me to believe that they will trust some sites over others. When asked if they felt whether or not the journalist fail to remain objective every person said yes, they do believe that the journalist themselves do fail to remain objective. That to me is not a good sign when it comes down to people receiving their news leading me to wonder if they are put off by some stories over others.

I also decided to ask them if they found themselves to be agreeing or disagreeing with the news stories that they read or heard and while the majority of people said that they did agree there was a few people that did not. One person in particular stated that most times it is easy to tell when a topic you are reading is false by the topic itself or the context that is used.

The next question had a variety of responses. It was about how trustworthy they found online news articles. The responses ranged from very trustworthy, to people only looking at sites like cnn.com, one person said that they trust only 6 out of the 10 articles that they read while a few people said that online news sites are not trustworthy at all. I think that the response that I received from the next question explained why the people taking the survey felt this way, I asked it people thought that online news journalist had a chance to add in their own opinions and every person said yes.

When asked if they trusted online news or print news more the answers were 50/50 between the two choices and most of them say that journalist in online settings appear to be more personally involved with their stories. When I asked how on a personal level they felt about online news I got back that it is how some of them exclusively get their news while others say that they will just skim the sites.

Azure Mtn

Went and hiked azure mountain yesterday with a couple of my friends. We weren't even half way and it felt as if my lungs were going to explode at any second but once we got to the top everything was worth it.

Seriously Hornell

http://www.eveningtribune.com/entertainment/x153924346/What-to-watch-Kim-s-Fairytale-Wedding-A-Kardashian-Event-Part-2

I am disgusted that this is top news in my hometown, and I am even more disgusted to admit that I will be watching along with millions of other viewers. However I will not be watching to take notes for my future wedding (if that ever happens) but because the two hours coming up tonight will be full of mocking potential :)

Link to my Survey

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ejhF0BZpsvzkR0c4Li79QA%3d%3d

Motorcycle accident in Cameron NY

http://www.eveningtribune.com/features/x153921599/Fatal-motorcycle-accident-in-Cameron

Follow up TV post

Okay so now I am watching Greys Anatomy where a stampede took place at a comic book convention or something where people dress as zombies and hobbits and so on. This one guy got his ear ripped off by a storm trooper and at the same time part of his spine was crushed and all he could think about was the fact that he didn't get something called a Dr Who Tardis. As I am sitting here completely confused by half of the things coming out of this guys mouth all I can think is doesn't the giant gaping hole in your head hurt? Or what about your spine? No? Just worried about whatever a Tardis is? Sometimes I have to love that fact that TV is a total escape from anything nearly close to being realistic.

Revenge

Since it is the long weekend I decided to catch up on all of my homework and missed TV shows today so I could try to spend the weekend relaxing, which probably won't happen but hey, a person can dream can't they? Anyway I was watching a new Fall TV show called Revenge and it got me thinking, would a person really spend millions of dollars, change their identity and break what is most likely multiple laws just to get revenge on something that happened years ago? Opening this up for comments because I honestly don't know what I would do given the resources.

Missing Baby Found

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/crime-scene/post/baby-abducted-in-howard-county-police/2011/10/06/gIQAbxRMQL_blog.html

So I guess there can be some good news compared to the crappy news I just posted.

Speechless

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/jury-to-consider-sanity-of-grandmother-charged-in-tots-death/2011/10/04/gIQAZOkrOL_story.html


I am so completely sick to my stomach about this that I can't even think of what to write....

Football Fever

--It's good to know that my small town will never disappoint with the amount of Hornell Red Raider Football coverage they give. I have always said that it is more like we are a small Texas town and not a small hick town in New York. This story is longer than the coverage of the Mayor stepping down at the end of his term (After 23+ years).

http://www.eveningtribune.com/footballfever/x824874190/Bad-time-for-Batavia

And yes, the Hornell Evening Tribune website has a whole area dedicated to "Football Fever"

News Story

SUNY Canton Raft Race

Canton, NY-Student and club participation has taken the front seat this year at SUNY Canton. Carnival of Clubs, SGA, Pack the Stands and most recently, the Raft Race. On Saturday September, 23^rd Canton gave its student the opportunity to form teams to compete in a race across the river that runs through Canton’s campus during Parents Weekend.
To successfully complete the race the teams had to raft to one side and back with all members of the team participating. All of the Greeks on campus together formed their own raft team and competed. While they didn’t win the race they did show the school and community how students can come together and do something that is not only fun but also brings good press to the school.
The freshmen also had the opportunity to shine when they created their own raft and took first place winning a pizza party for Heritage Hall. They enjoyed the chance to flex their muscles and show the school what they could do. The parents enjoyed getting to watch the types of events that the school puts on for their children and to see they fun that can be had here at SUNY Canton.