One Smart Model

Hello World,
Check out this aol/bloggingstocks.com article a/b supermodel Gisele Bundchen. She refuses to be paid in U.S. dollars because the dollar is lower in value than the euro. What a smart cookie (Wow, even I can't believe I used a cookie to describe a model!). I mean, one of her "people" could have advised her of this, but I don't think so. I will give her some credit.

http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/11/05/giselle-bundchen-still-with-patriots-tom-brady-dumps-the/?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Tacky, Tasteless Halloween Costumes (SMFH!)

Hey World,
Check out this article from mediatakeout.com. This definitely deserves a SMH. It shows some really tacky, tasteless Halloween costumes. The only one I really like is the Amy Winehouse one. Someone should shoot the guys wearing the WTC costume. They must not be from New York City, because you know if they were, they would have had their asses kicked. The Virginia Tech guy should also get his ass whupped for that costume. He must not be living in Virginia. Besides the two obvious troll costumes, I am also angry at the boy dressed as a suicide bomber/terrorist. I am not as disturbed with the dynomite attached to his body as much as the headdress he is wearing. I guess he wanted to make it obvious what kind of people he thinks are suicide bombers. SMH! I'm telling you, people learn racism when they are young and when they are at home. It just makes me sad that the boy's parents let him go out dressed as that like it's a joke. I mean, maybe his parents didn't know, but I doubt it.

http://mediatakeout.com/15149/happy_halloween_check_out_some_of_these_tastleless_costumes.html

What I Miss a/b London

Hello All,
As some of the NFL's teams set off to London, I will share with you what I miss about the city. For me, it has been about five months. Here are some key places:

1. Marks and Spencer: I REALLY miss this department store! There, you can shop for clothing and FOOD. Think Target, but more sophisticated (I know, how could anything be more sophisticated than Target?!) . And by food, I don't just mean frozen food and cereal. You can also shop for fruits, vegetables, meats, and other perishables. Oh yeah, I also miss the tax-free shopping (All of London's stores are tax-free). For example, if you want to get your favorite scent of lotion at Marks, you can buy the lotion, the shower gel, and the body spritzer for 3 pounds and not 3 pounds plus tax.

2. Tesco's: Lily Allen mentions this supermarket chain in her song "LDN." It has all the basic essentials for a supermarket if you are on the run and you don't want to buy a whole load of things. It puts the "convenience" in convenience store.

3. Topshop: Three words- America NEEDS Topshop. This department (sort of like H&M or Forever 21, but BETTER!) store sells great clothes, but what really drew my attention to it is was the jewellery. Ohh, wonderful! The jewellery is organized by brand when you come in to the store. For example, if you have 2 items by designer A and one by designer B, then you would go to the A designer's cashier, and then the B designer's cashier. It can be really annoying though, if you want to buy from a bunch of different companies because then you would have to go to each cashier to pay for it, but at least everything is organized.

4. Nando's: This is a Portuguese restaurant chain that specializes in rotisserie-style chicken. It is an interesting restaurant because you have the option to order the food and pay for it before eating it, which helps with the hassle of dealing with paying for food after you eat it. The chicken is eaten with different flavors of sauce from mild to very spicy, and you can have anything from French Fries (chips) to rice as a side. Nando's is not very expensive, and they encourage people to eat with their hands.

5. Boots: Boots is a phamaceutical chain in a similar vein as CVS or Walgreens. As with any British store, everything is super-organized, and they make their own cosmetics as well as their own medicines. Don't make the mistake, though, of thinking that the store-brand isn't good quality because you would be dead wrong! The quality of a Boots brand of cough medicine is just as good as another brand. Worth checking out especially if you have a cold like I did during my trip. Hell, it's hard NOT to go into a Boots since it seems to dominate the market of phamaceutical stores in Britain (There's also Superdrug, but it's not as prevalent.). I mean, it literally seems like there is a Boots in almost every area in London that you can think of.

Well, if you are heading out to London anytime soon, be sure to check out these key places., and when you're there, tell them I said hi (wink!). Sorry, I had to add a corny joke to end this post (lol!).

SMH (Shaking My Head) 10/26/07

Hello World! I am back after a long hiatus, and I am fiercer than ever. First off, an article care of AOL's Black Voices message boards:


Miami Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder has reportedly admitted he didn't know people spoke English in London.

Miami Dolphin Channing Crowder
The NFL player might want to check a map before he gets on board a plane for Sunday's prestige game against the New York Giants at Wembley Stadium.
Crowder, from Atlanta, may be praised on the field, but confessed geography was not his strong point.
He admitted he didn't know until Tuesday where London was - or that they spoke English.
"I couldn't find London on a map if they didn't have the names of the countries," he said.
"I swear to God. I don't know what nothing is. I know Italy looks like a boot. I learned that.
"I know [Washington Redskins linebacker] London Fletcher. We did a football camp together. So I know him.
"That's the closest thing I know to London. He's black, so I'm sure he's not from London. I'm sure that's a coincidental name."
The Miami Dolphins will play New York Giants at Wembley this Sunday in the first NFL regular-season game to be played outside the USA.


http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1290248,00.html?f=rss


As someone said, I am sorry that it had to be a brother (double SMH!)! And even worse, he is from the South. Now while I know that many people from the South are smart, Crowder certainly isn't helping change THAT stereotype! He not only makes Blacks and Southerners look bad but also Americans in general. British people as well as other Europeans are going to read this and think,"See, I KNEW that Americans were this dumb!" And I think that SKY news talked to this man because they had a feeling he was going to say something ignant like this. What a dummy.

Mark Your Calendars for Sept. 18

Hello World,
Fab news! Josie and the Pussycats is finally coming to DVD! I am so excited!!! Check out the link:

http://tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7349


Later dayz

Bad News

Bad News: Veronica Mars is Cancelled.
Good News: The CW is turning the book series "Gossip Girl" into a series.

http://news.aol.com/entertainment/tv/articles/_a/the-cw-cancels-cult-hit-veronica-mars/20070517121309990001?ecid=RSS0001

Is this true?

Is Gayle King really adopting a South African child? Check this out:

http://mediatakeout.com/5921/exclusive_gayle_king_to_adopt_south_african_child.html

If this is true, then I'm very happy for Gayle. I wonder if she'll talk a/b this on her show on XM?

OJ Simpson refused service.

OJ's lawyer is a donkey. OJ wasn't refused service because of race but because he's a murderer, plain and simple. Stuff like that should happen to OJ more, but maybe it doesn't happen because people are afraid of ending up like Nicole and Ron (seriously!). Good for the restaurant owner. He has courage, but now I'd walk with some security or a gun if I were him.



read more | digg story

Patrick Moore complains women ruining BBC

What the hell is up with this guy? What a mysoginist [sic]! If he hates women so much, why doesn't he just become gay? But you know, I don't even think the queens would put up with that crap!



read more | digg story

Are They For Real?: How Do Fictional Soaps Deal With Real-Life Situations

How have soaps dealt with certain issues such as rape, abortion, AIDS, cancer, and eating disorders? Do they show realistic portrayals, or do they tend to sweep these issues under the rug?



Every once in awhile, soap operas have a storyline where a character has been raped. It is always difficult for soap opera writers and directors to portray a rape because they cannot graphically show a woman being raped due to TV censorship. In the past, rape was not as graphic as it is today. In the late 1970s on General Hospital, the character of Luke Spencer raped the woman he loves, Laura, on the dance floor of a club. The way, though, that the rape was portrayed was as if it was a seduction rather than a rape. Luke is dancing with Laura, and he slowly drags Laura to the floor and rapes her, but the camera does not show that part. What’s interesting about after the rape is that Luke and Laura’s love not only survived, they married, had children, and became the most famous soap couple of all time. An interesting anecdote to this is the actor who plays Luke, Anthony Geary, has said that he would be bothered when he would go to fan club events, female fans of Luke would cry,” Rape me! Rape me, Luke.”



Another example of how rape in soaps was portrayed in the past was in the soap opera Guiding Light in the early 1980s. The character of Holly was raped by her husband, Roger. At least in this case, as opposed to the Luke and Laura case, Holly is shown struggling on the bed with her husband. What was interesting about this rape was that it was the first time on television viewers could see that rape is rape, even within a marriage.



In later years, the subject of rape in soap operas still remains a delicate issue, but the difference between now as opposed to the past is that: 1. The rapes are a little bit, but not much, more violent and graphic and 2) The soap opera shows the repercussions of the rape. This means that viewers don’t just see the rape and it is forgotten. There is the rape, and then comes the constant reminders of the rape spanning from months to even years. In 1998 on General Hospital, the character of Elizabeth Webber had been raped by an attacker, and viewers of the show saw how, after the rape, Elizabeth had been affected mentally and emotionally. Her rape led her to fall in love with Lucky Spencer, who is not only Luke and Laura’s son (who was not the product of Luke’s raping of Laura), but he also happened to find Elizabeth after she was raped. Elizabeth’s rape lead to Lucky eventually finding out that his father had raped his mother twenty years before, and after many years, viewers were not only subject to Laura’s anger at Luke over being raped but also Lucky’s anger at Luke for raping his mother. In other words, General Hospital had finally shown the repercussions of the rape, even though it was long overdue.



Like rape, another serious issue carefully dealt with in soaps from time to time is abortion. Because of censorship rules, soap operas cannot show the graphic details of an abortion. Because of this, and the political issue of pro-life versus pro-choice, is why abortion is an issue rarely discussed on soaps. Whenever a soap character has an abortion, the show is quick to move on with the storyline and forget that it ever happened. For example, both General Hospital and Days of Our Lives had young, female characters that had abortions, were anguished about it for awhile, and then moved on with life. This is great for the characters, but perhaps not so great for young girls watching these shows because they may think that having an abortion is not a big deal and there are few repercussions.



Medical conditions on soap operas like AIDS and cancer are discussed every once in awhile, but there seems to be more of a bias in soaps towards discussing cancer over AIDS. In the past, soap characters, particularly the female ones, have had leukemia, breast cancer, and lupus. In the 1990s, One Life to Live had made strides by featuring a character with a little-known disease such as lupus. But two other ABC shows, All My Children and General Hospital, are noteworthy for their portrayal of AIDS in soap operas. In the early 1990s, a character on All My Children learns she is HIV positive, and she is later a victim of an attack because of her HIV. General Hospital also featured the character of Robin Scorpio, a character whom long-time viewers had seen grow up from a child to a teenager, contract HIV from her boyfriend. Viewers later saw her boyfriend die from HIV-related complications, but the Robin character is not only still alive, she has become a doctor despite having to live with being HIV positive for the rest of her life. Robin is a very important General Hospital character for a few reasons: 1) She is the daughter of a popular couple, so viewers feel like they have known Robin all of their lives. 2) She is an example that people who contract HIV are not social deviants but normal people. Anyone can get it. 3) Having HIV does not equate a death sentence. 4) Robin is a woman, and statistically, women contract HIV and AIDS more than men.



Compared to life-threatening diseases, eating disorders are mentioned comparatively less often. All My Children’s Bianca, the same character who had come out of the closet, was a bulimic in her pre-teen years. On As the World Turns, pre-teen Faith is suffering with a bit of anorexia, a bit of bulimia, and body image issues in general. As with other heavy issues like rape and abortion, eating disorders can never be accurately portrayed, especially the vomiting that is involved with bulimia, which may be a reason why it is not shown very much on daytime soaps.

Even violence is a delicate issues on soap operas. The producers of ABC's One Life to Live scrapped a bunch of episodes about a student shooting up his high school in light of the Virginia Tech shootings. Usually in soaps, when violence such as shooting or stabbing is involved, there is either a killer on the loose or there is spy/mob activity going on. General Hospital is probably the best example of this because of the character of Sonny Corinthos, who is a mobster. Ever since Sonny came to town years ago, Port Charles, the fictional New York town where General Hospital is set up, has experienced non-stop shootings which are usually between Sonny and a rival mobster.


A tactic soaps often use is to implement violence in a situation where all or most of the soap's characters are involved, and this is usually done during a sweeps period to get ratings. The situation is usually very emotional and intense, more than usual for a soap opera. For example, during February sweeps, General Hospital had a hostage situation where the majority of Port Charles' citizens were being held hostage at a hotel. By the end of it, one person was shot (It happened to be HIV-positive Robin), a veteran character was dead from heart complications, and the hotel exploded due to a bomb. This is exciting and entertaining television but not all that realistic. Port Charles in particular has had so many fires, bombings, shootings, and virus scares that it makes one wonder why anyone would want to live there if it really existed.

Soaps Get Technical: How Daytime Dramas are Using New Media To Survive

Daytime soap operas represent a past time of television. In the past, people in general had more time on their hands to watch television. Now, with the Internet, cable TV, and other distractions, television networks are constantly looking for new ways to get and keep audiences. Daytime soaps are no exception, especially with low ratings to worry about. The soaps are using technology as a life preserve to save them from cancellation.


A good example of technology being used to seal the fate of a soap in danger of cancellation is Passions. A few months ago, NBC announced that it would be cancelling Passions, which was a shock but at the same time, it wasn’t. The cancellation news was a shock because Passions has earned a good amount of ratings, especially with teenaged girls and young women, but its ratings are always horrible in comparison to the other ten soap operas on TV. Of the ten, Passions is always rated the lowest, and Passions has been network television for eight years. In 2007, NBC says it is cancelling Passions because it wants to add another hour to the morning show Today, and also the network wants to cut back on its budget. As soon as NBC announced Passions’ cancellation, there was immediately speculation that SOAPNET would pick up the show. SOAPNET is a network owned by Disney which repeats soap operas such as General Hospital, The Young and The Restless, and Days of Our Lives (the other NBC soap) at night. It would have made sense to put Passions on SOAPNET, but SOAPNET did not want it. It seemed like there was no hope for Passions, but it was recently announced that DIRECTV would pick up the show. New episodes will run five days a week, and reruns will be shown on the weekend.
Passions will be the first soap opera that was saved in cancellation in this way. Producers of popular cancelled soaps of the past must be kicking themselves for not having the option to have been saved by satellite television. Even if DIRECTV did not catch Passions before it fell, the Internet could have saved it. Passions fans can already watch episodes of the soap on NBC’s website. If it wasn’t already going to DIRECTV, Passions could have made history by becoming the first soap opera that was on television but could now only be seen online. It’s not as if it would be the first time that a soap opera moved from one medium to another. Shows such as Guiding Light and As the World Turns are the only soaps on television today that originally started on radio, so why not with a show like Passions that is in danger of cancellation. With dwindling ratings, it is an option that soaps should definitely consider.



Although the majority of soap operas are not in as much relative danger of cancellation as Passions, let’s face it. Daytime soaps are considered by many in America to be archaic, boring, and lacking in creativity and innovation, so what better way to spruce up the viewing public’s image of soaps than to use it together with new media technologies. For example, two soap operas-As the World Turns and Guiding Light-are available for download on iTunes. What’s interesting about this is that the downloads are only audio and not video downloads, which hearkens back to the radio years of those two particular soaps. It is a positive thing because Proctor & Gamble-owned As the World Turns and Guiding Light have comparatively older viewers than the other two CBS soaps: The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful, so iTunes is an alternative to get viewers, especially young, technologically savvy viewers, interested in the P&G soaps.



With the exception of the P&G soaps and Passions, the other daytime soaps don’t offer their shows on iTunes. So for a soap fan that misses their favorite show, SOAPNET is another alternative. As previously mentioned, SOAPNET’s allure is that you can watch your favorite soaps even at night if you miss them during the day. SOAPNET, as with anything in life, had good and bad points. The network is good if you, for example, do not feel like watching General Hospital at the time it is broadcast on your ABC-affiliate. SOAPNET is also useful if you forgot to program your VCR or TiVo. On the down side, SOAPNET does not show all of the soap operas. Another big downer is that SOAPNET is very biased towards ABC’s soap operas, which isn’t surprising since both SOAPNET and ABC are owned by Disney. It is only very recently that SOAPNET introduced The Young and The Restless and Days of Our Lives to the lineup; before, the lineup was all of ABC’s soaps.



Basically, if you are watching SOAPNET for the non-ABC shows, you will feel cheated and that there is nothing much for you to watch, but the network wants to show that it has a cornucopia of programming for a soap viewer. What is great about SOAPNET is that it has original programming such as I Want to Be a Soap Star, a reality show where aspiring actors and actresses compete to win a 13-week contract on a soap. The network also has Soapography, a series about the biographies of soap opera stars.



Of course, what about the person who doesn’t have iTunes or SOAPNET? Well, of course, there is always the good old-fashioned Internet. All three of the major networks have websites for their soap operas. The websites contain information on the soap characters, cast bios, story synopses, and more. These sites are also interactive so that fans can vote on polls and write on message boards.

Diversity in Soap Operas: Are Soaps Doing Enough?

Historically, daytime dramas have had mostly all-white casts with a sprinkle of a minority here or there. With the statistic that Hispanics will become the majority in the U.S. in a couple of years, and with the strides and contributions they as well as Blacks, Asians, gays, and others have made to American society, wouldn’t it be a little more true-to-life to have more of a variety of different kinds of people in daytime television, right? Wrong! At least that is what soap opera writers seem to think.

Even though the lack of diversity on daytime television dramas is disappointing, there have been some strides made. All My Children recently made strides with introducing the first transgender character. This is the same soap opera that made into a lesbian the daughter of a beloved character, namely Erica Kane. It is commendable that a daytime soap is willing to take risk by introducing gay and transgendered characters, but it is a double-edged sword. On soaps, the gay characters don’t stay in the storyline for very long. For example, Erica Kane’s daughter, Bianca, is being written out of the storyline as well as Zoe/Zarf, the transgendered character. To be fair, viewers have seen Bianca’s realization that she is gay as well as her relationships with other women, so much so that a TV Guide Editor calls the character “the patron saint of gay soap characters,” but it is not enough. Bianca and Zoe/ Zarf are the only homosexual characters on the show. After they have left, the show is all heterosexual characters. At least there is always room for Bianca to come back because she is related to Erica, an important character on All My Children, but Bianca is relegated to the “character that comes back every once in awhile” status. What kind of message does this send to viewers, particularly gay ones? That it is okay to have homosexual and transgendered characters as long as they are not on screen too much? It is tricky to feature gay characters on soaps, especially when it comes to portraying romantic and sexual scenes. Soap opera writers, directors, and producers have a tricky balance between showing realistic portrayals of gay relationships while still placating those who are uncomfortable with gay relationship storylines.

What about portrayals of African-Americans on soaps? In general, there are some strides, but nonetheless, there is much to be desired. Soaps such as Passions and The Young and the Restless have African-American families who get a fair amount of time onscreen and regularly interact with the White characters. These African-American characters even get to have romantic relationships with the White characters as well, which brings up another issue all together. Passions especially is commendable for its portrayal of Black characters on the show. One character on the show, Eve, has had a long relationship with a White character. Eve’s daughter, Simone, recently came out as a lesbian, and it was recently revealed that Chad, who is married to Eve’s other daughter Whitney, is having an affair with a man. Never before have Black characters been so complex. Often in soaps, the Black characters are morally perfect, which is a good thing or a bad thing. It is good because Black people are portrayed in soaps as doctors and lawyers rather than maids, criminals or prostitutes. At the same time, though, soap writers are pressured to make Black characters good all of the time because: 1)They don’t want the soap to be deemed racist against Blacks and offensive to Black viewers. 2) The majority of soap viewers who are White have limited contact or knowledge of the African-American experience, so soap writers put the Black characters in one-dimensional roles.

As for Latino, Asian, and Native American characters, there is still much to be desired. Native Americans are virtually non-existent on soap operas. There is a Latino family on the ABC soap One Life to Live who are regulars and who are involved romantically with the White characters. Passions has set the standard by including a whole Latino family as well as an African-American one. Otherwise, the number of Latino characters isn’t a lot on soaps. At least the Latinos on One Life to Live are really Latino, whereas a good number of the “Latino” characters on Passions are either White or of mixed heritage. There are not a lot of instances of Asian characters on soap operas, and when there are Asians around, they don’t get front-burner storylines, and they are usually platonic with the White characters, but there is nothing romantic going on.

The issue of romantic relationships with White characters brings about the issue of interracial relationships on soaps. Again, One Life to Live is making strides with the character of Evangeline. She is a successful African-American attorney who has had relationships with White and Latino characters on the show, and aside from the romance, Evangeline is important to the storyline. Shows such as One Life to Live, Passions, and The Young and the Restless is doing a lot more than most of the other soaps when it comes to having minority characters get involved romantically with White characters. The Young and the Restless, for example, features Lily Winters of the African-American Winters family. Lily is married to Daniel, who is White. The interesting thing about it is that about ten years ago, Lily’s father Neil was romantically involved with Victoria Newman, a White character, a relationship that was unfavorable to some fans, but Lily and Daniel’s relationship has not received much audience disapproval. There has not even been uproar for the relationships Evangeline from One Life to Live has gotten involved in. This suggests that there may be a bias for soap opera fans when it comes to favoring relationships with Black women and White men over Black men and White women. This may explain why the Black man/White woman relationship is rarely seen on soaps, and if it is seen, it doesn’t last long. For example, on The Young and the Restless, Daniel’s mother Phyllis, who is White, had a romantic relationship with a Black man, but the relationship didn’t last and the man has since left town. This is an example of how soap opera writers are reinforcing long-standing racial fears of putting Black men and White women together romantically, even in a fictional setting.

Diary of a Soap Fan

It is hard for me to pinpoint when I started watching and liking the soaps at the same time. There is a difference between watching soap operas because you’re forced to and watching them because you like them. I have vague memories of being four or five years old and being annoyed at my great-grandmother for not letting me change the channel to watch cartoons because she was watching the soaps. I had to endure hours of boredom while she enjoyed her stories. Little did I know that as I’ve become older, daytime soaps would remain a part of my life.

My family is a big reason why I became hooked on to the soaps. My mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all watched all four the soaps on CBS: The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, As the World Turns, and Guiding Light. On the other hand, my two cousins on my mother’s side watched the daytime dramas on ABC: General Hospital, All My Children, One Life to Live, and any one of the other now-defunct soaps that used to make up the four-soap lineup. Before my adolescent years, I would watch the CBS soaps from time to time. The interesting thing about that period was that I was not a soap fan, but I knew the names of the characters and most of the storylines. This was because of the ongoing TV watching struggle from when I was a child with my great-grandmother and even with my grandmother to an extent. From the time period of 12:30 pm to 3 or 4pm, I not anyone else could disturb my great-grandmother as she watched her stories. This would have been fine by me except for a few things. For one thing, I was a kid, and kids like to watch cartoons. In my mind, soap operas were an integral part of the adult realm, and especially the female adult realm. I didn’t want to

watch stuff that involved sappy melodrama, kissing scenes or (Gasp!) sex scenes.

So what made me change my no-soap operas boycott? For one thing, I have two words: General Hospital. I started watching the soap because of my two female cousins who were practically raised on ABC’s soap operas. My cousins, who are 11 years older than me combined, had a big influence on my young mind. I used to take cues from them on many things, and soaps were one of them. Another reason was due to adolescence and all of its changes and confusion. To make a long story short, I was starting to have crushes with the boys at school and catty drama with the girls so much so that going to school everyday felt like going off to the battlefield. Soap operas were a refuge for me, an escape from the tough lessons of adolescence.

The irony of my soap watching was that the people who got me hooked on the stories stopped watching. Those who hate soaps would proabably say that this is the point when these people gained their sanity and I lost it (lol!), but what can I say? A lot of habits one learns comes from the home and family. Anyway, both of my cousins haven’t watched soap operas in years. My great-grandmother died and buried her soap-fanaticism with her, and both my mother and grandmother became born-again Christians who feel that watching daytime dramas is sinful and is at odds with their beliefs. So where does that leave me? Yup, you guessed it, still watching soaps. When everyone else jumped over the sinking ship that is soap-opera watching, I stay and will probably continue to stay. And with these changing times when it seems like many people like my family members have abandoned the stories, I as well as others choose to watch soaps, even if the ship sinks to the bottom of the ocean.

Where Have All the Good Soaps Gone?

What happened to soap operas? Do they need to be cancelled, and are they still relevant? For some, the soaps or the “stories” are still fun and entertaining, but the vast majority of Americans consider soap operas as one of those things that should have been thrown out with the trash ages ago. To combat this belief, daytime soap operas are doing two things. For one thing, daytime dramas are ignoring naysayers by continuing to do the same programming that they always have. Secondly, soaps are working together with companies such as iTunes and DIRECTV to survive. But are daytime TV’s attempts to stay fresh and new while still retaining their old audiences a futile effort?

Upcoming Soap Opera Series

I have written a few articles about my thoughts on the daytime soap opera industry which I will be posting soon. I think that even if you dislike soaps, you will find these articles interesting. Later Dayz!

XM-Sirius Merger

Hello World,
I am working on a paper regarding the upcoming merger between XM and Sirius satellite radio companies. Can anyone help me out by recommending any articles? Are you a writer or journalist who has an opinion on it? Please let me know by writing in the comments section of Digg.com or on my blog. Thanks again!

Check It Out-Pandora Internet Radio Service

Hey World,

I have been looking at the Pandora Internet Radio Service http://www.pandora.com/ since yesterday, and I have to say, I have found my new obsession. I had first found out about it in a New York Times article about Internet music services that are competition to satellite radio as well as terrestrial radio, and the article mentioned Pandora. In short, my experience with the service so far hasn't been too bad, despite what the name "Pandora" suggests.

All you have to do is set up your account, which isn't very difficult as it is with signing up for other things on the 'net. Actually, that part was quick and simple. Then, all you have to do is enter and artist's name, and then you are given a selection of songs from that artist as well as similar artists. You can rate each song: If you like it, click on the thumbs up like it symbol, and if you don't, you can click on the thumbs down. When you dislike a song, the music player plays the next song on the queue for that artist's radio station. You can even enter a song title in the search to look for covers of that song or similar artists to the one who sang the song.

Pandora is part of the Music Genome Project. According to it's founder Tim Westergren, the project was started in 2000 was when musicians and music technologists listened to over 10-thousand artists and looked at each artist's musical qualities. As a result, the project has come up with hundreds of musical genres or "genes" into a Musical Genome, like the Human Genome. The Music Genome is how Pandora can find similar artists or songs. And Westergren says that the music ranges from the well-known to the obscure, and Pandora is constantly on the look-out for talent, even unknown, underground talent, which is cool because it isn't biased towards mainstream artists.

So far, Pandora has been pretty good. I have not only enjoyed listening to my favorite artists, but I have also learned about new songs from those artists. On top of that, I have learned about new artists altogether, which has been great too.

But, as with everything in life, with the good comes the bad. One negative about Pandora is that when you enter an artist or song, that artist/song may either not be on your queue, or you have to look at song after song and artist after artist until you finally what you want. Another problem is there is a limit to the number of songs you can listen to per hour because of some legality. So if, for example, you listen to a Marvin Gaye Station, and you go through your queue not liking the songs very much, then next thing you know, you can't listen to any more music until an hour has passed.

The limit of songs issue is minor because you can occupy yourself with finding more albums and songs until the hour is over, and then you can go back to that particular station and listen to more random songs, and like a radio station, you never know what you are going to get. But there are issues with the search engine, too. Pandora acts like it has such a great variety of songs, but if you are looking for foreign artists, forget it. I tried to type in some French artists, and the search engine didn't know who I was talking about. As for foreign artists, British and Canadian artists are as foreign as it gets when it comes to Pandora recognizing them. I put Shakira and Damian Marley in the search and I got stuff, so there is also luck for Latin American and reggae artists, but anything too obscure, forget it. I also have beef with the like it/don't like it. A lot of the artists that I listened to were either just okay in my book or I just didn't feel like listening to that kind of song, so I didn't want to say I didn't like the song, so most of the time I just click the fast forward button for the station to go on to the next song in the queue. I think Pandora should have a button where a song is just OK, and the symbol for it could be a hand moving like when someone says something is okay or so-so.

Besides those little snafus, I really like Pandora. It's a great way to give Internet users a say in what they like and dislike. Pandora is democracy at it's finest.

Album Recommendation-"Back to Black" by Amy Winehouse

Hey World,
I was just listening to an awesome new album called Back to Black by Amy Winehouse. She one of those hipster British singers, kind of in the same tribe as Lily Allen, but not quite. I daresay, she's even better. I love "Rehab" and " You Know I'm No Good." I also really love "Love is a Losing Game" and "He Can Only Hold Her." To Describe her music, it's basically like if she was one of crazy gun-wielding Phil Spector's artists. Amy totally would have fit in to that whole 1960s, wall of sound, girl group thing of the Ronettes, the Supremes, and the rest of those broads.

You might be asking how I first heard of Winehouse. It all started on a gossip website called PerezHilton.com. Perez reported on a reported rivalry between Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse because apparently, Amy won the Brit Award that Lily wanted and then Lily was supposedly crying and acting all bratty or whatever. Anywho, the point is that I knew at the time who Lily was, but I didn't know who Amy was. At least not yet, anyway. Around the same time, Best Buy started showing commercials promotiong her album and showing snippets of the videos for "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good." I was curious about her. Amy and Lily Allen may both be British singers, but the similarities end there. Amy looks like one of those rocker chicks, full of tatoos and piercings. Lily, on the other hand, has a unique style, but she looks more normal than Amy. Despite her jaded, I've done some things attitude, Lily looks like virgin compared to Amy. Amy looks like she has lived nine lives, and the great thing is, her music sounds like it too.

Her voice is rich and soulful, whereas Allen's is a bit more mainstream.

Amy is definitely someone whose reputation precedes her, which isn't a compliment. She is apparently a hard partier, drinker, and drug user. It's kind of cool how she doesn't give a damn about how much she parties, but I just hope she's not one of those Jimi Hendrix/Janis/Jim Morrison-died before their prime types, because if she is not careful, she'll end up just like that, and yes, Amy is worthy enough to be compared to those people.

The sound arrangements on "Rehab" are superb, especially the drums and the working of the horns. The lyrics are funny and they are obviously words that Amy has said over and over: " You try to make me go to rehab, but I say no, no, no." The lyrics of "Love is a Losing Game" are more basic, but the arrangements and Amy's singing makes me want to just cry. Not to sound trite, but you feel the pain in her voice in that song. It's like you're going through it with her. In "You Know I'm No Good," again, the title looks like it came right out of Amy's mouth, and when you look at her stereotypical rebel look, you could imagine her saying those words.

I could listen to almost every song on the album, although I don't quite get the remix of "You Know I'm No Good." featuring Ghostface Killa. I think that she just added him just to give the song an edge because he is a rapper, but his part doesn't contribute anything different to the song. Amy should have made a real remix of the song by changing the beat and melody completely, like Lily Allen did with the remix of "Smile" at the end of her Alright, Still album.

To clarify, my praise of Winehouse is by no means a bashing of Lily Allen at all. I really like Lily's songs. It's just that I don't want the 2 artists to be lumped together because they are female, British, and about the same age. They are really different when you think about it, and variety, as we all know, or at least should know, is the spice of life.

More Later!

A List of Movies to See

Hey World,
Here is a list of some of the movies that I have seen lately. At a later time, I will give movie reviews for some of these films:

1. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
2. Vera Drake
3. Bad Education
4. Vertigo
5. Rear Window
6. Strangers on a Train
7. The Breakfast Club

Also, here are a few cable TV recommendations:

1. Life Support
2. The Tudors

Later days!

THE SPITE GIRL

Oh well. Sorry Spice Girl fans, but I guess there really is no chance of a reunion (lol).



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Family of Hitler's Would-Be Assassin Doesn't Want Tom Cruise to Portray Him

Ouch! Descendants of Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg object to the choice of Tom Cruise for the lead role, fearing that the story will be turned into "propaganda" for the actor's Scientology beliefs.



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The 20 Worst Lyrics In History

Some of these are just terrible. Includes the classic breasts/mountains Shakira combo.



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An unfair thing said a/b an awesome Nickelodeon Show

Hey World,
Remember the Nickelodeon show As Told By Ginger? Well, if not, it is about the coming of age of a 12 year old girl. It was an animated cartoon, and the characters and storylines were realistic. For Nick watchers of the past, it's sort of in the "Hey Arnold" vein except the main character is a girl. Anyway, on urbandictionary.com, my favorite website, someone made a scathing commentary. Check it out: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=as+told+by+ginger. I really like urbandictionary because I learn new things all the time, but sometimes the people who write stuff on it are ignorant asswipes who wouldn't know a good show if it bit them on the ass! Anywho, if anyone is out there, tell me what u think!

The Josh Wolf Case as a Warning

Josh Wolf’s case is a warning to independent journalists and bloggers. If you don’t have the protection of a news organization to vouch for you, you’re prey to the U.S. government.
Josh Wolf getting arrested for not turning in his video footage is wrong. The federal government doesn’t really care about him. As stated on the joshwolf.net website, the government wanted the tape to find anarchists. If the government was able to get the anarchists, then they would be used as an example for anyone who didn’t support the G8 summit. This is not even really about the G8 summit but about the protesters being against an action of the Bush administration.
Wolf is currently the perfect candidate for being the longest-incarcerated journalist. At 24, he still has his whole life ahead of him. He is apparently well known in the San Francisco area for covering protesters. In considering all of these facts about Wolf, the federal government figures that he is perfect to follow. He is the prototype for someone who would be against the Bush administration: young and liberal. The fact that he is from San Francisco, a politically liberal city, just further proves what they think of him. It doesn’t matter that Josh Wolf is a journalist who is, as part of the criteria for a journalist, has to be fair and unbiased. The fact that Wolf was at the protest covering the event in the first place may show the federal government that Wolf supports the protesters cause, and this is why he has been refusing to hand over the video footage. Even if Wolf was not a protester himself, in the mentality of the U.S. government, he must have known some of the protesters. Basically, the government wants Wolf to be a tattletale, and he is being punished for not telling what he knows and by not telling what he knows, Wolf is just as guilty as the protesters.
In its defense, the U.S. District Court thinks that there should be arson charges brought against some of the protesters because they were suspected of planning on damaging a police car by firing a bottle rocket under it. Now, it is not as if the protesters actually did that to the police car. It’s just possible that they were thinking of maybe, kind of, sort of damaging the car. This is proof that the government’s charges are bogus because the government needed an excuse to arrest the protesters. The District Court says that the reason why the federal government got involved is because the police car was partly funded by the U.S. government.
Wolf should not feel too bad, for all of this, though. On the one hand, he has the blemish of a prison sentence on his record for the rest of his life, but there is a positive side to this. Wolf has gained the respect of many journalists. There is a long list of prestigious organizations such as the National Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, and the American Civil Liberties Union who support his cause. Wolf is also getting numerous awards such as the Society of Journalists Freedom of Information Award and the James Madison Award for Online Free Speech. There are also numerous petitions and blogs supporting Wolf’s cause.
According to Wolf’s point of view, he feels justified in refusing the subpoena because he thinks it violates his ability to gather news as an independent reporter. This brings up the topic of whether or not the government thinks of Wolf as a real reporter in the first place. Obviously, if the federal government really thought of Wolf as a legitimate reporter, then he probably would not have been arrested, and even if Wolf was arrested, he would not have been in jail for this long. What happened to Wolf is a warning that just because you pick up a video camera or a tape recorder to cover an event does not necessarily make you a journalist, especially to the federal government. If Wolf was a reporter from a news organization, especially a prestigious one such as CNN or The New York Times, he probably would have been treated much differently. For example, former New York Times reporter Judith Miller only stayed in jail for 85 days for her involvement in the Valerie Plame scandal. At the time, 85 days seemed like a long time, but it’s relatively short compared to the almost 200 days (and counting) time Josh Wolf is spending behind bars. Sadly, for Wolf, it doesn’t seem like there are any plans to get him out of prison anytime soon, but with the Judith Miller case, it seemed like there was an assumption that if she had to do any jail time, it wouldn’t be for long.
Not everyone thinks that Josh Wolf is a hero or a martyr for the cause of Internet journalism. A person responding to an online article on Wolf thinks that he should “rot in jail” because he is keeping evidence for a criminal investigation. The person compared Wolf to someone who has witnessed a violent crime but withholds information from the authorities. To finish the post off, the person said that Wolf is an accessory to the crime. Honestly, this person makes it seem like Wolf had committed murder, but in some folks’ eyes, Wolf was not complying with the federal government, and that is criminal enough.
What is even more interesting about Josh Wolf’s case is how little it is being covered in the news media. The Judith Miller issue certainly got a lot more coverage, which is understandable because it directly dealt with the federal government. At the same time, the Josh Wolf case should get just as much coverage. People, and especially young people and journalists, need to look at the Wolf situation to see that they could be arrested if they use their video cameras in certain places, and as extreme as it may sound, even the federal government may get involved. Surely Wolf knew the risk of getting arrested when he would film protests, but it is doubtful that he knew that the national government would have him arrested and jailed. Wolf’s case brings up the question of whether or not internet bloggers like Wolf are just as much journalists as Katie Couric and Charles Gibson. It seems like, at least according to the U.S. government’s handling of the Wolf case, internet bloggers cannot have the same rights as traditional journalists, and if this is the case, the millions of bloggers on cyberspace have a lot to worry about.

Happy Valentine's Day!

hooray for snow days,
I just found out that i don't have my 5:30 pm class today. This is the second week that i haven't had that class. It's a shame cuz ive actually finished the assignment on time (lol).
it feels strange to have so much time off, but it's awesome!

Awesome quote:
Woman has the right to let someone in, or to tell them to come back another time, or even to have a sign that says NO SOLICITORS. Woman has the right to be exhalted, cherished and respected. Woman has the right to choose, to choose for herself, for her own body, for her own life. - Margaret Cho

It's weird when u suddenly don't have school cuz ure wondering what to do with all of that free time.

Im proud of myself cuz i finally finished ROOTS. It was tough to get through, but worth it. It's a movie that everyone should see. It's funny that im watching it now cuz it's the 30th anniversary (Jan 1977) since it came out.

Grammy Thoughts

I am trying to do reading for my children in the media class, but as usual, I'm procrastinating!

The grammys were actually awesome last night. i didn't feel like it dragged. At the end of it, I was kind of sad that it was over! One of the only things I didn't like is when Christina Aguilera sund James Brown's This is a Man's World, and she screamed at the end. That gave me chills, and not in a good way! That girl who won the My Grammy competition was ok. She reminds me of Amerie. It was funny when Scarlett Johansson was asking if Don Henley had any advice for her since she is recording her first album, and he said a curt, "No." I felt kind of bad for her, but she didn't have to ask. Maybe Henley was kidding, but i don't think so. I am happy that the dixie chicks got so many accolades, but i kind of wished that mary got best album, because i actually have that album and i love it. I should give country more of a chance. I like the Dixie Chicks as well as Carrie Underwood. I'm very happy that she won Best New Artist. Kind of disappointed Christina Aguilera didn't win anything. I hate when the music comes up as an artist is doing his or her acceptance speech. Maybe Mary was taking too long with hers, but cmon grammy academy, it's Mary ! All I'm hoping for is that Lily Allen is nominated for something next year. Im listening to her album ( That I got for 10 dollars at Virgin Megastore, thank u very much!), and so far, it's awesome!

A Crazy Last Week

Did u know that I only had class for 1 day last week? Having days off is great, but I think that I am starting to become lazy!

I still can't believe that Anna Nicole died. She was a crazy broad, but she didn't seem mean or anything. People have all sorts of theories as to how she passed, but I think it was either drugs, or a heart attack, or even both. I think the whole Danilyn paternity and her other child dying also added to the stress. I think the Larry dude is the father, but I just don't get how Howard K.Stern let Anna have another boyfriend. He has ALWAYS been around, so much so that I always considered him to be her boyfriend. It's just weird. And now zsa zsa gabor's husband has something 2 say. ru kidding me? he just wants attention. And have u heard the rumor that the marshall guy Anna was with had his sperm frozen, meaning he could be danilyn's father? WTF! Just sad!

Anywho, i had attended the Justin Timberlake concert on Wednesday night, which was extremely enjoyable. I was sitting in the 300s, which wasn't that far. The concert ran a little long, though. I enjoyed the Dick in the Box ending. Im kinda sorry I missed some of Pink's set, cuz I needed 2 use the bathroom after the Chai Latte I had (lol), but why is she opening for him? Shouldn't she have her own tour, or is it that her album flopped so badly that she needed to leech off of someone with a successful album? Oh well!

Hello!

Hello cyberspace!
For those who don't know, I'm Katrina, and here's my blog. I will write my thoughts and ideas on the world as I know it here. Feel free to make comments, and enjoy!