Cribs

**Music courtesy of freeplaymusic.com.

This was the Cribs assignment, and in it, we created our own version of an MTV Cribs episode. My partner was Josh Chilson, and he came up with the idea to pretend to be me. He also wanted to include areas that obviously were not rooms in his house, The Campanile. Hopefully, that created a humorous tone.

In this assignment, I got to use my photoshop skills. I created the cutout for the opening sequence, and I created the SPECS box in photoshop. Josh also did some really great things on the editing side. He played with speeding things up and down, and he worked to sync the video up perfectly with the music. I thought he did a great job timing the pictures on the screen with the beats of the music.

I learned several things with this video. I personally tried to effectively mix flashes of images on the screen with strong beats in the music, but despite my best attempts, Josh is definitely more proficient in this area. I also made a freezeframe shot of the video for one of the first times. That was extremely easy, and I thought it added a lot to our video.

Monologue 5

**I got the inspiration for this monologue when I found a couple of news stories about disc golf. The one featured in the video can be found at BYU NewsNet. Then, once I saw that there is a PDGA, I knew I had to do this video. The rules page for the PDGA that I featured during the video can also be found here.

Two Journalists being held in North Korea

When I decided to be a journalist, I thought I'd chosen a relatively safe career. I wasn't going to be a cop or soldier, which both ask you to risk your life on a daily basis. I wasn't even going to be a fisherman, who face the prospect of drowning every day. (Click here for a link to a list of some of the most dangerous jobs.)

No, I was going to be a journalist. A safe journalist. WRONG! In the last couple of years, I've realized that a journalist is not always safe. If you write about something that upsets someone, then you make risk physical or property repercussions. Or if you are a foreign correspondent, you may be asked to enter war-zone, which were traditionally scary for journalists but now the conditions in war are becoming increasingly unsafe for journalists (see my post Life of a foreign correspondent or the BBC article on the topic for more information.)

Even if you are researching a controversial topic, you can be at risk. Just ask two journalists who are now being detained in North Korea. The two were apparently researching North Korean refugees when they were arrested in China, according to an article on the BBC. The two will most likely be charged for entering North Korea illegally from China, though the word espionage was thrown around a couple of times in the BBC article.

I have to say that I'm pretty scared for those two journalists. Though the BBC article said they were being treated well, I don't North Korea has the best record in terms of human rights.

Plus, I'm scared about how these cases could chill some journalistic activities. If journalists are threatened with imprisonment, they are probably not going to be as excited about investigative stories. In this case, the women (Euna Lee and Laura Ling) allegedly did something illegal, so yes, they will probably need to face some consequences. But if they get five years for entering North Korea illegally (as the AP is reporting), I think that will be pretty unfair. You get five years in the U.S. for stealing cars. If you ask me, if those journalists get five years, the North Korean government will just be trying to get back at them for researching an unflattering topic about North Korea.

To me, that is just wrong and scary. Maybe I didn't pick such a safe career after all!

Tough Love

It had been awhile since I'd checked in with Sarah Haskins, so I thought a Saturday would be a good day for a laugh. Today's featured video: Tough Love.

According to the video, VH1 has a new series called Tough Love. On the show, one man "who knows single woman better than anyone else" tries to teach his participants how to be or at least pretend to be perfect women when dating.

The host, Steve Ward, uses some pretty interesting tactics to make the women on his show more "dateable." According to Haskin's video, he has them pose for sexy photo shoots, have lingerie parties and participate in a game show called Cute or Crazy. During the game show, secrets are revealed about the women, and the men in the audience get to rate the girls as cute or crazy based on these secrets. I personally would rate that exercise as crazy.

I liked how Haskins looked at the show Tough Love to demostrate something that is prevalent in our culture -- people think that there is something wrong with single women. I think Haskins said it best when she compared singleness in our culture to a deadly illness. "Worse than leprosy you ask?" she said. "Yes, because lepers live in colonies and single women live alone."

Along with that, I think it's funny that it's terrible to be a single woman but it's cool to be a swinging bachelor that is afraid of commitment. That type of man is glorified in many movies and in our culture, and yet, whenever there is a show about a single woman, she is desperately trying to find a men 'to make her life complete.' BARF!

And so, due to all the 'chick-flicks' in which a woman seems lonely and unhappy without a man and also due to prevailing degrading thoughts about single women in our culture, I have to say that I've felt the pressure to find a man more than once. Some of my friends and members of my family ask me if I'm dating anyone before they'll even ask about school and my future career. Many of my family members and friends realize that school and my future are tremendously important to me, yet some of them are more curious if I've found a man or not.

However, I can't blame them for being more concerned about me finding a man than finding an amazing career. That's what our culture tells us is important through movies and also old stereotypes of women.

But to me, singleness isn't horrible. I can devote myself more to school and my work on the paper, and I have more time to cultivate life-long friendships. And yes, sometimes I do wish I could find my perfect man, but overall, I think I join Haskins when I say, I'd rather be single than be a leper.

**Photo taken from Time Out Chicago.

Mom gets plastic surgery to look like daughter

I often look at the BBC for interesting stories from around the world. Today, I was not disappointed.

According to the story "I just wanted to look like her," Janet Cunliffe had plastic surgery to look like her daughter Jane. She had a boob job to go from a 34A/B to a 34DD, had her upper and lower eyes lifted, got a nose job and had her lips plumped.

"I decided to do it because I was feeling low at the time, I'd just come out of a long-term relationship, so just to boost my confidence," she said in the BBC story.

(The pair is pictured above. From left to right: Daughter Jane and
Mom Janet as shown in the BBC article.)

In the end, all the adjustments cost her 12,000 pounds (British currency). But for her, it might be worth it because she often fools people about her age. People often mistake Janet Cunliffe for Jane's sister or some relative, but they never guess Janet is Jane's mother. I have to say looking at them I would probably guess Janet was a sister or an older cousin. I probably wouldn't guess Janet was the mother based at least on the un-motherish clothes she wears.

But was it worth it for Jane Cunliffe, the daughter? I know I would extremely creeped out if my mom had surgery to look like me or even started dressing like me. Actually, I would be shocked because my mother and I have different tastes in clothes selections. We both dress more to our age, and I have to say that I'll dress more motherly when I become a mother.

According to the article, the daughter was mad at first but mostly because she was scared of the dangers of surgery. Nowadays, the daughter is okay with the change.

"She looks like my sister and I'm happy for her," the daughter said in the article.

I really don't even know what to say about this. I was completely stunned when I first saw it, but I don't really feel like passing judgment right now. Instead, I will say that I'm not sure that changing your appearance is the best way to deal with difficulties facing a relationship. I personally would talk to a therapist first, because it's cheaper and probably less painful (though I can't say that for sure since I've never been to therapist. I can verify that surgery is painful.) But, then again that's just me. I've done some odd things in my life, too.

Slumdog cash: What's the lowdown on the slowdown?

When I was looking over the BBC site the other day, I found an interesting story "Slumdog makers pledge Mumbai cash."

The story in itself seems like it would be a feel-good story, and in a way, it is. The makers of the hit film Slumdog Millionaire are donating $745,000 to a charity that will help children living in the slums of Mumbai.

That all sounds good, right? But, I thought the makers of Slumdog promised to rehouse their child stars (pictured at right) when they won their Oscar. I can't find any story that confirms that thought, but I know a friend mentioned their Oscar promise shortly after the awards show.

So, I really could be crazy about the Oscar donation promise, but the BBC story did confirm that two of the film's star were recently rehoused after criticism that they were still living in the slums even after the film's tremendous success. So, to me that says that it took other people's scorn to finally convince the film's makers to donate or at least to spur them into action. That's not incredibly impressing to me.

In the film makers' defense, though, it seems like their hearts may be in the right place now. In the BBC article Director Danny Boyle was reported as saying, "It is only right that some of the success of the movie be ploughed back into the city."

I totally agreed. I just wish it hadn't taken so long from the movie's Oscar success to the present time for the makers to donate.

**Photo taken from the BBC article. It looks like it was originally from the AP.

More celebrities on my homepage? I don't think so.

I have admitted from time to time that I do succumb to the evils of Jen v. Angelina articles whenever I see them. I should also admit that I do enjoy looking at MSN's Wonderwall, which provides celeb gossip and tidbits.

However, I do not want more celebrities on my home page.

This was a question posed to me on MSN. (Want more celebrity news?) My initial answer was no because I am not celebrity obsessed and I can think of a lot better use of my MSN home page space.

Once I actually clicked on the celebrity-obsessed MSN beta home page, I was doubly convinced. One of the page's top stories was: Gossip: Kristen and Robert hold hands. Gasp! Sinners! How dare they! Oh, wait; who are Kristen and Robert?

Turns out Kristen and Robert are the stars of Twilight (oh, how I love Twilight fans; see the Fangirls video for more information), and apparently they have some budding romance. Okay, I guess that's important. But is it really more important than the fact that the Taliban is seizing control of strategically important territory in Pakistan?

Yes, or at least for the makers of the celeb-obsessed MSN home page. They would rather have you read about Daring and Dull Dos than current world events. Because having people read about hair instead of international crises will create a more-informed and intelligent public.

Obviously, I feel pretty passionate about this topic. I enjoy an occasional bit of celebrity gossip as much as the next person. But I am definitely not obsessed and am not in favor of creating entire home pages dedicated to celeb gossip. My advice to anyone who decides to turn their home page into a celeb-crazed site: stop monitoring their lives and start living your own.

**Photo from MSN's new celeb/entertainment beta home page.

Monologue 4

This post was inspired by the many blogs dedicated to grammar errors. The ones cited in this video are EnglishFAILBlog and GrammarBlog. My own personal grammar/headline fail in The Collegian was another inspiration for this piece, and I included an Argus Leader mistake to show that even the best make mistakes sometimes.

King Corn

I recently watched the movie/documentary King Corn, and I have to say it was pretty interesting. I don't know if it's because I'm a former farm girl or if it's because I didn't know I had corn in my hair (more on that later), but I found this movie to be very fascinating while still being educational.

Basically, the movie follows two college friends as they raise an acre of corn and try to see how their corn becomes part of the food supply.

As expected, the city boys discover some pretty funny things and more than a few disturbing aspects of our food systems. I think my favorite moment of the movie is the one shown by the movie promo picture (as retrieved from the King Corn press area). The guys decide to eat an ear of their corn straight from the field. They soon realize what everyone on the farm knows: that corn is NOT edible as is!

Along with providing me some laughs, this movie was extremely informational. I, too, had always wondered how the corn in the field feed America, and now I have a good idea. Some of that corn is used to feed cattle, which feeds us through hamburgers, etc. Over half of the corn is used to make corn syrup, which is used in many foods, such as pop, as a cheap sweetener. About a third of the corn produced in America does not enter our food supply. Instead that portion goes to ethanol production and other non-edible commodities.

Another important point in this film is that almost every processed food made in America uses corn in some way. For example, cattle are mostly corn-fed, so we are essentially eating corn when we eat beef. Many foods use corn syrup for a cheap sweeteners, so in that way, Americans are eating lots of corn, too. I loved the example that a McDonald's hamburger meal has corn in every part. The hamburger is made from corn-fed cattle meat, the fries are fried in corn or soybean oil and the pop has corn syrup for sweetener.

Because Americans do consume so many products that involve corn, the agricultural product shows up as the carbon in our hair, which as dead cells is essentially a record of things we have eaten. That is just crazy to me! Now, I really want to get my hair tested to see how much of my diet involves corn. I eat beef like crazy, and so I can only imagine how corn-fed I must be!

Useless Facebook Apps

I get at least three or four requests to add Facebook apps a day. I blame the fact that my name (Amy) is one of the first that pops up when the app asks you to add friends, but still, it's really annoying.

That is why I found it extremely refreshing when PC World named The 10 Lamest Facebook Apps. From the Honesty Box to Compare Friends to the Most Useless Application Ever, the article saved no punches when it attacked some clearly ridiculous apps and a few good ones. Here are some of winners of PC World disdain:

Bumper Stickers/ Pieces of Flair:
I have to say that I actually enjoy the bumper stickers. My sophomore year of college, my friends and I would spend hours looking at all the stickers and sending ridiculous amounts of stickers to each other. It was great fun, and I'll never forget the first sticker I sent/received: I don't skinny dip. I chunky dunk!


Pirates v. Ninjas:
I thought this app actually sounded cool because it involves pirates AND ninjas. How cool is that! Actually, it's not very cool because the whole point of the app is that you spam your friends to become a pirate or ninja. LAME!

Whopper Sacrifice:
My friend Brandon LOVED this app. He probably would have sacrificed all his friends for free Whoppers if the app hadn't been shut down. I have to say that when I saw that he had deleted friends so that he could get free Whoppers, I laughed. I thought it was extremely funny. Others did not, which is why PC World named this a lame app. The reviewers claimed it separates friends, instead of bringing them together.

Ploppy:
This disgusting application asks users to rate their last bathroom experience. One question is: How are your stools at the moment? Do I really have to say how gross that is?

**Pictures taken from the PCWorld Lamest Apps Review.

Monologue 3

**Music courtesy of freeplaymusic.com.

This monologue was inspired by PC World reviews of the latest crop of cell phones. I found the reviews and photos on MSN's Tech and Gadget page.

Monologue 2

**Music courtesy of freeplaymusic.com.

This monologue was inspired by the story "Scientists create chocoholic dream: all the taste with none of the calories" on the Telegraph Web site.

The life of a foreign correspondent

Just when you think your life is bad, you read about a guy who has been shot at in Iraq and taken hostage by pirates in Somalia.

Today's Web edition of BBC News featured a story about Colin Freeman, the chief foreign correspondent of the Sunday Telegraph. Apparently, while working in Iraq and Somalia, Freeman had more luck being in the news than writing the stories.

According to Freeman's piece, for many years, journalists were almost given a free pass in war zones. They were seen similarly to Red Cross workers or other aide officials. Both sides of the conflict understood that journalists were there to report on the conflict, not fight the battles with one side or another.

In today's world, all that has changed.

Freeman said that nowadays groups like al-Qaeda don't really care who they kill, as long as they are hurting their enemy somehow. Plus, these groups no longer need foreign reporters to tell their sides of the story. They have their own television stations or they use the Internet to spread their message. In a sense, reporters are no use to them. Reporters are completely expendable, especially if they get in the group's way somehow.

For Freeman, these new attitudes toward foreign correspondence led him to be wounded and almost killed by a mob in Iraq. But he might have been one of the lucky ones amongst his colleagues. Freeman said that out of the freelance journalists that stayed in Baghdad's al-Dulaimi hotel, no fewer than six ended up being kidnapped.

But if Freeman was lucky for not being kidnapped in Iraq, his luck ran out in Somalia. While researching a story about piracy, Freeman was kidnapped and held hostage in a cave for six weeks. His claims that he was a journalist and should not be held hostage held no creedance with his captors.

For me, Freeman's story is inspiring in the sense that he would put his life on the line for the profession that he loves. But then again, it also brings me back to earth. There are plenty of days when I think my life is just the worst in the world. Then I read about people like Freeman or Aliaksei Karol and Frank Nyakairu, who have both faced bodily and financial harm for reporting on the stories that matter. Clearly, my problems really aren't that bad, and I can only hope to be half as courageous as those three men.

Octo-Mom could get reality show

Nadya Suleman is close to striking a deal on a reality show that would feature her during her daily chores, on dates and when she's bussing around her 14 children, according to People.com (and found on MSN Entertainment.)

The reports says that Suleman and her lawyer have been in talks with various production companies about creating a show that will provide her a consistent income.

My first reaction to this story is oh, good. Give the baby lady some more media attention. This is the type of lady I want to read about and see every day. (Note the sarcasm.) On second thought though, the show would give Suleman a solid income, so everyone would be assured that she is not living off the taxpayers (or at least for the duration of the show.) Plus, then we know the children should have the oppporunity to have all the basics, like healthy food, clothes and shelter.

But then again, by giving her a show, the television world is just reenforcing her behavior. To me, the show would essentially say that her choice to have 14 children as a single parent while still living with her parents (or at least I think she was living with the parents for awhile) is completely acceptable. On many different levels, I don't think her choice was completely right, and so I for one don't want to watch a television show about her. I think I would just be frustrated the entire time I watched it.

Sorry, Octo-Mom, I can guarentee I will not be a viewer.

The Hannah Montana craze

Hannah Montana is everywhere this days. On backpacks and lip gloss containers, in magazines and now on the big screen.

I can just hear the squeals of preteens everywhere.

As for me, I've never really gotten into the Hannah Montana craze. Maybe it's because I'm older and more mature ... and I can drive myself places.

I have to admit, though, I did watch Hannah Montana once. I was craving some cartoons one Saturday morning, but instead of getting Bugs Bunny, Hannah Montana filled the scene. The show wasn't too bad, though it was no Lizzy McGuire. Star Miley Cyrus was lovable and funny, even if she was a little over the top at times.

So I can see why Montana is popular with the younger set and parents, too. She is for the most part wholesome and a decent role model for girls. What I don't always understand is the obsession over Montana. It seems like her face is everywhere these days, and I swear they should just set aside half of Wal-Mart for Montana products. Today, the Argus even had a story on dressing like the popular Disney character. I'll make sure to get right on that!

As I've said, maybe my cyncism with the whole Hannah Montana love affair is due to my age. Then again, many people my age are whole-heartedly in love with Edward Cullen (gag me!) But in the end, I guess my skepticism is more directed towards those that want to be Hannah Montana. For me, role models are those who have made a difference in real life, not people who are famous and get to wear pretty clothes. So overall, my message would probably be that while it's okay to enjoy television and movie characters, instead of wishing to be those characters, look around you and watch people who are making a difference in their communities. Emulate those people.

(** Photo of Hannah Montana taken from LifeLearning.org.)

Mini-Movie

**Music courtesy of freeplaymusic.com.

Our mini-movie was based off of the movie "Fanboys," in which a group of boys face a lot of obstacles to see the filming of Star Wars. For "Fangirls," as we dubbed our video, a group of girls face a lot of obstacles to see the premier of "Twilight."

This project taught me a lot of things. First, I learned how to pitch a project idea, and then I learned how to write a script and format it correctly. As for editing, I speed up and slowed down a couple scenes for the first time ever.

There were not too many stumbling blocks during this project once we were able to film. We did have some problems trying to get together, but that was a scheduling problem, not a Film Cut or Flip Camera issue.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how the video turned out, and I hope you enjoy it, as well.

Headline mistakes

Everyone makes mistakes. Unfortunately for journalists, our mistakes are quite public, and sometimes they are in 72 point font.

Yes, the journalism devils seem to strike most often in headlines. For some reason, errors can be the most hard to catch for journalists when they are in huge font. But once the reader sees the print copy, many times the errors are quite glaring.

Take this gem from the English FAIL Blog for example:

Though this headline is quite incriminating, I do not think the people at the paper are illiterate. (I believe that, even if it's just because the article says that Mississippi's literacy program is working.) In fact, the journalists are probably quite the opposite. As I said, the journalism devils like to play tricks on unsuspecting copy editors. If they see any moment of weakness, they will strike.

And strike they do! As found on the Professor Cornbread Web site, here are some other great headline mistakes:

Queen Mary is having bottom scraped.
Panda mating fails, veterinarian takes over.
NJ judge to rule on nude beach.

Enraged cow injures farmer with ax.
Two Soviet ships collide, one dies.
Two sisters reunite after eighteen years at checkout counter.

Never withhold herpes from loved one.

Cold wave linked to temperatures.
Something went wrong in jet crash, experts say.

Ads that didn't translate so well:

“Bite the wax tadpole.” Coca-Cola as originally translated into Chinese.
“Pepsi bring your ancestors back from the grave.” Pepsi ad slogan ‘Pepsi Comes Alive’ as originally translated into Chinese.

Obviously these previous examples underscore the importance of careful editing. Editors must scrutinize headlines from every possible angle, in addition to making sure they are grammatically correct and accurate.

But as I've said, horrible headlines will still slip through. (I plan to share one of my most painful headline moments in a future monologue.) So in the end, journalists must have good humor. I can imagine the people who have written some of the above headlines find their mistakes just hilarious nowadays. And while they probably experienced physical pain when they discovered their bad headline, I also like to believe that they learned their lesson and moved on to write smashing (or even more funny) headlines.

Queen of Odd Jobs

After being inspired by this week's release of "Adventureland" -- a movie about one of the worst and first jobs one guy has working at an amusement park -- the creators of MSN's Wonderwall decided to feature some of the oddest jobs celebrities had before becoming famous.

Just as the Wonderwall peeps were inspired by the opening of "Adventureland," I am inspired by their Celebrity Summer Jobs Photo Gallery, and I will now proceed to compare some of my crazy jobs to the celebrities' summer jobs as listed in the photo gallery.

Eva Mendes: worked at a mall Hot Dog on a Stick. (Pictured at right; Photo taken from Examiner.com.)
Me: I served out my obligatory food service job at both Pizza Ranch and Subway.

Miley Cyrus: scrubbed toilets.
Me: I scrubbed toilets for chores at home but also got loo-cleaning experience at both Pizza Ranch and Subway.

Tina Fey: worked at a snack bar at a swim club.
Me: I also worked at a snack bar at the AdventurePark at Wild Water West.

Steve Carell: delivered the mail.
Me: I was going to deliver the YellowPages phone books before I was offered a temporary job in a hospital laundry room.

Steven Spielberg: whitewashed fruit trees to protect them from insects.
Me: I detasseled corn plants so they wouldn't cross-pollinate (or something like that.)

Madonna: served as a cashier at Dunkin’ Donuts.
Me: I had the distinct priviledge of ringing people up at Subway, and I was an official cashier at Target.

Brad Pitt: considered the king of odd jobs, as he drove limos, moved refrigerators and dressed up as a Giant Chicken.
Me: I think I could give Brad a run for his money. I have sold vacuums (so did Kelly Clarkson), guarded a gate at the Sioux Empire Fair, babysat, issued credit cards at Wells Fargo AND dressed up as a Giant Chicken during my stint at Pizza Ranch.

Extraordinary uses of Facebook

Some people are using Facebook for more than just catching up with old friends and staying up to date with acquaintance's lives. According to the BBC, the social media site is being used to save lives, catch criminals and even end marriages.

I became privy to Facebook's revolutionary powers when I noticed today's headline, "UK teenager 'saved by Facebook'" on the British news site. According to the article, a British teenager messaged a girl in Maryland, saying that he was going to kill himself. The girl's mother called local police, who placed a call to the White House, who called the British Embassy, who contacted local police in Britain. The boy was found semi-conscious in his home after a drug overdose. After a hospital stay, the boy made a full recovery.

After reading that BBC article, I noticied another that mentioned an unusual Facebook use. According to the story "Facebook campaign to find rapist," a Manchester man made a group to try to find the man who raped his fiancee. He posted a grainy police photo of the attacker on the page and created the group in hopes that someone who knows the man will come forward.

While some are using the social media site for good purposes, others are just being ridiculous. According to the story "Marriage end 'posted on Facebook,'" Emma Brady found out her six-year marriage was over after her husband changed his status to read, "Neil Brady has ended his marriage to Emma Brady." Of all the ways to be dumped, that might be the worst. If it's any consolation to Ms. Brady, I think she is better off without a man who tells his Internet "friends" that his marriage is over before he even tells his wife.

So all in all, Facebook has uses, both good and ridiculous, beyond my wildest dreams. Who knew that a site affectionately known as Stalkerbook could be so versatile?

Israel papers remove women from picture

Culture definitely affects how newspapers cover the news. Israeli papers showed an extreme example of this by removing two women from a picture of Israel's new cabinet.

Originally, I was extremely outraged when I first read the BBC headline, "Papers alter Israel cabinet photo" and subhead, "Two ultra-Orthodox Jewish newspapers have altered a photo of Israel's new cabinet, removing two female ministers." I thought that these two papers were discriminating the women with no due cause.

In a way, the papers were discriminating the women unjustly, I think. However, after reading more of the BBC article, I sort of understand the papers' decisions. According to the article, ultra-orthodox Jews think that publishing pictures of women violates their female modesty. Since both the papers that altered the photos serve ultra-orthodox readers, I can understand that if they had published the original photo, they would have outraged their readers.

Still, the way one of the papers went about omitting the women was extremely strange. While one of the papers blackened out the images of the women, the other replaced them with two men. To me, the second option is unacceptable, because now some of that paper's readers might think those two men are actually on Israel's new cabinet. Instead of not offending their readers, now that paper has confused its readers.

So even though I don't like the fact that either paper removed the women from the picture, I think the first option is more accurate and fair. By blackening out the women, at least the readers know that women are serving in the new cabinet. By replacing the women with men's photos, readers are misled to believe that only men are worthy for Israel's cabinet.

Here is a copy of the original photo vs. the photo with two men inserted in the women's places, taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7982146.stm:

When the news hits close to home

Turner County has been making headlines in the state lately, and neither time has the news been good.


Photo courtesy of: http://pix.epodunk.com/locatorMaps/sd/SD_12999.gif

First, a Turner County deputy was shot and killed outside a Marion home. Now, a rural Chancellor/Tea resident has been found to have drugs and a stolen vehicle.

Both times, these news stories hit a little too close to home for me. The deputy killed was a classmate to my brother. The criminal resident, who is also suspected of starting a meth lab, lives only a mile-and-a-half from my parents. Yikes!

As someone who writes news, it's always a little strange to be on the other side of the equation, or in this case, have an association with the story. So many times I empathize with the people I'm writing about and think, "Man, I'm glad that didn't happen in my neighborhood." Well, now I'm on the other side of the fence, thinking, "Man, I wish that hadn't happened in my neighborhood."

Still, I think the experience is a good lesson for me. It reminds me of what it's like to be involved in the news, not just be a removed third party. I can experience the emotions of people involved in the stories, which has reminded me that it is good to try to understand these feelings as you try to interview people for emotional stories. So, even though the past weeks' events have disheartened, saddened and freaked me out, they have in some ways shown me that empathy is a good trait in a journalist.

Foolin' Around

Oh, April Fool's Day. The perfect day for regular people to turn into mischievous pranksters and for respectable news sources to make up some gripping stories.

A CNN story credited the tradition of news outlets creating outrageous stories to the infamous '50s BBC report, which claimed that Swiss farmers were enjoying a bumper spaghetti crop that year. Several people fell for the crazy report, which also featured pictures of farmers harvesting spaghetti from their trees, and called in asking how they could get their own spaghetti trees.

The April Fool's fake news tradition has stuck. The Collegian made an attempt at a humorous April Fool's Edition, and a couple years ago, the Argus Leader had a fake sports story. The Argus piece said that an eighth grader was going to be the next big thing in basketball. I believe he was said to be freakishly tall and an amazing shot, and NBA scouts were already recruiting him. The final paragraph of the story exposed the hoax. It told readers to look at the first letter of every paragraph; the letters spelled HAPPY APRIL FOOL'S DAY.

According to CNN, one of this year's pranks involved the popular site Twitter. A paper in London claimed it would be the first newspaper to deliver its news exclusively through Twitter. I think the paper should have included a link in the paper to a fake Twitter account that just said:
OMG, U just got pranked by a "dead" medium. LOL!

ROTFL, G2G.