Some of my Favorite Things:

These are a few of my favorite things:

Sushi: If I had to say something I was completely "in love" with, and had a mild addiction to, it would be sushi. More specifically, I love anything with salmon, shrimp, or tuna.

Cupcakes: More specifically red velvet cupcakes...
hmmm do I see a food trend going on here? What can I say, I love food.

Mac Miller: I recently discovered his music and I really like it! If you like Kid Cudi, you'll definitely like Mac Miller.

If you know me, then you know that singing has played a huge part in my life. I didn't start singing until sophomore year of high school. I was a band nerd -- clarinet, but I can't get enough of it. I recently, this May, had a chance to sing at one of my good friends wedding. It was amazing!

I love to dance. I was a part of my high school, and now, college dance team.
















So, there's a few things I really enjoy in my life.

Jess

Don't Hate:

I think I'm going to turn this blog into talking/discussing various things in life. Today it's about hate. I can honestly say that I don't hate anyone or anything. Some people get so wrapped up in trying to find reasons to hate something or someone that it consumes them. Have you ever met someone who always seems to look on the negative side of things? I mean, it could be the happiest time but they will always find something wrong in the situation. I sure have, and it's kind of hard to be around. Soon their negativity spreads, it's like you can feel it. I call them The Happiness Suckers, or for lack of a better word, a pessimist. In my day to day life I'd say that I surround myself with pretty positive people who tend to look at their world as "the glass is half full" instead of the contrary.
What led me to write about this; because it seems pretty random, was I stumbled upon this video about this girls "so called (and excuse my language) I don't give a fuck" disorder. Which at first I thought it was weird, but the underlying message was great. She was saying how she often times gets hate on her various social media sites, but she doesn't care because why would she? If she spent all her time being so concerned with what others thought of her it surely would cause her to grow some grey hairs real fast! I think that's how everyone should live their lives. Not concerning themselves with unnecessary  stress because someone else is having a bad day or is very negative about the world. Of course there are some situations in which you probably should care -- when it comes to something life threatening. But don't sweat the small stuff, it's not worth it. And next time you come across a negative nancy just smile, you never know how it might change some ones day and attitude. Don't hate. Until next time.

Jess

A So-to-Speak Rant...

Ok, so I don't know what to call this, but this title will have to make do. So I'm not to sure who will happen to stumble upon this post, although I'm pretty sure no one reads this seeing as I haven't made this blog public besides showing it to one of my classes last semester. So hi to all who happen to read this by chance of deep web surfing. Anyways, back to the point. I was out talking with one of my friends the other day and we got on the topic of friends. I haven't shared this with many of my friends seeing as if you're my friend it's because I want you to be. I don't hold any standards or qualifications for who I can and cannot be friends with. I mean if we get along, then by all means I'm more than willing to let you into my life. But I do have some friends who hold unrealistic expectations for who they can "hang out" with. It's so foolish to me to think that I can't or shouldn't be friends with so-and-so because they like this, or they don't do that. It brings me back to high school where people were so exclusive. I would like to think that I wasn't one of those stuck up teens who tried to surround themselves with the best people to ensure "popularity" status, but unfortunately I did have my moments. It wasn't until about junior or senior year when I thought,"Who cares?" These people won't matter in the next couple of years, and it's so true. Now being a senior in college those "people" from high school that I thought mattered so much to me and we were going to be best friends forever, don't even cross my mind anymore - with the exception of writing this post.
I was sharing with my friend (the same friend as previously posted), that in high school I never really hung out with "The Black Kids." Not making any racial slurs here, seeing as I am black myself, but I often did wonder why that was. In high school and sadly in college I was often approached by random people asking, "Why don't you ever hang out with "us" black kids, I mean you're like the only one who doesn't hang out with us." Kind of ridiculous sounding right? Yea, I thought so too. The more I thought about it the more confused I got. I mean, I even got these remarks from my sister as well. Being from a predominantly "white" family (I'm adopted) I guess I never really grew up with other African American families or hung out with other kids. My neighborhood as a child was filled with tons of kids my age, sadly none were black, but I don't think that's had any influence on my friend choices. People have always told me how friendly I am, and I'd like to think the same. It just bothers me that people just assume since I'm black, that I automatically have all black friends or that I share some kind of instant connection with someone because they have the same skin color as me. To be honest I'm not sure many people out there could truly understand me and the way I think, even if I tried my hardest to help them to. I told one of my professors while traveling abroad to India, "I don't choose my friends based on what race they are, I choose my friends based on similarities we have, and how well we get along." I'd say going off that, it's gotten me some really great friends who are all different and unique and I wouldn't change that for anything.
Sadly, it's been said to me on more than one occasion, that before getting to know who I was that so-and-so thought I was this kind of person or that I did that or the weirdest one was that someone was actually scared of me before they met me. Huh? Can I just say that I have an uncontrollable phobia of spiders and I'd rather be the one getting hurt than see someone else get hurt. Maybe it was the fact that I am 5'11", I can hope. I hope no one is scared or intimidated by me, because that just makes me sad. To think that I'm unapproachable to some people based on first impressions.
I guess that's about all I have to say about that. Just a little rant/ stuff I've been thinking about for quite some time now, that I had to get off my chest. If there's any lesson I've learned is that the best friends come from being who you are and not placing preconceived judgements upon people who you don't even know. I give everyone a chance, and if by chance we don't clique (which is very, highly unlikely) as friends for some reason, then it wasn't meant to be, and I'll move with life as should they.  Well, until next time. :)

Jess

I Happened to Stumble Upon This

Wow, I haven't touched this blog since the beginning of May when spring semester ended. Summer has been great and I just happened to be on Stumbleupon.com and came across this video I thought was pretty neat. Watch and see for yourself. :]

Touch The Screen

Touch screens have changed the way we look at media. A touch screen is an electronic digital display and can detect the sense of a persons hand or finger. The first touch screen was developed by inventor, E.A. Johnson at at Royal Radar Establishment in 1965. Touch screens didn't gain much recognition until around 1975 with the PLATO project. The HP-150 was one of the first touch screen computers made in 1985. From there popularity of touch screen phones continued to grow and were being added to devices like phones. Today we have many devices that offer touch screen capabilities. We've seen it with the iPod, iPhone, and most recently the iPad. We are developing touch screens computers. The Apple company is best known for their high speed touch screen gadgets. Today a touch screen is a part of every day normal technology. Pretty soon we could be having touch screen everything!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touchscreen

Wingardium Leviosa

There's no question that the Harry Potter series and movie franchise has grown to extreme popularity around the world. J.K Rowling, the author of the 7 Harry Potter books was born in July 3, 1965 in England. The idea that would soon grow into the Potter phenomenon started while she was waiting for a train back home to London in 1990. In 1998 the first publication of Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone in the US and Philosopher's Stone in the UK. And from there the books popularity began to sweep the nation. Along with the first book, came six others. In October of 1998 Warner Bothers Co. bought the film rights to the first two installments for nearly 7 figures. From there is was history. Today we have read and watched the characters of the Harry Potter series grow and fight through difficult challenges. We even have a Harry Potter World theme park in Disney World. There's no question that "the boy who lived" has made its way into main stream media and is there to stay.





http://www.jkrowling.com/

Fox News

Fox News Channel also just referred to as Fox is a cable accessible news channel and provides its watchers with updated current events. The channel was created by Australian mogul by the name of, Robert Murdoch. In May of 1985, Murdoch announced that he wanted to create a network of stations to compete with other high earning news channels like, CBS and NBC. At the start of Fox only 10 million households were able to access and watch the channel. We know today that Fox is one of the leading new sources for viewing in households all around the world. In May of 2008, Fox launched its new high definition channel. Fox news has expanded to not only being viewable by television, there is also Fox Radio and Fox online for quick and easy access. Today Fox has effected the media greatly with influencing the country on both world and political issues. Who knows if what we are being told is true or not, but people still use it as a resource for finding and learning new information about the world and its people.

The DVD

DVD stands for digital video disc. It holds more information than a compact disc and VHS and in much higher quality. In 1994 Philips and Sony gave the announcement that they would be developing a new high-compact device as we all know as the DVD. The device would be the same size as a CD just with 5-10 times the capacity. This was revolutionary because, nothing like this had ever been invented before. With this invention there would soon be the creation of the DVD player. There was also a lot of competition with other leading software and movie companies for creating similar devices too the DVD player. Today, there are many companies that make DVD, but they're soon to become out-dated as Blu Rays and other forms of medium are coming out with even higher definition.



http://www.miqrogroove.com/writing/history-of-dvd/

Movie Theaters

Movies theaters have become increasingly popular over the years as huge blockbuster films have made the big screen. The first motion picture was in 1896 at the Koster and Bails Music Hall in New York City. In the 1920s movie theaters began to boom. Movie theaters tired to make the most lavish and ritzy looking movie theaters as kind of a competition with each other. Having these kind of lavish buildings started a new era for more intricate architecture. More recently, movies have become more advanced and movies in 3D are becoming increasingly popular with the aid of 3D glasses and high definiton screens and filming equipment. IMAX theaters have also become popular with displaying movies on very large and high definition screens. Today movies bring people together for gathers and watching great movies.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_theater

And All That Jazz

Musical theater "musical (noun): a stage, television or film production utilizing popular-style songs - dialogue optional - to either tell a story (book musicals) or showcase the talents of the writers and/or performers (revues)." Musicals have gone by many different names some include, operas, operettas, and burlesque. Musical theater in a sense has been going on since the 5th Century B.C.with the ancient Greeks who included music and dancing into their performances as a form of entertainment. The Romans then expanded on the Greeks idea of performance and continued to add music and dance to their entertainment theaters. In the Middle Ages, traveling groups of performers offered people shows with musical numbers and "slapstick comedies." Today we have the most common place and production companies of musical theater on Broadway most commonly found in NYC. Musical theater is still found across the world as a large form of entertainment for people. We now have well known shows like, Chicago, Hairspray, Hello Dolly, and many more. Today, a lot of feature films are being turned into musicals like the newest show of Spiderman The Musical.


http://www.pbs.org/wnet/broadway/resources.html
http://www.musicals101.com/erastage.htm

National Geographic

National Geographic, formally known as the National Geographic Magazine is the magazine made by the National Geographic Society. The first issue of the magazine was published in 1888 only nine months after the society was formed. There are 12 monthly issues of the magazine published each year. The magazine is known for publishing extreme and controversial pictures from people and places all over the world. Today National Geographic is most well known for its stunning pictures and information about the places around the world.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Geographic_%28magazine%29

Charlie Chaplin

Charles Spencer Chaplin was born, April 16, 1889 in London, England. Both of his parents were active and successful in show business and after the death of his parents, Charlie followed closely in their steps to into show business. At the age of fourteen he got a chance to act in his first legitimate stage play called, Sherlock Holmes and he appeared as "Billy the page boy." He then made his first appearance on camera in a film called A Night In an English Music Hall in 1913. In 1917 when his movie contract with Mutual ended he buried himself in his business of making his own film company. But in early 1918 he signed an agreement with a company called, First National Exhibitors Circuit and acted in films for them. In 1921 he completed his contract with the Circuit and went on to act and film his own short series. Charlie Chaplin was one of the first silent comedic actors. Many have enjoyed his comic expressions and over the top movements. With movies like, A Women of Paris, The Gold Rush, and The Circus. 

http://www.charliechaplin.com/biography/articles/21-Overview-of-His-Life

Marylin Monroe

Norma Jeane Mortenson more famously known as Marylin Monroe became the first "sex symbol" in America. She was born on June 1, 1926 and although she never knew her father, she overcame tough roads in her life growing up in orphanages and foster homes. In 1942 she married her boyfriend, Jimmy Dougherty. During that time, she met a photographer and that was the beginning of her modeling career. In 1946 she signed herself to her first movie contract. Then in 1953, she starred in the movie Niagara. She continued on with her acting career after attending the Actors Studio to play in movies like, Some Like It Hot which awarded her a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Comedy. Her fun and outgoing personality along with her stunning beauty made her highly likable to the public. Sadly at the age of 36, Marylin Monroe died. It's suspected overdose. Marylin Monroe has and still is a highly recognized public figure both for her beauty, fashion, and acting. Today we have many public figures both sex symbols, actresses, actors, and other people who are highly idolized by the public. Marylin Monroe was the start of it all in the female perspective.


http://www.biography.com/articles/Marilyn-Monroe-9412123?part=1

Fax Machines

Fax by definition means a method of encoding data then transmitting it over a telephone line or radio broadcast.You then receive the message through machine which produces a hard copy, line drawings, or photographs at a different location. Although the fax machine was invented a long time ago, it didn't become recognized by consumers until the 1980s. The first fax machine was invented in 1843 by Scottish inventor named, Alexander Bain. Fax machines changed the way we communicated with people today because messages were able to be transmitted for long distances in a much shorter time period. Today people still use fax machines, but mainly for business purposes.The fax machine was the beginning stages for today we have email,and text messaging. A version of high speed faxing from one person to another.


http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventors/a/fax_machine.htm

Blu Ray

Blu Rays abbreviated as BD are a new optical disc format developed by the Blu Ray Association. In 1992 inventor Shuji Nakamura from Japan came up with the first compatible blu ray disk. It was formatted to be able to play back, rewind, and record high definition movies. Blu Rays also store large amount of information. Unlike DVD which use a red laser to scan the disk and play the movie, blu rays use a blue violet laser. Unlike DVDs blu rays can be made backward compatible. The blue violet laser has a shorter wave length allowing it to have great precision with the images being delivered. It also allows a larger amount of data to be stored on a smaller devise. Today, blu ray is supported by the top 200 consumers electronics. Blu rays have expanded the way we can view movies, in the way that TV aren't the only way of viewing HD videos and television broadcasts. Now through blu rays we can watch movies with the precision of high definition. 

http://www.blu-ray.com/info/

Google Google Google

Two men by the name of Larry Page and Sergey Brin meet at Stanford University in 1995 and in 1996 they began collaborating on a search engine called BackRub. In 1997 they both decided that their newly invented search engine needed a new name...They decided on Google. Google was a play on words, the original word being googol, referring to a  mathematical number with 100 zeros after it. Using the word Google was to refer to the infinite amount of information accessible through the web. It's interesting that in 1998 the co-founder of Google Andy Bechtolsheim wrote a check for $100,000 which the company currently didn't have towards what we know now as Google Inc. one of the biggest companies in the world. Today, Google is the largest search engine in the world. But it does have competition like, Yahoo, Bing, AOL, Wikipedia, and many other sites that provide a lot of information. 

http://www.google.com/corporate/history.html

High Definition TV & Movies

HD or high definition television refers to any resolutio that is higher than SD or standard resolution. The most common resolution is 720p or 720 pixels. The beginning of HDTV started in 1970 in Japan at the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation and after nearly 35 of try and failure the high definition TV started making its way to main stream. Today as we have seen, analog TV or screens that don't contain up to date high definition or digital features are almost obsolete and don't work with current cable or satellite companies. HDTV delivers a much higher resolution than any other resolutions such as SCTV. High definition has changed the way we watch television and watch movies. When we look at high definition screens the resolutions are so high that it can be hard to differentiate the image from real life.


http://www.audioholics.com/education/display-formats-technology/hdtv-past-present-and-future-part-i-history

Kinect With Xbox

The Xbox Kinect is revolutionary in the aspect of controller free gaming. Before the Kinect there were things like the Wii which captures the players movements via sensor but you still needed a controller. The Kinect allows the users to interact with their full bodies. Just by a wave of your hand, you can activate the sensor and you can access your own personal avatar. The game counsel also is capable of responding to the users voice. Using your voice you can control a series of HD movies and games. The Kinect also has digital skeletal tracking which allows it to track whether the users moves from left to right or is jumping up and down. Another revolutionary aspect of the Kinect is that it has facial recognition by using Kinect ID, it collects physical information stored on your profile. This new invention to the gaming world suddenly has changed everything we thought about gaming. Before the Kinect every type of gaming system involved some type of handheld controller or device. With Kinect we are able to be hands-free while gaming making it one step closer to a more interactive gaming world.



http://www.xbox.com:80/en-US/Kinect/GetStarted

LCD Projector Screens

A LCD projector is a video projector used for displaying images and videos. The LCD projector was invented by a man named Gene Dolgoff. His original idea came from trying to use a light valve to regulate the amount of light that passed through, this eventually was a bit unsuccessful so when liquid crystals became assessable he used those, hence LCD meaning liquid crystal display. Projectavision, Inc in 1988 which was the first LCD projector company. Today, the only companies making LCD projectors are Japanese companies known as SONY and EPSON. We use LCD screens with TVs, and computer screens. Today they are a part of everyday life and aid in the communication of media. 

Get A Life

Second Life is a virtual reality life game so to speak created by Linden Lab. The users are allowed to interact with people all over the world through what are called avatars. Users can explore the world build mainly by the people or "residents" of Second Life. You can make the avatar look how ever you would like and with the use of headphones and a microphone users can talk to other users as long as they are active. You can also chat with other users if talking to them isn't comfortable. In November of 2010, there were over 21.3 million registrations for the Second Life site. In second life there is an internal economy along with an internal currency known as Linden Dollars. Something cool that can be used to Second Life is the feature of a guide dog. Even if you don't use one in real life, the persons avatar can use one if desired. Although a study on the site showed a lack and somewhat inability for people who are visually impaired to use the site. Second life has changed the way people think of avatars and social networking sites. As you can form relationships, make houses, buy land, own businesses, etc just like in the real world but virtually.


http://icommonssummit.org/general_information/second-life.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Life

The SIM Card

SIM stands for Subscriber Identity Module. These are often found in cellular devices today. This devise securely stores the service subscriber key or the mobile identification device on a phone. A SIM card can be transferred from one mobile device. Each card contains a unique ID number. The first SIM card was made in 1991 by Munich Smart Card Maker and was made for Finnish Wireless Co. Today SIM cards are found in pretty much any mobile device apart from phone from Verizon. SIM cards can hold information like, phone numbers. We use the cards to identify the company as well as identify the phone. The SIM card can also hold a number of SMS or text messages sent by that phone.

The Fast Food Franchise

So, you probably think that good ol' McDonalds was the beginning of the fast food era here in America right? Well, wrong. It actually was the restaurant called White Castle. White Castle began in Wichita, Kansas in 1916. People liked the idea of getting a hamburger, fries, and a drink for cheap. The idea soon began to boom and that's what our good friend McDonalds comes in. McDonalds was created in 1948 by non other than the McDonalds brothers. Their initial goal was to design a place where food was quick adn cost efficient. Good to see they've still held up to their original goals. They purposely didn't have tables or chairs in their restaurants because they wanted people to be able to eat their food on the go. McDonalds grew extremely rapidly but then came the competition. Places like, Burger King and in 1962 came the first Taco Bell and from there it's history. Today we have countless numbers of fast food places ranging in a variety of different foods like, mexican, the traditional american burgers, and even icecream has made its way into the fast lane. There's no doubt that fast food in the media has grown tremendously and continues to grow despite the recent years effects of trying to DO fitness and eat healthy. People just can't seem to get away from the efficient on the go meals.


http://ezinearticles.com/?Fast-Food-History-in-America&id=1502595

Conference Calling & Video Conferencing

Conference calling is where is call is placed and wishes to have more than one person in on the phone conversation. There also three-way-calling where only 3 people are in on the same conversation. Participants are usually able to call into their conference calls. There are different types of conference calling some included for business meetings, flat rating calling, party lines, prepaid conference calls, free calls, and premium calls. Another thing that has become more recent in relation to conference calling, is video conferencing. Conference calling through video allows participants to have more personal interactions and in more locations by using interface telecommunications devises. Simple invention of videoconferencing was established around the same time that the TV was invented. By the 1990s IP or internet protocol conferencing was made available. Conference calling has expanded media in the way that more people are able to receive the same message at the same time with much efficiency. People all over the world are able to communicate with each other and now with video capabilities people are able to share information face to face. We now have free applications along with the internet like Skype and other video chatting downloads.

Make Me Up

Makeup dates all the way back to the days of Cleopatra and the ancient Egyptians. Egyptians may not have been the first to use makeup, but they were the first to document the importance of using makeup on the face. It's also documented that the Romans used what we refer to today as eyeliner and mascara to accent their eyes too. During the European Middle Ages people adopted the idea of pale skin as it was seen as a sign of wealth. This continued into the Renaissance period but women in order to establish a sign of wealth started to use deadly elements like lead. But around the Victorian age people started to associate wearing makeup with prostitutes and actresses causing a decline in the use of face makeup. As surprising as it may be the modern makeup we think about today actually started in the 1900s. Tanned skin began to be associated with the working class and being out in the sun all day as similar to the Renaissance period where pale was a sign of wealth and by the 1930s makeup was available to all classes of society. Today, makeup is everywhere. There are thousands of makeup brands here in the US and around the world. We see commercials for a lot of makeup for brands like CoverGirl, Mayballine, and higher end brands like Mac and Lancome. We've come full circle as we are now using mineral makeup and earth friendly products that are healthy for the skin rather than killing people. Tanned skin is in again. Makeup though we may not think of it as a media aspect influences media and society in many ways. It influences the commercial aspects of media as we see it printed in magazines and there are ads of TV.


http://www.makeup-artist-world.com/historyofmakeup.htm

Reality TV Isn't Really Reality

Within the recent years, reality television has become a new genre. It presents "unscripted" dramatic, humorous, and scary accounts of documentation events generally featuring ordinary people rather than celebrities. Reality TV covers a variety of different mediums., examples including game shows, reality documentaries, and real life reality. Today shows have been spun to glamorize partying and teen pregnancy. In 1948, the first encounter with reality TV was  a show aired that showed different individuals reactions towards being pranked. Today, reality TV is sweeping with shows like, Jersey Shore, The Real Housewives of countless counties. The problem occurs in reality TV starts to glamorize things like, teen pregnancy, and drinking at partying. It effects the world of media because people watch the shows and sometimes begin to idolize figures that may not be the best influence on them. Media in the realm of reality TV has grown tremendously over the past few years. 

What I've Learned

To begin, media is much larger than I ever imagined, nor can I even comprehend how large it will be in the future. 


1. The first thing I have learned is the history of media. Learning about papyrus and the ancient Egyptian writing laid out a foundation as to what media derived from. Also learning about the early inventions like the printing press helped to me understand how the media we have today started.


2. The second thing I learned in this class was, how far media has come and much further we are going with it. Today we have social media sites like Facebook that allow people from all over the world to communicate with each other through the internet. We’ve gone from not knowing much about the world in ancient times, to being able to look up a global satellite on the internet and see other country with the click of a button. We can capture images in vivid details, and smart phones that allow us to download thousands of different applications, do so many different things as well as take high resolution pictures within such a small devise.


3. The third thing I’ve learned is, that the fast expansion of media can be something to fear. There are many conspiracy theories linking social media, and a lot of electronic devises to the government. I’ve learned that having everyone closely utilizing the world of media, some people may be able to take advantage of that fact.

iTunes

iTunes is a music database library where you can download, store and purchase music. The first Apple iTunes store launched in August of 2003. The idea was to have people accessible to buy music from online. The online store allowed their users to also download their music onto iPods and today other Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad, and on computers. Early in the days of iTunes it was only available to costumers in the US. Now it's available world wide. The one issue iTunes has had was their compatibility software known as DRM. Companies have argued about the restrictions that were put on their programs. In its first year iTunes sold over 70 million songs. WOW! iTunes is expanding every day with new artists who are adding their music and making it available to the public. iTunes is a free download program that allows the users to preview music before it's purchased. You can also buy movies, and games for your devises. iTunes was revolutionary invention which changed the way of music to the world.

Do You Tube?

YouTube is a video sharing website that has expanded tremendously within the last 6 years. Users are allowed to upload, share, and view videos with users around the world. You don't have to have an account to watch videos on youtube either. YouTube was started by two men by the name of Chad Hurley and Steven Chen. The idea for YouTube was developed in 2005, and on Feb 14, 2005 the domain name for YouTube was activated. Within the last 6 years, this site has opened the communication gates for people around the world. YouTube was one of the first sites of it's kind, breaking the mold for media today. You can post full length videos with HD (high definition) capabilities. YouTube is bridging the communication gap once again with its astounding ability to allow users to watch, share, and upload their videos for the world to see providing it's users with great opportunities.

Fun Fact: Justin Beiber was discovered off of YouTube.

Youtube.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube

Vogue!

The magazine that has influenced the way we see fashion. Vogue was originally a higher society marketed paper so to speak. It was produced in 1892 by Aurthur Baldwin Turnure. In it's early issues it was targeted at both high society men and women and mans sports were chronicled into the magazine, whereas today it's more of fashion orientated towards women. That soon changed in 1909 when a man named Cole Nast bought the magazine company. Nast attended Georgetown University. Nast is the one responsible for transforming Vogue into a woman's fashion magazine. His constant need to expand this magazine empire resulted in the creation of British Vogue in 1916. Today Nast's company now known as Conde Nast Publications owns magazines like, Glamour, Allure, W, GQ, and many more well renowned magazines. Conde Nast died in 1942 thus bringing a new commander and who we all know today as, Anna Wintour in 1988, who is editor and chief of Vogue magazine today. Anna Wintour began Teen Vogue, a fashion magazine targeted towards a younger audience in 2001 a fairly recent in-devour and a Men's Vogue in 2005. There are issues of Vogue across the world and it continues to be a very large success in the fashion world.


Links:
http://students.cis.uab.edu/juli305/finalpaper.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogue_%28magazine%29
http://www.umbrella-d.com/styled/2245-the-history-of-vogue-magazine-

Tweet Tweet

Facebook, Myspace, Blogger, and Twitter have expanded the world of social media today. Twitter is a socially networking site which allows its users to post 140 characters of whatever they would like. The site is based in San Francisco, California. The word Twitter means, "a short short burst of inconsequential information." Which was exactly what Twitter involves. 140 characters of anything. Today, Twitter has over 200 million users, and on average have over 140 million tweets a day. There initially wasn't a limit to how many characters could be used, but when the site went public the limit was set. The founders chose 140 characters because initially 160 characters was the SMS limit and they subtracted 20 characters in order to leave room for the username. Twitter also known as micro-blogging has changed the way we look at media today because essentially we can be connected with anyone anytime and know what they are doing according to their tweets at the tip of their fingers.


Links:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/tech-news/the-history-of-twitter-140-characters-at-a-time/article1949299/
www.twitter.com

Broadcast Television

Broadcast news in it's earliest form started on the radio. Broadcast television news first started commercially in the 1930s and the first television broadcast aired in 1937. Broadcast news was a great way to inform the public of world events happening. During the second world war, radio and television broadcasts were pre-recorded broadcasts from war correspondents. In 1967 the US created the Public Broadcasting System which centered around large main cities such as, Los Angeles, and New York which included main stations that spanned across the country. For example, PBS is comprised of over 300 stations. In 1939 the National Broadcasting Station or NBC was aired for the first time. It aired at the New York World's Fair to the world and in 1941 FCC authorized commercial television. By 1948 there 36 television stations broadcasting. Today we have many channels that broadcast news, shows, music, movies, etc and the possibilities continue to grow.


Links:
http://www.mbcnet.org/history-of-broadcast-news-and-media-outlets.htm
http://www.nyu.edu/classes/stephens/History%20of%20Television%20page.htm
http://law.jrank.org/pages/4874/Broadcasting-History-Television.html

Billboards

A billboard is defined as, a large outdoor advertisement structure. In 1889 the worlds first 24-sheet billboard was shown at the Paris Exposition. In 1908 with the invention of the Model T Ford, it caused people to use the roads more thus producing the first roadside billboard, the most commonly used ones today. An interesting fact is that in 1997 the permission for tobacco advertisement was banned in the U.S. To think if you're driving down I-35 you don't ever see a billboard that is advertising smoking. These days you would most likely see something about trying to quit or products to aid in that process. Then 10 years later in 2007 was the production of a single sheet billboard. Today if you go to Times Square, NYC the light up billboards brighten up dark streets at night with many changing and moving advertisements made from computer software. Billboards are one of the most common types of advertisements and also the biggest. A lot of them have become digital thus expanding what types of advertisements can be done with them.




Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard

For Online Shoppers Only

Along with the creation of the world-wide-web in the 1990s, came along e-commerce or online shopping but before that, in 1982, a company called, Minitel was successful in creating an online market (before the www) using telephone lines to sell their computer products. In 1987 Swerg created a merchant account where which they could sell their products. In 1994 however SSL which was a encryption of data which allowed for a more secure data. I With secure data came the first online store which was a German store called Intershop and in 1995 came the highly popular online shop, Amazon. In 1996 came the launch of the eBay store. Until recent, online shopping has become really popular and more efficient. With companies like UPS and FedEx orders arrive a lot faster. Today there really isn't a store that doesn't at least have an online website which allows the customer to browse products and more often than not purchase them.


Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_shopping
http://www.instantshift.com/2010/03/26/the-history-of-online-shopping-in-nutshell/

Generation 4 of the iPhone

The iPhone 4 broke the barriers of what many smart phones were capable of. Unlike the past 3 generations of the iPhone, the iPhone 4 is now equipped with HD cameras on both the front and the back of the phone. This feature allows the user to use what's called "face time." If another user has an iPhone 4 when they talk to someone you can see their face, kind of like a skyping feature especially for the iPhone 4. There is also HD video capabilities which a lot of smart phones right now don't have. It also has what is called Retina Display. Retina Display is the sharpest, highest resolution visibility on a phone right now. The display is so high that to the human eye, you cannot distinguish individual pixels. The iPhone 4 also allows the user to multitask with different applications. Each generation of the iPhone has continued to break the molds and raise the expectations as far as smart phone capabilities. What the future holds for the next generations will most likely be ground breaking.


Links:
www.apple.com

Graphene

Graphene is an allotrope of carbon. You're probably wondering what an allotrope is? It means a property of some chemical element that exists in two or more molecular components, these are known as allotropes of that element. An example would be if you take carbon which has four allotropes you would get the first allotrope which is a diamond, the second would be graphite, the third would be graphene, and the fourth would be fullerenes. Back to graphene, an article found on bigthink.com entitled, "Graphene Will Change the Way we Live" talks about the first explorations of graphene in 1974 by a man named, Philip Wallace. In the past 6 years scientists have been looking into this remarkable element and have discovered that is can help aid in some amazing things. First and foremost graphene is today, the thinnest possible material to date. Although it's extremely thin it is said to be almost 200 times stronger than steel and can conduct electricity better than anything we have out there now. Amazing right? But where does this come into play with media? The potential uses for this material is almost endless. Prospected uses include making aircrafts much lighter and stronger, graphene sensors that would be able to sniff out any dangerous molecules, stronger medial implants and materials, advancements with LCD touch screens on phones and other technological devices, and the list goes on and on. Graphene could be the most revolutionary product out there, and could aid in so many things.


Links:
http://bigthink.com/ideas/24381
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graphene
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allotrope

The Future of Photography

The Future of Digital Photography Abstract

The advancement of photography has grown rapidly over the past 10 years. With such large advancements to the camera, it has had a very large impact on consumers today. On October 17, 1969 the first digital camera was invented by two men by the name of, George Smith and Willard Boyle and by 1970, only a year later, inventors were able to put video capabilities onto the digital camera. Such leaps and bounds were successfully achieved in only one year. By 1981 Sony created a camera that could hold up to 25 pictures and take a small amount of short video clips. Today digital imaging and video capabilities are a part of almost everyday photography. You can also find digital video and photography today on smart phones, and computers. The quality of images has also increased tremendously over the years. Smart phone are now able to take high resolution pictures that often times couldn’t be differentiated from an actual digital camera. Like the iPhone 4 with HDR imaging. Today we can load pictures onto our computers from a memory chip, but that’s all about to change. Camera companies are coming out with digital camera software that allows the user to upload pictures to websites and computers straight from their camera. Another breakthrough in digital camera technology is the company Adobe is trying to come up with a vivid detailed Plenoptic Lens. Meaning the lens captures every segment of the images around you ensuring you don’t miss any details. Many technological advances have been made in the area of 3D technology. With the digital camera it is a work in progress. Fiji Film has come out with what appears to be the first 3D camera earlier this year. The camera is equipped with two eye holes to capture the pictures. The possibilities for the digital cameras in the future are endless.

A Sinful Bite: The iPad 2

As most of you know, the infamous iPad 2 came out on March 11, 2011 and has been widely celebrated. The buzz with the first release of the original iPad was enormous and with the iPad 2 it was even bigger. The iPad 2 comes with a lot bigger changes in a much smaller package. How so? The iPad 2 is equipped with a Dual-core A5 chip which allows the devise to run TWO TIMES FASTER than before. If that wasn't amazing enough the iPad 2 went down in size by 33% that's alot if you think about how thin the original iPad was to begin with. It also lasts up to 10 hours with its revolutionary new battery life! The iPad 2 has two build-in cameras, one on the front and one on the back. So it's basically like a MacBook and an iPhone combines minus the phone aspect. But hey if the iPhone can download the Skype app and make calls to anyone...the iPad can too, so essentially it is just like a phone. Cool! The iPad 2 has a ton of cool new things to offer and to get more information on this amazing product you can visit the Apple site. The iPad has not only exceeded what was ever thought computers and the Apple company could come up with, and it continues to expand. I wonder what will come next?

Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQG0XfU-bFs
http://www.apple.com/ipad/features/

Nook Revolution

November 2009, Barnes and Noble, and a national retail book seller came out with their first e-book called the Nook. The Nook made the world rethink what the “book” was. The Nook allowed its buyers to download thousands of books for about half the price. The original Nook comes with Wi-Fi and is in connection with AT&T cellphone company. It has a six-inch black and white E-Ink display with a separate touch screen along the bottom. The Nook comes at an affordable price, is small and compact, and is easy to use. The cheap price of books offers both an affordable product and affordable downloads for customers.

The Nook Color was introduced to the public in October of 2010. When the Nook Color was introduced to the market, the original Nook went from $199 to $149. The Nook Color provides its readers with a larger LCD screen in full color and has Wi-Fi and 3G network capabilities. The Nook and Nook Color have reading capabilities without Wi-Fi connection which expands the ability for its readers to read any place at any time. The Lendme feature on both Nooks allows users to share books with other users.



Links:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/index.asp?

Facebook for our Furry Companions?

Something you may not have thought about in the aspect of social media, is how it affects animals or what impact it shares with them. Today if we are looking to either adopt an animal or looking to buy through an accredited breeder of some kind we go to an online site which gives you the option to look through different kinds and breeds of animals for your selection. There's now sites like, animalallies.net and other animal shelter sites offered to you for yours and the animals benefit. At the pedigree database website, it offers not only breeders and adoptable animals but message boards about certain breeds, training your animal, diet and nutrition information, vets within close proximity of you, and so much more. Media has expanded not only towards a kind of "social network" for people, but also for animals and their handlers to network with others so to speak. Also Facebook has also started to include breeder ads and pet adoption ads on their pages, aside from organizations having their own page, which also helps with the awareness or breeders and animals that are up for adoption.




Links:
http://www.pedigreedatabase.com/
http://www.animalsheltertips.com/social_media.html

GrubHub

Yes, this site is actually called GrubHub.com. GrubHub is a site that markets over 13,000 delivery restaurants around the country and allows customers to order food from online. It was invented in 2004 by two men named, Matt Maloney and Mike Evans. There are currently over 13,000 restaurant menus to choose from and more are being added daily. All you have to do it enter your location in the search bar and then the type of food that you wish to order, and the site will pull up any restaurants in your area that deliver, and you can place your oder directly through them. The only issue I see with this type of service is that it mainly centers around larger cities with a diverse and abundancy of restaurants. This changes how we order and buy food. Usually if you wanted to order food you would either call the restaurant or have it for pick up. Now a lot of restaurants are converting to online ordering, for example Pizza Hut and a lot of large pizza franchises have the easy access or ordering online.


Link:
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=3648207587166256167

Computers in the Future

The Future of Computers:

The future of computers are being developed and expanding everyday. Nicholas Negroponte a professor at MIT, is trying to produce a $75 computer which will be available to low income countries around the world to expand learning and advance education. Artificial intelligence is another expanding area in the aspect of computer technology. We know AI as the everyday automated voice you hear when you call a company which is able to recognize words and questions to transfer and connect people. Gordon Moore, the Co-Founder for the Intel computer chip has predicted in 1965 that computer technology will continue to grow and expand. He was right. Professors and students are also working at Singularity University on ways to make AI and the human minds immortal. Meaning that the knowledge and memories of that particular person will be preserved and will be able to communicate within the realm of that persons knowledge with others. The Dell Computer Company is trying to make computers more Eco-friendly by trying to make and have come up with a prototype to connect plants with computers. What makes this invention so evolutionary is that when the PC’s life has finished, the case that holds the plant can either be recycled or reused as a plant vase, thus combining nature with technology. The multibillion dollar franchise Google is again expanding in the technology of broadband. Google is now trying to create an even faster broadband made of fiber optic materials which may cause eventual problems that could arise when and if Google does succeed and the possibility of wiping out all other internet companies. Computers without a doubt are expanding everyday, maybe beyond comprehension with endless possibilities.

Books: The Future in the Digital Age

Today, in 2011 the evolution of literature is leaps beyond where our ancestors ever thought it would be. Of course, the classic paperbound book still exists and is still immensely profitable for book sellers around the world, but many say that this tangible item cherished by so many will soon become obsolete. Where are books going? We have already had a glimpse into the digital e-books with products like the Amazon Kindle, the Nook, and the iPad. This essay will discuss evolutionary products and the future of literature. It’s never certain where technology will take us, but where ever it takes us will never be short of astounding.
The earliest known general e-book was made in 1971 by Michael s. Hart of Project Gutenberg. The e-books made at this time weren’t available to the general public and was only shown to a limited group of people who were interested in the product at the time. The 1990s with the invention of the internet made the accessibility of e-books much easier. Many libraries in the United States started to provide free e-book access in 1998 through their websites. The actual tangible e-book product tablets weren’t available until 2009-2010. In 2010 the Public Library Funding and Technology Access Study found that 66% of public libraries around the nation were offering e-books.

In November 2009, Barnes and Noble, and a national retail book seller came out with their first e-book called the Nook. The Nook made the world rethink what the “book” was. The Nook allowed its buyers to download thousands of books for about half the price. The original Nook comes with Wi-Fi and is in connection with AT&T cellphone company. It has a six-inch black and white E-Ink display with a separate touch screen along the bottom. The Nook comes at an affordable price, is small and compact, and is easy to use. The cheap price of books offers both an affordable product and affordable downloads for customers.

The Nook Color was introduced to the public in October of 2010. When the Nook Color was introduced to the market, the original Nook went from $199 to $149. The Nook Color provides its readers with a larger LCD screen in full color and has Wi-Fi and 3G network capabilities. The Nook and Nook Color have reading capabilities without Wi-Fi connection which expands the ability for its readers to read any place at any time. The Lendme feature on both Nooks allows users to share books with other users.
The Amazon Kindle came out in February 2009, which offered the Nook its main competition. The Kindle surpassed paperback books by almost 50% during 2010 making a revolutionary change for booksellers around the country. The Kindle, like the Nook, has Wi-Fi capabilities which allows its readers to shop and download their books right from their devise. Like the Nook, the Kindle has a black and white E Ink display screen which offers easy reading in the sunlight and under bright lights. Amazon then came out with the Kindle DX, which has the same features of the original Kindle but displays a larger screen and is marketed towards displaying content in textbooks and reading newspapers.

An article from mitworld.mit.edu talks about the uncertainty of the publishing industry now that digital books have swept the market. The article talks about how publishing companies have to become more creative and flexible when it comes to distributing books. Many companies have turned to the e-book industry and have started to convert books to e-book format.
Gavin Grant’s publishing boutique in Massachusetts says that new technologies have transformed his work in several ways. “He licenses some books via Creative Commons; releases others as downloads in a variety of ebook formats and deploys social media, in form of blogs and Facebook-enabled communication, to publicize and attract passionate readers to the firm’s website” (mitworld.com, 2010). The digital book era has also made way for author produced book trailers on YouTube. Other publishing companies see the transformation of books into digitalized electronic reading devises as a transition that was inevitable.
We now have websites like lulu.com, which allows people all over the world who aren’t world renowned writers to publish and sell their own books from front to back cover. Lulu.com was published in 2002 by CEO and founder, Bob Young. There are six international versions which includes sites for the U.K., French, Dutch, German, Italian, and Spanish costumers. Within the site you are able to publish paperback, eBooks, mini books, photo books, calanders, cookbooks, travel books, CDs, and DVDs. Each creator of the book is able to keep 80 percent of their profits if they choose to sell their books through the site. The site itself publishes about 20,000 books-of-choice per month.
Having a site like lulu.com doesn’t completely throw editing companies under the bus. Sites that allow their own customers publish what they want raises the consumer rates. The fact that lulu.com also allows for their customers to publish books in the e-book format shows that the site is up to date with the latest consumer media.
Media brings an uncertain and unpredictable future but the transformation and evolution of media is inevitable. As long as the technology we have can be sustained and there are people out there who make advances, one can never tell where we will end up next. With technology like the Nook and Kindle it still allows people to enjoy the satisfaction of sitting down and reading a book without the tangible page turns and collection of bookshelves. < The possibilities are endless in regards to where the digital age of literature is going. Maybe one day we’ll pick up our Nooks or Kindles and see moving images like in Harry Potter with their animated news papers.

Granted there are people out there who love the feel of holding a book in their hands and who might not ever fall prey to the advancement of where books in the digital age are headed. Maybe one day we’ll have microchips implanted in our brains and just at the thought of a book a large list will configure in our minds and we will have our own virtual libraries.

Hear Ye!

The newspaper has been an essential part of the American society since as early as 1690 when its first publication occurred in Boston, Mass. It's title, "Publick Occurrences". This newspaper was published without authority was immediately suppressed and all copies were destroyed.
The first successful newspaper was called "The Boston News-Letter" which was published in 1704 by a man named John Campbell. And by the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783 there were forty-three newspapers in print.
The Bill of Rights in 1971 declared the freedom of press whilst granting the freedom to print without scrutiny which in return caused the publication of newspaper around America to expand very rapidly.
Newspapers go back a lot further than "The Hub of the Universe", newspapers have been dated back to Renaissance Europe. Where newsletters were published to inform merchants and other individuals about wars and economics.

Link:

Time Magazine

Time Magazine's first issue was published on March 3, 1923, by a man named Briton Hadden. It was published to in quote, keep "busy news boys" up to date on news and entertainment. The evolution of Time Magazine has continued to expand over the past 80 plus years that it has been running.
There is also Time Europe, which publishes from London and covers the Middle East, Africa, and recently Latin America in 2003. The publication of Time Magazine was the first printed reading material that provided weekly news.
The first issue published featured speaker Joseph G. Cannon.

Links:
http://www.time.com/time/archive/collections/0,21428,c_time_history,00.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_%28magazine%29

Fact Checking

Was this act the financial downfall for the United States?

The Glass-Steagall Act, also known as the Banking Act, was enacted in 1933, which established bank reforms and FDIC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. This act prohibited banks from engaging in the investment business.

This act was an emergency response mechanism that was put in place because of the multitude of bank failure that occurred during the great depression. Some legislation thought that the act wasn't necessary, so in 1998 the act was repealed.

Many believe that by the repealing of this act, large investment banks were able to make ties within the government.

LINKS:







The assumption that Al Gore's claims to being the founder and inventor of the internet were stated on the late night, David Letterman show. This is an excerpt from Wikipedia.

"Remember America, I gave you the internet, and I can take it away!"

The truth, the internet was not invented by Al Gore, it was invented by a group of researchers from the Advanced Research Projects Agency in the 1950s.

LINKS:





For the issue of carbon tax, I visited the House Legislation website and searched for carbon tax. Many different links came up, but I wasn't able to access any of them...

Under S.15 on January 25,2011, the Senate passed a bill prohibiting the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions. But the catch is, that they won't be enforcing these reductions until China, Russia, and India have reductions to their carbon dioxide emissions.

LINK:

Shattered Glass Ops

Jessica

Juveniles Confess to Arson

           

Two juvenile boys, 14 and 15, confessed to being the cause of a 3,500 acre forest fire last month. 

The boys, whose names cannot be released due to their ages, have been charged with misdemeanors for violating sheriff’s notices concerning public safety. The boys, along with their parents, claimed to have put the fire out when they had left the campsite by smothering it with pine needles. Instead it smoldered after they had left.

 The fire had started from a campfire, although signs had been posted saying campfires were illegal in that area. “I’m glad we got this cleared up. I believe that our investigation would have eventually produced those who started this fire. Now we don’t have to go through all of that” said Sheriff Hubert.

Firemen from several states were at the scene to fight the blaze. The estimated damage was three point five million dollars, according to the Ticonderoga County sheriff department.

An estimated 25 people came from out side of the area to help put out of the fire. “This is the worst fire we’ve had in this county in more than a decade. We appreciate the fine work of own fire departments in this county in putting out this blaze and the help we received from our neighbors” said Sheriff Billy Hubert.

The fire burned tree, land, and other parts of the county from two miles east of Highway 14 to the edge of the Ponderosa Valley subdivision, across the southern part of the county. The boys have been released to the custody of their parents, and the hearing in juvenile court is to be held in two weeks from today.

History of Media and the Super Bowl

Jessica Trihey

Media

  

In the year 2011, where media is on the verge of a whole other digital dimension, people associate media with internet, cell phones, and advertisements. Many people know little about it’s history, and the crucial strides taken by those who inhabited this Earth thousands of years earlier. In 4000BC the Indus Valley Civilization, were the first to make paved roads. This may not seem like a form of media, but without this primal step, people would not be in communication thus yielding the expansion for future contact. 

The ancient Egyptians were another group of people whose discoveries accelerated the way we communicate today. In 3100BC, Hieroglyphics were being used as a type of record keeping. This was the precursor to written languages, and the spoken language. Soon, other civilizations around the world would be writing on bones, and developing paper. By 1200BC the Greek alphabet was developed, this is the foundation for all written and spoken languages. This phonetic alphabet shows each separate letter with it’s own vowel and consonant. All of these primary inventions aided in the evolution of what would be media today. 

There are numerous other things that have aided tremendously in the evolution of media, and communication. Homing pigeons were another means of communication that are often over looked. What is a homing pigeon exactly; you might be wondering? They were used as a sort of messenger between villages to transfer information to one another. In 776BC these birds were being used to deliver the results of the Olympic games; which leads to the next portion in media’s history. 

The first Olympic games were probably the most foundational and influential event. The first Olympic games, which took place in 776BC in Olympia, Greece. The games greatly influenced the many sporting events we have today. Although we still have the Olympic games, the hype, and publicity of football, and other mainstream athletic events have grown, thanks to Olympia, Greece in 776BC.  

February 6, 2011, the 45th Super Bowl football tournament aired on CBS television. Guessing that the majority of the people sitting on the couch with their chips, nacho cheese, and drinks anticipating the results of the game have never contemplated how exactly this annual monumental sporting event came about; but it is something that should be. So much of our current history is build upon what many others before us have laid out. 

The fireworks of 1100BC in China were used as a way of advertisement, and distant communication. The Super Bowl is known for their outrageously expensive, and over dramatized commercials. In this year’s 2011 Super Bowl, commercials on average cost between $2.5 and $3 million dollars per 30 seconds of air time. The high cost of air time insures that people across the country are tuned into their commercials. If you think about the length that the fireworks in China could reach; probably not much further than a few hundred miles, today we are able to communicate with others across the world with one click of a button. 

If the people who made the fundamental building blocks for media in our society today could see how far we have come, they probably would have keeled over from shock. To go from only being able to communicate with others from the next near by town, to picking a palm-sized devise and pushing the screen, and being able to talk to someone across the world seems way beyond comprehension. All of this is normal to those who live in today’s society. The break through inventions that are to come might surpass what we could have ever fathomed for technology and media today. We can’t forget about the founding individuals that have paved the way for us to discover new means of communication with one another.