Escape of the wallaby

In Berkeley, England a wallaby escaped from the local children's zoo. Holy cow, this is hilarious and tragic at the same time. The wallaby was spotted at a nearby hotel. Really? I found this article on the main page of the USA Today Web site and thought it was quite interesting and would make a good blog topic. Especially because I recently saw an article on my hotmail "Today" page poking fun at it.

Although I do feel sorry for the animal that is currently hopping around England like a lost puppy, I think that people should really stop making fun of it. The wallaby went through a hole and over an 8 foot fence, wow. The animal is way out its comfort zone so I think people should stop making fun of it and continue keeping an eye out for it. Although, I'm pretty sure it would be hard to miss a 2 foot wallaby hopping past you on the street.

Nights in Rodanthe

After have a fun night out with all of my friends on Friday night, my fellow girl friends and I decided to see the newest chick flick without the guys.

It originated from the extremely talented Nicholas Sparks' novel. The novel is slightly different, as most movie's based on books are, but it was still great. The movie was definitely a tragic romance and I wouldn't recommend it to most guys. When the lights came on after the movie almost every girl in the theater was wiping tears from their eyes. I think they guys in there that were probably forced to go to by there girlfriends even secretly enjoyed it.

If you are more of a reader than a TV watcher, I would recommend going to hospice and buying used Nicholas Sparks books. The One Stop Last Shop in Sioux Falls, which is constantly advertised on the radio, also has some really good deals on books. I like to buy books there because I see no point in buying a new book you will only read once, when you are a poor college student.

All-in-all I highly recommend that people look into watching Nights in Rodanthe, it's a tear-jerker.

Ryan Berry Interview

I thought playing with the Ryan Berry interview was really cool. It's fun to see how it all comes together to be a finished product. It's a lot more in depth than people think.

Rugby Players

In a new poll I found at http://www.leaguehq.com.au/, only 53% of rugby players in the NRL would play in a league that banned alcohol. I find this interesting and outrageously ironic. For those of you who don't know, the rugby house in Brookings where most of SDSU's players live, hosts some of the biggest parties in campus. They are extremely well known for the amount of times they have been busted.

Aren't pro sports players supposed to set a good example for today's youth? Well, I guess these players would just call it quits if they were forced to give up the bottle. Granted, it would be almost impossible to enforce this rule, but the fact that they wouldn't even give it a shot is amazing.

I think it's important that these players, who kids want to grow up and be just like, remember that they are a public figure and kids are watching. If your going to hit the bottle, keep it to yourself, but don't publicly announce that you wouldn't play in a league without it.

Rugby players ... maybe they drink so much so that they cant feel the pain of playing a contact sport with no padding on. Interesting.

David Blaine

Stuntman David Blaine recently hung upside down for 60 hours from a 44 foot high platform in New York and the proceeded to free fall before his safety harness pulled him back up.

The hanging upside down part was interesting, but not really that exciting. When people think of David Blaine they think of his rediculously dangerous stunts and insane magic tricks, this was a little more dull than what people expected. David Blaine has done some amazing stunts in his time and people were a little disappointed this time around.

I do feel bad for Blaine though. He is getting all kinds of attacks from the media about what a joke his stunt was, and I say, if it was such a joke, why don't other people do it? I personally couldn't hang upside down for that long. I can't even imagine what kind of headache he had to have had.

Ease up people, hanging upside down is extremely hard on the human body, according to the New York Daily article. The doctor that was quoted in the article claimed that hanging upside down is extremely bad for your kidneys. Take it easy on Blaine, I'm sure he will soon baffel us with another stunt or magic trick.

Car Surfing?

A 10-year-old boy was recently flown to the Primary Children's Medical Center for critical injuries caused by the child standing on the running board of the mother's car. Nice parenting Mom. Apparently he was standing on the running board of their Ford Expedition while holding onto the side-view mirror and handles. 

I came across this article while reading fark.com. Normally I find their articles to be hilarious but this one was rather disturbing. Seriously, who lets their kid hang off of a moving vehicle? The child now has damage to his head but is in stable condition. 

The mother also admitted to allowing her 8-year-old daughter "car surf" at a speed of about 5 mph and said that she thought it was going to be harmless. Nice... thanks Mom!

Well, due to the woman's remarkably wonderful judgement call, she has been charged with child abuse, driving with a suspended license and no insurance. Way to be responsible. 

I myself, do not have any children, but in general, I would like to believe that parents such as this woman should remember that children belong inside cars, not hanging off of them. All in all, it was just a case of plain stupidity. Think twice before letting your kid hang off a moving vehicle. 

New kind of beer?

Kid Rock is reported to be coming out with his own beer this spring. Now that is a beer that sounds appealing. If I drink it, maybe, just maybe, I can become a trashy alcoholic in need of a serious shower just like Kid Rock. Isn't that what everyone wants? I wonder what it will taste like? Something that reminds you of sitting around a double-wide trailer, chain smoking and watching soap operas I would guess.

I do know, however, that when the beer finally makes its appearance on shelves it will sell like crazy. Just like Michael Jordan shoes and Miley Cyrus school supplies, people will spend ridiculous amounts of money on it. It's all in hopes to drink the same beer that the one of a kind white trash rock star loves.

Clay Aiken

So incase you live in a cave and haven't heard, Clay Aiken finally came out of the closet. What's the big deal? First of all, it's not like we didn't know already, I mean, he's Clay Aiken! Secondly, who cares? 

I don't understand why everyone is making it into such a big deal. Clay Aiken is gay, he finally said it out loud, good for him. Now move on people. 

We all need find more productive things to do with our lives. 

Movie Review

Friday night I saw the movie My Best Friend's Girl with some friends and found it to be quite hilarious. USA Today gave it a terrible review that I did not agree with at all.

I went to it with three friends and found it to be very entertaining. Dane Cook was once again his gorgeous and funny self, Jason Biggs never fails to have the perfect awkward witty guy act, and Kate Hudson was charming as always. 

The movie did have a little nudity and some sex jokes that are definitely not for children's ears, but for college age adults, it was wonderfully entertaining. My friends and I laughed through the whole movie and walked out of the theater smiling as we discussed the movie we had just seen.

I would recommend it to people ages 17 and up as long as you are okay with some dirty jokes. It was one of the better movies I have seen this summer. It does not, however, top the amazing Batman, The Dark Knight, which was by far the best movie I have seen in 5 years and I would recommend it to everyone.  

If I see any more new movies I will be sure to keep you posted with my reviews.

Jamison Lamp

I really liked playing with my new Flip Ultra Camera. I think that they will be a fun tool to work with for this class. I'm really glad that we were required to buy this camera over a regular book; it will be much more useful after the semester is over than the $5 I get for a resell at the bookstore will be. I'm excited to use my Flip Camera more this semester. 

House fire video

I though learning how to use Final Cut Express and change the green screen was really cool. I didn't have quite enough time to finish the entire video but I did about half of the clips. It's fun to see how many cool things there are to do with the green screen replacement. Sometime in the future I would like to have a moving background. I think that would be fun to watch. I really liked this week's lab. 

George Michael gets busted again

As I was reading TMZ today I came across an article saying that the one and only George Michael was once again arrested for possession of drugs. He was arrested Friday in a London bathroom when the suspicious bathroom attendant called the police. 

I know that everybody likes to bash George Michael due to his run ins with the law but at heart I am a true fan. He's like a guilty pleasure that you know you shouldn't like, but for some strange reason you still do. I mean think of the songs "Somebody to Love," "Faith," and "Freedom," those are classics that you still hear on the radio today. George Michael music will live on forever in my heart. 

I believe that George will probably always be a little bit of a rebel, meaning I have no doubt that he will probably get arrested again in the future, but I still like him. He is just a bit of a restless heart, like the time he got arrested for soliciting sex to an undercover cop in 1998. Because of the greatness of his music, I just overlook these minor flaws and enjoy the songs.  

Lindsay vs. Barack

Recently in OK magazine, it was reported that actress, Lindsay Lohan recently offered to help Barack Obama with his campaign. Apparently Obama told the Chicago Sun-Times that Lindsay is "not exactly the kind of high-profile star who would be a positive for us." Because of his turn down, Lindsay's father apparently  freaked out to Fox News about how he couldn't believe Obama turned her down. He basically threw a giant public hissy-fit. 

Seriously... Barack Obama could be the next President of the United States and is currently in one of the most crucial times of his campaign. Did Lindsay actually think he would let her help? We cannot forget that the girl was once arrested for possession of drugs, drunk driving, stealing someone's car, resisting arrest, and participating in a high speed chase. Why on Earth would Obama want her as part of a campaign?

My advise to Micheal Lohan is to get a reality check, because unless Obama was intentionally trying to lose, he would never take on Lindsay Lohan. 

Saturday Night Live

Tina Fey made an appearance on Saturday Night Live last week and played Gov. Sarah Palin. We all know that lately Saturday Night Live is no where near as funny as it used to be. My personal favorites were Saturday Night Live in the 90s with Chris Farley, David Spade, and other hilarious comedians. 

Tina Fey was one of the last truly funny comedians on the show as it slowly faded away into a boring shows and the fact that she made an appearance last week made it funny. I did not see the show live, but I read headlines for it on USA Today online so I went and watch the video clip of it. 

Saturday Night Live without Tina Fey is just a waste of air time. Keep flipping the channel, or better yet, follow my example and go out with your friends on Saturday nights. 

The Hills

So the reality television show on MTV "The Hills" is officially a waste of time. Some friends of mine are sucked into it and watch it religiously. I happened to be at my friend Debbie's house the other night while she was watching it and I basically almost threw up in my mouth. 

Why does anyone care about these girls and the drama that surrounds their lives? They don't act, they don't sing, they don't dance, and they aren't even heiresses (like the waste of space Paris Hilton). All they are is a bunch of spoiled girls from California who have rich daddies. 

Their entire lives seem to revolve around their boyfriend of the week and their little cat fights about irrelevant topics. Who cares? 

There are people in this world who go to sleep at night with an empty stomach and no roof over their head. There are people with terminal illnesses and people who are struggling to be single parents. 

There should be a TV show on those people, and the battles they face every day. They are the people in this world we should be concerned about. Not spoiled rich girls in L.A. 

Psycho Lady

One of my favorite Web sites is Fark.com. All summer I had an extremely boring job where half the time I didn't have anything to do, so I would read Fark all day. 

Today I was reading it and came across a funny article from the AP Wire about some psycho lady that freaked out on her boyfriend. Apparently her boyfriend wasn't doing the dishes enough so she decided to beat him up. She bit him, broke a picture frame across his face and swung a 2-foot sword at him.

Seriously, a sword? Who does that? Well I think this article just goes to show how many weird people there are in this world. But I do think that weird people give us something to talk about, that's a bonus. 

So I'm just giving a shout out to all of those people in the world that do things strange enough to make it on Fark.com. Thanks weird people!

Goldfish

I learned a lot in the lab this week, I enjoyed using Final Cut Expess. This summer I worked on Garden Line and On Call in Pugsley so I have some experience using the camera in studio. I am no expert, however.

In the sentence I made this week two of the words are in the wrong place. It is supposed to be "My killer raccoon ate your stupid harry goldfish." Oops, I'll get better next time. I think I will learn a lot in this class.

I am news/editorial Journalism so I don't usually get to take any broadcast classes or production classes so I think it will be a good experience. I think it will be a fun class, which always makes it easier. Classes that you enjoy always seem easier than classes that you dread going to.

Cell phone fanatics

USA Today online had an interesting story in their "Technology" section about teenagers and cell phones. Apparently 75% of teenagers have cell phones and 40% of them think it is the only phone they will ever need. 

Are they right? I would say quite possibly. Personally, I didn't have a cell phone until I was 17 and the only reason I had it was because my parents got a "family plan" with Alltel. I do find it amusing when I see 13-year-olds walking down the street texting their friends. I mean really, what does a 13-year-old have to say through a text that is really that important? 

As far as the only phone they will ever need, this may be quite true. Land line phones have mostly just become a hassle and an unnecessary bill to pay, especially as a college student. Cell phones usually give you better long-distance deals anyway and unless you're in the middle of nowhere, you can usually get service anywhere you go. My vote would be for cell phones. Teenagers, however, should be at least 16 and up before they get cell phone privileges and they need to pay the bill themselves. 

  

   

Sarah Palin's daughter

As you probably know by now, Sarah Palin's, 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, is pregnant. I was watching Jay Leno's Late Show last night and he was making fun of the girl. For some reason, my heart went out to her. 

I'm definitely not promoting sex at the age of 17, especially not unprotected sex, but give the girl a break. People are allowed to make mistakes. Yes, it definitely wasn't the wisest choice, but no one is perfect. I'm sure she is under enough pressure as it is. I mean seriously... her mother may quite possibly be the future Vice President of the United States. 

When you stop and think about it, it's not an atom bomb, it's just a baby. One of God's greatest gifts, even if it was a little unexpected. 

Basically , I think Leno has no room to talk, it's not like he's never screwed up. Just because Bristol happens to have a mother that is a politician does not mean she should be expected to be perfect. Imperfections are what make us human. So shut your mouth Jay Leno!

Fitbit

As I was reading USA today online today I came across the health and fitness articles. A new product is being released, called the Fitbit. It's a small device that tracks the intensity of calories burned and energy used throughout the day. 

I find this to be an extremely useful device. Although there have been products similar to this in the past, is seems that this one is smaller and more efficient. It was compared to about the size of an iPod shuffle in the article. 

With obesity being such a large problem in the U.S., I think this new product could be very useful to a lot of people. I may put it on my Christmas list for Santa. In my opinion, everyone should try to find time for exercise on a regular basis. It is beneficially to your health in more ways than I can count and I find it to be satisfying. 

If anyone does decide to read this blog, I would recommend that you click on the link I have attached. You may find it interesting.

iPods Galore

As I was checking my e-mail this evening I came across an advertisement saying that Apple has come out with yet another iPod. The iPod Nano 4G is the flavor of the week when it comes to musical satisfaction. I later found this article http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10037051-1.html?tag+txt. 

As I read this article I realized that everything the writer had to say made me fall even more in love with iPods. The fact that on newer versions you can do everything from listen to music, to watching NBC, to checking your online bank statement dazzles me. 

I personally would go into withdrawl symptoms if I didn't have an iPod. I currently own an iPod video 30GB, a version that is now considered ancient compared to the new version. I find it interesting that such a small object has become some a huge obsession to people. I give a serious thumbs up to Steve Jobs, the Apple CEO.

I listen to my iPod while I walk to class, ride my bike, do homework, and get ready in the morning. If I leave my apartment to walk to class and realize I forgot my iPod I will turn around and get it. For some reason I have formed a new belief that I cannot go an entire day without that piece of plastic/metal. 

In my opinion, Apple is coming up with even better versions of my favorite gadget. If I wasn't a poor college student I would spring for an upgrade.