Athletes as Role Model? Yeah, Right.

Tiger's Women

When it comes to athletes there are definitely few to be considered decent role models any more. They promote being greedy, frivolous with women, and careless of money and yet we still consider them cool people. It’s just ridiculous. These athletes get paid so much to play a game, when they’re typically better known for their activities off the court.  We all know Tiger Woods is a great golfer, blah, blah, blah. But you hadn’t heard too much from him until his recent activities that involved too many women to count was brought to light. His endorsements were supposed to be pulled and I believe they were for a very brief period of time, but now he’s back in the game like nothing happened. I definitely think he should have suffered more consequences for his infidelity because it’s setting a poor example. It’s like yeah, you’re the spokesperson for our brand and you’re supposed to be this great athlete that others aspire to be like. So just go ahead and make poor choices in your life, we’ll pretend it didn’t happen. I feel like it just sets a terrible example. Like Michael Vick and his dog fighting ring. He got himself a little slap on the wrist and then was back in the game. Yet another crappy example of a role model. It’s true that what they do in their private life is their business, but if they’re supposed to be a role model I think they need to act the part in all aspects of their life. It’s just ridiculous what they get away with. Even the female athletes like one of the Williams sisters who threw a temper tantrum on the tennis court.(Unsportsmanlike like behavior )Wow, she got a fine. Big deal! I really think they need more severe punishments for bad behavior whether it’s on or off the court. Kids need decent role models and today’s athletes aren’t it.

How Reliable is YouTube?

When it comes to YouTube, I think it is helpful towards acts trying to get noticed, but at the same time when someone says, “Did you see that thing on YouTube?” I instantly do not take it seriously. My mind immediately goes to something immature and/ or stupid. I mean sure, several stars have found their way by using YouTube as a medium, but I feel that it sort of degrades the quality. There are so many idiotic or just plain stupid videos on YouTube that it just makes you doubt the quality of any video someone recommends.(This is the top rated video as I'm writing this blog ) I feel like iTunes or even Facebook is a little bit more reliable when it comes to music. To me, it just seems like those mediums are more trustworthy than YouTube because not just anyone can post. Sure, anyone can post on Facebook, but it just seems different. With YouTube, it’s like taking a shot in the dark on whether or not the person has talent.

            It’s possible that because it is so difficult to get noticed by the music industry that people are turning to YouTube to express their talents. Musicians always claim it’s hard to get your stuff noticed by labels so it’s possible that people are just getting tired of waiting and do not want to put as much effort into getting signed. YouTube is the easy way to attempt to get noticed and probably cheaper. And really in today’s society, people definitely look for the easy way out. But regardless I think YouTube carries that stigma of having idiotic videos that any jerk with a computer can post on. That being said, I think it’s harder to take whatever is seen seriously unless it is honestly good. But really it’s inexpensive and nowadays almost guarantees you to get noticed so in actuality it’s a decent way to attempt to get yourself noticed.

Do I Have Any Hair Left?

Honestly, this blog was the one I was least looking forward to. The news is so bias and so utterly boring that I can’t even concentrate on what’s going on before I start daydreaming. Personally, for my news I just hit up Yahoo and get the headlines. I guess that supports the fact that the news is migrating to the internet.

            As I was writing this blog, I turned the O’Reilly factor on. As I was trying to write, I found myself tensing up. I didn’t even know which topic was being discussed, but the arguing was making me start to wonder where I left the remote so I could mute it. They pulled a lot of people who are supposed to be experts to tell the viewers why their ideas were right. Because they want you to see only there side, they make anyone who disagrees with them seem like an uneducated idiot and patronized them. They also tended to cut off the person if they started saying things they didn’t agree with. My opinion is let the person talk and let the viewer make up their own opinion. Besides some belligerence and immature arguing, the only positive thing I can say is that these people aren’t tiptoeing around each other. They are blatantly trading insults without a bit of hesitation. Does that make me want to tune in, though? Nope. Again I’m wondering if it would count if I simply mute the TV. Let’s see how long we can talk one topic to death.

            So instead of watching one full show for the second news commentator I watched an hour worth of YouTube videos on Anderson Cooper covering the tsunami in Japan. Again, this is definitely not the more interesting thing to watch on YouTube. I had to keep myself focused because I was quite tempted to click on some interesting spoof videos. Anyway, one video I watched on Anderson Cooper, he was trying to figure out if he was standing too close to the nuclear plant. I think he should have figured that out before he started rolling, but what do I know? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cu5kLQpSA4) At first, I was listening to what he was reporting and learned a little bit about nuclear reactors and how they work.

            All in all, broadcast news is not something I’ll be turning on my TV. It’s all bias, it’s all annoying and it’s all stressful. The longer I watch it, the tighter my chest gets. Thankfully, I am finished this blog because I want to rip my hair out.

Why Get Ink on Your Fingers?

Before too long, it will rare for people to have to newspaper delivered to their homes. With the steady increase of computers and the unlimited amount of information that can be found on the internet, the paper seems pointless. As I flip through The Baltimore Sun, I find my self wondering if I could simply find all this information on the internet. I mean, that way I wouldn’t risk getting ink all over my fingers then worrying if I rubbed it on my face. Besides that, almost everything has an easily accessed website (http://www.baltimoresun.com/) so why waste the time and money, flipping through the pages of something that is right at your finger tips.

When I looked up the website, I found all of the information I had just skimmed through, minus the full pages ads for new phones or cars. Every piece of news was right before my eyes separated into specific categories. If I wanted breaking news, it’s flashing right on the home page in red. If something happened after my paper was delivered, I wouldn’t find out about it until tomorrow. Hopefully, it’s nothing like crazed man stalking the streets of my neighborhood and the police are telling everyone to stay indoors, but I’m out walking because I won’t get an update until the next day when I get my paper.

The internet is also more favorable because you can choose from pictures, videos, or just articles depending on what I’m looking for. I feel like this gives more of a variety about how to look at the information presented to me. Call me lazy, but I find it easier to type in what I’m looking for in the small search bar in the upper right corner than flipping through all the different sections of the newspaper. I’m always scared I’m going to loose a section of the paper and then not be able to find what I’m looking for.

I also found the weekly rates for the paper and how many times a week they offer to deliver. Again, unless you want to pay $3.50 a week for the seven day delivery, you won’t have your news everyday. If you simply look up the website, you don’t have to pay about $14.00 a week for your paper. So honestly, why would you pay for your print newspaper? I mean as long as you have internet access whether it is in your home or at a library, you can find the same information that is printed in the paper right on your screen. 

Men and Women Magazines

When it comes to men and women magazines, the images and articles are quite different. Picture perfect is an appropriate phrase when it comes to the women on the front covers. These women are so airbrushed that you might as well use a computer generated model on the front instead. Unless it’s a magazine on health and fitness, there isn’t too much concern on how in shape the guy is because if he isn’t up to the physical standards they simply put a shirt on him. He isn’t pressured into crash dieting or hitting the gym relentlessly in order to squeeze into an unrealistically small bikini in order to make it on the front cover.

                The articles that go along with women magazines tend to focus on appearance. They offer tips like how to make your skin look younger or what to wear to make you look thinner. Magazines push women to strive towards unrealistic goals when it comes to appearance. I mean older women shouldn’t have to worry about how young their skin looks and disguise their age. Why is that something to be ashamed of? And girls in their twenties and thirties and maybe even younger shouldn’t have to fear looking at a scale or count calories. Talk about a pain and a waste. I think that magazine supply random insecurities to women and girls when they look at their covers. They promote articles like how to make your pores smaller. Then that gets you thinking things like, “Crap I have to worry about pore size now?” or “What’s considered large pores and have I been walking around looking like an idiot with huge pores?” In reality, who looks at your pores and who is getting close enough to look at your pores? Better yet, who cares? Guys are not worried about how big or small your pores are or which hair styles fit your facial structure.

Magazines push women in girls into worrying about ridiculous beauty ideas while male magazines focus on which video game is the must have of the week. It’s an unfair inequality and I feel that magazines really push these unrealistic expectations