April 2010
2 posts
The Trouble With Journalism
I came to realize in my time as a student reporter at an esteemed college newspaper that mainstream journalism is structurally flawed.
It is not my intent to knock the paper, which was valuable to my maturation as a writer. As an arts reporter, specifically, as the senior music reporter, I covered an array of different music- and arts-related events. This gave me some very good...
2 tags
Being Nosy for Fun and Profit
I got into journalism because I’m really interested in prying. I think it comes down to that. I get curious about the story behind things, whether they’re twisted people or shady places. Optimally both. I have an inquisitive mind, a trait that is valued in grade school but later becomes an irritating character flaw.
This is probably a common thread for journalists, certainly ones...
July 2009
10 posts
3 tags
Happy Birthday, Nikola Tesla
Nikola Tesla was a certified badass.
He was, at least as far as a scientist can be considered a badass. His research formed the basis of the electric alternating current power systems we use today. He also made significant advances in the fledgling field of radio.
He was born this day in 1856.
Clearly his coolest invention in terms of sheer terrifying power was the Tesla coil, a large enough...
5 tags
Swim clubs are racist?!
In the news again: racism is alive and well in the United States.
Members of a Philadelphia area swim club complained heartily when a day care center brought a group of children to swim in the club’s pool. The reason: some of those children were black. The center’s money refunded with no explanation.
I first read about this here, but the major news networks quickly picked up the...
7 tags
Fox News: We decide, you concur
I wasn’t aware of this before, even though it happened about a year ago, so I thought it was worth mentioning.
Apparently, Fox News was feeling unhappy with its treatment at the hands of the New York Times, particularly criticism from reporter Jacques Steinberg and editor Steven Reddicliffe. And so, Fox and Friends hosts Steve Doocy and Brian Kilmeade proclaimed Steinberg and Reddicliffe...
Dr. Gonzo lives on
It’s barely relevant to anything, but this is just plain badass.
The website, RIPT Apparel, debuts a new shirt every day. Each shirt is about $10. The catch: the shirt is only available for the duration of that day. If you don’t buy it, it’s gone forever.
I missed out on the Gonzo shirt. Pretty unhappy about that.
7 tags
The Pagans ride again
There’s something in the air in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
It’s the stench of oil-soaked denim, gasoline, smoke and death.
The Pagans Motorcycle Club, a group of iron horse outlaws and rivals of the Hell’s Angels, has been making some noise in the past few years. It’s been enough to attract police attention.
Maybe you thought the one-percenters were dead, a product of the late ’60s that...
8 tags
Facebook goes public, whether you like it or not
Lately, it’s seemed as if Facebook becomes even more nefarious as each day passes.
It started reasonably harmless. A simpler, less abrasive version of Internet’s favorite social cesspool, Myspace, Facebook was aimed first at Harvard students and then the college population at large. It allowed you to connect with friends, meet your future roommates and publish silly photos.
In a few years,...
9 tags
Michael Bay: Racist
We already knew Michael Bay was a hack. Now we also know he’s a racist.
Forget, for a moment, that Transformers 2 was just plain putrid. It was. It was about an hour and a half longer than it needed to be, considering it was completely plotless, nearly 3 hours of unconvincing CGI robot fights and hackneyed dialogue.
Michael Bay’s a major studio darling, capable of churning out pure crap and...
Please, say draw
Some other commercials that really grind my shit: (surprise!) the entire Bud Light “Drinkability” line with the dudes drawing on the air.
One of my least favorite of these already vomit-inducingly bad ads is the one that starts with a guy bouncing a paddle ball he apparently drew using his magic finger. I honestly don’t remember the reason why, but he decides to draw a random...
What's your pit type?!
I was watching hockey the other day, minding my own business, when I was suddenly struck by a blast of such concentrated stupidity that I momentarily forgot how to breathe.
It was an ad for men’s Speed Stick deodorant. Rather, it was an ad for three different varieties of men’s Speed Stick deodorant, each with its own SPECIAL PURPOSE. It went something like this:
Narrator:...