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Wonkette Etiquette

The Wonkette is a politically savvy blog slightly filled with sarcasm....ok so maybe it's pretty much all sarcasm. There are always funny pictures, quotes, titles, and sometimes even videos. Like Jon Stewart, the Wonkette is mostly poking fun at the administration that runs our country so well, while also, almost accidentally, providing their readers with well informed, somewhat slanted, news.

One of my favorite entires is from May, 9th 2007
"News Alerts: Cheney is Not At That One Place in Baghdad"

This piece makes a mockery of Vice President Cheney...

Due to everyone in Iraq wanting to kill him, the White House is demanding that the news networks stop saying where Dick Cheney is staying in Baghdad...One way to not have everyone in Iraq trying to kill you would be, say, for example, not invading and occupying and destroying their country. And if you can’t refrain from invading and occupying and destroying their country, it’s probably best not to personally go there with a bunch of TV reporters who immediately broadcast news of your present location to the whole world — including the people of Iraq, if the power is working at the moment.

Honestly they do have a point. Why IS he in Baghdad anyway?

The coverage continues with a memo from CNN saying that the vice president had requested that his exact location not be exposed.

They realize his location has already been reported, but are asking nonetheless that we discontinue reporting the exact location.

Hm...intellegent

Best part of this entire entry...

The White House is requesting that we limit our Cheney locator on screen and in copy to ‘Bagdhad’ while he is in the city. Do not say that he is at the [REDACTED] or in the [REDACTED].

Please make all shows and networks aware.
Thanks

Also notice that whoever at CNN can’t spell “Baghdad” or “locater.” Good thing you chose a career in TV!

The Wonkette has no shame.

And that is why I will continue to check their blog on a weekly, if not daily basis. They tell it like it is and cover not only Presidential idiocy but all political morons. For example check out this entry entitled..."The Wolfucker Demands Your Respect"

Shaha Ali RZA, the woman just to the side of the center of the current World Bank scandal, would like you to know that just because her boyfriend Paul Wolfowitz got her a promotion and raise, she’s no bimbo. No, as he dating Paul Wolfowitz proves, she’s actually just an idiot. Someone can know 50 languages and still be a complete moron, that’s the magical thing about Washington.

WOW...The Wonkette are like the Mean Girls of Washington. Another reason why I love this site.

They people who write these entries are incredibly witty as they make the issues they discuss to the level of humor. In the Wolfucker story, further into the entry they have a quote from Riza herself, instead of just introducing the quote...

Her only real problem, of course, is that she cares too much.

They have to add in after...

And she has fucked-up arms or something.

CRUEL! But absolutely HILARIOUS. I can almost picture the girls of the Wonkette sitting in the back of these political events dressed to a TEE perfect hair makeup and style, whispering, giggling, and pointing at their victims or the future spectacles of their jokes. Criticizing every move they make or thing they say. As mean as they are, I really feel someone has to do it, especially to those higher ups in Washington. It almost evens out the playing field.

Parkour what?

Raise your hand if you know what Parkour is....

Yea that's what I thought. Funny because I'm sure everyone reading this...which is about 10 people-my convergence class and well my mom- have seen parkour and were probably like..."Dude That's SWEET!"

Ever watch James Bond fly across roof tops or Spiderman flip over buildings? That's what parkour is they like to classify it more as an art which enables one to move from point A to point B in the quickest way possible. So say it's a sport, but definitely not an extreme one...others classify it with martial arts and self defense. So where did this clearly unique way of running from the cops come from?

Well the answer to that is a collaberation of all different areas.

A man by the name of Georges Hebert in the twentieth created what was called "Natural Method of Physical Culture" which greatly influence the French Soldiers in Vietnam who decided to develop "parcours du cambattant. From here they made obstacle courses where one could practice getting from point A to point B as fast as possible. Combine a little martial arts and a little gymnastics experience and you'll probably be a parkour expert.

Parkour is now shown in tons of movies, music videos and even video games. So if you're sick of watching it on your TV and want to get out and try it for yourself. In fact we have a Parkour group right here at UMass so put down the beer and check it out!

Still don't know what I'm talking about...check this out

Suspect Allegedy Shot N.Y. Trooper, but Apparently the Trooper was Killed by "Friendly Fire"

HUH? Yes my thoughts exactly.


On April 26th The New York Times had an article titled "Suspect in N.Y. Trooper’s Death Is Presumed Dead". After briefly skimming the story I saw there was a related piece with a more personal view of the shooter, Travis Trim, 23. "A Young Man’s Troubled Path From Pride of His Family to Murder Suspect."

Immediately following my consumption of these two pieces were thoughts of the Virginia Tech shooting, the accessibility of guns, and how these two shooters were on opposite sides of the "mental" spectrum, yet still capable of taking lives. Or at least shooting at people in the case of Travis Trim.

I add this last sentence in because although the New York Time's article accuses Trim of killing a Trooper, he did no such thing. Yes he did shoot and injure trooper Matthew Gombosi, the previous day when he was pulled over in a stolen vehicle however the statement "The authorities said Mr. Trim then shot Trooper Brinkerhoff in the head..." is false.

In fact check out these other articles:

Newsday-
"Friendly fire apparently killed a New York state trooper as he searched a Catskill-area farmhouse for a suspect in the shooting of a colleague, officials said Friday. "

Daily News in the Globe-
"Friendly fire apparently killed a New York state trooper as he searched a farmhouse for a suspect in the shooting of a colleague, officials said yesterday."

Notice a trend?

Can someone please tell me why in these two leads it was "apparently" friendly fire that killed Trooper Brinkerhoff, but in the New York Times' article it was clearly factual that Trim did the slaying..."Mr. Trim then shot Trooper Brinkerhoff" Perhaps the authorities should get their facts straight before they go pointing fingers. No one seems to want to own up and say..."Oops my bad" there always has to be a scapegoat.

One example that comes to mind is the unfortunate death of ex-NFL star Pat Tillman. Tillman who left pro football to join the army was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. Then in 2005 it was released that the cause of his death was friendly fire as well. In fact his family is still fighting to find the truth to their son's honorable death.

This excerpt is from the San Francisco Chronicle"FAMILY DEMANDS THE TRUTH-New inquiry may expose events that led to Pat Tillman’s death"

According to testimony, Tillman, who along with others on the hill waved his arms and yelled “cease fire,” set off a smoke grenade to identify his group as fellow soldiers. There was a momentary lull in the firing, and he and the soldier next to him, thinking themselves safe, relaxed, stood up and started talking. But the shooting resumed. Tillman was hit in the wrist with shrapnel and in his body armor with numerous bullets.
The soldier next to him testified: “I could hear the pain in his voice as he called out, ‘Cease fire, friendlies, I am Pat f—ing Tillman, dammit.” He said this over and over until he stopped,” having been hit by three bullets in the forehead, killing him.

Granted officials are probably ashamed of the mistakes they've made. However,they should be freer about owning up to these accidents. How are we, the people, supposed to trust that they, the authority, are there to protect us when they hide imperative facts from us?


A lot of issues seem to tie into the story of this one gun man, as previously stated how did this guy get a gun? Some articles say he found it in the house he was charred in. Others say he stole it. Also in an interview on youtube.com with Trim's friends they state that they have never seen Trim with a gun, so how? Also, why did Trim have possession of this weapon? And finally...are guns too easily available to the common public?

I've heard different verisons on how to get a gun, but apparently it isn't too hard.
They supposidely do background checks but do they have mental background checks? In the Virginia Tech case that shooter got a gun in a matter of hours...

"Markell said he was not in the shop when Cho bought the gun but said nothing stood out about the purchase. Cho produced a Virginia driver’s license, a checkbook with a matching address and an immigration card. Cho was a resident alien from South Korea."

Is it really THAT easy?!

Here's Katelyn Whitcher, a senior at UMass, with her opinion on gun laws and just guns in general.
<div><a href="http://minorcrisis.net/files/WS_30023.WMA">WS_30023.WMA</a></div>

Hosted by minorcrisis.net

The last part I would like to tie into this story is the fact that this guy was seemingly harmless. In the New York Times it was quoted by Alan Mulkin, the police chief in Canton, "that despite Mr. Trim’s combative behavior, “we really had no idea that he would be capable of taking another person’s life.”"

Although Trim didn't take another's life it was obvious he wasn't afraid too. If you look at the YouTube video of the shooter's friends you can see how stunned they are...

Granted it's hard to take these two people serious with the dog barking in the background and the look on that girls face...but these are two people in a state of complete awe.

So why did this guy shoot these troopers and put himself in a state to be killed? Well his father claims that...

"I don't know what happened at college," Trim said. "He got into trouble, and I guess his friends told him he was going to go to jail for a long time. It wasn't true. He died for nothing. He let stupidity and ignorance get the best of him."

So this guy was completely sane...well seemingly sane and because word of mouth got the best of him he took a flight over the coocoo's nest? It's amazing what the words of our peers will do to our minds. Makes you almost think back to the Virginia Tech shooter...granted he was deeply dark...what exactly made him that way?

What Bush does in his Spare time...

Instead of strategizing a plan to get our troops out of Iraq and not completely demolish the entire country Bush likes to dance around and bang some drums. Bouncing Bush

The name of the Web site with this video is "This Progress" yes progress is what we need, to un-do everything the last administration has done and progress.

In the meantime, you can laugh at some of these...







Thanks Wonkette.com

Great Media Moments

Fox News is Very Provocative...

Oh Good Lord!

Hahaha gets me everytime!

UMass on VTech

Do You Download Music?

Hello all,

I'm Courtney Souza and me and my group members, Katelyn Whitcher and Mandy Thomas, are doing a Broadcast News story for our class on the RIAA's action against Illegal music downloading.

If you are unaware-over 30 randomly chosen on campus students have been sent pre-lawsuits for illegally downloading music of the internet. The students can either choose to settle for about $3,000 or take the RIAA to court.

Do you have an opinion on this? Do you think it's unfair that these students were pinpointed? Do you download music and could careless about the RIAA? We want to know, we want your opinion.

If you could take a few minutes out of your day and talk to us about how you feel on this situation we would greatly appreciate it. You can make an impact.

E-Mail me if you are interested.

Thanks,

Courtney

Photos

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7781433@N07/

Promote Me!!!

Hey Everyone, I'm applying for this really big deal (well to me) internship with Katie Couric and the CBS News. PLEASE go to this link, watch it, if your feeling motivated sign up and rate me high!!!

Thanks!

Broadcast Story

Easter at the White House

Check out the lovely pictures on the wonkette.com

http://wonkette.com/politics/funny-pictures/giant-talking-rabbits-haunt-white-house-250896.php

This article is why I love checking back and reading the Wonkette, they take such serious matters and make them into absolute jokes.

Well, besides the Shrek one...

Fantasy Update

Well well well...look who did well their first week in Fantasy Baseball

THE POLKA DOTS BABY!

I'm definitely not going to get cocky though because I still have no idea what I'm doing.

Heres my Stats:

Second place overall in the league- First in my Division

R- 29
HR- 5
RBI- 21
SB- 5
Avg batting- .2667

Pitching-
K- 23
W- 2
SV- 8 (yeaa boyysss)
ERA- 4.200
WHIP- 1.200 (whats this mean???)

Record for week-5-2-3

Podcasts

The first podcast I decided to listen to was "Drink 'til we're funny" with Justin Deena and Jon. The two men are gay and the woman is straight. They've been friends for about 10 years and met in college. These people are HILARIOUS very provocative-not afraid to say anything. The cast I listened to was titled "Short, Dark, and curlies" (Pubic Hair) and they start out talking about the website Hot or Not and how there is definitely an inflation rate because almost everyone is rated between 9 and 10 when most of they are definitely no higher than a 5. Sometimes they are funny, sometimes boring, sometimes outlandish, and sometimes annoying, but overall very amusing. In the cast Deena talks about going to a Scuba Show, which she said, was much like soft-core gay porn. There were men everywhere some chiseled some extremely fat and she wondered how they got into wetsuits. But even more there were cardboard cutouts all over of half naked men some even without suits (not tuxes) with only scuba gear on...

I'm not sure if I'm going to subscribe to it on Itunes or not, but I'll probably go back and check it out now and then


The second podcast I watched was also on iTunes and in the comedy section, but this one had video. "Happy Tree Friends" was the name and it was an explicit video of cute lil cartoon animals with an extremely high-pitched LALA voice. The first one I watched called "Eye Candy" I actually had to stop after 30 seconds of watching because it was literally Eye- Candy....the pink lil fuzzy creature was eating a lollipop and LA LA ing along when it trips over a log causing it to fall and having the lollipop protrude into the eye of the creature. I HATE eyes....the eye then flung out of the socket and the red vein wrapped around a near by tree. This is where I stopped it. lol

So instead I watched, which was titled "Staying Alive" was just as violent but didn't involve eyes so I was ok. lol Instead it started with two lil fuzzy creatures LALAing at a tea-party n eating cookies when a disco ball drops from the ceiling hitting one on the head. This disco fuzzy creature then appears while dancing and grabs the pink fuzzy creature and makes it dance, but it doesn't want to leading the disco guy to push it into the table and having the tea pot crack and get embedded into its head squirting blood in all directions. As the LALAs turn to AAHHHWAAHHWAHHs the disco man grabs the other but tosses it into an electric fence causing it to...well become electrocuted.

Since I am sitting on my laptop on the Pita Pit...I would assume anyone who walked by while this was playing would automatically think I'm a nutcase.


Also- This is definitely NOT Journalism

Sniff Sniff

So it's old news by now, I would assume...


http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8O9AFO01&show_article=1
Keith Richards snorted his father's ashes mixed with cocaine...in otherwords he laced his coke with his Daddy. I want to know what people think about this.
I mean, is it weird that I actually am not appaulled by this? Granted my father is cremated and sitting on the night stand in my mother's room, but I'd never even consider sniffing him up my nose. Well actually I don't even know how to open the urn, but that's besides the point. Also I would never do cocaine. On one hand, I think that it's kind of cool, now his father is apart of him- literally.














Then again, I think well how would I feel about being snorted?
If you dont do coke, maybe you can just roll up the ashes into a joint and smoke your loved ones?

Global Warming For Dumbies

Check out this cartoon from An Inconvenient Truth...Maybe it will help you understand global warming a tad bit more....and give you a chuckle lol

Stars in the Blogging Community

Blogging isn't just for journalism majors being forced into it, or people with opinions no one wants to hear so they let it out on livejournal.com its for everyone including many of the fames and stars we look up to, know and watch.

Check out Curt Schilling's recently created blog, 38 Pitches

When checking out blogs of very busy, prestigious, people especially sporting elites I tend to wonder if it is actually them doing the blogging. Do they really have the time to sit there and put the time in to typing their thoughts into a website? Well Schilling makes the time. This blog has a mix of question and answers where Schilling actually takes time to respond to his fans and readers:

Q-Have you ever been on a Starting Rotation comparable to this one, and the endless potential it may have?

A-That’s a tough one because to live up to ‘endless potential’ everything needs to fall perfectly right. In 1993 and 2004 the rotations we started the season with stayed intact for pretty much the entire year, which was huge. We competed against each other in an advantageous way for the team. This rotation absolutely has that potential.

Not only does Schilling answer questions on his career and team but he writes about his family and wife, and gives advice to his readers about their kids as well.

Q-How do you know when a kid has enough talent go far with Baseball?

A-I think that falls on the ‘kid’ as much as it does the parents. Parents view their childrens athletic ability through very rosy glasses. I’ve been around kids, coached kids and worked with kids who’s parents would tell me that their son is a surefire major leaguer if he ‘keeps it up’ and I’m sitting there watching a kid who isn’t going to make his high school team. The numbers are staggering, it used to be 1 in every 100,000 kids who plays organized baseball gets drafted. Then you look at the volume of kids drafted and how few of them make it to the major leagues and it can be daunting. If you’re working with your kids in sports for them to become ‘pro’s’ then I think you’re making a huge mistake. You won’t get them there, they will. However if you have your kids playing sports to learn the real lessons they teach, sportsmanship, camaraderie, respect, how to count on teammates and be counted on, how to handle winning and losing, all the truly important life lessons then I think you’re doing the right thing. I could care less if any of my kids become ‘pro’s’, I just want them to have a passion for whatever it is they do, and be as good as they can be, trying to be the best.

Now what makes this blog believable? He makes errors, spelling errors, and admits to them.

Trying some different ways to format, while I am shooting for zero misspellings, there may be a few!

However I think they add a real feel to his blog letting you know...he's just like the rest of us.

Up next is a blog just as comical as his acting on Scrubs, Zach Braff


The layout of this blog is particularly pleasing and impressive not to mention his witty entries.

Didn’t win, but I met P. Diddy, so who u calling a loser? He made eye contact with me and headed towards me and I was like “uh oh, did I anger Diddy?” My brain started spinning, “think of times you may or may not have pissed off Diddy. Quickly! What r u doing? Don’t look at Harley from “Lost” focus on Diddy!!!” Anyway, he just came over to say hi and that I made him laugh. He gave me a big smile and a cool handshake (that I kept up with – thank you Donald Faison) and could not have been a nicer guy.

This blog will definitely be added to my bookmarks.

Your Very Own Anna Nicole Smith!

The Wonkette.com has brought to my attention the knowledge that now everyone can make their very own Anna Nicole Smith Shrine complete with action figure. Now available on Ebay [http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260101911507] is a Beautiful one of a kind custom doll made by Artist Tina Lia. The current bid listed to purchase the doll is $202.49 the end time is April 4th at 4pm so if I were you I'd hurry and make an offer!

Big Strides for Females

I know its been decades since women were ever put down as unequal counterparts to men, but I found it interesting when I read an article on Drudge.com today titled Female Ump Gets A Day in the Big Leagues. Ria Cortesio will be the first woman since 1989 to work an MLB Exhibition game. [Who was the female in 1989?] In the article it discusses how Cortesio will be umpiring the exhibition game between the Chicago Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks and from interviews with the players, the fact that their ump is female could really matter less. In fact, they are excited that a female is actually being given the opportunity. Whether or not its something their publicist told them to say, I'm not sure lol...."It's awesome," Cubs star Derrek Lee said. "I think it's about time. Female eyes are as good as male eyes. Why can't they be umpires? Good for her."

To be honest I watch quite a number of baseball games and not to brag but I'm very observant and analytical...never once has the fact that all umps are men cross my mind...

Cortesio has now definitely brought that to my attention..why aren't their more female umps?

First campaigning for a Presidency...and now umpires in the Major leagues? Do we really even need men? ;)

here's the link http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/03/27/sportsline/main2613326.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_2613326

Trade..

First off I'd like to point out how ironic the name of the league I am in is..."Grown A S S Men"...My team sticks out like a sore thumb "Polka Dots"

Anyway here's a trade proposed

Trade proposed in grown a s s men

To: Polka Dots - Courtney Souza
From: Rochester Dominators - Dan *

PD trades Joe Mauer, Min to Dominators
RDO trades Brian McCann, Atl to Dots
RDO trades Jorge Cantu, TB to Dots
RDO trades Josh Johnson*, Fla to Dots


I'm declining...good move?

Fantasy Baseball

Recently I've joined a Fantasy Baseball league here is my roster...



C Joe Mauer
1B Richie Sexson
2B Dan Uggla
3B David Wright
SS Carlos Guillen
OF Ichiro Suzuki
OF Bobby Abreu
OF Vernon Wells
UTIL Barry Bonds
B Frank Thomas
B Marcus Giles
B Paul Lo Duca
B Edwin Encarnacion
B Bobby Crosby

P Erik Bedard
P Cole Hamels
P Takashi Saito
P Chris Ray
P Jered Weaver
P Bob Wickman

So, I know some about baseball but not much....

Does anyone care to comment on my players, maybe who I might wanna trade or who i'd want to look for?

In my opinion my hitters r the shit but my pitching is lacking

Soliders Face Neglect

After reading an article on the Washingtonpost.com I am absolutely outraged. How can soldiers, especially injured soldiers, be put in conditions and faced with such irrational and irresponsible behavior?! We are all living here in America with our heated homes and comfy beds and people that are risking their lives for us are stuck in places described as

the bathtub on the floor above through a rotted hole. The entire building, constructed between the world wars, often smells like greasy carry-out. Signs of neglect are everywhere: mouse droppings, belly-up cockroaches, stained carpets, cheap mattresses.

EW!

Also if the Pentagon knows of this Walter Reed Army Medical Center and plans to shut it down in 2011...one why don't they help it? and 2 What's going to happen to injured soldiers after that? Where are they going to go?

The videos added a little bit more clarity to the treatment the patients are receiving as opposed to how the out patients are being treated. I just cannot comprehend how people are being treated so poorly after coming out of such traumatizing experiences as these soldiers are.

From reading the postings after this article "The Other Walter Reed" it shows how outraged Americans are. I dont understand how the government gets away with what it does when so many people have harsh opinions of it. Perhaps it isn't the governments fault but us as Americans for letting these people run our country. Here are some of the comments I found interesting...

Do you suppose if we forced Karl Rove and Dick Cheney to move into Building 18, things might improve? How many of the 363 tons of $100 bills we shipped to Iraq would it take to improve this hell hole?

How can Bush and his allies claim to be for the troops and then propose a budget that cuts funding to the VA their health care? And this supposedly in a time of war?

Journalism on Amazon?

When first approaching the reviews on Amazon.com I had a predetermined idea that there would in no way be any form of journalism. But...I found myself slightly in the wrong when reading reviews on a book by John Stossel called Myths, Lies, And Downright Stupidity Get Out The Shovel- Why Everything You Know Is Wrong


Aside from the usual..."read this book" comments there were other interesting facts that readers received from the book and were willing to share in their comments.

The fact that New York City tap water beat out EVIAN should really make the world feel NAIVE (EVIAN backwards) about making their product the number one bottled water. Particularly since a chemical analysis showed the water was no more pure or healthy than what came out of the NYC pipes.

I had no idea that that was true and I live in New York!

Other reviews although not spitting out information I was not aware of are sharing legitimate info that is not just opinion based. For example:

What he got wrong: Case in Point A ("scientifically clueless"): Stossel references The Bottomless Well: The Twilight of Fuel, the Virtue of Waste, and Why We Will Never Run Out of Energy (2005) by Peter W. Huber and Mark P. Mills to claim that tar sands in Alberta, Canada "alone contain enough oil to meet our needs for a hundred years." What he doesn't mention is that extracting that oil is currently not cost-effective, and when it is, it will require not only massive amounts of water (which will by then be perhaps a more fought-over commodity than oil) but will pretty much destroy the surrounding environment, which will be more valuable than the oil!

This person read the book and is establishing the fact that it isn't completely right. Then voicing more truth to go along with the information within the book.

This to me is journalism because the reviewers are passing along truthful information they have gained from reading this particular book as well as outside information they have gained from other resources.

Forums aka Gossip Gallery

Over the course of the past week I've had a roller coaster of likes and dislikes with joining a forum. My task at hand began when I had to attempt to find a forum worth joining. For me personally, this was probably the most difficult part because I have A LOT of likes but not so many LOVES as to the point where I'd return to a forum everyday to discuss things with people I don't even know really exist. So I attempted to join two, one at Shape.com and the other a Grey's Anatomy Forum on TelevisionWithoutPity.com.

My first try at registering with TVWP made me put down my computer and not touch it for about 24 hours because I was so frustrated. They asked me to click on either Born: Before March 5th 1988 or After March 5th 1988. But me a click-a-holic just clicked and mistakenly clicked the wrong one concluding me to be bombarded with restrictions telling me I needed my Parent to fill out some form and yatta yatta yatta.

UGH

So after my frustration passed I decided...okay I read Shape Magazine a lot why not try one there...
So I join everything goes smoothly...I get to the forum...but I CAN'T POST. Something about being restricted from doing that. UM HELLO?! WHY WOULD I JOIN A FORUM AND NOT WANT TO POST? (Later I find out I have to be approved first but..Hey I'm still learning give me a break.)

Finally I go to my neighbors house and use her computer to successfully join TVWP specifically the Grey's Anatomy Forum, where I decided to join Gab, Stat: The Meet Market under Grey's Gab Gallery.

The registration at this forum led to the same frustration at Shape, but using my brain a little more I waited a day or so to be "approved" then post my first comment, which read...

"Hey everyone! I'm new so I just wanted to say hello, I hope I can catch on to the convo."

I figured I'd jump in and just admit flat out I was new. This I decided was best because my friend, who strictly FORBID me from joining his Ultimate Fighting Forum (which I had no intention in anyway), forewarned me ever so kindly that...
"You better watch out you NOOB they are gonna attack you if you say things they don't like."

After making my first appearance I was slightly anxious to check back later and see if anyone even cared I was there. Also, I had noticed that although I had joined a Grey's forum...there was definitely no talk of Grey's in site. Subjects more a long the lines of husbands, boyfriends, vacation, traveling, and hair advice were running the wires. Not that I minded, the last Grey’s was a repeat so it was nice and yet somewhat intimidating to be joining what seemed more like the "cool girls lunch table" in High School than anything else.

Checked back and I had already two responses:

"Welcome CSouz! We're a fun bunch, I promise. Perhaps even a funky bunch. Any takers on being our resident Marky Mark?"

"Welcome to the thread CSouz! Jump right in!"

Okay so I had the approval and the intimidation was far-gone so I decided to do exactly was I was told and jump in. The discussion was taking place in other countries, countries I had no knowledge of. It was interesting to find a lot of the girls were either from Canada or Australia. They have a slightly different language and weren't making fun of Americans, but there was a little teasing taking place.

"I have to be honest I'm American and I have no idea what countries you are all talking about, but sure sounds nice. I'd love to be at the beach right now but its like 30 degrees here and if I went out in my "tog"? I'd freeze my bum off!"

Is what I said...I used the tog reference because another girl had noted that that's what they call bikini's ("As far as I know, it's just jandals slang for a bikini. I just call them togs.")

Immediately I was asked questions of where I was from, how old I was, and not to be offended that I was American.

So I used the quoting blocks and answered their questions.

“I go to school in Massachusetts, but I'm from Long Island, NY

I'm 20 and a Junior at the University of Massachusetts. I'm actually in a Convergence Journalism class and our assignment is to join a forum of our interest and interact. I must say you guys are very welcoming.

As for wolverinegirl53
Don't get involved with guys with girlfriends believe me, ironically I just got off the phone with my ex who has a girlfriend as well. I just don’t think it's worth it, if he likes you and misses you so much why is he still with someone else?”

The last part was in response to a girls comment above mine. She was discussing how an old boyfriend of hers confessed his love but still had a girlfriend. Having a similar situation I decided to comment, and my advice was taken well and backed up.

“I ditto CSouz's sentiment. wolverinegirl, it's really not worth it.”

Then I received other comments on the part about me having an assignment to join a forum…a lot of the girls were jealous…

“That sounds like a pretty cool assignment. I'm also 20! And a junior at a school in Ontario. Though I don't call it "junior". I just say "third year". I'm Mass Comm, so not at all the same thing as you, but we get alot of journalism co-majors in our program. I've actually used this forum as an example of how technology establishes relationships and how groups of people have an anonymous sense of unity and..blahblahblah-schoolcakes.”

“wish I could get an assignment like that. Get graded for something I spend time doing already. I wish I was a junior now lol. I'm a freshman. With 3-4 more years of undergrad school and 3 years of post undergrad learn-how-to-be-a-physical-thearpist school.”

Overall my experience in the forum was quite exciting. Although I most definitely judged in the beginning, thinking...what losers actually have the time to go onto a site and just blab…that’s what you have friends for. However, now I realize there is only so much you can learn from the people you are constantly in contact with. Look outside the box and there are so many new things to be done, new friendships to be made, new ideas to be shared.

I like this forum thing…it’s almost the equivalent to having a pen pal…but with more instant gratification.

Obama- who cares

The latest post on the Wonkette.com is about Barak Obama and his 17 traffic violations within 2 years...those two years however are 1988 and 1990. Can someone please tell me why this matters?

This only thing this shows is arrogance for the parking laws in Massachusetts. However it was over 10 years ago, people change. I really do not understand why this type of "dirt" is uncovered about campaigners. I don't care if you smoked pot in college, or got traffic violations 10 years ago. Also linked on the Wonkette was another story about Obama's ancestors owning slaves.

I know slavery is a huge issue. I know racism is a very important matter and steers a lot of controversy. However...did Obama himself own a slave? No.

Also I'm wondering does this fact cancel out his race card in the campaigning?

Oh and I really do not understand the Wonkette's jokes about Obama and Osama. Does someone care to explain why perhaps this is funny?

We’re forced to agree with commenter “Osama Obama.”

Many citizens and voters are interested to know whether or not a candidate for President has an ounce of character.

Barak Hussein Obama apparently does not.

Heres a Doosie For ya...

We all know who Teri Hatcher is...









We all know who Former President Bush is...aka Poppy











But what you don't know is that recently on the Wonkette.com there was a post that these two well-knowns had a lunch meeting together followed by a little slapping action. Video by TMZ.com...
Bush..what a hornball

My question is...what is Teri Hatcher doing having lunch with him? Hes like 82 years old?!

Venting Time

I've decided that once a week I am going to "vent" aka whine about an issue that I know has applied to many people before. Today's "venting" session has been set off by my recent trip in the kitchen of my townhouse. Now when i say trip I mean it as a verb because I literally slipped and fell because of...TRASH JUICE...EW.



How come some people are just so lazy they don't even want to bother cleaning up after themselves?!
Wouldn't you rather take the extra second and clean up whatever mess you made? Then the next time you are in that same area you don't have to look at filth or clutter. I truly believe the motto my freshman roommate and i had..."A Clean room is a Happy Room."

So my solution to the yucky problem in my house was to charge $2 each day for each mess not cleaned with in 24 hours. Who thinks this is fair? Who thinks I'm insane and have OCD? Let me know...no hard feelings...swear.

Great Example

Recently in my Broadcast Journalism class my professor, who is an anchor for ABC-40, showed us a clip from an ABC story. The clip was put forth by Bob Woodruff, an ABC anchor who almost died in Iraq, but because of the amazing medical attention he was given miraculously survived.

Heres a link to the full story.

I would just like to add how amazing the editing of this story is. The sense of urgency they managed to capture in the scene where they described the bomb going off is just incredible. This is beautiful journalism.

Now if only every American Soldier could get the treatmeant Woodruff recieved.

Don't Be Mad Boston...

So I know I'm in the state of Massachuetts and everyone that lives on the east side of this state claims to be "from Boston" so before posting this blog I'd like to say that I actually have no opinion on this one...aside from the fact that I did have quite a giggle when reading this post on Wonkette.com

You know those traffic-counting gizmos that city workers string across streets to figure out how many vehicles are passing? Well, the brave anti-terrorism officials of Boston most certainly do not know of these common devices — so they shut down the city today, again, and blew up the traffic counter. You know, the traffic counter the City of Boston was paying for ….

Keep in mind this is the SECOND time these officials have blown up an object in the city mistaken for some sort of terrorist device...remember Aqua Team Hunger Force?
Some of the comments on the page are a little offensive to Bostonians

Boston. Henceforth to be referred to as "America's Stupidest City." At least until somebody comes along to challenge them for the title, and it'll be damned hard to beat this.

This one is one of my favorites and actually comes from a Bostonian...

As a proud ex-Bostonian... wasn't the birth of the American Revolution all about just blowin' shit up? Or just dumping it in the ocean while dressed up like the Village People?

I have to poke some fun I mean they blew up a device owned by their own city?!
Maybe...just maybe the anti-terriorist forces in Boston are being a little too careful...

What do you think? Should they be taking such precautions? Are they WAY too paranoid? Or maybe they really are just a bunch of idiots that should start to wear Village People Outfits?

Related Articles:
Homeland Stupidity

Al Gore A Sense of Humor and an Oscar???

So Al Gore can't exactly win a Presidency but apparently he can win an Oscar and has a sense of humor. On the Wonkette.com they have a blurb entitled "Al Gore Wins Oscar, Promptly Agrees to Star in 'Snow Dogs 2: An Inconvenient Pooch.'" Heres a clip of him at the Oscars looking studly next to Leo...oh and he's actually kind of funny...

While the rumors of Gore taking another stab at becoming President don't appear to be true, it would be quite interesting to see what the impact of his movie making would be on his campaign. Perhaps it wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing to have a President that was fully aware and brought attention to the matter of global warming. I don't exactly want to be living underwater in a few years.

Other interesting fact from the Wonkette.com: According to the Sunday's Washington Post Al Gore has been our coolest Ex-Vice President ever. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/24/AR2007022401586.html

According to Fox...

Today on the Wonkette.com there was an entry about Fox New's constantly updated list of "Fallen Heroes" i.e. Americans who have died in Iraq. According to the list there hasn't been an American death in Iraq since December 31st. That's pretty impressive since the number of American deaths since the war began is over 2,500 and 821 in the past year.

When you put that number in relation to people you know it sure as hell is a lot. Hopefully the number will stay low for the oncoming year while the government tries to actually decide on a plan of action...

Grey's Gab Gallery

When asked to check out a forum I decided since it is Thursday and I've been in suspense all week I might as well check out a forum on Grey's Anatomy.

The forum off of televisionwithoutpity.com has frustrated me in a number of ways. First off, when talking about speculation for upcoming episodes they are all discussing a main character being killed off- which as of now is looking like Mer since she is in an afterlife scene with the Bomb guy, and Denny. However, it's obvious the death can't be Meredith because- she's "Grey" and it is well, "Grey's Anatomy" which I know is a total play on the real Gray's Anatomy but still that's way too drastic for the show. Look at what happened when The OC killed off Misha Barton aka- "Coop"- the show most definitely died with her.

The people of the forum are looking towards Izzy to die which- excuse me- is not happening I've really started to like Izzy and she just got out of her only watching as an intern experience. She's finally back in action and they are going to kill her? No Way

"Shonda has a habit of making us swing from loving to hating a character and back again. Izzy has been quite unlikable lately. How quickly would people's attitudes turn around if suddenly she was dead. An added benefit to this scenario would be the guilt that Bailey would have for selecting Izzy over Cristina to be the fifth person on the ambulance. Not to mention the clinic that would be left behind as a constant reminder of her time at Seattle Grace."

How dare they say Izzy has been quite "unlikeable" what show have you been watching because I'm pretty sure the girl just drilled 5 holes in some guys head with a drill and saved his life- unlikeable- more like unbelievable.

The other thing I have to attack these "Grey's Gossip" people on is their hate of McDreamy. One- how could you hate those amazing blue eyes and two- HOW COULD YOU HATE THOSE AMAZING BLUE EYES??

"My friend and I were talking and, as much as we would loathe this, as we are Team Addison Away From McDouche, we just have this... feeling that Addison and Derek are gonna hit the sheets again. We don't know when or why but we can both see it happening. ::ducks::"

"Eeew no!!! Anything but that. I'd even listen to Izzie pontificating for a month just as long as they don't bring McAsshat anywhere near Addy. No no no, it can't be... *Excuse me, in my horror I feel I need to barf*"

McDouche and McAsshat? I think not- He will forever be McDreamy to me.
Also I forsee Addison and Alex getting together- not a reunion of the divorsees.

MySpace...a Political Rally?

Recently on the Wonkette.com there was a post about the amount of friends the future Presidential candidates have on Myspace.

I have to say their description of Myspace does seem quite adequate...

MySpace is a wonderful social networking phenomenon in which millions of retarded people regular Americans have their own atrocious blinking-ad-covered websites, each visually horrific “home page” bleating out some awful pop music and tagged with the illiterate gibberish comments (or cut-and-pasted rap lyrics) and half-naked cam-phone pictures of America’s fattest teens. It’s a place where born-again illiterate Jesus freaks, tattooed and pierced illiterate suburban kids, fake gangsta illiterate urban youth, orange-skinned horse-faced illiterate high-school dropout gals who aspire to celebrity sluthood or a career in the Army, violent illiterate psychopathic “Juggalos” and a bedeviled minority of depressed semi-literate goth & emo teens in the Midwest all come together to show us what the United States will be like once the current crop of old people dies off.

It's also quite humorous to wonder if they are right about Presidential Races being decided on myspace, however..

If the Wonkette is correct and the next Presidential election will be held on a count of how many MySpace friends one has...I don't think any of the Political Elite will win...

It's no surprise who our next President would be...

Let's Stop Mowin their Damn Lawn Already!

Top Story on Wonkette.com (I'd make a link but my computer hates me and won't give me that button on the blog) is
"Iraq Keeps Shooting Us, We'll Stop Mowing Their Lawn: Great Moments in House Rhetoric"

This article comments on a beautiful analogy made by Florida Republican Ric Keller who was infact speaking in the favor of the Democratic Iraq withdrawl plan.

"Let me give you an analogy. Imagine your next door neighbor refuses to mow his lawn and the weeds are all the way up to his waist. You decide you’re going to mow his lawn for him every single week. The neighbor never says thank you. He hates you and sometimes he takes out a gun and shoots at you.

Under these circumstances, do you keep mowing his lawn forever? Do you send even more of your family members over to mow his lawn? Or do you say to that neighbor, ‘You better step it up and mow your own lawn or there’s going to be serious consequences for you’?"

While this analogy obviously has a few kinks in it he actually does have a point. But what kind of "serious consequences" does he have in mind?


Heres the link to the Wonkette Blog: http://wonkette.com/politics/ric-keller/if-iraq-keeps-shooting-us-well-stop-mowing-their-lawn-great-moments-in-house-rhetoric-236773.php

The Today Show has the Giggles!

So by now we all know how Tim Hardaway, the former NBA player feels about gays. But look how well the professionals on the Today Show handled their news delivery of the story...

Wow, so maybe I'll start watching the Today Show a little more!

Political Gossip-Wonkette.com

I was exploring the very popular, well established, and gossip gallery of D.C. blog, The Wonkette and I came across this hilarious entry about the dumb things rich snobby people say.

My favorite has to be the one who thinks she's being asked about "a rack" as in "titties" instead of what is going on in Iraq. What a trip!

Along with comical relief to governmental issues, the Wonkette is still very informative in its own satire-filled way. For example check out this entry done about a terrorist siting in Pheonix. Watch our for those superheros let me tell you!

This site is really good at poking fun at our nations capital and the people that reside within it.

I'm definitely adding the Wonkette to my bookmarking list!

Baristanet.com- The Humor from Montclair, NJ

If you’re a soccer mom in Montclair, New Jersey then perhaps baristanet.com is for you, but for anyone else in the world…this site is pointless.

The site, which was ranked #1 at Placeblogger.com, is a combination gossip/news site that allows its readers to voice an active opinion on events in their town.

The stories on the site range from local robberies to community complaints as well as trivial facts such as what to do on Valentines Day. Every story has a number of comments from the residents of Montclair, which contributes to the entertainment of the site, especially for outside viewers.

In addition to the written blogging articles on the site, there are a number of videos capturing other events and issues within the town, such as leaf blowing. In this video the correspondent, Laura Mattia, interviews everyday people that are affected by the loud disturbances caused by leaf blowing. For example, Pat Kenschaft, an elderly resident, “Wants to give leaf blowers the shaft.”

Some of the most entertaining comments found on the site are under the article of what to do on Valentines day if you’re single. For example,

7. Whether for mailing or just for yourself, write a letter for someone you deem special. Or
9. Build a dual altar shrine that represents your life, one that holds your hopes and dreams for the future the other for those things that you would like to release and let go.

The real comedy comes from the comments found after the article, most of which have just a hint of sarcasm…

Comment from Debbie Glant:
11. Shut up and make me a chicken pot pie.
And get me a beer.


Comment from It ain't "lovelorn" it's freedom:


how about something healthy? while others are indulging in fattening cakes and chocolates, why not whip up a tasty vinegar dip and enjoy some farm fresh vegetables: carrots, celery and cauliflower.
An added treat (and the kids will really love this and "eat it up") is to dye the vegetables red with some harmless zero-calorie vegetable dye, to make Valentines Day a healthlicious holiday for your whole family.


Comment from Dawg Lover:
"make Valentines Day a healthlicious holiday for your whole family"
Screw that.
Pancakes and Bacon for Breakfast
Deep fried hot dogs (from Amazing Hot Dogs) for lunch
Champagne, Tapanade, Shellfish Stew, creme brulee and strawberries for dinner (sex optional but recommended)

This is a perfect example of conversations being provoked by blogging.
Despite our distaste and teasing of this blog, it provides a place for the local townies to communicate and become more informed about their place of residence.

Dino-farts caused Global Warming?

So I was doing my daily blog checking when I came across a link entitled "GOP: Global Warming? Dinosaur Flatulence?" on the Drudge Report (Drudge.com) http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/10/dino-flatulence/
This is what I found...

For one if this guy is a journalist...he isn't very good at doing research.
Secondly thanks to him I can't stop picturing a bunch of Dinosaurs walking around farting then acting like typical men and saying "Ohhh that was a good one"

Almost like this...

Jack Cafferty- Is Anna Nicole Still dead?

So we all heard the news on Thursday Feb. 8, that Anna Nicole Smith was pronounced dead after collasping in her Hard Rock hotel room, the news was so big it was all over every news website including CNN.com. Even the Cafferty File had something to say about it according to blog D-Listed http://dlisted.com/2007/02/12/is-anna-nicole-still-dead/

Well that's nice to know that she is still dead...I'm not sure whether to laugh, be annoyed, or wonder if this may be a huge publicity stunt...

What Is a Blog?

According to Wikipedia- which is really not the most reliable source- a blog is "A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order."

In my opinion a blog is an opportunity to voice one's opinion and share news and information that you find interesting. It enables people to express themselves and if they enable it, see what others have to say about it.

In other news, Anna Nicole Smith is dead!

The Journalistic Evolution

Over the past century technology has become more and more advanced creating a faster connection for not only our internet speed, but our means of communication. Word travels in seconds instead of minutes or days and with developments of camera phones and other technology gives people the capability to provide a visual picture or video to go along with it.

In Dan Gillmor's book We The Media he explains how these advancements have not only created a faster pace world, but has also made everyday people journalists as well. With the click of a button anyone can share their opinions by creating a blog, or commenting on someone elses blog. Word gets out fast, and if it isn't true, or has offended anyone in anyway, it will be known. As Gillmor states " modern communications have become history's greatest soapbox, gossip factory, and, in a very real sense, spreader of genuine news." This means that although there is a lot of talk going on, much of it may just be gossip however with so many voices out there the truths come out a lot faster than they used to.

As for the effects on the world of journalism, competition is at its best. Anyone with a camera and an internet connection is now a journalist making it that much harder for true, trained journalists to break new stories. For the public however, this I believe, is a good thing because journalists are being forced more and more to to put out honest information. Although the story may not be broken for the first time, established journalists are the ones who should (keyword) be the most trustworthy. Instead of beating the peanut gallery journalists now a days should be more concerned with getting the facts straight. Otherwise if they don't someone will certainly let them know they've got it wrong. In addition, to the effects on the journalistic scene, this gossip factory as Gillmor calls it also provides a constant source of leads for journalists. For example, Gillmor states a story in his book from September 2002 when Microsoft advertises a campaign called "Mac to PC: Mission Accomplished, Convert Thrilled" there were some phoney problems with the website and consumers caught hold of it and let them have it. The consumers brought out a truth which establishes a source for true journalists to grab hold of and inform the rest of the public.

So to finally answer if this change and evolution is for the good? I personally would say yes. It can bring out honesty, while enable people to voice their own opinions. We have freedom of speech in our constitution for a reason and the internet has made it that much easy for people to be heard.

Getting to know the Pro

Born on a submarine base in Graton, Connecticut, Scott Brodeur who enjoys Tai food and his mother's stuffed artichokes, is not your typical University of Massachusetts professor.

"I've hung out with Ol' Dirty Bastard, before he died" says Brodeur as he continues on to tell of the experience of letting Dirty Bastard, one of the founders of the hiphop group Wu-Tang Clan, drive his new car. "All his friend's shook their heads no when he asked."

Being a magazine writer and rock critic for sometime, Brodeur has had numerous experiences with deadlines, concerts, and stars. Now he is living in the small town of Northampton, Massachusetts, where he is an editor-in-chief of Masslive.com, father of three, and Journalism Professor at the University of Massachusetts where he teaches of the new wave of convergence.


Being a typical Massachusetts resident, Brodeur is a Red Sox fan despite his birth in Connecticut and childhood in New Jersey. He has written for magazines such as the Source, but is now focused on the internet and "trying to reinvent what journalism websites should be" said Brodeur.

Hello, I'm Courtney

I'm Courtney Souza and I am a Junior at the University of Massachusetts where I am aspiring to be a Journalist. What type of journalist is yet to be determined. I'm 20 years old and from Long Island New York, I'd say what town but you wouldn't even be able to find if it we broke out a map. I'm a small town girl.

This blog will be kept through out my experience in a Journalism Convergence class taught by Scott Brodeur who I've learned slightly about in the past hour.

Hopefully from this point on I will develop better blogging skills, and learn more about the quick shifts taking place in the world of journalism which is now becoming more of a digital storytelling.

Care to join?

Meeting the Professer

With a warm welcoming smile, and a simple acknowledgement to who I am- although this is our first meeting-Professor Scott Brodeur makes a good first impression. At the University of Massachusetts, Brodeur is making an effort to further the knowledge of college students by teaching a Journalism Convergence class at UMass. By doing so he hopes to influence and inform students of blogging and its important juxtaposition to journalism.

In addition to helping the future of American Journalism, Brodeur is a Managing Editor for Web Site Development at Advance Internet and also the Editor-in-Chief for MassLive.com. Brodeur is also an advocate of blogging as he keeps an up-to-date blog of his own entitled Blog Beat, which is listed on the MassLive website.

Brodeur appears to have a comically witty attitude as he writes about anything ranging from Sports and Music to making comments on cartoon characters like Donald Duck.

If Brodeur's class is anything like the aura of his blog then I am certainly looking forward to it.