Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
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Summary of Podcasts
In the podcast, “Words, Words, Words”, Robert Tinajero talked about the misinformation regarding the COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus in his 34th episode. Most of the information were specifically about how the US federal government and the 45th president, Donald Trump handling the virus in control. He revealed that President Trump was downplaying the virus in press conferences since January. The president did this in two perspectives: 1) trying to not get the public panicking over the virus and 2) to protect his own numbers. However, Tinajero revealed that the President when delivering his conferences was being inconsident with his answers, saying things that weren’t factual or wrong. He was also insistent on calling COVID-19, “the Chinese Virus”, putting not only blame on the source of the virus’ origin (China) but using racial stereotypes.
Then, I listened to the Bodega Boys from New York City. They had just release their latest Podcast episode, EP. 194: Imagine. This hilarious episode has Denus Nice and The Kid Mero first parodying President Trump’s press conferences with the news media, especially how he talks. They then talked current celebrity news that was trending during the week of March 16th to March 20th. Most of the news they talked about were Andy Cohen of the Bravo TV channel tested positive for the Corona Virus and Tom Brady leaving the New England Patriots for some news. The R&B singer Keri Hilson promoted a theory on the Corona Virus was developed and caused by the 5G Network towers on her social media. Then they talked about Oprah Winfrey on a social media rumor that was trending on Twitter, stating that Winfrey has underground tunnels underneath her mansion that were used for child sex trafficking, conspired with Hillary Clinton and was arrested… which sounded very fake, jokingly mentioning that people definitely need to get out of the house immediately. What’s interesting that the two revealed that in New York, many people were getting sick and assumed having the virus months before the virus dominated the media and the shutdown. Other than that, they were basically parodying other jokes including how people react through social distancing and staying indoors.
Social Media: An addiction or a helpful way of expression?
In today’s society, social media is a norm for me. Myself and many others will log in to programs and apps such as Facebook, Twitter and/or Instagram on their devices, whether it is a computer or smartphone, to post, comment, and like whatever they saw. We log in to see and hear statuses of others, post pictures, record videos, and make posts about what is going on in the real world. There are also people promote themselves and/or products in a professional and marketable way. They will gain followers to help and boost their popularity. There are also groups based on the various likes, people or hobbies that we enjoy to join for discussions, similar to how many users talked in chat rooms, message boards and forums.
However, social media can be a force of habit that may become an addiction. We can constantly check up our accounts as soon as we wake up first thing in the morning. We can also be online, checking on statuses and profiles. It also can be distracting, especially if we are talking to another person, face-to-face. Even when we are suddenly bored, we may go online and check on our social media apps/accounts. In this day of age with social media, one can say that it may become addicting but the result would be that one couldn’t accomplish anything in their lives.
As bad as it seems, social media does provide benefits. It helps reconnect to families and friends that anybody had not seen in awhile or living out of state or country. It also have some uses. According to Roma Kapadiya, researchers found that social media can: make users feel involved, help provide a voice against any unjust act or issue, develop relationships, provides and share valuable information. It also help in the marketing and advertising industries for promoting products and creates a brand across the world, generates revenue and gives quick results for sales and revenues.
Personally I believe that while social media can be very distracting and a time waster, we as people need Social media as it’s a way to connect to others from far away and it’s a very easy way to connect to people who have the same interests. Social media as a whole in my opinion is fantastic and despite the negatives that it has it just goes to show how important it is to all of us. It impacts our lives because of how engrossed we are in it and how often we go to check on others that we share the mutual respect, interests and friendships with. It shapes all of our lives and that’s why it’s important to stay and have it around for a long time to come.
Knowledge can have many forms. But which are true?
Information can appear from almost anywhere, whether it be word of mouth, online or in a book. But that information that you could possibly be reading might be different elsewhere. Would you then put your trust in the material you are reading or would you look somewhere else? With all the information being passed around is too much of it bad? Or is it a good thing? Well I’m here to tell you what I think about the Democratization of Knowledge.
What exactly is the Democratization of Knowledge? Basically, it’s the means of having knowledge available to the people thanks to technology. The use of technology meant that information could be shared throughout the internet and in turn, can help out in a lot of different scenarios. I believe personally that the means of sharing information around is great.
One of the main reason’s why I think the means of sharing information is great is because it’s convenient and beneficial. How often do you look for something that you don’t know online on your phone? It’s so easy and accessible that it doesn’t require much effort to even do at all. As said by Larry Sanger (the co-founder of Wikipedia) in the article “Who Says We Know,” “you aren’t limited to looking at what The New York Times and Encyclopedia Britannica are taking for granted. You can turn to online sources that reflect a far broader spectrum of opinion…”
With this in mind it’s so much easier for students to learn in their studies and much more helpful than ever. You can simply go on the internet and find the information that you are seeking for. One of the common criticisms against information on the web is that the information could be wrong or misleading but personally for me that just encourages more discussion between students and professors alike.
That isn’t to say that it’s perfect as there are some cons that come with it. Certain websites like Wikipedia, for example, constantly has information changed on the website and sometimes the information given could be misinformation or wrong, or maybe you search something online and still don’t get the concrete answer that you are looking for. Not much can be done about this aside from looking at books and asking others for more info.
Overall, however, I find that sharing information is extremely helpful and educational and I don’t really have any issues on how people share information online. It might have its cons but the pros definitely outweigh it in my opinion. Sharing info online is a huge benefit to our society and learning and I hope it doesn’t change.
The greatest form of flattery or blatant plagiarism?
Would it be wrong if someone else used a piece of work that you created for promotional piece? The most common answer would be yes correct? But what if it was something like a tattoo design? If you understand what I’m getting at here then great, If not strap in because I’m talking about the tattoo lawsuit for the movie: The Hangover Part 2.
Now to be completely honest, I have not seen The Hangover Part 2 or any of the other movies of this series. So some research was required for this movie from my perspective. At first I thought the tattoo on the character “Stu” played by Ed Helms, was a reference to Mike Tyson, who interestingly is also a character in this movie series. But Mike Tyson appeared in the series before Ed Helms played his role in the series.
However, I noticed that the tattoo on Stu’s face was heavily advertised before the movie’s release in theaters for the Memorial Day weekend in 2011. It’s no wonder that the tattoo artist went and sued Warner Brothers. The artist, S. Victor Whitmill, was seeking damages for copyright infringement of the Tyson tattoo. He was also tried to prevent the movie from being released in theaters through injunction but was denied by the judge who handled the case.
Personally, I’m kind of split on this. On one hand, I do believe that Whitmill should get the money because the tattoo does consider as a work of art for its unique tribal design. As art, according to the article from Timothy Bradley of Coats & Bennett PLLC, it falls under the copyright realm of law. There was a similar case with a tattoo from NBA champion who was featured in a Nike commercial in 2005. The tattoo artist who created the tattoo sued Nike but was quickly settled.
On the other hand, I think Whitmill was wasting his time because he was being petty and just wanted compensation. As mentioned earlier Tyson appeared in both movies with the same tattoo. The tattoo didn’t have any real significance to the story itself and it was only one tattoo that was used in total. If it was more than one designs from the artist shown in the movies or even trailers, then maybe it would be a different story in my opinion.
However, I do believe that Warner Brothers was also at fault here because they should not have promoted the Tyson tattoo on the Stu character’s face heavily during its marketing of the movie. According to Travis Burchart of LexisNexis, the movie company were unauthorized for promotion of the tattoo, despite its irrelevancy, from the judge’s addressing the plaintiff’s likelihood of Success of the Merits factor. Although, the judge then stated if the injunction were in favor, the movie would had been halted and Warner Bros would lose millions of dollars as a business.
In the end though, what’s done is done. Whitmill’s copyright claim failed as the judge stated that Mike Tyson’s character appeared in previous movies and that if Whitmill made the copyright claim in the previous movie then he would have won. I believe that it’s just a tattoo that was simply used one time so there’s no harm in it. If anything it gives S. Victor Whitmill more exposure as a tattoo artist and that his work is excellent enough to be copied.
Adonis Glover Blog Post 1
Attractive or not, Cheating’s still wrong.
For a couple, you fall in love and then eventually get married. It is a possibility that the two of you are successful in life: have the dream job and enough money, married the person you want to be with for the rest of your life, have the house or mansion of your dreams. And maybe you created a family with kids and also include the pets as well. After the honeymoon phase, reality kicks itself back in for everyone getting back to their “normal” routine but with the additional responsibilities. For couples, it can be a bit difficult to handle those additional responsibilities on top of the regular ones (i.e. watching the young kids, cleaning the house, etc). With those responsibilities that may either interfere or even stress one or both individuals out, one may suggest outside help. Some may prefer family members outside the household, such as grandparents but others may hire professional help who has the experience.
If they took the latter route, it may be the best solution. But the daring question is: what if that professional home helper, regardless if that person is a nanny, maid, or butler, you just hired is so attractive, so beautiful or handsome to the point that it may risk your marriage?
Here’s an example, let’s just say you hired a nanny to watch your children whenever either one or both of you have professional responsibilities that need to attend to. Now, normally, nannies, as we have seen in the media: TV shows and movies, for example, are stereotypically, older females, more commonly in the age of grandmothers. What if the nanny is a younger female, her age ranged in the upper twenties or low thirties, that may have the beautiful looks, best body, and possible the perfect personality? This website might bring some light to the perspective.
In a male’s perspective, it may be impossible to avoid as that could cause the hormones “raging”, especially if the female has nice assets, unless he is very loyal to his wife. Same thing applies if the wife just happens to have hired an attractive male pool cleaner, who may have the chiseled face, strong physique and a personality that may “turn her on”. An urge to cheat is still a possibility that shouldn’t be ignored as it’s in our nature to be attracted to people that are visually pleasing.
It may be stereotypical, but I think it is impossible to avoid. The person may be attractive but that said person could also be highly professional. Every couple is different: some may be loyal and stay true as lovers, while others may accept temptation, regardless if the marriage is a risk or not. According to this New York Post article, studies have shown that the risk of marriage dissolution is highest where either wives or husbands encounter an abundance of spousal alternatives, which means ideas of getting divorce are bound to happen if one or both had an opportunity to cheat. Another article from Harper’s Bazaar noticed that insecurity could be the factor whenever the situation occurs, it is sending a huge red flag in a marriage.
This situation does not apply to only heterosexual couples. It can happen to couples in the LGBT community as well and similar reasons above can still apply to those in that community. However those couples who are in open relationships and allow polygamy in their relationships is a story for another time.
I think it is best for couples who have very good judgement in character, hired the professionals whom have the experience of handling household responsibilities, regardless if that person is attractive or not. They should be worried about their significant other instead of their desires, and temptations. Keeping hormones in check and stopping thoughts of insecurity are the best way for making marriages stay in tact. In fact, it is also the best idea to avoid divorces as much as possible.
Introduce Yourself (Example Post)
This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.
You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.
Why do this?
- Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
- Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.
The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.
To help you get started, here are a few questions:
- Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
- What topics do you think you’ll write about?
- Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
- If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?
You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.
Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.
When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.
The Bloggiest of Blogs to ever Blog (AG) 