Harry Potter Tour

My daughter is a HUGE fan of Harry Potter and I own all the movies.  When we first heard about the new Harry Potter attraction, we were stoked.  Now that it is finally completed, it is now of the bucket list of family vacations.  Thank goodness I have a timeshare in Daytona Beach every Christmas week.  Orlando is just about an hour from there.  

 

Before I went into the Army, we lived in Florida for 10 years as a family.  Every Christmas we go to Orlando and "feed the mouse or the whale" as we called it.  That was the big family gift.  The tour looks like a blast and based on the visit to Universal Studios in the past, this attraction will not disappoint I am sure.

There is a huge money franchise in Harry Potter that will feed the imagination of children for years to come.

 

Screening Room - Mark Osbourne's "More"

"More" is a touching short film that took Mark Osbourne nine months to create in his garage. It was nominated in 1999 for Best Short Film.  It is a stop motion short about a man looking for happiness and inventing what looks like "Google goggles" that create a visual world of bliss. 

 

The downside is once he has it the fire within him is gone.  His chase of the memories of his blissful childhood and the subsequent invention change him into the person that he least wanted to be.  Now everyone can see beyond the drab colorless world that they drone through every day.

It is very touching six minute short film.  The concept and execution were spot on.  Definitely something everyone will enjoy.

The Warner Brother Virtual Tour

I love me some "The Big Bang Theory".  For that alone, I would go on the tour.  It makes geek sexy and the humor is awesome.  Finally us science nerds get some "cool" attention.

 Holy crap to hear Bernadette's real voice, wow and it is cool that Mayim Bialik actually has a PhD.

Yes, Ellen and Colin Firth video was super cute.  So glad that there is going to be a Dory movie.  Can't wait to see.

The Weather Channel Virtual Tour

Okay, it's great that the Weather Channel decided to build green when building their new studio.  But the virtual tour was not as crisp and user friendly as the New Times Virtual Tour.  That virtual tour was better orchestrated, which is funny since the Weather Channel deals with visual media and broadcasting far more than the New York Times does.  Maybe it is the whole New York thing, gotta do things bigger and better.

None the less, hats off to Weather Channel for being Eco-friendly.  

The New York Times Virtual Tour

Nicolai Ouroussoff is correct about the institutional exterior feeling of the New York Building with the rods, steel beams, and grayness of it.  But I did find the atrium to be rather beautiful with the birch trees and green mossy ground cover.  It added a bit of serenity to the interior and made it feel a bit organic.

The interior design colors are not user-friendly to me.  Why make the stairs a focal point?  Red is not one of my favorite in interior design.  My new house came with a red dining room wall as a focal piece that I immediately painted a lovely cilantro green.  In the cafeteria it is fine.  Red does induce a sense of hunger in a person.  But not the stairs..... you are paying attention to those more than you are the action and buzz of the newsroom,

The building does look a bit "sexier" at night with the lights gleaning off of the structure and surrounding area.  I'm still partial to the original building.  Neo-gothic to me is way cooler than urban sleek.

Recording Studios Tour

Okay, that was a LOT of fun.  Music is my passion and karaoke is my playground.  I have even sung in a local band and laid some tracks for friends who produce their own music.

The tour of Pachyderm Studio introduced me to a new band that I have never heard of but am now an instant fan..... Indigenous and their song "Little Time".  The sound just makes you move in your seat.  Very infectious.  It sounds a lot like my cousin's music in Metairie.  Very cool indeed.

But the trivia about Blue Jay Studios and how Aerosmith, while laying tracks for Night in the Ruts, tested how  soundproof the walls really were.  Very assume!  But one of the partners of the studio is none other than Kevin Richardson of the Backstreet Boys.  Oh how I was subjected to their music when my daughter was growing up.  The background jazz infusion music playing as you tour the website was way too cool.  

Makes me want to make a personal pilgrimage to one of the studios.  Who wants to join me?











 

State of the Media

Well it is good to know that I'm not in the "in crowd" in television viewership.  

I'm a ABC kind a girl.  I think some of that was formed because of my time overseas and exposure to Armed Forces Network (AFN).  Much of the news coverage was ABC with a sprinkling of other news affiliates here and there.  Also my childhood was spent watching Joan Lunden on Good Morning America.  My mom watched every morning when I was a little girl.

I was surprised by how popular NBS Nightly News was and I knew that the Today Show dominated as it has for decades.  Poor CBS trailing in the pack.  But I still watch CBS Sunday Morning like clockwork.  Another one of those family traditions instilled in me.

What I am not surprised by is the surge of online media taking command as the traditional outlets of newspapers, magazines, and television slowly losing ground.  What I was surprised by was the strength that radio still has.  But then I thought about for a moment and remember all the road trips to my folks' house in Texas and how I am a captive audience for 12 hours in my Suburban flipping through radio stations until I can find one that I will enjoy.  Makes me wonder if Sirius or Pandora is worth the money?

Ethics Decision Making

Okay this touches very close to home for many reasons.  

The first case about "Miracle Match" and whether accuracy plays a key in journalism.  At my job, I see various individuals every day struggling with life "speed bumps".  Monikers that they carry because not everyone in society is felon forgiving.  This was a very touchy story about the gift of life and about a man who is legitimately trying to turn his life around.  Yet I would agree with the letters to the editor, that Alton Rowe Jr didn't need his "dirty laundry" aired to the American public.  Yes, journalism is supposed to be unbiased but how relevant were his arrests to the article?

Plagiarism:  Stolen Words: How One Paper Responded... that was a clear case to me having signed so many ethics code agreements in college.  Michael Kinney probably had as well during his studies and would have been keenly aware of what he was doing and the consequences involved.  His race should have no merit in this discussion.  What he did was wrong and the result was he was fired which was a just reaction.

Privacy: I agree with the article "Brave Girl Now Victim Without A Name", everyone was eager to put the young girl's name out there to save her life but to retract because of the circumstances of her abduction and resulting capture and charges of her abductor.  I am a recent victim of rape.  I am going through the painful process of the court system.  My rape does not make nor does it make her less of a person.  We are brave enough to stand up to our attackers and have them held accountable.  Do not lessen us making us feel invisible.  Hear us scream, see how we are taking to steps to heal, admire our courage, but DON'T ignore us.

Internet Safety

Okay, I know that I am dating myself with this blog but when the internet first became popular in the early 90's, this topic was hot on a young mother's mind.  My children were in grade school and internet was the "coolest" thing out there.

My ex-husband and I would monitor what sites the kids could go on and who they were chatting with.  Back then it wasn't much of a problem as it is today, but it was still a problem none the less.  

I wish the games that the games that Professor Baltrip had mentioned were available back then.  As an adult, they were a bit corny.  But of the two I enjoyed the AT&T Safety game more even though the background music as a tad on the ridiculous side.

The Bad Guy Patrol was a little too cheesy for me.  But then again, I'm not a kid anymore (well maybe one a heart).  The whole capture the flag concept reminded me of summer camp and those aren't the best childhood memories I have.

I know at work when customers bring children in, we will let them use the computers to play games on the Disney or Nick Jr websites.  But even with those you still have to be careful.  Parents should monitor where their children are on the internet and to whom they speak too.  It's not about trusty them, it's about loving them and being a responsible parent!
 

Banning Profanity

This is a very difficult topic, a double edge sword as it were.  On the one hand, I agree that internet should not be censored.  As a former member of the military, I fought for the rights of freedom of speech.

But as a parent, I do feel that there is some responsibility on my part to ensure that my children are not exposed to material that is not age appropriate.  They are adults now and free to make their own choices.

The internet was a gift and free to all users.  But that gift should not be abused.  Government already interferes in my aspects of our lives that they didn't thirty, fifty, or even one hundred years ago because someone did not USE common sense.  If only everyone was issued common sense like the military issues uniforms.  Alas, that's only in a perfect world.

Responsible adults should be making the choices and those who are offended can simply click the mouse and move on.  Or better yet, unplug the computer.

The chroma key aka "green screen" processing is the latest development in the special effects imaging world.  The process is a relative to the original bluescreen technique developed in the 1930's by RKO Radio Pictures as a travelling matte.  This process allowed cinemaphotographers to layer images enabling actors to appear to be in places or scenes that truly did not exist.

 

Oz: The Great and Powerful is a beautiful example of how Chroma Key technology excels.  The film starts off in black and white and layers period styling to the film.  When James Franco's character crosses into the Land of Oz, the film explodes with color and creatures of wild varieties.  China Doll, who is one of my favorite characters, has the appearance of china.  None of this would have been possible without the green screen special effects.

The technology continues to grow.  I remember films like the original Star Wars trilogy and how we were all amazed at the special effects in 1977.  Then George Lucas reimages the films to add the ideas and visions had originally envisioned but he was unable to achieve because the technology just wasn't there yet. 

It will be very interesting to see how films will look in another 20 to 30 years.

The Great Train Robbery

It is amazing to think that the invention of the motion picture camera was only six years ago when this film was made. It must have seemed very advanced to the average movie watcher. The special effects were realistic for that time frame even though they appear very corny to us today.

 

Thomas Edison was very proud of all his achievements and I am sure this was definitely one of his crown jewels.  I wonder if he was even thinking about the longivity that this film may see. 

Today it is one of the oldest motion pictures in existence. a time capsule as it were into early 20th century.  The Library of Congress has it registered in their directory as a piece of cinematography. 

On a lighter note, Edwin Porter made a parody of his film in 1905 called "The Little Train Robbery".  The cast was made entirely of children.  Interesting little fun fact.

 

 

Blue Store or Redbox

Blockbuster vs Netflix interesting concept.....like the newspapers, Blockbuster has seen its market share plummet thanks to the introduction of Netflix.  I personally have never used Netflix but my kids do all the time.  They love the idea of getting a movie and being able to return it.  

I'm old school though.  If I get a movie, it's because I want to own it and all the special features that come all with it.  I have over 730 DVDs in my collection.  Yes the idea of Netflix is that of convenience and Blockbuster has always been on the mind set of getting the most money they possibly can.  But customer service is the key to a successful business strategy and without that Blockbuster will never be able to compete with Netflix.

 

Old Time Radio Shows

Recently for my Gerontology class, I had to interview my 94 year old Grandma.  It was ironic that part of the interview also related to this course.  During the course of the interview we discussed the innovations that have occurred during her lifetime.  Radio and television came up.

As a young girl on a farm in Ottawa, Illinois, every evening was spent in the family living room listening to the radio.  That was their connection to the world outside of their farming community.  When Lindbergh was a young mail carrier, he would fly over their farm regularly and wave to the kids.  When he made his trip across the Atlantic, her family was glued to the radio.  So that is the radio show I choose to listen to.

This show was my way of connecting to my Grandma's past.  In today's standards, a trip across the Atlantic is no big deal but 80 years ago it was a heroing adventure.
  

Napster vs. iTunes

Okay, I admit it.  I was one of "those guys" when Napster first came out over a decade ago, I had an account and over 20,000 songs in my library.  It took me months to build that library.  Then at the peak, Napster got into some serious hot water with copyrights, stolen merchandise, etc. and my account became locked.

Fast forward a decade, I am now an iTune junkie.  I have somewhere close to 60,000 songs, TV shows, movies, etc. in my iPod because of my iTune account.  Except for the periods of my deployments (iTunes doesn't work in Iraq or Afghanistan because of piracy issues) I have lovely built my portfolio.

Today with Napster you pay a monthly fee but the variety is very limited.  Many artists refuse to allow their works to be available on Napster even after they started making you pay.  iTunes is limitless.  You can find just about everything.  Download a whole album or just your favorite song and better yet throw it on your iCloud and it will go everywhere with you.  

I guess you could say that I am a convert.  My iPod goes everywhere.  It is the soundtrack of my life.  I vote for Team iTunes! 

Death of the Newspaper

This morning there was a piece on CBS Sunday Morning about "Variety".  Variety Pens Boffo Script For Future Biz   Variety made many stars in the golden age of movies.  It started in New York in 1905 as a daily about the vaudeville scene, Broadway, and then during the birth of motion pictures moved out to California during the 1930's.  Today, it is considered a dinosaur because of the age of internet and sites like The Wrap or Deadline.com.

Variety has launched its own website http://www.variety.com/ but this site can't compete with the others because it is charging its readers for access.  Which has prompted the owners to re-vamp the site.
 

Variety has over 24 slang words in the dictionary because of the language or shorthand they used in the dailies.  Words like striptease, punchline, and sitcom are part of our normal vernacular. 

Translation : Farmers don't like movies about themselves

Call me old school, but I enjoy holding a paper in my hands and that mentality will keep some papers going even if in the virtual world.  I enjoy doing the Sudoku with my cup of coffee.  But now a days, I have to go to Stars & Stripes on the internet and print it off.

Let's Ban Books

I remember as a young girl at Mobile Christian School a group of parents were trying to ban a couple of books.  I was seven and I don't remember the books but I do remember how angry my mother was.  She told me about the time this happened to her.  She made it her mission to allow my brother and I to read whatever books we wanted.  She wanted us to be exposed to the written word.

As my children were growing up, I made sure that if they want a book to read I would give it to them....even if there wasn't money for them.  I never denied them those.  My daughter is a huge fan of the Harry Potter series and the Hunger Games series.  I was surprised to learn that the Hunger Games was one of the books that the American Library Association's (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) received requests to remove.  These books encourage on young people to read.  They teach them a wider vocabulary, strengthen knowledge, promote growth.  

Now I appreciate the premise of wanting to protect our children from adult subjects (sex, vulgar language, graphic violence, etc.).  However, these same subjects are readily available on the internet and television.  So that is a relatively futile endeavor.  But back in the 30's and 40's people were banning books that were American classics like To Kill A Mockingbird.  Hitler enforced book burning as a form of control.  

Grow-up people!  Let's remove this antiquated idea and embrace the fact that YOUR child wants to pick up something that is bond in leather and smells like a library.  A place seldom visited these days.

Fish and Visitors Stink After Three Days

Funny, I have heard that saying all my life.  All the women (on either side of the family) would say this.  I never realized that it was a quote from Poor Richard's Almanack until this class.  
There is a ring of truth to it.  Having company is great but after about three or four days, it tends to get a little old and uncomfortable.  And having worked in the Army's dining facilities I can assure you that fish definitely smell before the third day.

There are many quotations drawn from the humor and wisdom of Benjamin Franklin.  Something I will never live down is when I was homeschooling my daughter for her 8th grade year, I had her read the autobiography of Benjamin Franklin in conjunction with her studies of the American Revolution.  It was the worst read!  He is a very egotistical gentleman who thought that he was God's gift.  She has never let me live that down.

    

Social Interaction

I remember growing up my mother would say “Go play in 5 o’clock traffic”.  This was my cue to grab my bike and go play outside until the street lights came on.  All the neighborhood kids would be there.  We’d play fort, tag, hide and seek, and all the other kid games.  Life was good.  Today, you can do all that stuff virtually with people not only in your backyard but half a world away as well. 

"Does the internet isolate people from real social interaction?" asks the textbook.  It is a matter of interpretation.  There are arguments for both sides.  The internet has made this a very small world where we can purchase goods and services from the farthest reaches of the planet.  You can sit in front of your webcam and speak to your family while being deployed in Afghanistan or Iraq.  Or log into Facebook, Twitter, Google, or any other social media outlet and have your ideas and voice heard.  For those who are socially shy and get that feeling of stage fright, you no longer have to worry about that in front of the keyboard because you’re not confronting anyone personally.

The counter argument is that people have lost the ability to communicate effectively through the numerous shortcuts, emo-icons, slangs, and other nuisances of today’s technical language.  The art of conversation and fluid balance of the written word is lost on today’s generation.  Gone are the vivid, luxurious sentences of Jane Austin, James Fennimore Cooper or Nathanial Hawthorne describing the simplest gesture, article of clothing, or emotion.  And yet, those same individuals were quiet individuals in society who wouldn’t have had a voice if they had not become authors.  What would they be like with today’s technology?  Would Jane Austin be a hash-tagging addict?  Would Nathanial Hawthorne be on Pinterest?

Just a little food for thought……

Media Convergence

After watching Jeff Greenfield's CBS Sunday Morning commentary on media convergence, it made me reflect on all the changes that have occurred during my lifetime.  I remember growing up, my mother made my brother and I sit down and write thank you notes after every birthday and Christmas.  We would be at the dining room table with paper, envelopes, and stamps handwriting each card.  Today that seems so old-fashioned to most.  All you have to do now I jump onto Facebook and make a quick post.

Sad that children in elementary school no longer have to practice writing, they submit their papers as word documents.  I blew my mind when my son didn't make a “true signature”.  He block signed his name on something which immediately brought on an impromptu lesson on the importance of a signature and the history behind it.  Lost is the art of communication.  Just look at the letters from our fore fathers and any literary great, the language used two centuries ago doesn't even resemble the language of today full of hash tags and emo-icons.

 My son is a prime example of this generation and how the stay connected with society.  Everything he does is via computer.  He talks to people all over the world via the internet.  He will be in his room watching Netflix, playing an interactive computer game, texting on his cell phone, and if I’m lucky answering the questions that I have for him.  In this global world, one would think it would be better but I miss the days of sitting down with a cup of coffee and doing the crossword in the daily newspaper like my Grandmommy did.

Media Convergence

Internet Junkie

After taking the netaddition.com survey, it was determined that I am an average user with a score of 29.  I use the internet every day for business, school, and personal uses.  I was happily surprised that I wasn't as addicted as I thought I was.

During my deployments to Iraq, the internet was my lifeline home.  My mother was the one who actually got me on Facebook.  I could chat with her regularly as well as both of my children.  Phone service over there was hit or miss, so was the internet for that matter.  But Soldiers relayed on Skype, Yahoo Messenger, and Facebook to reconnect with the ones they loved.

After you've answered all the questions, add the numbers you selected for each response to obtain a final score. The higher your score, the greater your level of addiction and the problems your Internet usage causes. Here's a general scale to help measure your score:

20 - 49 points: You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage.

50 -79 points: You are experiencing occasional or frequent problems because of the Internet. You should consider their full impact on your life.

80 - 100 points: Your Internet usage is causing significant problems in your life. You should evaluate the impact of the Internet on your life and address the problems directly caused by your Internet usage.

After you have identified the category that fits your total score, look back at those questions for which your scored a 4 or 5. Did you realize this was a significant problem for you? For example, if you answered 4 (often) to Question #2 regarding your neglect of household chores, were you aware of just how often your dirty laundry piles up or how empty the refrigerator gets?

Say you answered 5 (always) to Question #14 about lost sleep due to late-night log-ins. Have you ever stopped to think about how hard it has become to drag yourself out of bed every morning? Do you feel exhausted at work? Has this pattern begun to take its toll on your body and your overall health?

Congratulations, your score is: 29