Blog Comments

I think its pretty ridiculous that people suing for this reason.  Although it may be true that the children cannot recognize the marketing that’s going on, its a toy in the kids meal.  Can’t the parents ask to not have a toy?

I completely agree. Mars should be working towards setting themselves a part from Hershey’s. They are very competitive, but there isn’t a noticeable difference. Mars should do better to make themselves stand out.

To some extent, I understand why Stewart doesn’t want to constantly be in the public eye. Like other young women in Hollywood, it might be better for her to lay low until she grows older. Too many women are ending up like Lindsay Lohan because the media drives them crazy, but Stewart could be pleasant when she’s declining people an interview

There is always an amount of respect that a teacher deserves.  Its inherent, they did the work to earn it and students most definitely should recognize it.  I don’t know if I would classify the lack of work or attentiveness to the class as rude though.  Its lazy, but who knows the circumstances, other than that lazy person.  I will always give someone a chance until they prove me wrong.

All I can say is “FINALLY”.  Its about time that homosexuality was talked about on a more national level.  The negative stigma that has been attached to those who like the same sex has been around for too long and its simply not fair.  Its time to make the change and these PSAs are getting us on track

I think that cyber Monday is AWESOME.  I would much rather do my shopping online rather than at the mall on black Friday.  I absolutely HATE going to the mall when there is millions of people there, its my definition of MAYHEM.  Thank jeebus for the internet.

I agree.  I think you and your friends are doing a great thing by not getting each other gifts.  The holiday season always makes me more stressed out because i’m trying to scrounge money to get my friends gifts.  I would much rather spend my money eating and havingI also am guilty of believing everything I read on facebook.  I just feel like its such a free and open forum, that people would be credible enough to only post true things about themselves.

When I heard about this, I thought it was wild. First of all, why are we still talking about the Goessling children? And secondly, why is it in national news that two CHILDREN got expelled. I think its time America stepped aside from our fascination with this family and just let the kids live.

I think that he had every right to preach what he wanted in the quad.  Although I do NOT agree with what he was saying, its just another way of getting his “word” out.  I think that as college students we are challenged everyday to analyze other points of view on a daily basis. Preachers and politicians are very similar.  They have their points and they will stop at nothing to get the point across.  This situation brought life to SIUEs campus. People were standing up for their beliefs in a very public forum.  Not something we see everyday.

Conan is Back!

Prior to 2009 Conan O’Brien was most well known as the host of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” on NBC, but that would hold true forever.  In 2004 Conan  met with NBC to negotiate his new contract.  Both sides agreed that he would take over the “Tonight Show” from Jay Leno in 2009.

On June 1st, the “Tonight Show” debuted its new host, Conan O’Brien.    Leno also started his new show which aired at an earlier time.  Although O’Brien found success in ratings, Leno wasn’t happy because his ratings were suffering.  NBC met with both Leno and O’Brien on January 7, 2010, to discuss moving Leno out of the prime time spot which would essentially push Conan’s time-slot back.  It was decided that Leno’s show would be at 11:35 and Conan at 12:05.

Understandably, Conan was upset.  He worked hard to get that show and was ticked that NBC wouldn’t give him more of a chance.  On January 21st, 2010, Conan reached a $45 million dollar agreement with NBC and left the network.

It was his use of the social media that kept Conan in the public eye.  With Twitter and a website called teamcoco.com, Conan kept his fans aware of what was going on, and assured them that he would be back. In May 2010, Conan appeared on 60 minutes to let everyone know that he was fine.

By keeping his hopes and his mood light, Conan found a new home at TBS.  On his last episode of the “Tonight Show,” Conan left his fans with this,

“And all I ask is one thing and this is… I’m asking this particularly of young people that watch. Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism; for the record it’s my least favorite quality, it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen. I’m telling you, amazing things will happen. I’m telling you, it’s just true.”

AKL “Go to Hell”

Southern Illinois Fraternity Alpha Kappa Lambda (AKL) put on a Halloween costume party with all proceeds going to charity.  The party was held on October 30, 2010 and over two thousand students bought tickets and the party was a success.

I think this was a fantastic for AKL’s philanthropy.  Greek life here at SIUE’s greek life is constantly growing and I think that having events like this will only help their cause.  Many question the social scene at SIUE, they believe it is not very strong because of our lack of a promising downtown area.

Things like this will not only help SIUE’s greek life, but the university as a whole.

Christina Aguilera in ‘Burslesque’

Christina Aguilera has grown up since her days on Disney’s “Micky Mouse Club,” where she shared the spotlight with other stars such as Justin Timberlake and Brittany Spears.  A few years ago, Spears and Aguilera went head to head on the fast track to stardom.  During that time, they went from being the “girls next door,” to sex symbols.

The media and public relentlessly demanded more from these girls leaving them with absolutely no privacy. Brittany Spears buckled under the pressure and all of her escapades were highly publicized.

Since that time, Aguilera has remained out of the spotlight.  Aguilera wed and started a family.  Although she recently got divorced, Aguilera is starting to come back into the limelight.

Her new movie will not only display her vocal talent, but it could also open the door for other opportunities in Hollywood.  I think this movie is a great way for Aguilera to come back into the public eye.  With the support of her costar Cher, Aguilera will succeed, making headlines yet again.

Life After Harry Potter

Recently our class discussed the Harry Potter class and what they could do to get out of the characters that they have played for so long, which got me thinking.. Should they jump right into another role right away?  Or would it be wiser for them to take a break?

Emma Watson is taking classes at Brown.  In a recent article in Marie Claire magazine, Emma talks about her interests and how she plans on getting away from her Harry Potter character, Hermione Granger.  Personally, I think its wise for her to do this.  Obviously all of the characters are sitting pretty financially, so it wouldn’t necessarily hurt them to shy away from other movie offers.

If these characters take the wrong steps right after such a gigantic series, it could potentially ruin the rest of their careers.   Their first choice needs to be their best choice.  If not, they may just wash up like a lot of other child stars.

Boss Orders Females to Wear Red Bracelets During Menstration

Female office-goers in Norway have been ordered to wear red bracelets during menstruation, so that nobody asks why they were using the restroom more often.  The manager noticed that during a certain time of the month, that women were using the bathroom more frequently.

How is this fair?  Should those who have to go number two wear a brown bracelet? I don’t know very many people who have the audacity to ask someone why they were in the bathroom a little bit longer.

It’s not fair that women be subjected to this and i think it reflects horribly on the country of Norway, as a whole.  Although I realize that this is one company in an entire country, it is difficult for me to get passed it.  We seldom hear news about other countries in the United States, and something like this has made me question whether or not I actually know what’s going on in Norway.

Hillary Clinton in Chile at Miners’ Rescue

A few days ago, you couldn’t pull me away from the t.v. as I watched the last few Chilean miners get pulled up to safety.  I then realized that I saw a familiar face.  That face being, our Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.  Clinton was celebrating and congratulating all of those who were being pulled to safety. She sang along with the crowd, and participated the Chilean cheers and chants.

I don’t think people realize just what that publicity could do for not only Hillary Clinton, but also for the United States in general.  Regardless of whether or not Clinton played a part in that catastrophe, she was there for the most important moment.  When the thirty-third miner was pulled out of the NASA made contraption, Clinton was one of the first people he saw and embraced.  He thanked her repeatedly.  I’m not entirely sure what for, but regardless he gave her attention, which in the end made her look involved.

Clinton, representing the USA was seen by millions all across the World.

How does ‘word of mouth affect you’?

Recently my friends and I were talking about the band MGMT.  We were talking about MGMT’s last album and how much more I liked it in comparison to their more recent album.  Some of my friends have seen the band perform live which I haven’t yet had the pleasure of doing.  They told me that the band was terrible live and they didn’t sound anything like what we have heard on their album.

I realized at that moment that I would probably never pay money to see the band, and if by chance I did find a cheap show to go to, it would only be to see if my friend’s opinions were true.  Hearing them complain about the band’s live performance completely turned me off to them as artists.  I find it hard to enjoy music that I know has been manipulated so much in studio that the artist don’t exhibit the same sound live.

This has happened to me on more than one occasion, and I can only imagine that it has happened to others as well.  It can be said that this band may have lost a fan simply through ‘word of mouth’.

Domino’s “Pizza Turnaround”

As many of you may have noticed, the beloved American pizza franchise Domino’s has been working relentlessly to take beat out the other contenders such as Pizza Hut and Papa Johns.  In the new Domino’s advertisements, they make it clear that the changes were brought on by the customer.  Domino’s definitely wasn’t the first one to offer a “new and improved product,” but they it would be very hard to find another company that was willing to say where they went wrong.

December marked the start of the new documentary-esque campaigns.  Domino’s showed real people with real complaints, something the general public is not used to seeing. As of lately, everytime my friends and I discuss what pizza we should get Domino’s always comes up.  We discuss the changes they have made and how much we like them.  Although Domino’s isn’t my favorite, I still think that they are doing a great job showing the public that they are willing to make a change.  They are working hard to be America’s favorite pizza.

Colbert & Stewart Call on Youth

Comedy Central’s late night show ‘The Colbert Report’ has been growing in popularity ever since its debut in 2005.  Starring the very American political humorist Steven Colbert.  The ‘Report’ has had an evergrowing cultural influence (in 2006 Colbert encouraged viewers to vote online to name a bridge after him in Hungary, he won the first round of voting with 17,231,724 vote.)

Recently, Colbert and Jon Stewart (host of The Daily Show, also on Comedy Central) decided to call on the youth of our nation with “The March to Keep Fear Alive,”  and Stewart’s “Rally to Restore Sanity,” which will take place in Washington D.C. on October 30th.

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/17/stewart-colbert-rally-to-restore-sanity_n_720588.html

 

You can watch the introduction to both of these rallies on the website listed above.  I think it will be very interesting if the youth turns up for these two comedians.