The point of a news source

News sources should be informative. They should report facts and happenings of things that are going around. Of course they can throw in opinion from different people, but it specifically has to be quoted as to who said what in a factual manner. Newspapers are meant to spread the word of what major events happen and situations of things in the larger world.

Print media, along with all other media, seems to fall under bias a lot of the time. They are in the market to be sold. It is for this reason that I believe newspapers are one form of news that, though different from online journalism, is in the same catagory as the rest. It will have bias, it will also have fact, but it will also have influence from outside forces that support it.

Because the newspaper industry is limping along, in a lot of ways, it is getting to be the most dependent on a lot of different things that provide profit, such as advertisements, sponsors, etc. I feel that the economy will improve sooner or later and help the newspapers get back into business. Also, those newspapers which fall under will give up their customers to others, helping the others stay afloat. In that way, it's sort of a Darwinist progression, but it seems none-the-less like it will be the case.

Where does my news come from?

If ever I am prone to reading news, I usually go online. I don't care to pay for a newspaper because I rarely will read all the way through it for both time reasons and because i usually don't have the patience. I think it's important to keep up with world / national issues, but for the most part I don't usually have the time to sit down and read a full newspaper. For that reason, when I need to go get news, I usually go for cnn.com and stick to that.

I try to focus on larger issues rather than more current issues because I want to know more about the world around me and how things are going. It is for this reason I don't usually go for newspapers generally close to home (ie national, not local papers).

The Importance of a Video Gaming Museum

Video Games have not had an extensive history, but they are definitely a look to future changes in our modern world. Already there've been so many effects on pop culture, internet culture, and even our day to day experiences that people are concerned whether video games are truly good for us or not.

There are many aspects to be explored in the world of video gaming, from their effects on us to their monumental achievements. For starters, some video games as of recently have been quite successful profit-wise. Some have even been more successful than movies.

In addition, it has inspired many one-liner jokes and phrases for use on the internet, from "All your base are belong to us" from the classic Zero Wing video game to the numerous characters that appear in everyday society, video games has been the cause of a lot of new ideas and elements in our daily lives.

Music, too, has been changed somewhat for video games because it involves writing music for a changing situation based on what the player does. It has also provided a lot of music during story sequences, as well as very famous tunes that even those who don't play the games know. Many people know music from the classic mario and zelda games, but haven't ever played the games themselves.

There's also controversy over the legitimacy of video games, content deemed inappropriate for younger players, and other things that make video games a heated debate in some ways. Overall, there's a lot of material for making a museum to showcase this clever pastime.

Museum Visit

The Museum I visited, Ripley's Believe it or Not in Hollywood, was quite interesting. It is full of artifacts that are interesting to look at, which easily kept people interested. I find that museums with only lots of things to read aren't all that interesting because, like poorly written hooks in essays, it fails to grab the attention of most people.

Also, there were many items that were not exhibits per se, but rather an interesting form of decoration. This could be a fountain that sends a bridge of water over the entrance to the museum, a one way mirror that people can experiment with facial expressions with, and a room with mirrors and rotating walls that suspends reality for some people. It's difficult to explain, but basically it looks like you're in a room that is spinning except for the "bridge" that you walk along to get to the other door of the room.

The colors were vibrant, but the museum was also informative as to interesting things that have happened, with full placards in some places to explain the event, as well as models of things/people that the stories are about. It was a very nice experience, and I hope to go again someday.

You think you've had a long flight?

Passengers aboard three flights scheduled to leave New York in February of 2008 were stranded onboard their planes for nearly 10 hours. Due to adverse weather conditions, planes were denied permission for takeoff, and waited for what they thought was a coming window to depart. However, the window never arrived, and JetBlue did not call for a bus to return the passengers back to the terminal.

Jetblue later issued an apology for the delays. It is still viewable on their website. They also decided to push for what they called a "Passenger Bill Of Rights." It would entitle passengers to vouchers in amounts variable depending on the length of their delays of their travel.

I am currently researching the response to the apology itself, but seeing as it was a heartfelt apology, as well as a nice gesture in penance for their fault, it seems like their apology was well-thought out and -given.

Critical Thinking in the Music Industry

Critical thinking is needed in a lot of ways in the music industry.

Before delving into the facts, I will list my definition of Critical Thinking:

"Critical thinking can be defined as the ability to take all aspects in a scenario or problem into account and analyze the evidence gathered in order to come to a logical conclusion or solution. In order to do so, one needs to find relevant issues related to the main topic, have methods of evidence gathering, and be able to judge the information’s relevance and/or validity. However, they must also be mature enough to take into account the aspects which do not support their original idea and perpetually update their position based on the evidence, whether they personally agree with it or not. In other words, one should not exclude evidence which does not support their original position, but rather use it to form a more solid conclusion." - My paper

For starters, interpretation of music is a task in itself. In order to interpret music, one must be open to ideas and explore various aspects about the music. There are many ways of looking at the music and many alleys of thought up for use, much like there are several ways of analysis for literature. For example, a very infrastructure-oriented view would ask the player to look at the way the music is written and what is actually on the page of music. Those with critical thinking, however would probably explore other areas of study.

For example, asking questions like "What did the composer want by writing it this way?" Or going the step further to say, "What was going on in the composer's life to make him write this?" All of these things give way to figuring out more about the depth of the piece, and thus influence the understanding of the player.

In addition, problem solving is key in the music world, especially with things that happen on and off the job. Be they personal problems, colleague conflicts, things are easier to figure out when you think and explore other aspects of the situation, such as other peoples' feelings and perspectives.

Maturity is an aspect, however, because people have to accept what is told to them. Sometimes, players decide to do it their own way just because they want to, rather than use the evidence in front of them just because they want to stick with what they originally wanted to do / and/or feel.

The Pope and Germany

Goldhagen makes the analogy between the pope and Germany before World War II to emphasize the severity of the situation. In a way, it is a parallel because he shows how people have specific ways of viewing situations which are somewhat closed-minded or at the very least unaccepting of new ideas.

It makes me wonder what the pope would say in response considering how strong the implications made here really are.