Cruise Ship Hit with Virus

The Carnival Liberty docked after a virus sickened nearly 700 passengers on a trans-Atlantic cruise.  The outbreak is believed to be the highly contagious Norovirus,  a group of viruses that cause stomach flu symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting and stomach cramps.  I find this news a little surprising because I have been on many cruises and the last one I went on, they had hand sanitizer machines all over the ship.  This was to make sure everyone was germ free aboard the ship.  I feel terrible for those passengers and crew members who were infected.  This is no way for passengers to enjoy their vacation and crew members already have a tough life being away from family for many months at a time.  I’m not sure what further precautions can be made to prevent this in the future, but I’m sure something will be thought of.

High School Without Cell Phones

Parents who oppose the cell phone ban in New York’s public schools are ranting in e-mails to the city’s government that the policy is unreasonable and irresponsible.  I had no idea that there was a ban by New York state against cell phones in New York.  I understand why this policy in intact, but I feel that there is no need for it.  Students should be able to have their phones, but keep them on silent or have them vibrate while class is in session.  That way the distractions are limited.  You never know what kind of emergencies may come about.  That is the point in having a cell phone.  I think that this ban should be looked further into. 

TOMPAT

This is a poster that I foundfrom espn.com.  I found it amusing because it basically combined the 2 events that I enjoyed over the weekend, football and Borat.  It is funny because it takesTom Brady and uses a play on words with Borat since the Patriots just lost to the Colts.   Instead of cultural learnings its “colt-ural” learnings.  It is also amusing because Tom Brady can be seen as the poster boy of the NFL compared to Borat being the example that we have of Kazakhstan.  The picture would have been a little weird if there was no caption.  This related to the work done by Kruger.  The text helps to illustrate what the viewer should think and feel about the piece.

YouTube on Your Cell Phone???

YouTube and Verizon are very close to a deal that will make it possible for Verizon users to be able to access YouTube video footage through V cast.  This will most likely give Verizon an advantage over any other cell phone provider.  Cell phones these days are getting crazier and crazier.  Now they have cameras, can play music, give you news and sports scores, and now you will be able to watch videos from YouTube.  The celing is the limit for cellular phones.  I can’t even imagine what state cell phones will be in in 3 years.  My guess is something crazy like you can watch live TV and use the cell phone as a credit card.  Who knows?  Only time will tell…

Dove True Colors Ad

This is another ad made by Dove. Like the Dove Evolution ad, this ad is for the Real Beauty campaign. It portrays how teenage girls and young girls don’t feel beautiful and shows them how they would want to change something about them. One girl wishes she were blond, another girl wishes she didn’t have freckles, and another girl is afraid she is fat. Dove wants girls to think they are beautiful no matter what. They want girls to show their true colors and see that they can be brave and beautiful for who they are. Dove wants to raise the self esteem of these young girls. I like this ad, but not as much as the Dove Evolution ad. This True Colors ad hits more emotions, but I think the Evolution ad hits the mind more.

Miss Hill Has a Lot of FAITH Until….

This clip is from the Country Music Awards that took place on Monday night and shows the award for Female Vocalist of the Year.  Faith Hill throws her hands up in the arm as if she had won and then when it clicks that her name was not called, she screams “WHAT!”  To me this clip is hysterical because it shows how unprofessional and immature superstars get be.  My friend told me that she tried to cover it up by saying that she was doing it as a joke, but it doesn’t seem like it was that way to me at all.  She looked legitamitly upset and furious.  She looked like she was ready to walk up also.  I just wish that ABC had shown her reaction after Carrie Underwood won the award.  I bet it was priceless.

I’ll Take a Whopper with Marijuana Please…

During election day I have chosen to write about this ridiculous story instead.  Two police officers sued Burger King Corp., claiming they were served hamburgers that had been sprinkled with marijuana.  The two officers went to the drive-thru and were half way done with their burger before they discovered the marijuana on the meat.  The officers used a field test kit to confirm the substance was pot, then went to a hospital for medical evaluations.  I find it crazy that workers at Burger King would try to impair law enforcement officers.  It is crazy to do that to anyone, but to do it to an officer makes it that much crazier.  First of all they are law enforcement officers.  Second of all, marijuana is illegal.  There are big consequences to pay for this and they deserve everything they get.

Marist Basketball Star

While browsing si.com, I stumbled upon a very interesting article.  Sports Illustrated had ranked the top 10 college basketball seniors in the country.  Little did I know that Marist’s own Jared Jordan ranked number 10.  Number 10 senior in the whole nation!!!  That is saying a ton since Marist isn’t a basketball powerhouse by any means.  Jordan led the nation in assists last season and is the captain and leader for this upcoming season.  I think it is great that a player from a small school like Marist got recognized.  This only makes me for excited for the start of the 2006/2007 basketball season because there is no experience quite like a basketball game at the McCann Center.

AHHH No More Seafood????

According to a report on cnn.com clambakes, crabcakes, swordfish steaks and even humble fish sticks could be little more than a fond memory in a few decades.  If current trends of overfishing and pollution continue, the populations of just about all seafood face collapse by 2048, a team of ecologists and economists warns in a report in Friday’s issue of the journal Science.  To me this is interesting because seafood is one of my favorite types of food.  I love lobster, crab, shrimp,  fish, clams, and muscles.  I think that its one thing if overfishing would could the lack of seafood to be available, but it is just ridiculous to have pollution be a main factor.  Sure, I am guilty from time to time for polluting, but it shouldn’t be a huge problem today.  I just don’t understand why Americans all over the country continue to pollute.  I hope that this report is not accurate because by the year 2048 I hope to still be alive and I hope to go out to dinner and enjoy a nice seafood dinner.

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