Magazine Project

Megan Fox is apperaing in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” Scheduled to be released June 24th.

Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend and is the un-official beginning to summer. It also marks the beginning to the summer movie season. This is when the studios put out their biggest movies of the year. This summer looks to be no different. There are many big movies coming out that look to be very entertaining. So it’s time for a summer movie preview.
One of the major releases will be “Terminator Salvation.” The first Terminator movie came out in 1984 and at the time represented the cutting edge of special effects. It seems that special effects have gotten better year after year. “In Terminator 2: Judgment Day” the T-1000 terminator dazzled the audience by seamlessly changing shapes. From the looks of the previews, this one looks to continue the trend. In “Terminator Salvation” Christian Bale plays the famed general, John Connor. Even though this movie occurs later chronologically, it is actually a prequel. John Connor is famous for defeated the robots. It is because he is able to defeats the robots that they travel back in time and try to kill his mother in “The Terminator” and then him as a teenager in “In Terminator 2: Judgment Day.” This looks to be a very exciting continuation of the story.
Another highly anticipated summer movie is “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.” This movie is similar to “Transformers” because it was a popular children cartoon that has been converted to a live action film. The elite military group known as G.I. Joe must take on the evil organization known as Cobra and prevent their brand of evil and make the world a better place.
“Transformers” also has a sequel coming out this summer in “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.” This promises to mirror the larger than life thrill ride that Director, Michael Bay produced the first time around two years ago. Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox appear in the sequel.
In another sequel, “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian,” Ben Stiller tries to continue the story of Larry Daley, the night security guard. When at night all of the exhibits at the museum come to life. This time it all happens at the Smithsonian, one of the most famous museums in the world. I hope this proves to be another great family film.
At the end of July, the comedy, “Funny People” will be released. This stars Adam Sandler as a comedian who finds out that he has a deadly disease and not long to live. He must deal with being on death’s door and then his rebirth after he finds out that he disease free. Life has given him a second chance to right all of his mistakes and regrets. It also stars Seth Rogan and Jonah Hill who were both hilarious in “Knocked Up” and “Superbad.” If this movie compares to some of the funnier movies that these three actors have been in, we could be in for a real comedy treat.
Next Friday it is time to grab your friends, buy some popcorn, and strap yourselves in the chair at your favorite movie theater. It is time for the summer blockbusters to begin. Happy watching.


The movies that I am looking forward to the most this summer:
Editor’s note: this list is subject to editing upon my discretion as level of interest either waxes or wanes
May 22:
“Terminator Salvations” - starring Christian Bale
“Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian” – starring Ben Stiller, Jonah Hill, Robin Williams
May 29:
“Up” – Pixar’s newest animated movie
June 5:
“Land of the Lost” – starring Will Ferrell, Danny McBride
June 12:
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 – starring Denzel Washington, John Trevolta
June 19:
“Year One” – starring Jack Black, Michael Cera
June 26:
“Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” – starring Megan Fox, Shia LeBeouf
July 3:
Public Enemies - starring Christian Bale, Johnny Depp
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs – Starring Ray Romano, Dennis Leary, John Leguizamo
July 10:
Bruno – starring Sasha Baron Cohen
July 31:
“Funny People” – starring Adam Sandler, Seth Rogan, Jonah Hill
August 7:
“G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” – Starring Dennis Quaid, Channing Tatum

Topical Blog Post #3

There are many double-standards that exist in the work place today. Many people say that men have the advantage in the work place, but in everyday activities, men have to stay on their toes. It is very common in the office to hear a woman compliment another woman on the way her hair looks, or what she is wearing, or even ask if she has lost weight. Unfortunately, in this new era of business, men can get in a lot of trouble for saying the wrong thing. If I man wants to offer the same compliment to a woman she could claim that it makes her uncomfortable to be around her male co-worker. This makes it difficult for men to develop a relationship with their female co-workers. It seems that it would be a better course not to say anything at all than say something that could be construed as sexual harassment. Unfortunately, this does not help foster a pleasant working environment but rather a hostile one. I believe that men should be able to offer compliments as well. If men were encouraged to do so I think that men and women would be able to get along much better as co-workers and being at work would be much more pleasant.

Online News Writing Exercise #1

CNN.com
a) Do the news items reflect immediacy?
Yes, they do a good job of updating their main page with breaking news

b) Does the site try to help readers save time?
Yes, they have informative headlines and a long list of the day's headlines.

c) Is it quick and easy to get information?
Yes
d) Does it provide both visual and verbal information?
Yes, the lead story usually contains a picture. Yes, many of the stories have videos that you can watch.

e) Do the stories contain lists and bullets to make them easier to scan?
Yes, in fact each story has a "Story Highlights" that contain the main information of the article.

f) Are the stories broken into "chunks"?
The main page has a letest news list that contains all the headlines. If you want to see stories on sports or politics you will have to click on the link for that page

g) Do stories provide hyperlinks to additional information?
Yes, some do.

h) Are there opportunities for readers to "talk back"?
Yes

i) Does the site use multimedia to enhance understanding and add appeal?
Yes, many of the stories have videos that you can watch.

Topical Blog Post 2

A couple of weeks ago, during a game baseball between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants, Casey Blake of the Dodgers, mocked a gesture that Giants’ pitcher Brian Wilson makes after he records a save. After Wilson gets the final out of the game, he faces center-field and crosses his arm, making a cross with his arms while pointing with his non-gloved hand. In this particular game, Blake has just hit a home-run off of Wilson to tie the game. When Blake was back in the dug-out he mimicked Wilson’s gesture mocking Wilson and the fact the he hadn’t won the game. Unfortunately to Wilson, this gesture is not only creates a cross for his religion, but is also a nod to deceased father.
I do not know if Blake knew all of this when he mocked Wilson, but that shouldn’t matter to Wilson. Welcome to the Giants-Dodgers rivalry. Wilson is a closer for the Giants which means that he only appears in the very last innings and when the game is on the line. This is do-or-die for the other team and if they cannot beat Wilson then they do not win the game. This just shows that Wilson has established himself as a top closer as well as a top competitor. Baseball has 162 games in a season and almost a game every day. What happened today needs to be forgotten tomorrow. Next time Wilson faces Blake, the only thing that should be should be thinking about is how to strike him out. The best revenge is winning.

Focus Story Structure: Football Injury

It's always sad to see a kid not make it to graduation. Usually, its because they didn't do well in school. This was not the case for Pete Stenhoff. He is not going to graduate with his class because of an old football injury.

That injury of course is a cracked vertibrae, one that he suffered while playing in a football game for Chula Vista High School in Redmond, California. It was a play just like any other and on this play, Pete planted his head in the ball carrier's chest to make the tackle but instead is now confined to a wheel chair. The sad fact is that the 16-year-old Pete is not alone.

High school football produce more than 20,000 injuries to students each year. Unfortunately, 12 percent of them permanently disabling the victims. In fact, there 13 deaths last year attributed to football.

Topical Blog Post #1

Before the election of President Obama, America was experiencing one of the worst recessions in history and the worst in my short memory. I was one of the unlucky ones that was laid off due to the economic downturn so I understand the struggle. It took me almost 4 months to find a job and from the sounds of it I was lucky. Obama represented the change that America needed, in fact, it was his slogan.
I have to say, even as a registered Democrat, I am extremely disappointed. It seems like his first four months in office have been victory tour. Right out of the gate, Obama dressed in a motion-capturing suit to recreate his inaugural address. Then a few months later he was spotted on ESPN casting his bracket for the NCAA basketball championship tournament. He also appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” where he compared his bowling prowess to that of a special Olympian I might add.
It is cool that our president seems to be so accessible and one of the people, but I really think that the economy needs him more than Jay Leno does. Maybe he should be focusing on the war in Iraq instead of the first round matchup of North Carolina and Radford. Even today, Obama gave the commencement speech at Notre Dame. I know that the economy won’t be fixed overnight and I know that these things take time. President Obama needs to spend more time on the major issues that affect our country. Now once the unemployment figures have dropped and Americans can afford to buy houses again, I would love to hear who Obama thinks will win the NCAA football championship.

Magazine

One of my favorite magazines is Sports Illustrated http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/. It's major target audience is anyone that likes to go beyond the scores of sports. It often shows the other side of sports. They have done many articles about the personal lives of athletes. They have broken down the swings of many hitters as well as golfers. Most famously, they produced the first major article about steroid use in professional baseball. They report on everything that effects the game. They give a lot of insight to the avid sports fan. They also offer many articles that have to do with the lighter side of sports. Some of the writers like to write about the quirky or weird side of sports. Sports Illustrated makes sports interesting for the avid fan.