I'm graduating college in January and it's freaking me out

I'm planning to graduate in January of 2011, and I will be part of the first official class, in which my diploma will read BRIDGEWATER STATE UNIVERSITY. I think it's a pretty monumental occasion to be part of the first graduating class of the newly named institution. Yet, I know I'm graduating within the next several months, and I know school has not even been a week in session but the fear of graduating is already kicking in. I mean, I am extremely excited about it because the one thing that I am very much looking forward to is no more homework. YES! However, it also means that I need to step out into the real world and go head-to-head with it, winner take all. It's a battle of epic proportions...

I think stepping out into the real world is definitely going to be a bittersweet moment, because yes I will be a new graduate stepping into the light, just like when a baby is born and is newly brought into this world. I'll be a little fish stuck in an enormous pond, but in this case, I will be stuck in an ocean filled with sharks, which then translates into the fear that I'm walking out into what is currently one of the worst job markets ever. Great, just what I need for moral support when it comes to buckling down and searching for jobs. I have a number of employers set in my place and my resume is getting there, so I've done some ground work but I still have a lot more to go.

What also scares me is that I'm going to be stuck working at a "dinky" part-time job for the next several years as I'm still struggling to find a full-time job and get my career on track. I've been working at the same job for over five years now, and yes, it's a great job for what I love, but it's not somewhere I want to be within the next year. I keep telling myself that I want to leave that place before Thanksgiving, but sometimes I feel that won't happen and I'll be stuck there forever. My current job has pushed me towards the major I'm in now, which is Communication Studies, but I usually just tell people I'm in Film or something along the lines of that. I'm currently looking for jobs within marketing and advertising; I feel that with the classes I've taken and the years of experience and knowledge I have had at my job, I would fit in great at an advertising agency. One can only hope, but it seems that I have some work to do, no pun intended.

COMM 229: Disney buys Marvel

I know this happened a while ago, but I have always wanted to get my two cents into this subject and maybe let some readers indulge themselves into this crazy phenomenon. First off, yes, it is true that Disney has bought Marvel. When I first read about this I was shocked, nonetheless. I couldn't believe my eyes; Disney, the company that is responsible for Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck.....bought Marvel, the company responsible for Spiderman, X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor. How do these things mesh together? What is going to happen to Universal Studios in Orlando? That is a fantastic amusement park, and if they take away those rides, I'm going to be devastated. They have one of my favorite roller-coasters The Incredible Hulk, and they have the Spiderman ride, which is also an amazing amount of fun. There is a lot of things that are in question regarding Disney's recent mega transaction. Disney has said that the movies that are already in production will stay with those studios but in a few years, Disney will be the sole distributor. Oh boy...are we going to see Mickey Mouse in the next Spiderman movie? Yikes! And, what does this do for the industries and the media outlets? This has a huge impact on the movie studios. Disney already owns a lot of things such as, ABC, ESPN, Miramax, Touchstone etc. It's just crazy to to think that the "house of mouse" now owns a comic book conglomerate. What is the world coming to?

COMM 229: Free media and the Tiger Woods scandal

In the latest chapter we read for my COMM 229 class, it discussed media debates, concentrating on free media. The topic of free media was referring to is media free? It centered on if we get unbiased information or biased. It is apparent that the information we receive for our news outlets is generally biased, leaning towards a particular side, whether it generally be conservative or liberal. We do not get to view news outlets that are unbiased anymore; almost all news sources that I have encountered show some type of bias. It has come to this because, usually each news source must choose which side they favor, but not make it obvious. They then must put their own spin on it, to give their station or website it's own separate identity. I also wanted to focus on a particular example in the news today that is being swarmed.

The whole Tiger Woods situation pretty much baffles me. Nobody really knows what is going on, but we kind of get an idea that Woods probably cheated on his wife. It just amazes me on how the media is covering the situation. They are swarming like flys! I mean, it's kind of no surprise; they hear that one of the greatest golfers in the world has been recently involved in a car accident, and a possible domestic dispute with his wife, so the media is definitely going to be swarming. He is for one, who has really never been involved in any type of media scandal, so what a perfect way to get right into it. I kind of think that the media should leave him and family alone, but they won't do it because they want to get ratings boosted, and it's a really hot topic right now, so why aren't they going to put their two cents in, right? The interesting thing, is what bias they show towards the situation and how they spin it to the media (free media? You betcha!) It's not exactly free, because if it were, there would be no bias to it. I also think it's interesting that after one alleged woman has come out and said she had an affair with Woods, obviously other women have come out and said they have too, just to gain themselves some fame. It's typical, like in any other situation that you can think of. Think about it...

COMM 229: Christmas music

I know this doesn't exactly tie to the chapter we read this week on globalization, but I just realized that you can make a connection between Christmas music and media studies, whether it is consumerism, industry, or perhaps globalization if you really think about it.

I would like to start off by saying they started playing the Christmas music on the radio pretty early this year. They started last week and it was not even Thanksgiving yet! I'm talking about a particular radio station in Boston (105.7 WROR). However, now that I have been listening to the radio station the past couple days, I can't stop listening. There is something about Christmas music that just makes me very happy and very excited. Maybe it's the fact that Christmas is coming up, that could be it. I also think it doesn't really feel like the holiday season is approaching; I generally always feel like this every year. It just seems so surreal that Christmas is once again upon us. There is just something special about Christmas music I think. It has this magic appeal to it. I think it's special because we only hear it once a year, so when we hear it, we can't do anything but feel happy. That's how I feel at least.

Now, I think you can definitely connect Christmas music to media studies. I think it can be tied to globalization because we hear different music that is from different cultures, and we hear music that touches on different aspects of the holiday. It allows us to broaden our horizons on music so we can learn new songs and have an open mind about Christmas music as a whole. It can most definitely be tied to consumers..I mean, that's a no brainer. I'm sure one of the reasons we hear Christmas music so early on the radio now is because they are reminding us that that start of the holiday season is fast approaching and it is encouraging people to get ready to do their shopping. I personally try to stay away from the fact that Christmas is becoming or already is a predominantly consumer and economic holiday, and more center on the family aspect of it, and being able to see all my family. That is my favorite part. It makes Christmas that much more special for me.

WWF/WWE

I have to admit, I'm a bit of a geek. I used to be a big fan of professional wrestling; I used to religiously watch it every week and was glued to the TV set as these men (and sometimes women) would fight until they could not fight any longer. It looked so REAL, but of course, that was the point. Even after I realized everything was fake including the plots which were storylines, I was still glued to that TV. I couldn't stop watching because it was extremely entertaining. It was always known as the WWF (World Wrestling Federation) then later became known as the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). Professional reigned supreme when it was known as the WWF and it was known as the Attitude Era. That was the best days of wrestling for me at least. My friends and I grew up watching wrestling and we all had our favorite wrestlers and the ones we despised. My favorite and still is to this day is The Rock (Dwayne Johnson). He was not only a great wrestler, he knew how to make the fans go nuts. He was the best on the microphone. His talk smack was the stuff of legend. He was just hilarious, and maybe someday if he ever came back to the world of wrestling, I would possibly watch it again. With that said, I really don't watch much wrestling anymore. It's became a giant soap opera, and the storylines are just terrible. John Cena is the champ...blah blah blah. Been there done that. It gets annoying when the same guys hold the championship, besides The Undertaker because he's just one of a kind. I could probably go on for hours talking about wrestling and my days of watching it, but I don't want to go on too long. My mom used to hate it when my brother and I watched wrestling. She was always against it, and didn't allow us to watch it for the longest time.

I still watch clips of wrestling, but only on YouTube, and I generally watch clips that are from when I used to watch wrestling. When The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, and wrestlers like that reigned supreme. Man do I miss those days...

COMM 229: Documentary and Reality TV

I don't watch much reality television. I don't find it amusing; I do not think it's entertaining because I think it's just too skewed and it's not actually real. I also view it as something that is completely farfetched; the people on reality television are way over the top and overly dramatic. I think it's cheap and everything is pitched and edited. All the storylines in reality television are made up ahead of time to get ratings and to add dramatic effect for the viewers. The producers are behind the scenes making sure that their show has the best possible outcome. I'm sure many producers already know who is going to win, or they make the person know who they should pick to boost ratings. Reality television is extremely fabricated, and I don't enjoy it at all.

Most documentaries are pretty enjoyable in my opinion. I usually enjoy watching them. However, it also depends on what documentary it is and what subject it is focused on. Any movie done by Michael Moore I will watch; not because I believe everything he says, but his movies are at least entertaining and worth to watch. I would rather watch something like that, than a documentary that is going to put me to sleep.

The Monopoly movie plot

First, before you start scratching your heads at the title of my blog, I want to assure you all that yes, they are making a movie based on the famous board game known only as Monopoly. I'm sure some of you are wondering how in the world they could make a feasible plot that could entertain millions of people. Well, I have the answer for you. My homepage that pops up when I bring up the internet is a website called www.joblo.com. Don't worry, it's not a pornographic website if any of you are thinking that. It's actually a website that is dedicated to movies of all sorts and is basically a daily online magazine that lists headlines of movie news about movies been greenlit, actors or actresses choosing roles, and pretty much anything that you could think of that is movie related. However, back to the topic at hand. I read the supposed plot for the Monopoly movie, and it's quite out there if you don't mind me saying. It's so out there that it seems that the screenwriter who wrote it had to be on something while he wrote this. I really don't want to spoil anything for you, I'd rather just post the link here and allow you to read it so you can gather your thoughts and maybe post a comment on what you think? Let me just say that that the writer's inspiration came from Alice in Wonderland (I know, right?) and it's crazy, but it actually seems feasible and seems it could actually work. Welcome to Monopoly City everyone.

Without further adieu here is the link: http://www.joblo.com/the-monopoly-plot

Have fun feasting on this!