JONIZZLE

Lucky for Grace, I planned an update today. And today was good.

I got an A in the 6-page paper that I did a lot of bs-ing on due to not reading the two books it was based on. In 5 years of college, I believe that is one thing I've gotten really good at.

I also did really well in my Hawaii class midterm. Again, I didn't do any of the reading. I just studied well and got lucky that the material was on what I studied. I was the 3rd one done. I am awesome.

And last night, I got a 10/10 on my online quiz for another class. Again, no reading done.

You may remember my posts on having 350-400 pages to read a week...well as you can tell, I didn't do it, and managed to get by. BUT on the flip side, as I was cramming for my Hawaii midterm, I skimmed the material, and it seemed really interesting. I was kind of sad that I didn't read them when I was supposed to. I think I may have enjoyed them a little. So, to all my campers reading this, DO YOU READING. Yes. I'm a great role model, haha.

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After people ask what my major is (Media Studies), most people ask me what it is about. I usually just say its just communications, or give them the humorous "media studies is...the study of the media" response with a shrug and a smile. But you know, I think my major is quite important, and I feel like talking about it.

The media system in the United States is HORRIBLE. The way we American's recieve our news is unbelievably flawed. I could talk forever about the media system's faults (in the form of a 6-page paper etc), but I'll keep it short, and you can ask me more later.

- Newspapers and TV newscasts do not have freedom. They are controlled by commercial interests, by the power of money. And this money comes from advertisers. Advertisers therefore, have power over what goes into the news, and what does not, because they control the money.

- Newspapers and TV newscasts also have given in to lower standards of news coverage. Tell me what you know more about; the Laci Peterson murder trial, or what is going on in Afghanistan. It's pathetic that we as citizens don't know anything because the news media is not doing their job.

Did You Know...
Right now in the United States, we have the highest percentage of people in prison in comparison to the national population ever. EVER. In the HISTORY OF THE WORLD. MORE than Stalinist Russia and more than South Africa under apartheid. Part of why we don't know is because an abnormally large portion of inmates are of color and come from the lower 35% of income. Kinda like what Kanye said, the Media doesn't like poor people. The news we have today is tailored to the upper middle class and higher.

We have a prison crisis, but I just found out today from my teacher. Not by the news. Now how many of you knew that? Odd's are you didnt, but at the same time, I bet you know who Kato Kaelin is. Yea.

I guess my point in all of this, which is just the tip of the iceberg, is that we as active and responsible citizens, have to seek out information and truth, but it shouldnt have to be that way.

FYI: FOX News is horrible. But find out why for yourself.

Lastly, I mentioned how little we know about Afghanistan earlier. We were at war there, and we didnt know much. Imagine what it was like before 9/11. Afghanistan was probably never mentioned in the nightly news for years. But there were American journalists there, but their stories werent broadcast or printed by their editors, because they believed that the public wouldnt care and not watch, which would make advertisers lose target audiences. So the US was ignorant to everything happening there, despite documented warning signs.

So, this is not audacious to say:

Problems of media >> Based on profit >> Advertising >> Removal of foreign correspondants to save money >> Not knowing about Afghanistan in the late 90's >> September 11th, 2001.

That's an example of why the media has to change. We need to know. Our lives depend on it.
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I found $5 in the elevator last night. I decided to give it to one of the homeless people that are always sitting out on Green St. begging for money. Now, yes, I have reservations as to how poor they really are (I've seen one with a cell phone). And some of you might be thinking, "if I give someone like this money, they're just going to use it for alcohol or drugs."

Well you know, if I give a guy, who is homeless, $5, he can do whatever he wants with it. And that includes trying to get drunk with it. I mean c'mon, he's homeless, let's give him a break, right?

Anyways, he was really thankful when I gave it to him and he realized it was a 5 dollar bill. Hopefully he was able to get some enjoyment out of it.
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I bought tampons for...my friend...tonight. It was funny. Some guys were standing next to the tampon aisle and saw me looking at them. And I couldn't find the right kind (Pearls) right away, so I had to sloooowly go up and down the wall of tampons to find them. And then I had to choose which pack to get. I got the multi-variety one for...variant flow. Hahaha.

Yup. I'm awesome.
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I have some more to say, but I will continue to formulate it in my mind and save it for a later date so Grace will be entertained.

Good day!

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3 DVD's for $12

I got Mumford, Mystery Alaska, and Big Trouble! All 3 are movies I really like that aren't too popular. And since I bought Big Trouble, I went ahead and got Galaxy Quest too, har har.