11.17ish.2010

Westboro Baptist Church


McKenzie and I went down to New Orleans for a morning in order to do our project on the picketers of Westboro Baptist Church. They were picketing St. Stephen's Catholic Church at just a regular church service. The four members that came to stand in the no press zone held up signs reading various sayings that they said were to warn the catholics that they were going to hell and God would continue to "kick their ass." They believe that all catholics are guilty by association because a lot of priests have been caught raping children. They say that every person who walks into the catholic church is guilty, and they are simply warning them so they can go to heaven instead of hell and do what God wants them to do in the long run.

While we were down there they sang many protests songs that called catholics filthy perverts and rapists. Some of the songs were to the tune of more popular pop songs, while others were older chants and songs. When approached, the members of the church had rehearsed answers and were very knowledgeable of both sides and seemed to think they proved their side to be true very well. People passing by managed to boo and flick them off because of their offensive signs, chants and songs. The Westboro members did not seem to notice them and when asked about violence, said they ran when people tried to attack because they were a nonviolent group.

Overall the trip and experience opened my eyes to the different religions and laws of free speech. I felt like a real journalist going down to a different city to cover a controversial topic. My multimedia project was fun to make so that I could give people a glimpse of what I saw while I was in New Orleans. I recommend you stepping outside of your comfort zone with as many assignments as possible because it prepares you for the real, exciting journalism world.

11.10ish.2010

Demi Lovato left her European tour with the Jonas Brothers early and checked herself in to rehab. Ever since then, the rumors have been flying on twitter, E! Online and People. Some of the magazines claim it is pregnancy others drug and alcohol abuse. The first accusation was eating disorders because she has recently lost quite a bit of weight.

If Lovato is a foreign name to you, she is a Disney channel star and many tabloids are claiming that she has the Disney curse and because she is already in rehab she is following in the footsteps of Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears.

Defenders of Lovato say that she has done the right thing by checking herself in to rehab and proving that she wants to take care of her problem, what ever it may be. There are many other rumors but no sure reason for why Lovato joined the facility. Hopefully the confirmed reasoning for checking in to rehab will be displayed soon, otherwise rumors will be passed around and never proven true or false, a very devastating thing for a rising star.

Check back soon for an update on Lovato's rehab experience.

11.3ish.2010

Organization: a blog for Ben Corda

So you walk into your office with a little pink binder with everything you need to graduate strategically placed inside of it, loose leaf pages bigger than the notebook itself and millions of crumpled post it notes. How do you expect to be on top of things if all of the crucial information in your life is in a notebook the size of your hand? It is plain and simple, you can't. You're going to try to tell me next that everything that you have organized is in your intelligent smart phone. That is the thing about the present, technology is taking over present day teens and adults. Physically writing things down helps your brain remember what you have done and what you have to do for the day or week. If you type it in your phone and miss the memo or break your phone, the lunch date with that pretty girl could be thrown out the window in a seconds time. Do not get sucked into the new technology of organizing things, try it out if you are content with the old fashioned way and become a basic master. Get a binder, a date book, a bulletin board and a pad of paper or two. Plan things out the night before, on Sunday organize everything you can for the upcoming week. Always leave reminders for yourself, it makes you feel accomplished to have to check something off, cross it out or throw away a post it note. Bottom line is to train yourself to plan ahead and think of things days possibly weeks before they happen, easier said than done but everyone has to start somewhere!