UNA STUDENTS PRAY FOR THE STUDENTS AT UA AS WELL AS THE OTHERS!

For college students it is a normal thing to drive down to T-Town to party and hang-out with your high school friends who now attend the University of Alabama. Many of our family and friends live along Birmingham, Alabama as well as in T-Town. The University that I attend is also in the state of Alabama. Our experience was not like the students in  Tuscaloosa but we all experienced something. I take this time out of my busy daily life to SIMPLY THANK GOD for keeping us in HIS loving hands.


Waves of severe thunderstorms rumbled through the Tennessee Valley on Wednesday, leaving a trail of destruction stretching the width of north Alabama. Winds gusting to more than 70 mph toppled trees and utility poles from Cherokee to Rogersville, causing widespread power outages. At the peak of the power outages in Lauderdale County early Wednesday, Florence Utilities officials said about 8,000 customers were without electricity. Utility crews worked into the night repairing the damage. Street and road department crews and volunteer firefighters worked into the night clearing fallen trees from roadways. 

A massive tornado judged to be almost a mile wide struck Tuscaloosa late Wednesday afternoon.University of Alabama officials say there is no structural damage to the buildings on campus. The storm moved on toward 

Birmingham. As of 6 p.m, over 250,000 residents in the Birmingham area and hundreds of thousands more across the region had lost power, according to  Alabama Power. ABC 33/40 reported that Birmingham airport has evacuated all passengers from concourses and flights are delayed, but no major damage has been reported.

IF YOU CAN FIND IT IN YOUR HEART PLEASE DONATE TO THE RED CROSS TO HELP THE VICTIMS OF THIS DISASTER. MANY OF US MAY NOT HAVE BEENIN THE STORM BUT SOME OF OUR FAMILIES WERE. 

****Many of you have asked how to help: Right now the best way to give here:http://bit.ly/cNuH67 or text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10****

PRAYING FOR YOU ALL!

Elle

As a future Media Practitioner you have to know what is going on in the world today. Being up to date with the latest social networks helps in that process of becoming well rounded. I have recently joined LinkedIn which has over 100 million professionals that use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities.

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Here is my profile check it out! 
Lauren Morgan's LinkedIn Profile

Al Jazeera-English

Al Jazeera-English is a growing interest among America and its journalist. The U.S government is constantly watching Islamic television to see what they think about American and what we have and have not done.

Al Jazeera-English offers many jobs for Journalist and I am sure the pay is worth the trip to the other side of the world. They currently have a job openings and are looking for people of all races. For Job information Read This: Work for Al Jazeera-English

 
Al Jazeera Network has more than 3,000 staff members across the world, including more than 400 journalists from more than 60 countries. Al Jazeera English has more than 1,000 highly experienced staff from more than 50 nationalities, making AJE’s newsroom among the most diverse in the world. Al Jazeera Network has more than 65 bureaus across the globe - the majority are rooted in the global South. 

Al Jazeera English is headquartered in Doha, Qatar. The 24-hour news and current affairs channel is the first international English-language news channel to broadcast across the globe from the Middle East.

Al Jazeera television is known for airing Islamic extremist videos and even hosted an on-air birthday celebration for convicted Lebanese terrorist Samir Kuntar who murdered four Israelis in 1979."It is a professional institution but it is a militant institution that wants to convey an ideological Jihadi message," said Walid Phares, a terrorism analyst for FOX News.

Read more: Al Jazeera-English

Fired NPR CEO

As read on the Nation FOX website. This post is mostly a video post so be sure to check out the link.

Fired NPR CEO Vivian Schiller spoke Tuesday at the Paley Center for Media in New York and lashed out at the videographers who exposed the bigotry in her organization, calling the undercover sting an "abomination." She admitted the rest of the establishment is "terrified" of being the next NPR, Planned Parenthood or ACORN...and speculated that the goal of these stings is to instill fear. "It's terrifying," Schiller said, that's their "objective."

 NPR


Make sure to check out the video:

VIVIAN SCHILLER, FIRED NPR CEO: Extremely concerned. I think it's an abomination. I mean, this kind of tactic -- for somebody to attach the word, some are calling this a form of journalism, this is not journalism. You don't ensnare people; you don't entrap people with hidden cameras; you don't pretend to be somebody who you're not. This is, I don't know what this is, but it's got nothing to do with anything that resembles the journalism that I know. And it's very troubling, it's very troubling and I think, I worry in particular about the impact it will have I think because of this latest ACORN and Planned Parenthood had come before this, I think with this NPR sting, I don't know what else to call it

Right-Wing Media Respond By Complaining That Obama "Blame[d] Bush" In Budget Speech

In Obama's speech many people believed that he was blaming BUSH for Budget situation that we are in now. I think that if this had a happen is the 1950s or 1960's nobody would have been openly talking about their president. This is what Kilmeade: Obama's Speech Was "Blame Bush." On the April 14 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade claimed that the theme of Obama's budget speech amounted to "blame Bush." Guest co-host Peter Johnson Jr. responded by saying, "All the way. Very perceptive, Brian." Kilmeade then stated, "How could you possibly, three years into your presidency, blame what happened eight years ago or along the way?"

taken form the website Media Matters to America.org

Check out the link below

Media Matters

We some times act as if everything was so GREAT when Bush was in office. As media practitioners we have to be objective and never take sides. I think a lot of media related people are taking sides and losing track of  that innocent college student that they once were wanting to be objective in every way and wanting to get that story. This is what  Jim Geraghty: "There Is A Lot Of Blaming Bush In This Speech." From an April 13 National Review Online post by Jim Geraghty:

There is a lot of blaming Bush in this speech. Quick perspective: Using numbers from the U.S. Treasury, we see that the debt during Bush's eight years in office increased from $5.7 trillion to $10.6 trillion, or $4.9 trillion over eight years. That's bad; that's basically $610 billion per year. But in the less than three years Obama has been in office, the debt has increased from $10.6 trillion to $14.2 trillion, a $3.6 trillion increase in about 27 months.  In other words, Obama is increasing the debt by $1.6 trillion per year, three times as fast as Bush. [National Review Online, 4/13/11]

National Broadcasting Society Convention *Hollywood (Erica Farber)

“Rising Through the Ranks in Radio” session with Erica Farber with Farber Connections. She is the former CEO/Publisher of “Radio & Records.” Farber was a fireball explaining her journey in the media business. She gave us a formula, which was entitled her “Personal Formula to Being a Better You in the Media Business.” She gave us points to help us along the way. Some of the points were: 5. Show up on time. (Don not make people wait on you.) 11. Don not pretend to know the answer, ask questions. 12. Make mistakes. It is how you learn and better yourself. 15. Continue to learn (Stay on top of information.) She told us to ask ourselves, “What do I want to do and where do I want to live?” When writing a cover letter remember that it is a formal document and an introduction of yourself. Your cover letter should be a narrative about yourself, make it so the company wants to meet you. Always research the company that you are applying to. Know how to talk and write and do both well. Smile, show them that you are excited to be there. Take entry-level positions, they can always grow into something bigger. Make sure you are a match with the company. Everybody does not vibe well together. Above all, are you excited about what you are doing with your life?

TSUNAMI!!

Good Morning. We woke up today and for most of us we turned on the Weather Channel to see what the weather would be like in our neck of the woods. to our disbelief we found out that while we were still sleeping in our beds a  earthquake hit Japan  unleashed a Tsunami that has now hit Hawaii, and headed for the west coast. Many people have started to be evacuated from the west coast in preparation the incoming waves.

Tsunami waves have reached Hawaii, but the first waves hitting the state are only about a foot higher than usual, according to officials and local news reports.

Officials had ordered an evacuation of Hawaii's coastal areas after the 8.9 earthquake near Japan, which was expected to begin hitting the state at about 3 a.m. local time, or 5 a.m. Pacific time. Authorities warned of maximum wave heights of up to 6 feet.

~~READ FROM THE WEATHER CHANNEL.COM~~

In addition to the U.S. West Coast, tsunami warnings are also in effect for Hawaii. The first wave is estimated to arrive at approximately 3:07am HST for Kauai, 3:21am for Oahu, 3:27am HST for Maui and 3:46 HST for the Big Island.

~~CHECK THIS VIDEO OUT~~

TSUNAMI WASHES EVERYTHING AWAY


From The Weather Channel's Dr. Knabb:

-These waves are about a 7-8 hour travel time from the earthquake center to Hawaiian coast.
-Very long, fast moving waves moving about 50mph when they reach Hawaiian islands. It doesn’t take 20 or 30 foot tsunami waves to cause inundation. Even just 3 feet of water can cause major problems.

WHAT IS ALL THIS "WHITE STUFF" ABOUT?

 *Read from the Times Daily and the University of North Alabama Website*

Lion Alerts, Emails, one building out of the whole University closed. What is going on? A long time University of North Alabama  employee surrendered to authorities, Monday afternoon. In the case of a threatening letter containing a suspicious substance received on the fifth floor of Stevens Hall last Thursday. The fifth floor of Stevens Hall houses administrative offices for the UNA College of Education.

The letter, addressed to a UNA faculty member, quickly prompted an evacuation of Stevens Hall last Thursday afternoon. The building’s ventilation system was also shut down, while the building was decontaminated by Colbert County HazMat before reopening Friday morning. Three staff members coming in contact with the letter were also held for decontamination Thursday. They were released later that afternoon.

UNA Police have worked on the case in cooperation with Colbert County HazMat, the Florence Police Department, the Florence Fire Department, the FBI, the county EMA, the Department of Homeland Security and the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Many students and faculty members were very anxious to know exactly what was going on and who was responsible for this "Small Uproar". Luckily no one was hurt and the "White Stuff" is still an unknown substance.

(This is not the REAL substance. It is JUST a picture)

Until Next Time,

Elle

Cars, Trucks, and Buses…”OH MY”

Being a college student, I think that the second thing that is on every student and professors mind is, “Where am I going to park today”. One of the major problems at the University of North Alabama is the parking. There just are not enough parking spots for the number of students that attend this University. The University of North Alabama is planning to implement new bus routes in the fall to make getting to class a whole lot easier. The routes will be extended to surrounding parking complexes.

As a student myself who does have a car and lives on campus I find it to be a headache to look for parking spots. I usually walk to class but if I have an appointment right after class why not drive to class and just leave from there. I understand the commuters have to have a place to park but sometimes you just cannot help everybody. No matter what you will please one party and anger the other one.

I ride the bus every now and then and find that it is easy on the “calf muscles” especially when you have to walk up hills to get to where you are going. When I ride the bus I am on time to class and sometimes have time to prepare for the class ahead of time. I that this is a good idea and many students should use the new bus routes, especially since it is costing money which I think will be coming out of tuition. Everything that UNA has to offer, I am going to try and use it just to get my monies worth.

Check out this link from the Flor-Ala

Until Next Time,

Elle

 University of North Alabama Bus Route

 Check out this sound slide about being a healthy student!

Until Next Time,

Elle :)


Being a Healthy Student Sound Slides

ANTS, WORMS, GRASSHOPPERS..."OH MY"

So what is bugging you?

At the London restaurant Archipelago, diners can order the $11 Baby Bee Brulee: a creamy custard topped with a crunchy little bee. In New York, the Mexican restaurant Toloache offers $11 chapulines tacos: two tacos stuffed with Oaxacan-style dried grasshoppers.

Could beetles, dragonfly larvae and water bug caviar be the meat of the future? As the global population booms and demand strains the world's supply of meat, there's a growing need for alternate animal proteins. Insects are high in protein, B vitamins and minerals like iron and zinc, and they're low in fat. Insects are easier to raise than livestock, and they produce less waste. Insects are abundant. Of all the known animal species, 80% walk on six legs; over 1,000 edible species have been identified. And the taste? It's often described as "nutty."

(Read from the Wall Street Journal)  The MEAT of the Future!

The world is ever changing and we have to change with it. I don't know how I would feel about eating bugs hey "Don't knock it till you try" . The vast majority of the developing world already eats insects. In Laos and Thailand, weaver-ant pupae are a highly prized and nutritious delicacy. They are prepared with shallots, lettuce, chilies, lime and spices and served with sticky rice. Further back in history, the ancient Romans considered beetle larvae to be gourmet fare, and the Old Testament mentions eating crickets and grasshoppers. 

Our food needs are on the rise. The human population is expected to grow from six billion in 2000 to nine billion in 2050. Meat production is expected to double in the same period, as demand grows from rising wealth. Pastures and fodder already use up 70% of all agricultural land, so increasing livestock production would require expanding agricultural acreage at the expense of rain forests and other natural lands. Officials at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recently predicted that beef could become an extreme luxury item by 2050, like caviar, due to rising production costs. (WSJ)

Tell me what you think. Lets have a discussion.

Until Next Time,

Elle :)

IS SOCIAL MEDIA A THREAT??

U.S. Military Works To Counter Social Media Threat (Found online at WHNT- Channel 19)

(Personal Employee Pages Could Offer Sensitive Information To Enemies)

Attempts to steal United States military secrets have been around as long as the country itself, but now our enemies have a new tool at their disposal... social media.Websites like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr are used by thousands of military personnel and contract employees. If these workers aren't careful about what they post, they could open the door to those looking for sensitive information. -WHNT CHANNEL 19

The Army has recently published a social media handbook to help guide workers on best practices for social media use. The Army hopes anyone working in a military capacity will read it.

In addition to the publication of a handbook, the Army now gives rigorous training on social media use to soldiers and personnel. Chang said there have been no leaks of classified information via social media to date.
She adds that ultimately social media is just another form of communication – one deserving of the same rules of secrecy military workers have practiced for decades.

Copyright © 2011, WHNT-TV

When you think about the Red stone Arsenal  in Huntsville, Alabama do you think that these employees have a Facebook or a twitter? To my surprise, they do. what about the fact that the idea that foreign governments, spies or terrorists might be looking to glean important state secrets from personal Facebook pages might seem far-fetched but the military is sure our enemies are watching. Wow! How much information do you put on your "Social Media" Device? Does this put more rules on how Military employees have to handle themselves outside and inside of work? I think so. With any other job you still have to be very careful about what you put on the internet. there are people that are constantly looking at everything you do.

Check out this link for a Video and more information.

Is Social Media a Threat?

Until Next Time,

Elle :)

THE INTERNET IS RUNNING OUT OF ADDRESSES!!!

From NPR News, All Things Considered; All Tech Considered. (Podcast)

Can we live with out the Internet? Why does it feel like every time something happens we find out the reason behind it is because they have wanted to improve it. the saying says; some of the wost things that happen start out with good intentions. In the works is so many new devices that will require the internet in order to function well. In this day in age we have to be around the internet 24/7. In my media class, our teacher described to us how our faces light up when we come into the classroom and sit at the computers.

Oh No...The internet has ran out of I.P address. Is this the end of the internet as we know it? I.P (Internet Protocol)addresses is the code that your computer and any other device that uses the internet, this means that new devices that are in need of the internet will not be able to connect. Bummer! Currently the last I.P address was given out.

Don't panic Help is on the way. There i another system that is currently another system that I.P.V6 has more I.P address, it has 340 with 36 zero's after the hard part is not counting that high its handing them out. The I.T people are the ones that are going to be spending lots of money on deciding how to hand out the new address which will include up grades. Like everything it is going to have its problems, such websites will be slow meaning that it will have to read it from I.P.V4 then to I.P.V6.

Check out this link to hear the podcast for your self!

What happened to all the I.P. addresses?

Until Next Time,
Elle :)

Communication...CAN'T BE STOPPED!

Communication is key. There is no way that it can be stopped. In Egypt, as we speak there are protest over the way the government handles its self as well as the community. The government has even tried to stop the people from sending out Face book Statuses as well as Twitter Twitts.

As read on the Huffington Post.

"Protests started on Tuesday, January 25, when -- inspired by the successful revolution in Tunisia -- thousands of people began taking to the streets to protest poverty, rampant unemployment, government corruption and autocratic governance of President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled the country for thirty years. These were the first protests on such a large scale to be seen in Egypt since the 1970s. The government responded by blocking Twitter, which was being used by organizers to coordinate protests. " -(Excerpt for the Huffington Post)

As I was reading my TWITTER I saw that Katie Couric had twitted that she was enroute to Egypt and would keep everybody up todate about everything that is happening to this point. We are glad to get the new information that is coming out. I am sending prayers to cover them and be with them.  This is such a big deal and it effects alot in the U.S. This is someting that we all need to be aware of and understand what the effects could be for us.
Check this website out for more information.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/28/whats-going-on-in-egypt_n_815734.html

Connections; Cell Phones to Televisions

First read and seen on NPR's All Tech Considered.

At this years Consumer Electronics Show there were more Internet connected devices then ever seen before and the most interesting part is some of them are talking to each other. Sony's CEO Howard Stringer said that by March of this year Sony will have 50 Million Internet-connected televisions through PS3, Google TV, and its WI-FI  Blu-ray players.

The Most interesting device that caught most people's eyes was the Sony Erickson Xperia arc, a smart phone that lets you watch movies on its 4.2-inch touch screen. From my understanding with this phone you can watch a movie while on bus ridding home and you problem did not get to finish the movie so all you do is when you get home connect it to you television and it will play from where you stop. Interesting.

Even cars will be getting a make-over.Toyota showed its Entune System, the company hopes to put these in the dashboard of its cars this year. One of the cool things about the Entune System is that it is touch screen and it had voice recognition software. the system is said to have Pandora Radio and the Open Table application.


Until Next Time,

Elle :)

 For More Information check out the link below
Connections; Cell Phones to Televisions

BLOG...What is that?

So I am taking a class this semester called Media Convergence, and we have to start a blog. I can honestly say that I was kind of nervous about this ongoing project. Why would I be nervous you may ask because the whole time that I have been at this university, the Communication department has always taught us that what you put on the Internet is there forever. There is no going back and doing it over.

As I have been learning my way around blogger, this project becomes easier to do as the days go by. Thank the Lord! I like to find new stories and information everyday that could be added to my blog.

I am excited to get down to business and get my blog started. I know that if I am going to be successful with this then I have to be true to myself and make sure that everything that I post is of some ethical value! I love to interact with people so I welcome your comments, lets have a discussion!

Until Next Time, 

"Elle" :)

Microsoft on the "Phantom data"

The BBC News reported  that The Microsoft Company has responded to net forums in reguards to their "Windows 7 phone". Earlier this year, users complained on net forums that their phones were automatically eating into their monthly data plans without their knowledge. Microsoft said its investigation found that most problems were caused by an unnamed "third party" service.  However, it said it was still looking into other potential faults. "We are in contact with the third party to assist them in making the necessary fixes," a spokesperson said.

A lot of the customers did not even know that their phone were eating to their data plans, the way that they found out was because some of the phone carriers sent out messages in reguard that they were nearing their limit on the data plans. Most of the customers were shocked because they felt that they did not use that much data. When they recieved the bill in the mail the saw that the phone was sending infromation without their knowledge. Microsoft is currently looking for ways to fix this problem.

I read the story on the BBC News  website and there is a link below so that you are able to read into the full story of this situation with Microsoft.


BBC News (Microsoft Explains)

The Blackberry Playbook

The most anticipated arrival, the Blackberry Playbook. The Blackberry Playbook offers breath taking multimedia, face to face conversations, and internet the way it was ment to be. The Playbook seems to have everything that a person needs to be able to function in their University classes. Looking the aspects of this device I agree that it would be worth the money! :) Check the link below and see for yourself!
http://us.blackberry.com/playbook-tablet/