Role Models vs Every Day People

Yes, athletes are everyday people with their problems, however because they are in the public eye they become role models.  There are many children who look up to these athletes, they want to be like them, they admire them, they even become motivated by the athlete.

I saw this happen with my own daughter.  She was a swimmer, a pretty good one at that, and of course she was impressed by Michael Phelps.  I remember the day when she came out of swim practice all excited saying, "Mommy, Michael Phelps took one of my chips!"  You see, she and Michael swam for the same swim team and her group got in the pool as Michael's group was getting out of the pool.  That all changed on the day that Michael Phelps was arrested for a DUI http://articles.latimes.com/2004/nov/09/sports/sp-newswire9.  This had a dramatic effect on my daughter.  She lost all respect for Michael on that day.  To this day she is still bitter about it.

Yes I realize that people make mistakes http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,768762,00.html, but when you are in the public eye you really need to be thinking of your actions and how they will be seen by your public.  In this case it was a 13 year old.  Fortunately my daughter knew that this was wrong and just lost respect and did not say oh if he can do it I can too.  I lot of impressionable young children might be influenced into thinking well if they can do it so can I. 

Because they are viewed by many,  athletes have to rise to a higher standard to be that positive role model.

I WANT TO BE DISCOVERED!

How do we find talent? 
There is a lot of talented people in this world.  A lot of that talent is just waiting to be discovered.  But will those individuals ever be discovered?

I think that since we now have so many mediums now for people to show their talents there are many more talented people discovered then there was back in the day, before technology took over.  I, also, think that this is good.  You have more exposure to many more people.

American Idol opened up a whole new way for talented singers to perform and gives the public a chance to have a say in the type of talent that they like.  It also lets the producers know what the American public likes and dislikes. Kelly Clarkson was American Idol's first winner and has come along way.  Would she have ever been discovered the old fashioned way, who knows, but American Idol was how she made it. http://www.americanidol.com/archive/contestants/season1/   Because of this show many talents have gone on to make a name for themselves.  It was not just being at the right place at the right time, or the producer thought you were good enough.

The Youtubes videos.  So if you are just messing around and your friend puts a video on Youtube and someone thinks it's good, Wow.  I wonder if that what happend with Justin Bieber when Usher discovered him.  

So don't be afraid to get out there and show your stuff.  You may be the next big name.

From the Arrogant to the Funny... The News Reporter

Since I do not normally watch these types of news broadcast, I decided to just pick two and watch them.  I choose to watch Hannity and Glenn Beck.  Two total different demeanor's.

Sean Hannity

I found Sean Hannity to be quite obnoxious, arrogant,  annoying and maybe a little unprofessional.  He kept interrupting the speaker.  He didn't give them a chance to talk.  He actually got on my nerves, I couldn't follow what was being said by either person.  At one point he even use the phrase "BLAH, BLAH, BLAH".   I felt that this was quite childish.

Hannity deffinately has his opinions and is not afraid to voice them.  He deffinately has some issues with Obama.  He even refers to him as MIA http://www.hannity.com/show/2011/03/15.  Obama is out having fun playing golf and filling in the basketball brackets and not acting as the leader that he is.

I don't mind someone having their own point of view and voicing it.  But let others have theirs and voice it also.

Glen Beck

Glenn Beck has a sense of humor.  I chuckled quite a few times.  He brought out the irony of our world.  He made some of the same comments about Obama as Hannity did, but in a much funnier way.

In the episode that I watched he used the story of the three little pigs and how our society has softened the story and many like it.  http://www.glennbeck.com/content/tvshow/2011/03/the-three-little-pigs/. I really found what he was saying to be very true.  In the beginning the Big Bad Wolf destroys the house and eats the pigs.  Then the story get softened.  The Big Bad Wolf doesn't eat the pigs and they are found at the brothers house in the end.  Now the Big Bad Wolf has problems and we have to be sympathetic to his problems.  How 'REAL LIFE".  Children are not taught that there are problems in this world and we need to be tough and learn to overcome these problems.  I have always tried to teach my children about real life and that you will face problems and you need to be able to handle them.  You need to be accoutable for your actions and not have excuses for everything.

Beck then tied the Three Little Pigs story to Japan.  He talked about how the Japanese are prepared and  took their time and built strong buildings and that's why they are still standing.  How true.  Maybe we could learn some lessons from the Japanese.

I found that I could follow Glenn Beck more so that Sean Hannity.  If I begin to watch the news more.  I deffinately would choose Beck or Hannity.

Real or Reality TV?

I don't really watch reality TV.  For some reason it just doesn't spark my interest.  Maybe because it goes against my values and respect for other humans.  Real life has its drama but Reality TV is all about drama. I guess that's what sells. What's happening to our morals? 

Let's see why teens like Jersey Shore.

I ask some teens this question.  Why do you watch Jersey Shore?

Lauren, age 16.  Her response was, "Because it's funny, it contains a lot of drama and teens like drama." 

Alex, age 20.  He finds it fascinating.  Likes the drama. He also thinks that these shows affect people's behavior.  If they are doing it, it must be ok. 

Stephanie, age 20. She says, "It's realistic to what happens in real life, the guys are hot and it keeps her tuned in and laughing."

Colleen, age 19.  She watches it because Amanda, her friend, watches it, and she has nothing better to do with her time.  It does not  influence her behavior but it probably does influence others.

Amanda, age 19.  Amanda watches it because sometimes she needs a break from the real world and just wants a laugh.  She doesn't feel that it influences her behavior and that it probably does influence the behaviors of others.

Ok now I am interested, so I went to  you tube and watched this clip.  Sex, how many different guys can I hook up with?  Snooki hooked up with three different guys and two of them were related.

Ok, I was right it does go against my values.   So what type of message does this send to our teenage society.  From my eyes, they see these "celebs" doing it and nothing really comes of it, so why can't they.   What we don't see is the true outcomes.  What kind of outcomes could there be? 

People get hurt, reputations get ruined,  diseases are spread and trust is broken.  Again,  where are our values. 

I wonder if there was a show written that reflects the behaviors that our society sees as respectable, if it would change the behaviors of our teens?  Would they even watch it?  I doubt it, I think the teens would find it boring. 

To Read or Not To Read - The Dundalk Eagle



Map of the heart of Dundalk
where The Dundalk Eagle is
located





Home of The Dundalk Eagle







 

The Dundalk Eagle, owned by Kimbel Publication, Inc., http://www.dundalkeagle.com/ is a community based newspaper, which focuses its stories and articles on happening within the Greater Dundalk, Edgemere and Fort Howard communities in southeastern Baltimore County.  The paper is published once a week on Thursday.  You can purchase it in the store for $.50 per copy, or for the more avid reader, you can retrieve it from your mailbox for a yearly subscription price of $16.96 in Baltimore County and Baltimore City.  For those who do not live in these areas, do not fret, you can still receive the Eagle by mail for $26.50 per year.  There is even an online option, the cost for that is $8.48 per year.  According to mondotimes.com http://www.mondotimes.com/1/world/us/20/1138/2729 the circulation is 19,500 copies.

I do have a subscription to The Dundalk Eagle and read it weekly.  I feel that the subscription price is small to keep me in touch with the happenings within my community.  For example this weeks edition tells us about the fate of the Severstal Steel Plant and the possibility of new owners.  This is very important for our community to know, especially since it is a major business in this area.  Many Dundalkians work there and many more have retired from there. I don't know how many times this plant has been sold but I do know that The Eagle was there to report on it.  Want more information about "Twelve Angry Men" the play that the DCT (Dundalk Community Theatre) will be performing this spring on our very own campus.  Guess where you can read about it.  Yes, in The Eagle.   I do feel that the Eagle provides worthwhile stories and articles that are going to directly effect me and my family.  Without this paper I probably would not be as aware of what's happening in my community because the bigger papers have bigger things to report on. 

I think it will survive, Dundalk is a community that values the businesses in the community and supports local businesses.  The Eagle being one of them.  You can see this in the pictures of those who took the Eagle on  vacation.  So The Eagle "travels".  As you look through the pages there are pictures of people and their Eagle in front of signs telling us where they are vacationing. You probably will never see my picture in this section, I don't feel the need to take a newspaper on vacation, I want to get away from it all.  But maybe some will do "anything" to get there picture in the paper.  I have had my work published however. Last semester my Speech class held a Candidates' Night here at the College.  The flyer that I made was published to advertise this event.  I doubt it would have ever been published in one of the larger newspapers.

The Dundalk Eagle has been in publication for 41 years and I see it continuing for another 41 years or more.  To read is the answer.

Magazines in the checkout line: Airbrush much?

When standing in the checkout line at the grocery store you are bombarded with magazines of all types.  They range from the National Enquirer to Weight Watchers.  You can find almost anything that you want.  There are magazine telling you about the latest fad diet or diet pill or how this celebrity or that celebrity lost weight fast. It seems like you can catch up on the latest gossip.  Who's sleeping with who, who's engaged to who, who is breaking up with who, and how long their marriage last.  Do celebrities have any privacy?  Evidently not.  Are the stories true?  Probably not totally.  It seems like editors will do anything that they have to to get a story and sell their magazine.  I feel like everyone has a right to privacy especially when they are going through hard times.  And if you are going to report on a story please make it real and truthful. 

The National Enquirer has always jumped out at me.  I think because their headlines are so bizarre.  I can't believe that the editors think that people believe this stuff.  But yet the magazine sells.  I don't buy it or the magazine.   If you go to this link you can find some of these stories and how rude, twisted or bizarre they are. http://www.nationalenquirer.com/

I do subscribe to Weight Watchers magazine.  I feel that the magazine is helpful in my weight loss because I can go to it for recipes and it supports what I am learning at my Weight Watcher's meetings.  You don't find fad diets or the latest weight loss pill, what you will find is support on techniques that will help your weight loss efforts.  This is the kind of articles you find in Weight Watcher's Magazine.

Real Life Success Stories
	Real people sharing real results In every issue people share the tips that worked for them!

I found it funny, I was walking through the store just the other day and a child and her grandmother were shopping.  The child had a magazine in her hand showing it to her grandmother.  I over heard her grandmothers saying, "You can't believe everything you read on the cover of a magazine, they will print anything to get you to buy it."  How true.

Evidently this is the kind of stuff that draw people in because this is what they are continuing to print and it seems to be selling.  I try not to be drawn in to the hype and when I do read an article I will use common sense and prior knowledge to dicipher it.