On April 7th, 2008 former football great, OJ Simpson will be on trial, yet again. During the 1990's, as essentially everyone who was alive at the time knows, OJ Simpson was on trial for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and a young man, Ron Goldman. Due to errors by the police and the "dream team" of defense attorneys, OJ was found not guilty by a jury of his peers. During that trial, the jury had been sequestered, meaning that they had more or less no access to the outside world. They were not exposed to the many media outlets that were discussing the trial and so they were unable to have much of a bias concerning what the media was saying. When OJ was found not guilty many across the country could not believe it because all the evidence seemed to point to him. Now, he is back in court and another jury is going to be assembled. The problem I have with this is that there is absolutely no way the jury will not be biased. At his first trial, there was alot of racial tension, with the white jurors more likely to believe he was guilty and the black jurors more likely to believe he was innocent. For this trial, not only will racial bias exist, but everyone has seen OJ coverage on the television and many people believe he was the one who killed Brown and Goldman. The question that exists in my head is: Will potential jurors be able to put their biases from the murder trial aside and listen to the evidence to determine if he is guilty of these new charges?
I have to be honest, and if I was called to be on the jury, I would not be able to honestly say that I could approach this trial and be able to put my biases aside. The murder trial is one that I have studied closely in recent years and I have read OJ's book "If I Did It", and I really believe that he did it. He should have been smart enough to stay out of trouble with the law, but I am sure prosecutors in Las Vegas see this as an opportunity to redeem their counterparts in Los Angeles and convict the man who got away. I truly believe that the prosecutors in Vegas have greatly been helped by the media, since many reporters who are covering the story have led to the major bias in believing OJ's guilt. Jury selection for this trial should be a long, drawn out process, and if I was the judge, I would want to be completely sure that no members on the jury were too biased, so the trial would be as fair as possible. Basically, they need to find a group of people who have been living under a rock, and that is not going to happen. This trial should be extremely interesting to watch as it unfolds.
Friday, November 30, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
The Writers Strike Must Come To An End
Before today, I knew that the writers strike was going to have a big impact on my weekly television schedule, however, it wasnt until I read an article about the shows that are going to be effected that I realized how much this writers strike is going to impact my life. As the article shows, most popular programs will not be able to air too many more episodes before they will run out of episodes that have already been filmed. I had always believed that television shows would film a majority of the episodes of any show long before the season actually started, but I was wrong since most of the shows on that list have filmed just about half of the episodes in the current season and its already the end of November. The television audience needs to be prepared for a season of repeats if this strike continues for the next few months.
A few of my favorite shows wont be able to consistently be on air until this strike is over:
1) 24- This show was supposed to begin to air during January, however, since the writer's strike began, they were not able to film the entire season, and so they are postponing the season premiere until the entire season has been filmed, which is extremely disappointing. As a fan who has never missed an episode of this show during all of the first six seasons, I can not wait to find out what happens to Jack next season, but I guess I will have to wait until the strike is over.
2) All 3 series of CSI- As that list shows, none of the CSI's have completed filming the entire season and soon they will no longer be able to air new episodes, or they will have to alternate a week with a repeat and then a week with a new episode. This is disappointing because it will break up the season and it wont flow consistently from one episode to the next.
3) Thursday night on ABC (Grey's Anatomy and Big Shots)- Both of these shows only have approximately 6 more episodes left until they are done airing all the episodes that are currently done filming. Already, for the last two weeks, Big Shots have not been on air and Grey's Anatomy wont be on air next week. This is upsetting for the entire audience of both of these shows, since the shows always leave us wanting more, and having to wait an extra week or two is not fun.
Because of this, I beg the writers and the producers of these shows to come to a deal which both sides can agree on because this strike is having a major impact on many of the more popular shows on the television.
A few of my favorite shows wont be able to consistently be on air until this strike is over:
1) 24- This show was supposed to begin to air during January, however, since the writer's strike began, they were not able to film the entire season, and so they are postponing the season premiere until the entire season has been filmed, which is extremely disappointing. As a fan who has never missed an episode of this show during all of the first six seasons, I can not wait to find out what happens to Jack next season, but I guess I will have to wait until the strike is over.
2) All 3 series of CSI- As that list shows, none of the CSI's have completed filming the entire season and soon they will no longer be able to air new episodes, or they will have to alternate a week with a repeat and then a week with a new episode. This is disappointing because it will break up the season and it wont flow consistently from one episode to the next.
3) Thursday night on ABC (Grey's Anatomy and Big Shots)- Both of these shows only have approximately 6 more episodes left until they are done airing all the episodes that are currently done filming. Already, for the last two weeks, Big Shots have not been on air and Grey's Anatomy wont be on air next week. This is upsetting for the entire audience of both of these shows, since the shows always leave us wanting more, and having to wait an extra week or two is not fun.
Because of this, I beg the writers and the producers of these shows to come to a deal which both sides can agree on because this strike is having a major impact on many of the more popular shows on the television.
Subway: Trying To Make A Difference
On the blogging site The Practical Environmentalist there was a great blog post about Subway restaurants and their attempts to help make their stores more environmentally friendly. The post was labeled Subway Sandwich Franchise Makes Efforts To Reduce Environmental Impact and discussed the different ways that Subway is attempting to reduce the amount of paper and oil they waste. The first method they are using is making three garbage bins in which people can throw their garbage away. The first bin would be for the actual food and garbage, the second bin will be for any paper products that will be recycled, and the third will be for any plastic products that will also be recycled. They also built a store which they are specifically calling their "eco-store" in which they will be trying out all the new methods for being eco friendly. The store was constructed using some recycled materials, it uses a more efficient air conditioning and heating system, a plumbing system that conserves water and high efficiency lighting. Also Subway plans on using napkins made out of recycled materials and cups and plastic cutlery made out of polypropylene which will be saving oil. Lastly, the store is opening a facility in Utah that slices the deli meat and distributes it, instead of having it sliced in Iowa and distributed from Colorado.
I think that it is great seeing a store that is trying to take the first step in helping the reduce the amount of pollution in our earth and helping to save some trees. The people who run Subway are extremely smart, and I believe that having "eco-stores" will be a great advertising technique for them, since when customers go to their store they will feel as though they are helping to save the Earth. Now, if only other chain restaurants could begin to follow Subway's lead this would be one step in the right direction towards saving the planet we live in.
I think that it is great seeing a store that is trying to take the first step in helping the reduce the amount of pollution in our earth and helping to save some trees. The people who run Subway are extremely smart, and I believe that having "eco-stores" will be a great advertising technique for them, since when customers go to their store they will feel as though they are helping to save the Earth. Now, if only other chain restaurants could begin to follow Subway's lead this would be one step in the right direction towards saving the planet we live in.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Female Activists in Saudi Arabia
I just got finished reading a blog post on the site Feministing.com, a feminist blog, about women in Saudi Arabia who are protesting a recent judgment that was made against a woman in that country. The post was called Saudi Women Activists Speak Out Against Rape Ruling and was about Saudi women's reactions to a ruling in which a woman who had been gang-raped had been sentenced to 200 lashes and 6 months in jail for being in the same car as a man who was not her family member. This outraged women in many countries because a victim should not be punished for something that would not be considered a crime in any first world countries. Also, the Saudi women were speaking out against the judicial system in their country in general since women are degraded throughout the entire process. Women do not have the right to represent themselves during any part of the trial, and further the judge will not even address the woman. Instead, the judge will talk to the male gaurdian of the women and the woman is rarely allowed to speak. Hillary Clinton was one of the women who spoke out against this ruling, saying that she was present for the Beijing Platform for Action, that it is no longer correct to view women's rights as being seperate from human rights in general. Clinton believes that the international community has made progress but it has not been enough progress.
After reading this article, it makes me outraged to read of this horrendous treatment being experienced by women in the world. Having grown up in the United States, I have never had to experience being treated differently because I am a woman, and I know that there are many opportunities that are open to me that would not be open to women in other countries. I am able to attend college and I will be able to have a great job and I can represent myself in court if I wanted to. I really feel as though the international community needs to step up and put an end to this treatment of women, however I dont think the United States should go about this alone because it is not our job to be the police of the world. I really hope that someday all women in the world will be free to wear the clothes they want, be with the people they want and have all the freedoms that I currently have.
After reading this article, it makes me outraged to read of this horrendous treatment being experienced by women in the world. Having grown up in the United States, I have never had to experience being treated differently because I am a woman, and I know that there are many opportunities that are open to me that would not be open to women in other countries. I am able to attend college and I will be able to have a great job and I can represent myself in court if I wanted to. I really feel as though the international community needs to step up and put an end to this treatment of women, however I dont think the United States should go about this alone because it is not our job to be the police of the world. I really hope that someday all women in the world will be free to wear the clothes they want, be with the people they want and have all the freedoms that I currently have.
The Daily Kos Blog
The Daily Kos is a blog on which different members are able to post articles and responses to articles, mostly having to do with politics. Right now on the front page there are two very interesting and funny posts: the first having to do with Joe Lieberman's recent comments on our status in the war in Iraq and the second being a response to an advisory warning in Annapolis, MD about a possible terror attack since the Middle East peace conference is being held there in the near future. Overall, I found this blog to be extremely entertaining and easily accessible. Most of the articles are interesting and make the reader want to read the rest of the blog.
The first article that I found extremely interesting was called Some Say and was posted by the member BarbinMD. It talks about the recent comments that Joe Lieberman made about the war in Iraq, saying that the United States Troops are now winning the war and that Democrats wont admit it, so they are risking compromising our national security and are risking losing the 2008 election. The member who posted this then brought up the statistic that only 31 soldiers have died this month and that this fact would support Lieberman's claim, however there were months during the last four years when the amount of soldiers who died had decreased but the war was still nowhere near being won. This post was very funny and it kept me wanting more on the topic.
The second post that I really enjoyed was called Give Me Barbie or Give Me Death! posted by the member Susan G. The federal authorities issued an advisory, informing the residents of Annapolis, Maryland that a terrorist attack is possible since the Middle East peace conference will be occuring there in the next week, however there is no credible information that an actual attack will occur. Basically, the member says, the federal government is making the residents of Maryland fearful even though there are no credible threats. Then the member quotes another article about the holiday shopping season, saying that stores want the "euphoria" of Black Friday to continue through the holiday season all the way through Christmas (though this is not realistic). The member who wrote this then comically asks what this means for those Maryland residents who have been frightened by terrorist threats to stay in their homes, but who still have that euphoric desire to shop. The conclusion that she comes to is that they could shop on the internet. I found this article to be extremely entertaining and was a great read.
Overall, I liked this blog and I thought most of the posts that were on the page were entertaining. They were political, while being funny.
The first article that I found extremely interesting was called Some Say and was posted by the member BarbinMD. It talks about the recent comments that Joe Lieberman made about the war in Iraq, saying that the United States Troops are now winning the war and that Democrats wont admit it, so they are risking compromising our national security and are risking losing the 2008 election. The member who posted this then brought up the statistic that only 31 soldiers have died this month and that this fact would support Lieberman's claim, however there were months during the last four years when the amount of soldiers who died had decreased but the war was still nowhere near being won. This post was very funny and it kept me wanting more on the topic.
The second post that I really enjoyed was called Give Me Barbie or Give Me Death! posted by the member Susan G. The federal authorities issued an advisory, informing the residents of Annapolis, Maryland that a terrorist attack is possible since the Middle East peace conference will be occuring there in the next week, however there is no credible information that an actual attack will occur. Basically, the member says, the federal government is making the residents of Maryland fearful even though there are no credible threats. Then the member quotes another article about the holiday shopping season, saying that stores want the "euphoria" of Black Friday to continue through the holiday season all the way through Christmas (though this is not realistic). The member who wrote this then comically asks what this means for those Maryland residents who have been frightened by terrorist threats to stay in their homes, but who still have that euphoric desire to shop. The conclusion that she comes to is that they could shop on the internet. I found this article to be extremely entertaining and was a great read.
Overall, I liked this blog and I thought most of the posts that were on the page were entertaining. They were political, while being funny.
Friday, November 23, 2007
All The President's Men: Great Story Line, Great Acting, Disappointing Ending
In class a couple of weeks ago we watched the movie All The President's Men starring Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman about the Watergate scandal which tainted Nixon's presidency and caused him to resign. Although the story behind this movie is a great one about the investigation of the scandal by two Washington Post journalists, Woodward and Bernstein, the movie doesn't live up to my expectations. The beginning of the movie was extremely informative about what actually occurred in the Watergate building in Washington DC and what happened to the robbers after they were caught, but it moved rather slowly. The middle of the movie picked up the pace alittle and became much more interesting as the journalists really began to investigate the scandal and uncover the truth about what happened on that day. Since the middle had picked up, I expected the end to be amazing, bringing down the President and hearing the Nixon tapes, however it was just a wire from some press service being shown as if it was being typed on the screen. I was hoping there would be some action; however, I guess I have just been programmed by action movies with big, exciting endings and that is not what All The President's Men ended with.
Back when this movie was made, everyone who was watching it knew how the story ended and had experienced the excitement surrounding the downfall of the presidency, so the movie at that point did not need a big ending. However, this movie has not been able to withstand the test of time. Most people who are 20 or younger do not know anything about Watergate except for a very broad summary of what had happened, so this movie is great at informing its audience about the actual crime and about the investigation into the scandal. The movie also does a great job at showing the audience how a newspaper is run and what journalists must go through in order to get a story published. If I had to grade this movie, I would give it a C, even though it had great acting, it was missing the action that audiences in the 21st century crave.
Back when this movie was made, everyone who was watching it knew how the story ended and had experienced the excitement surrounding the downfall of the presidency, so the movie at that point did not need a big ending. However, this movie has not been able to withstand the test of time. Most people who are 20 or younger do not know anything about Watergate except for a very broad summary of what had happened, so this movie is great at informing its audience about the actual crime and about the investigation into the scandal. The movie also does a great job at showing the audience how a newspaper is run and what journalists must go through in order to get a story published. If I had to grade this movie, I would give it a C, even though it had great acting, it was missing the action that audiences in the 21st century crave.
The "Trade Down" Holiday Season
On the front page of the New York Times website was a great article about Black Friday and retail during the current economic instability that is being faced by many Americans through out the country. The article was entitled "Retail Desperation on Display in Early Hours" and was written by Michael Barbaro. The article discusses the problem being faced by many stores since shoppers are looking only for the best deals and are willing to shop at cheaper stores than what they are accustomed to. Many of these shoppers have no choice but to shop at cheaper stores due to the uncertain economy and the rising prices of many necessities including gas and mortages. Shoppers begin planning out a course of action for the morning of Black Friday many days in advance, gathering coupons and plotting out exactly what they are getting and where in the store they need to go in order to get those items. Stores are now being forced to give out more coupons and make the sales on popular items even more dramatic than in previous years. Even though the amount of money spent on Black Sunday is supposed to increase from the amount spent in 2006, the rest of the holiday season is going to be a bust and stores will not be attracting as many shoppers as they usually do during the season.
My favorite part of this article is basically making fun of higher end stores such as Saks Fifth Ave and Neiman Marcus. The following is what Barbaro had to say about Black Friday at Saks. "At Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship store in Manhattan on Friday, fur-wearing customers swarmed around their version of door-buster deals: handbags from Marc Jacob's for $1,400 and from Zac Posen for $500." This adds a bit of comedy to the article, but one really cant compare a handbag being on sale for $1,400 to popular items being on sale at Kohl's or Macy's. Stores are going to do everything they can during the upcoming holiday season but it all might be in vain since many shoppers are not going to have the extra money to spend on presents that they might have had in past years.
My favorite part of this article is basically making fun of higher end stores such as Saks Fifth Ave and Neiman Marcus. The following is what Barbaro had to say about Black Friday at Saks. "At Saks Fifth Avenue's flagship store in Manhattan on Friday, fur-wearing customers swarmed around their version of door-buster deals: handbags from Marc Jacob's for $1,400 and from Zac Posen for $500." This adds a bit of comedy to the article, but one really cant compare a handbag being on sale for $1,400 to popular items being on sale at Kohl's or Macy's. Stores are going to do everything they can during the upcoming holiday season but it all might be in vain since many shoppers are not going to have the extra money to spend on presents that they might have had in past years.
A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila: A Good Example For Girls?
Recently I was watching the last few episodes of the MTV show A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, and I have to admit that I think it is the trashiest show I have ever seen on the television. The concept behind the show is that Tila Tequila ( a "myspace celebrity") is a bisexual so MTV set her up with 16 guys and 16 girls, and then watched the drama unfold with multiple fights and plenty of alcohol, to see whether Tila would choose a guy or a girl in the end. As I was watching the show, I realized how horrible this is for young girls to see because it gives off the impression that excessive drinking and fighting are okay and can occur without consequences. Also, as Tila and most of the lesbians walk around in clothes that are barely there, young girls might try to copy their examples. I know that I would not want my little sister to be watching this show.
At the end of the episode that aired on November 12th, two of the girls got into a fight (they had other altrications during the episode that aired on November 5th). When Brandi was given the last key, Vanessa went after her as she went to get the key (Vanessa was being thrown off). Vanessa grabbed Brandi's hair and the two ended up on the floor, and the producers and other cast members had to pull them apart. This was the second physical fight that had occured on the show as two of the guys ended up in a fight a few weeks before. This kind of behavior sets a bad example for the teenage girls who watch the show. If a thirteen year old girl is watching this show she might believe that it is okay to fight with other girls and that there wont be any consequences since neither of the girls on the show got in trouble; Vanessa got removed from the house due to the fact that she had been thrown off of the show. Also, the extreme alcohol use sets a bad example not just for girls, but for all teenagers. The entire show is based on drinking, and the title even is a play on words about alcohol (Tila's last name is Tequila and the show is called A Shot At Love; a play on a shot of tequila). Teenagers might believe that it is fine to be drinking alcohol from 10 o'clock in the morning until midnight or later. This is not a good example to be showing to teenagers, especially teenage girls who feel a constant need to fit in. I pity the parents whose daughter aspires to be just like Tila Tequila.
At the end of the episode that aired on November 12th, two of the girls got into a fight (they had other altrications during the episode that aired on November 5th). When Brandi was given the last key, Vanessa went after her as she went to get the key (Vanessa was being thrown off). Vanessa grabbed Brandi's hair and the two ended up on the floor, and the producers and other cast members had to pull them apart. This was the second physical fight that had occured on the show as two of the guys ended up in a fight a few weeks before. This kind of behavior sets a bad example for the teenage girls who watch the show. If a thirteen year old girl is watching this show she might believe that it is okay to fight with other girls and that there wont be any consequences since neither of the girls on the show got in trouble; Vanessa got removed from the house due to the fact that she had been thrown off of the show. Also, the extreme alcohol use sets a bad example not just for girls, but for all teenagers. The entire show is based on drinking, and the title even is a play on words about alcohol (Tila's last name is Tequila and the show is called A Shot At Love; a play on a shot of tequila). Teenagers might believe that it is fine to be drinking alcohol from 10 o'clock in the morning until midnight or later. This is not a good example to be showing to teenagers, especially teenage girls who feel a constant need to fit in. I pity the parents whose daughter aspires to be just like Tila Tequila.
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