A Deadly Trend

Planking is extremely popular in Australia, with a growing Facebook page of currently 130,315 "likes." Photos posted on the "Planking Australia" Facebook page show people lying across bookshelves, in front of the Eiffel Tower, and on top of fences, etc. As fun as planking may seem, it is extremely dangerous as people attempt to outdo each other, taking bigger risks on where they plank. The death of a 20- year- old Australian man, Acton Beale, was caused because he attempted to plank on a narrow apartment balcony, falling seven stories to his death. On YouTube, a how-to video on planking even exists. I believe planking was meant to be a fun activity, but is now being taken over board. Would you guys Plank? Or do you think it's stupid that i even ask? Let me know what you think.

LINKS:

Planking Australia Facebook Page

Planking Video on YouTube

Coming in September-iPhone 4S

Rumor has it that Apple will be coming out with a new phone, iPhone 4S in September. There is also a rumor that Apple will expanding their carriers to Sprint, T-Mobile, and China Mobile by the end of the year. iPhone 4S, will include minor cosmetic changes, a better camera, and A5 dual-core processor.Supposively you can see the version of the white one in stores already and hopefully by the time this comes out my contract on my Crack berry ends, so i can upgrade. Who will be getting the new iPhone, and possibly on a different network?

BYE, BYE, PRINT

I've said it before, and i'll say it again, "Apple Rules the World!" As print slowly disappears, Conde Nast will be offering magazine subscriptions on the iPad, joining Hearst and Time,Inc. The yearly cost of a subscription as an iPad subscriber, is cheaper than being a print subscriber. Although, print subscribers have access to use the iPad edition for free. You can currently subscribe to The New Yorker, on your iPad, for $5.99 a month or $59.99 for the year, and print subscriptions cost $69.99 a year. This makes me wonder if magazine companies want to go digital and nix print production altogether. As a print subscriber, I do not want to pay more than digital users. I think the cost of both subscriptions should be the same, if I have to pay more than the digital subscribers I might as well hop on board. I know it may cost a little more for print production, but it's the traditional way. Shouldn't traditional subscribers be recognized for their loyalty? Let me know if I'm the only one complaining about paying an extra $10 bucks? (I'm a broke college student, that extra $10 bucks can be lunch $$$ for two days!)LOL.

"Magical Chair"- Cut Chair

(Photo taken from Mashable.com)

Remember believing in magic tricks as a kid!(lol) Magicians pulled things out of his hat, and left you speechless. Well this "magical chair" might do the same for you.(lol) It looks pretty weird, but how the heck does it work? Any ideas?

My guess is the mat below it is what kept it up, what do you guys think? (comment below)

Click:To Figure Out How The Chair Works

Osama Bin Laden Is DEAD

After the tragic attack on 9/11, almost ten years later, the President address's the nation with victory.The Al Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden, announced by President Obama is finally pronounced to be dead. This moment is considered to be joyous news for families who have suffered greatly because of this attack. As people celebrated the death of Bin Laden yesterday in Times Square, I can only wonder... does this mean our soldiers will finally be coming home safely? Will our economy improve,since less money should be spent on these operations? Will the price of gas become more affordable? Our countries victory leaves me wondering if we we'll be safe.

Links Below:

Obama Announces Death of Osama bin Laden

Osama Bin Laden's Liar- Where he was killed

Tornado in Alabama

I could not imagine waking up one morning and all I had left were the clothes on my back. The tornado that occurred in Alabama, as well as, Arkansas and Mississippi, destroyed many homes leaving 333 people dead. Schools, and businesses were also destroyed, from elementary schools to Universities;The University of Alabama had to end the semester due to the tornado, as well as push graduation back to August. These people are left with no electricity and unsafe drink water. I was extremely worried, because I have family living in Alabama, thankfully they are all safe, but their are thousands of people in dire need of our help.

To Donate Click Below:

Donate to Red Cross for Alabama

Make a Gift to The University of Alabama

Monday Morning Madness

After reading the NY Metro this morning, I came across two interesting topics I couldn't go on without mentioning-

Man pingpongs for new teeth & Stomped to death.

Man pingpongs for new teeth,- At first I found this headline quiet funny, but Jamie Mandel is a Brooklyn bartender who lost his teeth in a car crash. In an attempt to raise $35,000, he will be playing pingpong for 15 hours straight at B61 next Saturday. Opponents will be charged $20 each. I will attend this event next Saturday to see what the outcome is like.

Stomped to death, on a more serious and sad note, trying to help others may not be worth the risk. Quinton Guerroro,a 61 year old man, was stomped to death after trying to break up a fight between a man and woman. Guerroro, who was only trying to help, intervened in the dispute, and the man and woman turned on him, as a result he was repeated kicked. Guerroro was severely beaten, died at Lincoln Hospital. and the couple was charged with murder. SMH - You must take responsibility for your actions.

The Royal Wedding

The big day is only a few days away! :D (I'm so excited) The Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton will take place on Friday, April 29th, at the the Westminster Abbey(It's a gorgeous church).The reception, hosted by the Queen, will take place at Buckingham Palace. Since I wasn't invited to Ms.Middleton's wedding (LOL), I will be viewing the live stream from my bed on The Royal Channel on youtube. The wedding begins at 10AM London time, which is 5AM EDT, so yes, I will be waking up early to watch the wedding before class.(lol). For all you Twitter fans, tweeting and the use of cellphones will not be allowed at the Westminster Abbey, since a signal-blocking technology will be installed in an attempt to cut down on information being release before the ceremony begins. Canada Post will also be issuing two stamps of the couple , on April 29th, to celebrate their wedding.Keep in mind that the last Royal Wedding stamp by Canada Post was in 1948 (I don't think my Mom was even born yet!)LOL.

Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace

LINKS:

THE ROYAL CHANNEL

THE ROYAL WEDDING WEBSITE

Transgender Discrimination

>Polis being dragged by her hair.

Chrissy Lee Polis, 22, a transgender woman, is the victim of a hate crime that occurred at a local McDonald's in Baltimore. The attack was videotaped by a McDonald's employee, and has been all over the internet since, with thousands of views. The video shows Polis brutally beaten by two females - a 14-year- old and an 18-year-old. Polis was dragged by her hair, punched, and kicked in the head. The McDonald's employee who is responsible for this video has been fired. I don't understand why people didn't help this woman! The employees shown in the video were males and instead of attempting to break up the fight, stand by doing nothing.

Based on the Baltimore Sun, the females were arrested; the 14-year-old on a juvenile assault charge and for the 18-year-old female, charges have not yet been filed. The Baltimore County prosecutors will decide by this week whether they will charge the females as a hate crime or an assault charge. I support the females being charged as a hate crime, because this incident is really sad. No one should be discriminated against based on sexual orientation, that should be their personal choice.

Links Below:

WATCH: Chrissy Lee Polis Speaks Out about the Attack

If you must watch the video of the attack, Click Here

Baltimore Sun Article

GAP'S Mobile Discount

SHOPPER'S ALERT!

To receive real time discounts and promotions from Gap, via text message, you must sign-up for Gap Mobile 4U online. Gap Mobile 4U, is a program created by the partnership of Gap and Visa. Shop at Gap and use you Visa card to receive extra discounts. After signing up for Gap Mobile 4U, customers will receive text-based offers for Gap, but they must meet the program criteria to redeem the offers. For example, a customer might have to shop within a specific Zip Code, or within a certain period of time, to receive the discounts.It may seem like a hassle, especially for only two discounts per week, but for any Gap shoppers, saving money in these economic times is a big deal to me! That extra $5 could be my lunch money.(Literally). I also recently received my first Visa credit, interest free for an entire year (big smile) and this is so much motivation for me to sign-up for Gap Mobile 4U! :)

LINK:

Sign Up For Gap Mobile 4U

Mets vs. Astros

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Today I went to my first baseball game at Citi Field. It was a great experience, and the METS WON! The field was surrounded with different ads from companies such as Delta, Verizon, Geico, Citi Bank, Subway, Dunkin Donuts, Bob's Furniture, and the list goes on. In between innings, numerous commercials were advertised. They even had the heart-shaped screen, where you would kiss your partner or the person sitting next to you (Just like the movies). I am extremely shocked that Social Media was not promoted at the game, as I anticipated. There was no promotion of the use of electronic social media at all. Both teams, as well as Citi Field, did not promote the use of live feed through Twitter or Facebook. The Mets own an active and verified twitter account but their public relations team did not encourage baseball fans to follow them on twitter or post pictures or comments about the game. This was an opportunity for the Mets to get hundreds of new followers, and pictures on their page. It appears like a HR person runs the Mets twitter account, because during the game there were NO LIVE FEED POSTS or Pictures. The Met’s Twitter page had three tweets after the game was over, which were all links to articles with the highlights of the game, very non-conversational. Social Media is way too popular not to be utilized in the correct way.

Citi Field

At the Game

Mets Tweets

Thoughts on Social Media and its affect on Social Interactions

I recently read an interesting article on the web and its affect on social interactions and was very intrigued at how it has changed society as a whole. Especially the affect on our younger generation and how they'll grow up with this new found platform of interaction i.e.. Facebook, Twitter. I remember growing up and not ever really interacting with kids my age unless they were at school or outside my house playing. Nowadays kids as young as 8 and 9 have access to these social platforms and it completely changes the way our younger generation will grow up. Will this lead to better social skills? More dependence on technology as a means communication?

“Rather than looking to experience life outside the home, study tours, and interact through face to face with others, children are more obsessed with social networking. And, this unconsciously shape their attitude and personality,”by David Rapheal.

It's still a bit premature to answer these questions, but it's still intriguing to think how human interaction will evolve with new technologies.

Here's the article I read into:

Click Here

Who Will Rule The Smartphone Market By 2012-Android or Apple?

Gartner, a market research firm has predicted that within the next few years, the Android operating system will be leading the smartphone industry. The predictions state that by 2012, Android will hold 49.9% of the smartphone market.

I think Android is being extremely optimistic! I am currently supporting Team BlackBerry, but I will be joining Team iPhone when my contract ends. I believe Apple will conquer all. Seriously, there's an App for everything these days. What do you think? And who do you support? Team iPhone, BlackBerry, Evo, etc.

The First iPad News Magazine For Kids!

If you guys haven't heard yet, there is actually a News Magazine App designed on the iPad, made for kids, and it's called Timbuktu. The statement, " NEWS Magazine and Kids," was so crazy to me at first. I would never think in a million years that children would have an interest in reading or watching the news. As a child, I grew up on cartoons and Barbie, not the New York Times and CNN. The new generation will be well educated and aware of what goes on in the world around them, which is rare these days.

Timbuktu makes it easy and entertaining for kids to understand complex issues. For example, with everything that occurred in India recently, the app simplifies this in a way kids can grab the concept of what's happening.

(Image taken from Mashable.com)

As you can see, Timbuktu uses bold colors and pictures to draw the readers in, which is excellent for kids, and is still extremely educational.

For more information on Timbuktu, watch their Youtube video.