...thoughts and opinions of a journalsim student...

Not So Fat

2007-12-05T12:15:00.001-08:00

A size two Jennifer Love Hewitt was photographed playing along a Hawaiian shore in a black bikini with her new fiance Ross McCall. The pictures began popping up on the Internet and soon the criticism began. The curvy 28 year old came to not only her defense but to girls and women all over.

“I’ve sat by in silence for a long time now about the way women’s bodies are constantly scrutinized. To set the record straight, I’m not upset for me, but for all the girls out there that are struggling with their body image," Hewitt posted on her website.
I completely agree with Hewitt. I've blogged on this subject before, and it gets to me every time. Why is America obsessed with scrutinizing women's bodies?

Stop America!

As Hewitt put it, "To all the girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist put on a bikini — put it on and stay strong!”

For the Lobster Lovers

2007-11-27T15:47:00.000-08:00

I love lobster. I love my money. Why pay 34 dollars for a pound and a half lobster when you can get it as cheap as 11.99?

Yes my friends, it's true. You don't have to break the bank to get your hands on a steamed sea-cockroach. As a lobster lover, I've done all the footwork necessary to let you in on the great deals.

1. Publix. For 11.99 you can get yourself a live Maine lobster. Yes, you have to steam it yourself, but if you plan on having quite a few friends over for dinner, it's a great idea. Much cheaper than going out to your local seafood restaurant where a bill can add up quickly.

2. Boynton Beach Ale House. On Monday and Wednesday nights, the Ale House offers a pound and a quarter lobster with any side for 14.99. Try the mash potatoes and gravy. Also, on Wednesday nights, ladies drink free!

3. Station House. Located on Lantana Rd., the Station House has two pound and quarter lobsters for 22.95 before 5 PM.

4. Lake Worth Rum Shack. On Tuesday nights, you can get a pound and a quarter lobster plus a side for.
Get a pitcher of beer to go with it, and you have yourself a meal.

5. Bizarre Avenue Cafe. A fancy place with inexpensive lobsters on Tuesday nights. For 19.99 you can get a pound and a quarter lobster plus a side and a salad. Upstairs only.

Monopoly Fans!

2007-11-13T17:14:00.000-08:00

The classic game of Monopoly, created in 1935 by Charles Darrow, has been morphed into more than 100 different genres. As an avid player, also known as "the hat," I decided to do my research and seek out a "top five" list.

5. MAKE-YOUR-OWN-OPOLY: Construct a custom made board game by using just a pen and scissors or produce a production quality board game by using your PC and any simple color printer. Just think of the possibilities...

4. NINTENDO-OPOLY: Now you can buy, sell and trade your favorite Nintendo characters for a whole new game-playing experience.

3. NIGHT SKY MONOPOLY: Become an astronaut for an hour or two! Move around the game board as you purchase comets, planets, star clusters, nebulae and galaxies and build observatories.

2. GHETTO-OPOLY: Tasteless? Offensive? Maybe. That won't stop me from buying it. Instead of houses and hotels, ghettos and projects are built. The railroads are substituted by liquor stores, and the boardwalk becomes a strip club. I dib the piece of crack rock as my piece.

1. TRIOPOLY: Triopoly adds exciting new dimensions and game-playing strategies as players build financial empires across three different levels. You gotta see it to believe it! (Below)

Buckle up, it's the Law. Except...

2007-11-06T20:07:00.000-08:00

Picture this:
You're taking a quick cruise down I-95, a little late for work but you're not sweating it just yet. All of a sudden you look in your rearview and see "the man" tailing you. Before you know it, those red and blue lights start dancing in unison with that ear-piercing siren. You're being pulled over. After a 45 minute stop, you find yourself with a speeding ticket along with a seatbelt violation. Oops.

But as you're pulling back onto the highway, a driver on a motorcycle breezes by you.

Question: Why are car drivers held responsible for wearing seatbelts while motorcycle drivers don't even need to wear a helmet, let alone a seatbelt. But yet it's legal?

As long as cars and motorcycles share the same roads, I believe the same laws should apply to every automobile driver. What exactly makes the difference? I decided to ask my father, Frank Kreidler, a lawyer for over 35 years. "It's just one of those things that can't be explained Kimmy, what can I say?"

If anyone knows the answer to this question, please don't leave me hanging. I'd like to know.

Bud Fans: Beware

2007-10-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

Beer. Some people hate it, others love it. While beer in college is usually related to wild "frat parties" in copious amounts of irresponsible craziness, there are a select few college students who like to actually taste our beer, not inhale it.

For the adventurous beer drinkers like me, here's a few I highly recommend.

Caution: If you're strictly Bud or Miller, do not attempt to try these beers.

5. Craft beers are finding their way to major supermarkets, such as Publix and Winn Dixie. Flying D o g, which is being featured at Publix, features multiple variates ranging from
Porters to Ales. "Good Beer. No Shit." Try my favorite, "In-Heat-Wheat."

4. Eye of the Hawk. A great one for an afternoon tailgating. "The Harley Davidson of American beers" boasts the Mendocino Brewing Company. Rich body and deep flavor.

3. St. Pauli Girl. "With three special brews, there's a St. Pauli Girl for you!"An imported German beer. My favorite, St. Pauli Girl Special Dark, is smooth with a rich malty taste. (Be prepared with your date of birth to enter the web site- 21 and up only.)

2. Modelo. You Corona lovers have to try this one. Related in origin (soy de Mejico), Modelo is known in Mexico as the "elite of beers" (la crema de la cerveza). For extra umph, try Modelo Dark.

1. Val-Dieu Brown. A Belgian beer for those who love thick, dark beers. Almost a meal, the mouth is bombarded with coffee, mocha and chocolate tastes. At 8 percent alcohol volume, a few of these and you'll be set. You can find this gem at Beer World in Boca Raton.

Me and my number one (below).

Mother Nature Marks her Territory

2007-10-23T19:40:00.000-07:00

Sophomore Carlos Matias carefully sits down on a thick sea wall behind his condo just north of Lantana beach.Strong ocean winds whip around the small 15-by-15 back porch as waves lap along the cracked white wall where the beach has disappeared (above).

"It's extremely unfortunate. The sea wall here at the Imperial House has sustained such major damage during recent storms that it just gave in," Matias explains. "And as a result of the collapsing wall, my backyard itself has sunken three feet. It can be scary at times."

Matias is seeking his degree at Florida Atlantic University through the Environmental Sciences certificate program. "My passion is in environmental health. It's a hands on issue, and the program here at FAU allows students to research and explore environmental topics through a broadly-based interdisciplinary program."

Matias walks barefoot through the sinking grass to his concrete patio, where roommate Kristine McKean looks at old photos of the Imperial House.

Leafing through the tattered brown album McKean says, "my grandfather and grandmother purchased this condo in the 1960s. I love living on the beach, but the state and county need to agree on a permanent solution to this erosion. It's a serious matter that has plagued this area for years."

Such solutions are what Matias wants to per sue after graduation. "I basically want to mediate the fight between Mother Nature and human life.Whether its erosion or pollution, I would enjoy a career that addresses these problems," says Matias.

Along Lantana Beach, the ocean has almost swallowed all of a dune system that Palm Beach County constructed to shield the condos from the pounding surf. In June, 6,750 cubic yards of sand was placed from the south end of the Lantana municipal beach to the Horizon East condo near the northern limit of South Palm Beach. Now, 96 to 97 percent of the project had been washed out.

"When working with or in a marine environment your work conditions and tasks vary from working in the marine environment itself, gathering information and or specimens to working in a laboratory studying microorganisms under a microscope. In this profession, it is not uncommon to spend weeks aboard are search vessel working around the clock," Matias explains.

"It's a broad line of work. Close friends of mine that have already graduated have found successful careers in environmental conservation, fisheries protection, water management and environmental consultancies," says Matias.

Becoming a marine biologist doesn't happen overnight. "It takes years of hard studying, a soul for the job and dedication," advises Matias.

And as for the fractured sea wall, Matias point out, "For the time-being, the county has decided to ask the state Department of Environmental Protection for permission to rebuild the dune system this winter."

Beach erosion is an endless battle between humans and Mother Nature. As humans we create our environment and expect it to be as is— forever. But this is not so and we need to realize it. The truth is erosion will torment us for as long as human kind roams this planet and we will eventually have to accept it.

Our beaches are constantly eroding every day, slowly and steadily. Sometimes even right before our eyes. People panic and expect some sort of solution to fix or prevent the matter. The fact of the matter is there is no real permanent solution to stop or fix this. A sea wall can be put up; sand can be pumped from out of state to replace a beach that was once there; jetties and rocks can be placed to divert current and water flow in an area to help slow the erosion process, but all in all it is something that we just need to deal with and most of all-understand. In my opinion, we are in the hands of Mother Nature and we need to play her game not ours.

Questions for the President

2007-10-16T13:18:00.000-07:00

In high school, we were told to be quiet, listen, believe everything and question nothing.
In college, we are taught to speak out, think for ourselves, trust nothing and question everything.

My mind has never been able to fully wrap around the concept of "pro-life" versus "pro-choice." Is the term "pro-life" a term coined by a right-wing conservative that had hopes of making "pro-choice" believers look as if they are "pro-death?" Who knows.

But I do have some serious questions for the man in the White House.

In 2003 you signed the Partial Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 (shown below). Did you not realize the Act contained no exception to protect the mother's health? Also, this picture worries me. A group of men, laughing and patting each other on the back-- not a woman to be seen.

What's the deal with the anti-abortionists bombing abortion clinics? Couldn't that be translated to-- you should have been aborted x-number of years ago?

But here's a tough one for our president. You are pro-life when it comes to abortion, even revoking funds for stem-cell research due to its "moral issues." Yet, you support the death penalty. In your five years of governor of Texas, the state executed 131 prisoners-- far more than any other state. It doesn't add up. How can this be explained?

Abortion was made legal for a reason, we all know the story behind Roe vs. Wade. If it were ever overturned, it would only mean that those seeking abortion would end up in clinics that aren't inspected by health services, with "doctor's" that don't even need degrees. Thus only making matters worse, and endangering the lives of women who simply cannot have or care for a child for whatever reason.

A Different Perspective on Britney

2007-10-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

Anyone in the past month who has turned on the TV or signed online has most likely been bombarded with “Britney News.” It’s always the same negative criticism and disapproval.

She drinks too much.
She’s out too late. She’s in and out of rehab.
She’s getting fat. She’s simply an all-out train wreck.

It’s as if we all are skinny, drop-dead gorgeous saints. Enough is enough.

Britney bashing has become an epidemic here in the United States.

But really it’s the latest blow to Britney that really got my wheels spinning. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of the 25 year-old pop singer, but I’m sure as hell not one to kick someone while their down. But now ex-husband Kevin Federline now has custody of their two sons, 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James after Spears was found driving without a valid California license.

Is this because Federline (left) never drinks? Does he never drug? Surely he never parties till the break of dawn, right?

Yeah, right. But hey, it’s ok if he does it.

Also, what was up with the twice-weekly drug tests that Spears was ordered to submit, while Federline had zero?

This is one bizarre ruling.

Flavor Flav for President

2007-09-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

Name: William Jonathan Drayton, Jr.
Also known as: Flavor Flaaav
DOB: 3/16/1959
Party: All the time
Credentials: Member of the politically conscious hip-hop group Public Enemy.

I think he could definitely pull it off. Clock and all.

If you're also a super Flav fan, don't forget to check out Flavor of Love Season 3, which is still casting. Flav will once again narrow down 20 beautiful girls down to that "special one," el Bachelor style.

If you're a super SUPER Flav fan, VH1 is now accepting applications. You could be the one!

GEICO Gecko: Here nor there?

2007-09-25T12:36:00.000-07:00

The reptilian mascot for GEICO, the GEICO Gecko (left), recently stirred up a debate at a recent get together with friends. “A controversy over a computer animated creature?” you may ask, but I ask you this: are his promises of “saving you money” spoken with an Australian or English accent?

Dead-set in personal opinions, the argument began. Those believing that the gecko must be an Aussie from “down under” felt that the words “ay mate” spoke for themselves. Also, the simple fact that geckos are known to roam the luscious island of Australia strengthened their statement. But their opposition was far from weak.

Those that maintained the gecko was British supported their claim with a deadly weapon: the voice for the GEICO Gecko is that of Jake Wood, English actor and comedian. Still, this wasn’t enough to prove either side “right.”

Referring to GEICO.com, we tracked down the GEICO Gecko’s blog. According to the gecko himself, “everybody has to sound like something,” and concludes that he is neither here nor there. “As for me, I'm not concerned with geography or nationality. I'll just continue to "accent" the savings with GEICO!”

Maybe GEICO doesn’t want to stereotype him as one or the other in fear of repercussion. Either way, I still think he’s an Aussie. Not to mention handsome.

To Satisfy My Sweet Tooth

2007-09-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

Anyone familiar with the MTV reality show Run's House? You know, the ghetto-fabulous daily life of rapper and hip-hop music pioneer Joseph Simmons a.k.a. "Reverand Run?" If so, I'm sure you're familiar with his two lovely daughters, Vanessa and Angela Simmons.

Well, the beautiful and talented duo launched a delicious new sneaker line called "Pastry Footwear." And when I say delicious, I mean delicious.

The new line features a "Cake Collection" with tasty sounding names such as Strawberry Shortcake, Chocolate Mouse, Red Velvet and Sprinkles (above).

As if that's not yummy enough, each sneaker has a tube of lip-gloss that comes along with the purchase that corresponds with the shoe's "flavor." Plus it won't bust your bank, each pair is set at 65 bucks.

I will stop at nothing to get these bad-boys (or bad-girls?) into my custody.

If you've got a sweet tooth yourself, check them out at Dr Jays.

A Journalistic Duty: My thoughts on naming rape victims in media

2007-09-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

Covering rape as a journalist is a sensitive, ethical issue. Many questions should be posed within the mind of a reporter, as there are a myriad of factors to take into consideration while making the decision of whether to print a rape victims name or not. The name is usually part of public record and thus not private, so a large amount of responsibility lies in hands of the reporters and editors. Those of us wanting to become reporters and journalists may be faced with this issue, thus it is an imperative subject to analyze.

Yet this dilemma is far from new. Violent crimes have been the meat and potatoes of daily American newspapers since the mid-1800s. It was then that the penny presses first produced their lurid accounts of violence and murder and it was then, in 1833, that the first crime beat was established by a newspaper, the New York Sun, according to James Shuman and Ed Galdrikian’s Historical Outline of American Journalism. To this day, the media still seems to be obsessed with exposing violent crimes, including rape.

It is known that the way some publications and television stations operate today; putting the name in the public press is equivalent to assaulting the victim again.

While the issue of stigmatization still exists, some journalists look toward the bigger picture of the effect naming could possibly have on society's overall view of rape victims. There is the suggestion that the shielding of accusers implies a need for "keeping them hidden, as though they are somehow damaged, which in turn opens the door for detractors to label their reluctance to step forward as an indication that the charge is false," argues Feminism.com. While keeping victims protected from the media is beneficial in some ways, the very act can cause harm, due to the fact that it possibly feeds into the cycle that there is something to be ashamed of.

Because of the intrinsically competitive nature of newspapers, when a “hot” story breaks, the papers must desperately try to outdo each other and their broadcast rivals in scoops and timing, where the moral of naming of victims falls by the wayside. This competition puts such pressure on editors and writers that we tend to take short cuts—without stopping to think about the subtle implications of what we write. In either lack or time or in order to have the “better” story they may unethically print the name.

Also, no reporter is an empty vessel. Everyone brings a set of opinions, morals, and prejudices to his or her work, and these often leak into a story.

As long as the press is still stereotyping sex crime victims as “virgins or vamps,” it will continue to do the public irreparable harm.

If I were to come across this predicament in my work or studies, I would say the choice lies in the hands of the victim. Would she feel as if she would be victimized again by the publication of her name? Would she fear the fact that society may judge her to be as guilty as the rapist? Would others not come forward due to fear of their names being publicized? Or would she feel that she should not be ashamed and give consent to use her name?

It her solely her choice if she wants to be named or not.

No one would know how they would answer to any of these questions until they have been victimized themselves. And I would like to make it clear—no choice a victim makes is better than another.

As journalists, we generally write a story and move on. Those we write about will be forever connected to that story. We have a duty to show great compassion and concern.

We, as journalists, need to read the research of psychologists, sociologists and criminologists who have purposefully studied sexual assault and its impact on victims. We need to listen to rape crisis counselors and law enforcement officers who deal with this issue in real time. And we certainly need to hear the voices of the women and men who are the victims of sexual assault.

With more knowledge and education, we will be better suited to make these life-changing decisions.

Organ Donation

2007-09-04T13:49:00.000-07:00

Take out your driver’s license wherever that may be and give it a close look. Do you see the words “organ donor” in tiny letters on the bottom of your card? If so, I applaud you, you may very well one day be able to “give the gift of life.”

People of all ages are suffering from fatal diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis and Cardiomyopathy, amongst many other deadly illnesses. They each hold a vital spot on the national transplant list, as for most it is their last hope. As of 4:21 today, September 4, 2007, there are 97,151 children and adults waiting on various organs here in the United States, according to http://www.organdonor.gov/.

Each organ and tissue donor saves or improves the lives of as many as 50 people. While the organ donor’s family is dealing with the tragic loss of their loved one, many say that knowing other lives have been saved helped them cope with the grief and sorrow.
Become an organ donor today. To get more information on how to register go to http://organdonor.gov/donor/registry.shtm.

I would give you mine.