16 March 10
[via Boing Boing via The Awl via Crikey via The ACIJ via being a blog-journalist is the lowest form of life on the planet.]
“2203 stories. 10 newspapers. A five day snapshot. Six months’ worth  of research. For the next fortnight, Crikey will be rolling out the  results of Spinning the Media — a joint investigation with UTS’  Australian Centre for Independent Journalism into the role that Public  Relations plays in making the media. Coverage includes in depth  interviews with editors, journalists and public relations professionals  plus features that breakdown the study into rounds like Health, Crime  and Travel.”
Yeah, that sounds about right. They teach PR and journalism at the same time in a lot of the same classes at my school (Hofstra University). Being a PR major in a journalism class is like The Joker taking crime fighting classes with Batman.
Also, if you are a blog-watchdog, you’re a really stupid person. You’re the online equivalent of the guy who circles typos in the newspaper. At least my degree in journalism was only so I could write clearer. At least I don’t think for a second I’m going to be changing or informing anyone.
In other news…

[via Boing Boing via The Awl via Crikey via The ACIJ via being a blog-journalist is the lowest form of life on the planet.]

“2203 stories. 10 newspapers. A five day snapshot. Six months’ worth of research. For the next fortnight, Crikey will be rolling out the results of Spinning the Media — a joint investigation with UTS’ Australian Centre for Independent Journalism into the role that Public Relations plays in making the media. Coverage includes in depth interviews with editors, journalists and public relations professionals plus features that breakdown the study into rounds like Health, Crime and Travel.”

Yeah, that sounds about right. They teach PR and journalism at the same time in a lot of the same classes at my school (Hofstra University). Being a PR major in a journalism class is like The Joker taking crime fighting classes with Batman.

Also, if you are a blog-watchdog, you’re a really stupid person. You’re the online equivalent of the guy who circles typos in the newspaper. At least my degree in journalism was only so I could write clearer. At least I don’t think for a second I’m going to be changing or informing anyone.

In other news…

Comments
Posted: 12:01 AM
I just thought of this video game. If I download it I will fail out of school…

I just thought of this video game. If I download it I will fail out of school…

Comments
14 March 10
I finally got around to reading all of them. I don’t like pirating comic books because I like supporting the ones I like but I caved and downloaded all 8.
Kick-Ass is the type of comic that is so brilliant it makes you think “oh yeah, I could write this.” Even though you definitely couldn’t.

I finally got around to reading all of them. I don’t like pirating comic books because I like supporting the ones I like but I caved and downloaded all 8.

Kick-Ass is the type of comic that is so brilliant it makes you think “oh yeah, I could write this.” Even though you definitely couldn’t.

Comments
8 March 10

I think next week I’m going to dedicate Student Loans For Beer Money

to talking about mid-2000’s screamo. Because it’s funny and annoying.

Comments
6 March 10

i got in this big fight with some girl tonight

who kept telling me she was in PR and that I couldn’t argue with her about how shitty Warped Tour bands nowadays were. She kept telling me about This Time Next Year and Set Your Goals and Attack Attack and The Devil Wears Prada. And every time I countered her points she asked who I had written for.

I admitted nowhere really, that I’m interning at a place in the city, a website. And then I said that my credentials don’t change the fact Warped Tour when I was in High School was something (choreographed) but essentially raw and thrown together and how now, regardless of the genres that are popular it isn’t that anymore. And that’s the problem with all the new bands out right now. I mean Of Mice And Men makes Senses Fail on “Let This Enfold You” sound like Drive Like Jehu.

But she kept asking how I could say that, asking where I’ve written. She told me she’s written pieces for AP Magazine. And I’ll admit I had had a good amount of rum at the time but I finally pounded on the table and said:

“I’m allowed to say what I think because I actually like music and because I’m a fan, unlike people in PR. The difference is fucking money” (more or less…)

I mean if you think about it, criticism means nothing. It solves nothing, it changes nothing, it affects no one and  at the end of the day you’re just a fan that writes out your thoughts and people want to read it.

If you think you’re ever more than that you’re a sociopath and an idiot.

Tags: rants
Comments
5 March 10

inothernews:

Free will is an illusion, biologist says

azspot:

As Cashmore explains, the human brain acts at both the conscious level as well as the unconscious. It’s our consciousness that makes us aware of our actions, giving us the sense that we control them, as well. But even without this awareness, our brains can still induce our bodies to act, and studies have indicated that consciousness is something that follows unconscious neural activity. Just because we are often aware of multiple paths to take, that doesn’t mean we actually get to choose one of them based on our own free will. As the ancient Greeks asked, by what mechanism would we be choosing? The physical world is made of causes and effects - “nothing comes from nothing” - but free will, by its very definition, has no physical cause. The Roman philosopher and poet Lucretius, in reference to this problem of free will, noted that the Greek philosophers concluded that atoms “randomly swerve” - the likely source of this movement being the numerous Greek gods.

I refuse to believe this.

Yeah, when I realized this things got a lot different. But if you don’t believe it you can’t believe in math or science or any of those other pesky ideas that require “1+1” to equal “2”.

EDIT: Not that I like magically came up with the idea, someone told me, thought about it, made more sense.

Reblogged: inothernews

Comments
2 March 10
Obama will never take away our freedom.

Obama will never take away our freedom.

Tags: rants realtalk
Comments
Posted: 1:09 AM

so tonight

there was this band named freelance whalers and they opened and my offical review is due tomorrow, but like i felt like i needed to rant about them now. they were really tight and they sounded great but i feel like in their 25min set they summed up everything wrong with indie rock:

-they made heavy use of a banjo
-the lead singer looked like mark ruffalo from “the brother’s bloom”
-their xylophone player (yes… xylophone) looked like abhed from “community”
-girl bassist…
-took time out of their set to advertise a 7 inch they were putting out…
-they all looked bored.

it’s like if you’re gonna play music at least be kinda pumped you get to, right?

i’ll probably soften up before my deadline but man… Brooklyn sucks.

Tags: rants
Comments
22 February 10

Yo, I made a tumblr for Hofstra’s paper

In my continuing quest to homebrew an online presence I made a Chronicle tumblr.

It’s RSS linked to our three Twitter accounts, our Flickr, and our Youtube. Which is essentially a long winded way of saying if you ever wanna know what we’re doing anywhere on the internet, that’s the best way to do it. There’s more stuff coming and if you don’t go to Hofstra it’s probsbly not interesting but either way, there ya go:

The Hofstra Chronicle tumblr

Comments
20 February 10

Women.

  • chikkachikkayeah: women are not scary
  • Ryan Broderick: yes, you all are
  • Ryan Broderick: you're all a bunch of psychotic birds that lay eggs and make nests and turn men into pets!
  • chikkachikkayeah: brb im planning my wedding
  • Ryan Broderick: go to hell
  • chikkachikkayeah: sorry, OUR wedding.
  • Ryan Broderick: i hate you
Comments
Posted: 2:21 PM
theangryprojectionist:

emcum:

nevercompletely:

kurttastic:

lobstermobster:

quetard:

rollrightover:

i think most of you are too much of babbies to remember surge but i loved this shit.

that shit was so fucking good

i never really understood the attraction.
it was okay

I remember stores not being allowed to sell it by the time I had heard of it

This defined my childhood. I miss it.

surge was pretty much my favorite soda summer of ‘98. we went to canada on vacation and it was all i drank because they were crazy about it up there. damn, now i want one.

It’s still around.  It’s called Vault now

I’m not sure if this is related but one time I went to White Castle I ate like 4 hamburgers and bag of fries and had a big thing of Vault and literally pooped a solid brick.
I’m not sure if the Vault was to blame.
I was also really high.
Yeah…

theangryprojectionist:

emcum:

nevercompletely:

kurttastic:

lobstermobster:

quetard:

rollrightover:

i think most of you are too much of babbies to remember surge but i loved this shit.

that shit was so fucking good

i never really understood the attraction.

it was okay

I remember stores not being allowed to sell it by the time I had heard of it

This defined my childhood. I miss it.

surge was pretty much my favorite soda summer of ‘98. we went to canada on vacation and it was all i drank because they were crazy about it up there. damn, now i want one.

It’s still around.  It’s called Vault now

I’m not sure if this is related but one time I went to White Castle I ate like 4 hamburgers and bag of fries and had a big thing of Vault and literally pooped a solid brick.

I’m not sure if the Vault was to blame.

I was also really high.

Yeah…

Reblogged: theangryprojectionist

Comments
Posted: 11:54 AM
Eating an apple, listening to the smiths, using a macbook in a bus station, I am everything I hated in high school.

Eating an apple, listening to the smiths, using a macbook in a bus station, I am everything I hated in high school.

Comments
19 February 10
[Gets on soapbox]
Now, I’m sorry if you like Gawker but I don’t. I’ll be very clear about that. And their piece on the Family Guy vs. Sarah Palin Vs. Down Syndrome-gate sums why the best (I’m going to be putting “gate” after every news story I report on now because it’s what we do in the blogosphere).
They published the full email that the down syndrome actress from the most recent Family Guy episode sent to news outlets and COMPLETELY missed the point. They make it into some dig at the New York Times for not publishing it in full.
“The Times, however, stops at “my parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life.” They must have done the calculations and figured that being able to interview Sarah Palin in the future was worth more than printing Friedman’s awesome email in full.”
Yo, fuck you Gawker, I don’t work at The Times but if I had to venture a guess as to why they didn’t publish her letter in full is that, while amusing, it’s an incredibly tacky thing for a news outlet to publish. Not to mention unfounded and mildly libelous.
God I fucking hate Gawker. Gizmodo and IO9 are cool though.

[Gets on soapbox]

Now, I’m sorry if you like Gawker but I don’t. I’ll be very clear about that. And their piece on the Family Guy vs. Sarah Palin Vs. Down Syndrome-gate sums why the best (I’m going to be putting “gate” after every news story I report on now because it’s what we do in the blogosphere).

They published the full email that the down syndrome actress from the most recent Family Guy episode sent to news outlets and COMPLETELY missed the point. They make it into some dig at the New York Times for not publishing it in full.

“The Times, however, stops at “my parents raised me to have a sense of humor and to live a normal life.” They must have done the calculations and figured that being able to interview Sarah Palin in the future was worth more than printing Friedman’s awesome email in full.”

Yo, fuck you Gawker, I don’t work at The Times but if I had to venture a guess as to why they didn’t publish her letter in full is that, while amusing, it’s an incredibly tacky thing for a news outlet to publish. Not to mention unfounded and mildly libelous.

God I fucking hate Gawker. Gizmodo and IO9 are cool though.

Comments
Posted: 10:27 AM

Reblogged: deadendfriends

Comments
Posted: 9:55 AM
I dunno if I wanna start using it. It reminds of me “Enemy Of The State” where Lex Luthor uses satelites to spy on The Fresh Prince.

I dunno if I wanna start using it. It reminds of me “Enemy Of The State” where Lex Luthor uses satelites to spy on The Fresh Prince.

Tags: rants
Comments
Themed by Hunson. Originally by Josh