Love in Bloom... Again

This Thursday in Carver Hall at  9:30pm is the premiere of Love in Bloom Again, the sequel to Love in Bloom which premiered last spring semester. The creator of the script for the short film Love in Bloom is Bloomsburg University employee Michael Digiorgio, Mike works closely with many student working of the Mass Communication department and decided to recruit them for these short stories. Love in Bloom is stories everybody has in college so no matter what you can relate to the story, not to mention its hilarious. The best part of all of this is that student directed, shot, and acted in each scene. This project really give the students of the Mass Communications department a chance to work on a fun and interesting project with creative freedom. I actually had a small role in one of the scenes where I got the chance to act with me boyfriend. I don't want to dish any details but the scene is a wacky comedy kinda love story? well you will just have to check it out if you are in the Bloomsburg area. 

Tehran's Air Pollution

            The article I looked at was about Tehran's air pollution due to its very large population and geographic features. In the article it explains that like Los Angels, Tehran is surrounded by mountains keeping the toxic air in but that Tehran pollution is 4 times worse than that of Los Angles.  What makes this situation worse is the sanctions on refined gasoline imposed by the United States has made the people in Iran resort  to making their own gasoline which has much worse admissions known as "bathtub gas".

            The politics of the region around oil and gasoline have a direct connection with the environmental problems facing Iran's capital. Due to Iran's economic situation Iranian people are forced to make cheaper environmentally threatening decisions i.e. "bathtub gas". What this means for the people of Tehran are major health implications from the toxic air. Many people in this area are sick or even dying from the pollution, People don't even want to go outside. As well as people in cities near Tehran and other parts of that region people may be affected by this pollution since there is just mass amounts.

            The situation in Tehran will effect many aspects of the region such as economic development, public health, and population growth. In the article it talks about how Iran;s currency lost 40 percent of its value, leaving a lot of iranian people wondering if the entire economy is going to collapse. The economy in Tehran is defiantly being effect by the pollution problems. Tourism to the capital is going to be very low if people don't even want to be outside. Many people in this region may be even trying to leave the area and migrate somewhere with better air quality which will hurt the economy even more. With the economy int he state it is in Iran the chances of much globalization will be pretty low. The opportunities for growth are just not there.

 Not only are politics effecting the environment in Tehran but also the population. The article mentions that Tehran is on of the most polluted cities in the world. To cut down on some of the air pollution they have enforced a strict traffic control measure that only allows cars with even number license plate to only drive on even days and odd licenses plates to drive on odd days. There are just to many people pack into one small area and the polluted air can't be filtered out. Many people in this area are sick or even dying from the pollution, People don't even want to go outside.

More on Ronda Rousey

While looking over Yahoo! today I saw an article with my girl Ronda Rousey so you know Im going to talk about it. In an article form MMAweekly.com it talks about how Ronda was named one of the top 50 women who are changing the world by Business Insider. Joining Rousey on the list is First Lady Michelle Obama and Melinda Gates ( wife of Bill Gates) to name a few. Rousey has made it on the list for being the first Women's bantamweight champion in the UFC after years of refusing to put women on a fight card Ronda and opponent Liz Carmouche where the fist women to fight in the octagon. Now we have seen three different female fights in the UFC and there are plenty more to come.  Not only is Ronda and amazing martial artist, but she is also a great sales person, on selling herself and the UFC brand. Women's MMA has grown dramatically thanks to Rousey trail blazing the path for other badass women. Ronda also appeared on the cover of the ESPN body issue last year but most recently was chose to take the cover of the ESPN  15 year anniversary issue. Not only that but Ronda and her up coming opponent Cat Zingano are the coaches for the new season of Tuf 18. Needless to say we are going to see a lot more from this arm baring beauty.

Social Media

I recently read an article by the Wall Street Journal that talks about how Facebook has seen a drop in users since their peak in August 2012. The article talks about how the number of users is measured by how many people log into Facebook through their PC and the Facebook's user-ship isn't getting smaller its actually growing because of mobile devices. Although the numbers of Facebook users on computers is falling, Facebook is seeing a boom in their mobile apps. I think tis is something really important to look at, the media today is changing completely with social media and the way people are consuming. With the availability of smart phones more and more people do not go on the internet through computers anymore, they just use their cell phones. As far as Facebook is concerned, I believe that their days are numbered. As a young mass communications student I get to see what today's generation is into as far as media consumption and I have seen a spike in Twitter user's compared to Facebook and I think this trend will keep happening. Just like Myspace, Facebook will be a social media site of the past with only older generations logging on thinking its cool. Just in the past year I would have to say that my use of Facebook has been cut in half, especially now that I have a smartphone. What doesn't work about the site for me is that 1. its known to be an eye sore for employers. 2. you can never get off of Facebook which I don't like at all. 3. It's just not cool anymore. The world of social media is expanding and although Facebook was one of the trail blazers in the movement they are slowly getting push out for newer "cooler" sites.

http://stream.wsj.com/story/corporate-intelligence/SS-2-60962/SS-2-225003/

Thrift Stores

Being a full time college student with a part time job I dont have much cash to throw around on my wardrobe, But of course I'm a diva and need to buy cute new clothing on a regular basis. So this is a problem and I am a problem solver the answer is thrift stores. Although they might not be brand new, I believe broken in clothes are the best! Some of my favorite piece have once been at a thrift store. I got into thrift shoping with my friend Chyvonne in highschool, but I didn't really get into it until I was a despret college student and fortunatly in Bloomsburg there are quit a few thrift shops.

I believe thrift shoping has become more popular with this economic time we are in. Personally, I can see spend $20.00 on a T-shirt that you can get for $4.00 at the thrift store. Not to mention that Good will industries helps out others and you can not only shop but also donate you're clothing.

I know alot of people think they wont be able to find anything they like or they have looked but didnt find anything. With thrift store shopping its all about finding the diamond in the rough. When I go to the thrift store I like to go in with an idea of what I am looking for, this makes it easier to find good items. Thrift stores are not like departnement stores that have racks of the exact thing you want, they might have three things similar to what you want and its up to the shopper to find them. Thrift shop is a true experience and shoppers feel great satisfaction leave with cheap unique items as well as giving back.

Hook Up Culture on College Campuses

The college-dating scene is often associated with quick hook ups at parties, temporary flings or even the scandalous “friends with benefits” arrangement. For older generations, Friday night in college was date night. Now, Friday night is party night and hooking up is the new dating. This is the social phenomenon known as “hook up culture”.

While talking with my fellow students on campus I found that most of them were comfortable talking to me about their past hook ups. All of the students I talked with said they have hooked up during their time at Bloomsburg. 2/3 of my respondents said that they have hooked up with over 10 people.
Just like the term “hook up”, the word dating has many different meanings depending on who you ask. Most of the students I spoken with agree dating isn’t a Facebook official deal, its more or less spending quality time with another person without a title.

Even though most women today are attending college in hopes of a degree and a successful career, In a study done by the Institute for American Values, marriage is a major goal for the majority of today’s college women. College is a fast pace life style of hooking up, short term dating, and the occasional relationship, and the way we go about finding a spouse has changed dramatically.

 

UFC on Fox 8

Carmouche and Tate are back in the octagon. This is the second time in the octagon both women coming off of a loss, but thats not all that these two women have in common they both were also submitted by a 1st round arm bar by Rhonda Rousey. I personally think this is going to be one of the most exciting girl fights so far in the UFC. Both of these fighters having good stand up skills so I'm kind of expecting to see a beating happen. Carmouche being Rousey latest opponent seemed to have gotten Rousey in more that one uncomfortable position and looked as though she was the closest to take the champ down. It will be exciting to watch this fight and hash out the top spots in the women's bantamweight division.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/liz-carmouche-vs-miesha-tate-071257167--mma.html

Women in the Octagon

Last night was the ultimate fighter finale on FX. through this event was the second women's fight in the UFC. The 2nd women's bantam weight fight was between Misha Tate and Cat Zingano, the winner of this fight fights women's bantam weight champion Ronda Rousey. Misha Tate has actually already fought Rousey during their time in strike force in March 2012.

The fight last night did not disappoint, it just seems like girls are more exciting to watch. I know it might be because they have something to prove to the audience but whatever the reasoning behind it, its exciting. These girls wanted to knock each other out, with the punching and kneeing to the face which what eventually ended the fight. Knees and a right elbow from Zingano ended the fight for Tate after referee Kim Winslow called a stop to the fight in the third round. Zingano not only won the fight, fight of the night , a title fight with Ronda, but also along with Rousey, Zingano gets to be the first woman coaches on the Ultimate Fighter Tuf 18.

It seems as though these women fighters are becoming a huge party of the UFC. Being a fan of women sports and being a strong athletic woman I love to see this. The UFC is growing bigger each event and women fighters are right along in the action. I am excited for this upcoming season of the Ultimate Fighter and to see more bad ass women in the octagon.

College Graduation Season

Being a soon to be graduate I have been searching for jobs for jobs both in and out of my field and most that I have found with full time pay are jobs that require years of experience. While looking on the internet I came across an article titled "Why College Graduates are Working Low Wage Jobs". This struck my interest since most of the jobs I have been applying for are minimum wage jobs, even jobs with in my field.
The article talks about how during the recession both low wage and middle wage jobs were lost but since then more low wage jobs have been added than middle wage. Unfortunately this means that college graduates are less likely to contribute to the economy because of student loan debt and non college graduates are going to find it harder to compete with college graduates.
Since having a college degree is as common as having a twitter I think a lot of college graduates are just going to take any job they can get even if the wage is to low and not in their desired field. The competition in the job field today is forcing former students to settle until they have enough experience to search for higher quality jobs.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/04/01/1801511/why-college-graduates-are-increasingly-working-minimum-wage-jobs/?mobile=nc

UFC:157

Saturday night was the first UFC womens bantum weight  fight on pay per view. Not only was the first female fight in the UFC, but these women were the main event of the evening. The media coverage for this event was crazy. This fight has gotten the attention of HBO, Sports Center, and many other media outlets that don't usually cover any UFC events. I have to say I enjoyed watching the UFC with my boyfriend before this fight but now that there is women in the UFC I'm hooked. There is something about women fighting that I can relate to unlike I could with mens fighting. Not to mention the woman that holds the only belt in women's UFC. With her fist round arm bar submissions Ronda Rousey gives one hell of an exciting fight. Some people may differ on their opinion of a good fight. Some guys love to see a brutal 5 round slug fest with blood everywhere, me not so much. My favorite thing about MMA is the technical aspect of it and the art form it is . It takes not only athletic ability but also precise technique to perform arm bars like Ronda Rousey.  Saturday night was one hell of a fight, even though it only lasted about 1 round I was one the edge of my seat.  There was more action in one round of this fight than there was in all three rounds of the fight right before this between Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson. All in all I am very excited to see where not only the UFC can go but all women's MMA in general. It will be interesting to see if any woman can stop Rousey in the ring.