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Weekly updates on what is going on in the world.

[amorales1991]

This story has been sweeping the nation as the Make A Wish foundation does it again. Five year old Miles Scott Is a boy from San Fransisco who is battling Leukemia. His wish was to become his favorite superhero Batman. This story has happened on November 15th. As Miles was saving San Fransisco from The Joker and even a damsel in distress along the way thousands of people gathered to watch the Bat kid. According to the various media outlets that covered this story there were many people with teary eyes. This story is touching because this is a boy with a wish. There is no better feeling than having your dreams come true. It's nice to see this child's dream come true and the city of San Fransisco to allow this. The amount of work that went into this is huge for making this all come together. Above is a video detailing this heart warming story. and the fight between a child and Leukemia.

[amorales1991]

In today's society we are faced with many different types of social problems. In our everyday lives we face different adversities including acts of racism, bullying and violence. Most of us have the mindset that these are all problems we face in middle school or growing up which makes this story even more compelling. This particular story involves to offensive lineman from the Miami Dolphins, Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin. Jonathan Martin appear to be the victim in this story while Richie Incognito remains to be the aggressor. As this story develops we are presented with the transcript of the voice mail message that Incognito left for Martin. In this message there are are references towards Martin's mother and many more racial slurs. In attempts to save face Incognito had an interview with Fox reporter Jay Glazer. In this interview he says that we the public don't understand what goes on in an NFL locker room. Incognito also mentions that normally the offensive line speaks to each other like that.

I personally am torn between both sides of this story.  I do believe we as a society are accepting the medias view of Incognito as a bully. I don't think we have be presented all the information. We should be waiting for Jonathan Martin to speak up. Being media literate I don't just accept one side of the story so I cannot side with Martin or Incognito. I do believe that Incognito took it too far in this situation. Using racial slurs whether you are African American or you are white the slurs that came out of his mouth are unacceptable.

[amorales1991]

Future of Social Media

The future of social media is a vast, constantly changing vortex sucking everyone up in its path.  Social media will change the way we are entertained through more readily available content, and just the opportunities to experience more and more from real time updates.  Entertainment is reaching an all time high, and an ever-increasing volume of viewers. It is affecting everything from sex, to bad language due to that same easily accessible content, that most of the time is uncensored. Today, bad language is seen everywhere, and sex is equally viewed, especially in an environment when sex sells. And where you have sex selling you have the ideal body image that follows not too far behind. I do believe that we are getting to a point in society where we are beginning to accept people of different races and ethnicities so I expect casting to shift towards that. It seems in today’s society people are expected to dress a certain way and look a certain way. However, you do see an increase in different ethnicities and sexual orientations being accepted. This will construct a pathway for newer apps and entertainment outlets. Who knows what is possible in the near future? I can only imagine a digital world with no boundaries. Could we see everyday household items touch screen to provide on the minute coverage? Imagine brushing your teeth with the news playing on the mirror and then walking out to your fridge and it is playing on there too. Oh, the possibilities. As we all know social media can already be accessed through our phones and computers very effortlessly. I think social media will do even more to integrate itself to our television experience and make the viewer feel part of the program. I believe that in the future when we watch shows online i.e. Netflix and Hulu there will be a transparent twitter box in the corner during your show so you can tweet while you watch it. This new addition will be so advanced that when you are typing in your tweet your program will pause itself so you don’t miss a bit of the action. I think twitter is the portal that will have the most impact on television. As you see already the “#” symbol is almost always present during every program. Networks like ESPN already implement Twitter by reading certain tweets on live television. I also believe television networks will only push the boundaries even further due to everything we are exposed to and the access we have to it. I think television networks will eventually give the audience a chance to get to know their favorite stars with something similar to our online classroom on bolt. This will increase viewership of any program.  I do believe technology and social media are crucial parts to entertainment in this day and age because it brings together viewers from all over the country. This technology will only increase and so will the social norms of entertainment. Suddenly sex, violence, bad language will all be second nature to us all due to our exposure. 

[amorales1991]

Go Pats Go!

At the risk of sound contradictory, I was sure wrong about this weekends game between the Saints and the Patriots. It came down to the wire and I strongly believe the Saint should have walked away with another win and remaining undefeated. I am not to sure what happened to Drew Brees and the rest of the offense towards the end of the game but it felt like they were begging Tom Brady to be Tom Brady and show how clutch he is. Brees and the Saints had 3 chances to put the game away get a few first downs and walk away with the win.

This game was very good. There were a few things that stuck out in my mind 1. Who are the Patriots wide receiving core? Being a huge NFL fan I know but there are no real house hold names. Toward the end of the game their lack of experience was very prominent. I saw a few dropped passes as well as poor route running. During their game winning TD pass, undrafted rookie, Kenbrell Thompkins showed a glimmer a hope with his amazing catch!picture credit to Yahoo news. 

As for the Saints all they can do now is hang their heads after losing a tough one like that. I know most people say dont hang your heads but it'll be hard after losing one the way they did. 

Now dont get me wrong the Saints can still play good football! I have been tracking the progression of rookie WR Kenny Stills since his days at Oklahoma. I like the way he approaches the game and I do believe he will be a household name by the end of the season, I know both of these teams will make a ton of noise come the post season. 

[amorales1991]

Who Dat?

As week 5 goes underway some teams have fallen from there unbeaten streak. Of course no one really expects a team to go undefeated it is something fun to toy around with in your head. Teams like Seattle and New England just had there undefeated streaks end about an hour ago. New England lost there game to the Bengals. I am not high on the Bengals I do believe they are a team with a few big name players but for the most part it comes down to role players. As for Seattle I do believe they have one of the best defenses in the league. I think their offense could use a few more weapons around Russell Wilson. Now to my main point in this blog, there is still one team that is unbeaten and slowly catching the eyes of everyone. Who dat??? That's right its the New Orleans Saints. I believe the Saint will be a strong contender come playoffs. They are a team that has been playing with a bit of a chip on their shoulders. After suspending Sean Payton last year he back this season and him and Drew Brees are taking names. I really cant say those two are the reason for their success but they are a big part of it. 

One very important person involved in the success of the Saints is, one of the best tight ends in the league, Jimmy Grahm. 

Know for his basketball background Grahm takes those moves to the football field! They Saints beat Chicago earlier to keep them unbeaten. The next game for the Saints will be tough especially going up against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. The Saints have the skills to compete and possibly beat the Patriots. The Saints keep rolling and I expect them to do so. For more insight and highlights on this game check out : http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000257324/article/new-orleans-saints-go-to-50-beat-chicago-bears great story by Gregg Rosenthal!

[amorales1991]

As the NBA season gets ready to get underway there are teams ready to start their title run. In the league today there are teams that are poised to make a title run and there are teams that are missing one key piece that can take them into title contention. Teams such as the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs are teams who are built to win now.

The houston Rockets have made the most buzz around the league this offseason with the signing of, former Laker, Dwight Howard. This team has high expectations now with players like James Harden and Dwight Howard. Chandler Parsons is another role player that can get it done. The truth behind the Rockets is that with the Western Conference the way it is they will be lucky to be in the top three. Teams such as the Spurs, Clippers Thunder and evn the Warriors are all teams that may be better than the Rockets. We wont truly know how the Rockets play out until the start of the season because we all know how it turned out in L.A. The Lakers were favorites to make it to the NBA championship but the sad reality was they were a team struggling to make playoffs. Being a Laker fan I am a bit upset that Dwight left L.A to join the Rockets. I am still a fan of Dwight Howard so in memory of him I present you a video of his greatest moment as a Laker brought to you by Black9ne

[amorales1991]

NFL Teams That Need to Press The Panic Button Pt. 2

In part 1 of this 2 blog post series I spoke about the New York Giants. In this one I will be talking about a team in the AFC who is also 0-3, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are a team that has surprised many by their play thus far. Unlike the Giants the Steelers do not have as many offensive play makers. The Steelers do have Big Ben Roethlisberger so with him anything is possible. With the release of star wide receiver Mike Wallace some of their role players are forced to step up. I personally dont believe the Steelers have a true number one receiver. I wont take anything away from wide receiver Antonio Brown but in my eyes he's a glorified number two. He has the speed that can stretch a defense but without a real running game it is tough for him to make it happen on his own. 

Speaking of the running game of Pittsburgh they have the 31st right in front of the New York Giants. The running game of the Steelers took a turn for the worse when their rookie running back Le'veon Bell got injured and has been forced to sit on the bench for a few weeks. Since then Jonathan Dwyer and Felix Jones have split the load to make up their running game. The Steelers haven't managed to score a rushing touchdown this season so they also have been one dimensional in the past three weeks this explaining their 0-3 start. The poor start by the Steelers cant be all put on the offense their defense hasn't been much better. The defense has managed to only cause one turnover in three weeks. This team hasn't been able to pressure the opposing quarterbacks either since they haven't registered a single sack. 

This picture in a nutshell explains the Steelers woes this season. I am not to sure how they plan to bounce back since they don't look too sharp on either side of the ball! 

[amorales1991]

NFL Teams That Need to Press The Panic Button Pt.1

Year after year there are teams in the league that have no real hopes in making a Super Bowl run which really doesn't surprise many people. These team include the Jacksonville Jaguars, Minnesota Vikings and the list goes on. This season after the third week there are a few teams that have many people including themselves say "What the Heck is going on." These teams include the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Being a Philadelphia Eagles fan I'm not going to lie I kind like it. My Eagles aren't much better but these teams are playing flat out awful. 

Lets start with the New York Football Giants. On Offense this team has play makers that are capable of big plays. With Eli Manning at quarterback I will never count them out but its hard to watch when they don't have a running game.The Giants also have a good receiving core with Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. This team has placed all the pressure on Eli to make it happen.Ranking 32nd in the running game I think they need to. That stat alone can not be blamed on one person. The blame can either be placed on the running back or the offensive line. Averaging 44 rush yards a game we can say both aren't that good. The Giants have been forced to rearrange their offensive line due to injury. Putting that much pressure on the passing offense teams around the league can sit back in zone and wait for Eli to make the wrong read and add another interception to his 8 this season.

I think this picture says it all after their 38-0 beat down to the Carolina Panthers this past Sunday. To date the signing of Brandon Jacobs hasn't shown to be very effective. We will see with the coming weeks so we will see what the Giants do to bounce back. After an 0-3 start it will be tough to make a run especially with the team they have.  

[amorales1991]

Philadelphia Eagles the do's and dont's

The Philadelphia Eagles are arguably the most interesting team in the NFL. Signing a college coach with a speed first mentality how can you turn away. This team is built to score, however going into week 3 they see themselves at 1-1. In the past 2 weeks the Eagles have played an insecure RGIII and a surging San Diego Chargers team. 

In week 1 the Eagles faced the Washington Redskins. It was evident that Robert Griffin III looked very uncomfortable in the pocket and who wouldn't after coming back from a knee surgery. RGIII is known for his mobility and his flashy speed a long with his pocket presence. After his rookie season fans and media members alike had high hopes for him in year 2. So far this season has been anything but the RGIII of old. The Eagles were able to take advantage of a weak offense and showed moments of speed in the 1st half helping them get their first win of the season. 

Now moving on to week number 2 I expected the Eagles to hold up on defense and put up points by the bunches. Sadly this wasn't the case...The Eagles left a few points on the field on Sunday and the defense just didn't show up. Having a few moments of good play the Eagles D shot themselves in the foot not being able to get off the field on 3rd down. 

This has got me thinking of things that are working for the Eagles and things that need to change: 

Do's: The play call signs. I personally like these for two reasons that being 1.) Only people who know what they mean is the team. This will keep opposing teams guessing. 2.) I think they're hilarious. I really want to know what the Rocky Balboa play is.

Don'ts: 

3-4 defense 

I think with the personnel on this team this is the best scheme for them I am just not ready to jump on board. With three down lineman the pressure on the QB isn't present. In order to get decent pressure you will need to rush a linebacker. Giving Philip Rivers all the time in the world he can and will tear up any defense. Seeing that i bleed green I do believe the Eagles will bounce back but for now I'm a bit nervous. 

[amorales1991]

Which Miley will we get?! If you were under a rock than you might have missed Miley Cyrus' unusual performance at this years Video Music Awards. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were in complete uproar over it. Scrolling down my timeline I would see nothing but "#Miley, #WTF etc... She has been quoted saying " We made history" speaking about her and her co-star Robin Thicke. We live in a time where social media trumps all. Most of us got to one of the socila media giants for all our news. To some she may appear like a girl who has lost complete control, to others Miley is a media machine. With one antic after another we just cant seem to turn our heads away. Whether we like it or not Miley Cyrus is a social media gold mine. With 13.5 million twitter followers Miley Cyrus is right at the forfront of all our timelines.

With her new song "Wrecking Ball" she takes a more serious approach to her music and deviates from her past song "We Can't Stop." Miley Cyrus has all her fans on their toes waiting to find out which Miley they will get in her upcoming album, titled "Bangerz"expected to hit stores October 8th. As for why she named her album Bangerz, Miley tweeted: "If you don't know why my record is called BANGERZ you'll know as soon as you hear it. Nothin but #BANGERZ," when she shared the album name with her fans last week. No matter what Miley does next the media will be sure to have cameras on her. We are all thinking about her next move and we can not wait to over analyze it in the media. Miley has everyone wrapped up in her plan to stay relivant. Whether it appears to be another twerking video or signs of the wholesome girl from Tennesse we are sure to be there to find out.