Snarky Elephants and Other Things

I'm a nerdfighter and my blog is filled with elephants and more awesome sauce. You'll notice a few trends-like my obsession with elephants and the band RUSH. WARNING: I'm very snarky at times. DFTBA (Don't Forget To Be Awesome)!

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Bill Watterson is an insightful dude…

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Calvin’s dad is a radical anti capitalist.

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LinkedIn Prompt

Give a person  *not* in our class either a recommendation or an endorsement on their LinkedIn page (ideally the recommendation or endorsement should be unsolicited). 

[averysnarkyelephant]

I endorsed my mom for finance. She is currently working as a CFO and has always made sure that our family has everything we need. She has also helped some of the companies she’s worked for turn around their finances and improve their budgets. 

[averysnarkyelephant]

 For NatGeo:

I would recommend that when using Instagram, all captions should have a uniform structure. Currently, they seem all over the place — some captions are long and have few hashtags and some are very short and have a lot of hashtags. Usually, a link to the photographer’s Instagram is included — this practice should be kept. Also, if the photo is part of a story or photo set, it needs to be mentioned and linked to. 

On their other social media, especially Twitter, they need to figure out a good way to highlight all of their content without it being overwhelming to followers.

[averysnarkyelephant]

Although I know it might be a long shot, especially right after graduation, I’ve always been interested in working for National Geographic as a writer. NatGeo has several different websites and social media accounts based on different sections like photography or NatGeo Kids.

The Magazine- National Geographic is a monthly magazine that contains articles pertaining to science, geography, history, and world culture. It is most known for its photography and maps.

General Website- this is where all of their content comes together. There are links to other Nat Geo sections such as “Photography” or “Science”. While they feature many articles, they also have a section where all content from the current magazine issue can be viewed.

Kid’s Magazine- National Geographic Kids is a separate magazine and corresponding website designed specifically for kids. The website and magazine have similar content, but the website is more expansive. It has games, quizzes (personality and other) and a comprehensive database of animal info and fun facts.

Photography/Instagram- from the general website, you can get to their photograph section, which is a part of the overall website. This section has picture stories, a photo of the day, featured photos (and the corresponding article) from the magazine. The NatGeo instagram features photos from the articles and photo stories on the website. The captions on the photos include links to the photographers personal instagrams.

TV/ YouTube- NatGeo has a television channel and accompanying website. Here, people can watch clips (without needing to unlock) and full episodes if you unlock them with your TV provider. The YouTube channel features the clips and more exclusive content.

Facebook/Twitter: These feeds are almost identical, although their Facebook seems to have less content. Twitter has more content, a little more often.  Both sites have links to full stories, photos, and video. Twitter allows followers to help caption photos. It also posts info on upcoming show episodes.

[memoriesofelephants]

Happy World Elephant Day!

Every day should be World Elephant Day. These beautiful beings are being hunted and poached out of existence. Do you want a world where there are no elephants? Please foster orphan elephants, volunteer with elephant sanctuaries, don’t ride elephants, don’t visit zoos who steal these intelligent, gentle beings from their wild life and imprison them for life for 30 seconds of human gawking, and educate everyone you know about the plight of elephants. 

After all, what kind of a world would this be…without elephants?

Say NO to ivory, to elephant rides, to zoos.

We’re so lucky to have these gorgeous beings share this planet with us!

[averysnarkyelephant]

After graduating, I hope to work in the journalism field. But because print newspapers are going out of style, I decided to look into magazines. I looked at 3 current magazines that are still in print, but also have a large social media presence. I looked for content such as politics and government (especially when using social media), the ability for an article to go viral, and privacy/security as we have talked about those topics in class recently.

The New Yorker: This weekly magazine focuses a lot on the politics and general news. It seems to be a magazine for people who want a good dose of “hard news” but want things like culture and intelligent humor. As stated above, The New Yorker has plenty of political coverage on both their website and Twitter feed, including some articles that deal with how the government uses social media. In fact, politics is the majority of The New Yorker’s content. The magazine also has plenty of stories regarding privacy, especially on social media and the internet as a whole. As for The New Yorker’s ability to go viral, it doesn’t have the type of content that would go viral just based on the content itself. However, the content may go viral because of the name attached to it. As a reputable and well-known source, having “The New Yorker” attached to an article may help it go viral. This magazine is on par with more serious magazines such as National Geographic, Time, and Scientific American. While it is not something most people would just pick up and casually glance through, it makes a good contribution to the news industry. Though it is a bit more serious than other magazines it has more substantial content than those of entertainment and celebrity news. http://www.newyorker.com/; https://twitter.com/NewYorker

People Magazine: As one of the most popular entertainment/celebrity news magazines, People covers “soft” news, and is easier to pick up and page through without needing to pay as much attention as when reading something like The New Yorker. Because People’s main focus is celebrity news, little focus is put on politics although it sometimes makes an appearance. Articles featured in People Magazine have a lot of potential of going viral. A lot of celebrity news tends to go viral as readers tend to be more invested in the lives of celebrities. Often times scandal is involved, making a story more intriguing. Magazines like People help keep the industry alive. News and photos of celebrities are easy reading and are a good way to spend a wait for a doctor or dentist appointment. While it’s content is not as substantial as some newspapers or news magazines, it still provides interesting content. http://people.com/; https://twitter.com/people

Vogue: Perhaps one of the world’s most famous/popular fashion and style magazines, Vogue is traditionally aimed at women, especially those interested in the fashion world. While it leans towards softer news, Vogue looks at their content through a fashion lens. For example, they may talk about celebrities, but the story is about what they are wearing instead of what they are doing. Because of this specific lens, Vogue rarely publishes a political story or one that talks about privacy. However, Vogue articles have probably as much potential to go viral as one of People’s, but perhaps a little less. Their articles, like those in The New Yorker, have the reputation of the magazine to boost its ability (to go viral), and the content itself is interesting or appealing enough to go viral on its own. Like People, fashion magazines such as Vogue help the magazine industry stay alive. These magazines are also easy to flip through and are interesting to read. http://www.vogue.com/?us_site=y; https://twitter.com/voguemagazine

[averysnarkyelephant]

With any new technology, there are a few drawbacks. Webtoons doesn’t have many. When I’m feeling nostalgic for the comic strips I grew up with, I cannot simply go to the webtoons app to read them. Creators like Dean Young (Blondie), Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), Scott Adams (Dilbert), Jim Davis (Garfield), etc. don’t put their content on the app. If I want to read those comics, I’d have to look for a newspaper (which I don’t mind doing). With newspaper comics, all of the content is right in front of you. Your eyes can just move down the page and you can read comic after comic without moving a finger (until you have to flip the page over). With Webtoons, reading a different comic means going back to your comics list and choosing the next one. While this isn’t a difficult or deal-breaking aspect, it could be a small drawback. Apps like Webtoons have certainly broadened the range and access to comics but they haven’t replaced traditional newspaper comic strips. Where comics is concerned, it doesn’t really matter how you access them, as long as they are enjoyable.

When I was little, I loved to read the comics strips in the paper. I’d also like reading collections of comic strips, Calvin and Hobbes (by Bill Watterson) in particular. I still love reading comics, however, I have access to a broader range of comic content than I did as a child. To get my daily dose of comics, I use the “Webtoons” app, which provides users with tons of free digital comics. Users can subscribe to the comics they enjoy, and the app will send notifications that their comics have been updated.

Some might argue that this app is superior source over the traditional newspaper comic section. Just by having the app on your phone, you immediately have access to comics whenever you want. You don’t have to wait for the next morning’s paper to be thrown on your porch; the comics are there waiting in your pocket. The app contains hundreds of different comics that span several different genres. Depending on your preferences and/or mood, you have the ability to pick and choose what you want to read, without the restrictions of the comic strips chosen by the paper. Webtoons also suggests comics to readers, although the suggestions are not tailored to the users' preferences. Instead, comics are normally suggested by popularity. The app is also a place for budding artists and comic creators to share their content and potentially get discovered.

[averysnarkyelephant]

When it comes to social media, we all have that one friend who loves to broadcast their opinions to whoever might be listening. Another common “friend” on social media is one that pays close attention to the news and often posts articles for others to read. Frequently, the opinionated poster and the media conscious friend are one and the same. For those who are not as up to date on the news, this person can serve as a connection to the information the media puts out. The “Two-Step-Flow” theory (in Communications) states that information from media must go through channels in order to reach as many people as possible. For the many people who go to social media to find news, they can usually rely on friends to keep them in the loop.  According to the theory, people keeping their friends and followers in the loop are called the “Opinion Leader.” They receive the information from the media, interpret it, and relay it to the rest of us. In traditional forms of the “Two-Step-Flow”, the “Opinion Leader” is an influential person, who often shares similar beliefs of those who respect, or follow them. However, especially in this day and age, the opinion leader does not always have to be someone of particular influence. They could just be a friend one follows on social media. No matter who the opinion leader is or what their connection is to their followers, their role is to interpret and pass along messages from the media. 

While the above tweet satirizes the information, it still provides followers with the basic story while also communicating its repercussions. 

This post recaps a recent senate vote and urges others to take action

This “opinion leader” shares a news article and pulls an intriguing quote from the article. 

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IM SCREAMING

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IT CAME FULL CIRCLE IM HOLLERIN

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IT JUST KEEPS GETTING BETTER

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IS HE GOING TO BE DRAFTED NEXT???!!!??

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This is so sweet and pure. Lol.

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I’m crying. I’m also rooting for the Blues now.

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@kvnbksa have you seen the updates?

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more updates

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I love when he says “I want the jersey of someone who’s literally the worst” and Tarasenko is like “This is my moment”

[averysnarkyelephant]

Just a quick reminder to KEEP IT CRISPY

[averysnarkyelephant]

Christmas Elephants and Comics

Christmas Elephants and Comics

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Here is a cheesy Christmas joke!  -BONUS COMICS-

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[averysnarkyelephant]

  Looks like I waited until the VERY LAST MINUTE to upload some of the drawings I did this month. Since it is October (and Halloween) there’s no surprise that they are mostly ghosts….

Archibald van Ghostly

Renaissance Ghost

Mermaid Ghost

October Doodles Looks like I waited until the VERY LAST MINUTE to upload some of the drawings I did this month. Since it is October (and Halloween) there's no surprise that they are mostly ghosts....

[averysnarkyelephant]

I Have Invented a Time Machine

I Have Invented a Time Machine

DISCLAIMER 1: I have only KIND OF invented a time machine. DISCLAIMER 2: I should have posted this about 12 days ago…but I didn’t…

So this summer I worked at an outdoor theater, one that has been around for almost 100 years (Woo!). I worked there last year, but didn’t really enjoy it, because I kind of got there, did my job, and went home; I didn’t exactly make many friends. This year was much…

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[averysnarkyelephant]

A New Edgar Allan Poe Comic Hey guys! Remember like two months ago when I posted a comic about Edgar Allan Poe reading 

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Heritage and Blues: More Comics!

Heritage and Blues: More Comics!

Finally, after forever of forgetting to upload, here are the final two comics I did for my short story project. These are taken from Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” and James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”. I recommend reading both, especially Sonny’s Blues”. It was both my favorite story to read, and my favorite comic to create. I really wanted to include lines from the story because Baldwin’s writing…

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Thursday Thoughts #45 "It's Not What You Think...", or  "Pretending to be Otherwise Engaged"One of my friends took a class on the writings of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne this past semester.

[averysnarkyelephant]

Here, Have More Comics

Here, Have More Comics

Here are two more comics I did for my project. Comics 7 and 8 (out of 10). #7 is taken from a short story called  “A&P” by John Updike, and #8 is from “The Magic Barrel” written by Bernard Malamud. I wasn’t a big fan of “A&P” but I thought “The Magic Barrel” was pretty good.

The last two comics I did for the project will be published soon, so keep an eye out for them!

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