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Your Favourite YouTuber

This week, we've been tasked to write about our favourite YouTuber.  Narrowing down a favourite YouTuber (like with TV shows) is difficult but I've chosen to write about the love/hate relationship I have with Miranda Sings.

Colleen Ballinger portays Miranda, a satirical character mocking young girls without talent who upload vlogs and song covers to YouTube.  Despite her videos gaining a following of haters who take them seriously, she also has a group of devoted fans.  Since the launch of her channel in January 2008, the character has developed into a nightmare of a girl.  Miranda is an aspiring actress, singer, dancer, model, and magician with an arrogant personality and a superiority complex.

Her haters usually comment about their dislike of her atrocious vocal ability, the way she mispronounces words, and the amount of makeup she wears.  She uses these criticisms to fuel her fire by accentuating these qualities in her recent videos. Her bi-weekly vlogs used to contain self-help tips for aspiring performers and messages to her haters.  She also posts music videos to her off-key singing of current pop songs.

Overall, I think the concept of Miranda is hilarious and (coming from a performance background), she actually reflects the personalities of some people I used to know!  But she can only be handled in small doses.

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My Favourite Podcast

So for today's topic, I've been instructed to write about my favourite podcast.  Since I don't really subscribe to any podcasts and have been drowning in assignments and work this past week, I've chosen to write about my new favourite podcast, "We the Black".

I realize that this blog post is going to sound extremely narcissistic considering that "We the Black" is the podcast that my friends Andriana, Justice, Tiana, and I created as an assignment for RBD-109.  So... in a way... this is "assignment inception" or as I have decided to coin it, "Assign-ception".

My experience in creating this podcast was awesome.  We picked the name, "We the Black" because all of us have some black roots in our heritage.  It has nothing to do with our content, but we thought it was comical.  Our subject is "People We Thought Would Be One-Hit Wonders, but Turned Out to Have Successful Careers".

In our episode, we talked about how we thought celebrities like Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber initially came out with songs that didn't impress us.  We then went into how they released more popular songs that launched their careers and discussed how (occasionally) we were saddened by this fact... *cough* Bieber *cough*.

Overall, the experience was a lot of fun.  We all talked naturally, had amazing chemistry, and expressed ourselves in a fun and creative way.  Who knows... perhaps "We the Black" will continue to be a podcast?

#rbd109

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Minimum Wage

Howdy Tumblr.

Pardon my lack of focus, but a lack of sleep has left me with a fuzzy mind.  I had two really late shifts this past week at American Eagle which really threw off my sleep schedule.  And on the topic of minimum wage jobs that can (occasionally) drain you, I figured I'd share a gem from my previous workplace.

(The following story take place at a Canadian Tire in Burlington where I worked for several years as a cashier.)

The first Boxing Day I ever worked was a closing shift at CT.  They had me on as the last cashier to clock out, which meant that I had to wait after the store closed for the last stragglers to exit the store.  My final customers were an absolute nightmare.  The father reeked of pot and was so zoned out that he wouldn't make eye contact with me and refused to speak.  His wife barely spoke English and had insisted on purchasing some odd 30 Christmas ornaments that had been marked down to individually different prices.  Their grown son was incredibly undisciplined and loud.  I began their transaction with as much courtesy as a sixteen-year-old could muster while working overtime on Boxing Day.  As I scanned through their many ornaments, the lady would often stop me to tell me that a price was incorrect and demand (in the rudest tone) that I go with her to see the shelf prices myself.  Meanwhile, her awful son had taken it upon himself to open up a lollipop and start eating it.  This caused an argument with the lady who refused to pay for the lollipop (even after it had been in her son's mouth) and tried to wrap it back up and put it with the others without my noticing.  Eventually, my manager came to my rescue, told the lady off, and convinced her to pay my prices for her ornaments and lollipop.  After a lot of arguing, the customers left and I was allowed to leave.  But I got out an hour later than I was supposed to, had no time to go Boxing Day shopping, and was not paid overtime for my delay...

In short, Tumblr, minimum wage is pretty rough.

#rbd109

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My Top 5 Favourite TV Shows

Oh howdy, Tumblr.  Nice to see you again this Thursday.  I'm feeling particularly uninspired this afternoon, so I figured I'd go ahead and ramble about TV shows I enjoy.  Keep in mind that filtering all my television love into a mere five shows is actually eating me up inside (because TV's gotten really good these past few years).  Here is my personal countdown:

5.  Arrested Development

Firstly, I've never seen a TV comedy with a better cast.  Big names like Jason Bateman, Michael Cera, and Will Arnett pretty much launched their careers through this show.  It's about a dysfunctional upper-class white family who's assets are frozen after the patriarch of the family is accused of treason.  Bateman plays Michael Bluth, the only responsible member of the family who tries to deal with the company and his family's ridiculous spending habits.  However, my favourite character is definitely Lucille Bluth, portrayed by Jessica Walter.  She plays the matriarch of the Bluth family and is a snobby, racist, unethical, and semi-functional alcoholic.  Her sassy quips make the show and she steals every scene.

4.  Archer

Featuring many voice actors from Arrested Development, Archer is a raunchy cartoon comedy about a secret service agency and the drama between the dysfunctional coworkers of the organization.  Sterling Archer, the anti-hero of the show, is a less charismatic version of James Bond.  He's an alcoholic sex maniac who also happens to be the top agent at ISIS (unrelated to the terrorist group).  I highly recommend the show to people who can handle inappropriate and raunchy comedy.

3.  Lost

Agree to disagree, Internet.  I personally thought the storyline to Lost was incredibly unique and always kept me on the edge of my seat!  The plot follows a group of people who were aboard a flight from Sidney, Australia to Los Angeles.  The plane crashes on an island shrouded in mystery and the survivors need to work together to survive the "others".  Now, I know the plot gets really wonky in the middle.  Time travel elements are introduced, people die and then come back to life... it can get confusing.  However, I personally thought the last episode wrapped up the show elegantly!

2. Big Brother

Say what you will about reality TV... I find it super addicting.  The show traps anywhere between 13 - 16 Americans in a house full of luxuries.  Then the social experiment begins.  People compete for food, hot water in their showers, and ultimately power.  Every week, two guests are put "on the block" and the house votes one of them out on eviction night.  There can be only one winner, so it requires a lot of strategy!

1.  Game of Thrones

The best show I have ever had the pleasure to watch is George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series come to life.  Game of Thrones is a fictional medieval soap opera taking place in the kingdom of Westeros.  The show follows the Stark, Lannister, Baratheon, Tyrell, Targaryen, Greyjoy,and Martell families as they all fight for possession of the Iron Throne.  Meanwhile, winter is coming... and with it, a hoard of White Walkers threaten to destroy the kingdom!  It's endlessly entertaining, features some of the most graphic death scenes I have ever beheld, and random instances of intense nudity.  It's incredibly well-written and cleverly hilarious.  10/10

#rbd109

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Generation Y: Ahlie?

Dear Tumblr,

It's officially week two of #projectgeteverykindofsocialmediapossible and I'm chompin' at the bits to continue in my quest to one day be king of the Internet.  That being said, let me now shamelessly throw in a plug for the new YouTube channel that I'm working on with a few other future broadcasters in my program!

Our channel is going to be called "Generation Y: Ahlie?".  Myself and my darling chum Anna will be hosting a different panel of broadcasting students each week where we talk openly about issues pertaining to the demographic of our generation.  Some of these issues might be serious, but a majority of them are meant to entertain our audience.  Our director/producer Alex is a whiz with graphics and editing, so he's graciously taken it upon himself to edit our videos.  We're hoping to release our pilot episode next Tuesday which basically explains the purpose of the channel and who we are.

So far, we've filmed two episodes with topics like "Tinder" and "What's Good on TV?".  In our second episode, we took a stance on whether we think Tinder is an effective dating site and played a quick round of "Would You Swipe Right?" featuring celebrities we think are good-looking.  In our third episode, we asked our panel what their top five favourite shows to see how different everyone responded.   We've had a lot of fun filming and we really hope the Internet responds well to our show!  Or really hates us... any press is good press, right?

We've also planned out the twenty-one topics for our first "season" which should take us through to the end of the school year! Well Tumblr, it's been lovely talking about myself and my upcoming project!  See y'all next week!

#rbd109

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My Tumblr Virginity

Welcome to the first in what will soon be many blog posts!

My name is Andrew and I am currently enrolled in the Broadcast - Radio program offered at Humber College.  As part of my program, I am required to expand my social media horizons and start building up an image!

Bear with me as I give a little background info about myself (hopefully without sounding too much like a Tinder profile).  I grew up in sweet ol' innocent Burlington, Ontario and moved to London, Ontario as soon as I finished high school.  I attended the University of Western Ontario (or pardon me... now they called themselves Western University Canada) in pursuit of a Bachelor of Music with a specialty in opera singing.  Halfway through my degree, I decided that I wasn't as passionate about the program as I had originally thought.  So I dropped down to a Bachelor of Arts, wrapped up the degree, and moved to Toronto in order to pursue the radio program.  I recently started working at American Eagle Outfitters as a sales associate, so I spend most of my weekends folding and refolding pairs of jeans.

I have aspirations of one day becoming a radio announcer which can hopefully lead to voice acting.  The dream is to one day voice cartoons or animated TV shows, but I'm taking things one step at a time and am open to new opportunities and adventures!  My reasoning for applying to the radio program is because it allows me to combine three of my passions into one exciting and ever-changing career.  Those passions include my appreciation/love of music, my performance skills, and my ability to write creatively.

In my free time, I enjoy reading, writing, singing, watching copious amounts of Netflix, hanging out with friends, and hanging out with my wonderful friends.

I'm also in the process of starting a YouTube channel with a couple of my radio colleagues titled Generation Y: Ahlie?  The channel will include a panel of colleagues from the program where we will address issues that pertain to our generation and allowing us to showcase our personalities.  Once our first few episodes are done, I'll be sure to post some links!

I can tell I'm starting to ramble, Tumblr.  So I'll just say it's been a slice.  See you in the near future! #rbd109