Fame, not Fortune
Sunday, August 16, 2009

The big thing that everyone secretly desires is fame and fortune. But in our generation, and seems to me that fame is more important than fortune. What made this so apparent to me is one of the most popular sites on the internet that is YouTube. People everyday start these vlogs hoping that someone will see, and maybe even subscribe.
The phrase "I'm big on YouTube" made it even more apparent. People would do anything to have everyone see them on the internet. When really what's so good about people seeing you online? People could make all the money in the world and still not be satisfied. They want people to know their face, and have their names be said everywhere.

But let's look at the odds for a second. The odds of someone becoming famous are literally about 1,000,000 to 1. Is it realistic to desire to become famous? Not really. Is it realistic to became rich? Yes. So why has the entire country shifted to fame? Simply because of that reason, they want to be 1 in a million.
Natalie Tran, a YouTuber from Australia has 399,064 online subscribers, and (stage name) Fred has 1,398,764 online subscribers, a little more than the population of San Diego, California. So since when were these, minimum wage paid, people the role models of today's America? So, in a way, the American dream has changed. It doesn't matter if you're a taxi driver being paid minimum wage. As long as people know you're name, you've got it made.

>Matthew

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posted by Matthew @ 11:49 AM, ,


Are Blogs Changing the World?
Saturday, August 15, 2009

Blogs have come a long way since the start of the 21st century. Well actually they first became popular in 1999. They first were just online diaries of sorts, and some remain so today. Throughout the years though, they became more specific in their intentions. Such as projects or blogging about one subject. And as even more years passed, they became commentaries on politics and current events.

This could be how they're changing the world. Before they were just for online diaries, but now politicos are actually reading these blogs and discovering how the everyday american feels about the world today. They could also change the lives of writers. It is extremely hard for a writer to get published, as you may know, so they can start by writing a blog and people can find them just by being online.

But can these blogs really change the world?

Many people have been published through online popularity and news stations have used blogs as example of opinions. But do people really take these bloggers seriously? If there is a political commentary blog, and a news station reads it, are they using it as valid information? or are they just seeing how 'the people' think, and not really take it as a serious and possibly correct opinion?
And also, should we take these blogs seriously? Are these bloggers credible in their opinions. Should we just take their advice, not knowing anything about them?

I have come to the conclusion that you must read more than just a few of the blog's posts to really see if their opinions are credible. These blogs can change the world, they're giving 'the people' a say in anything they want, some are are good and some aren't. But do you trust every person in politics? I didn't think so.


>Matthew

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posted by Matthew @ 7:11 PM, ,


Cheap hotels are NOT a good deal
Wednesday, August 12, 2009

A few weeks ago my family and I went on a vaca to Seattle, Washington. We flew out, but because of a few things that's kind of a long story, we had to drive back to Ohio. It took us 5 days in all, with 4 hotel stays. Three of the four hotels were good hotels. The Comfort Inn, The Holiday Inn, and The Baymont Inn. However, our third stay was not so nice. Our third stay was The Days Inn.

It was the third day and we were in a small town in South Dakota just off the freeway. It was late, we were tired, and there was no where else to go. It said Days Inn in bright, neon letters, and already I was off-put. We went in and there were 2 floors, no elevators, and the lobby was about the size of my dining and living room put together. The beds were not comfortable, and the whole time I felt gross. The little card on the desk by my bed said, 'Days Inn, the best deal under the sun.', and I thought, What sun are you under? Thankfully it was not our last stay, and we could end the trip on a high note with the Baymont Inn (24 hr. pool btw).

What do you think? Do you think they're a good deal? Or would you rather spend a little more money? Have you had any bad hotel experiences? Let me know!


>Matthew

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posted by Matthew @ 12:13 AM, ,


My favorite sites on the internet
Tuesday, July 21, 2009

It came to me one day when I was surfing the net (do people still use that phrase) and I was bored. I couldn't for the life of me think of a good site to go to. So, I went to one I did remember, Blogger. And decided to write a blog about my favorite
sites on the web, and here we are.
  1. Blogger.com
  2. Facebook.com
  3. Twitter.com
  4. Youtube.com
  5. Rogerebert.com
  6. Goodreads.com
  7. Metacritic.com
  8. Amazon.com
  9. Flickr.com
  10. RecipeZaar.com
So tell me what your favorite sites are. I'd love to know!

>Matthew

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posted by Matthew @ 12:18 AM, ,


a bloody good time
Monday, July 13, 2009

Tomorrow at midnight, or the day after tomorrow at 12:00 am, is the premier of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. And I am SUPER stoked.

If you don't know, this installment in the Harry Potter series is the sixth and based upon the mega best-sellers (I've read all of them at least once). Although I am defianately a big fan of Harry Potter, I wouldn't say I am as big as the people who dress up for the events. I am a bigger fan of the books (I did once dress up for one of the book premiers). My family, some friends and I always went to Borders at midnight for the releases of the books, it was a big deal. But of course the movies are a big deal to me aswell, but not quite as much.

This installment is about the origins of Voldemort, when he was a kid. It also explores how Harry is tied to Voldemort (the whole talking to snakess thing). There of course is more to the story, but like most Potter films, the stuff that happens is the fun of seeing it.

Do you like Harry Potter? Do you like the books or the movies better? Are you a crazy fanatic? Or do you think Harry Potter is frivilous? Let me know!


>Matthew

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posted by Matthew @ 3:09 PM, ,


movie of the week: Little Miss Sunshine
Monday, June 22, 2009

This week's movie just appeared on itv, I beleive it was TNT. It's about (if you don't already know) a disfunctional family living in Albakerkie, New Mexico. The Mother Sheryl(Toni Collette) is trying to quit smoking, proffesion unkown. The father Richard (Greg Kinnear) is a speaker for step by step program on being a winner. Their son Dwayne (Paul Dano) is a freshman in high school and has taken a vow of silence until he has been accepted to flight school. His sister Olive (Abigail Breslin, in her Oscar nominated role) was the runner up for a pagent in Albakerkie. Her grandfather (Alan Arkin, in his Oscar winning role) is a crack adict and is coaching Olive for the pagents.

The story begins when Sheryl's brother (Steve Carell)gets out of the hospital for a suicide attempt and comes to stay at their house. While their having dinner, Richard brings up a phone message he recived about the Little Miss Sunshine pagent. Olive is estatic, and the family is off to California in their yellow VW bus.

The family runs into many inconviniences, but I don't want to give them away. It won two Oscars for writing and Alan Arkin's performance. It was also nominated for Abigail Breslin's performance and Best Picture. It was the little film that could people called it, and in way, it did.

>Matthew

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posted by Matthew @ 9:39 AM, ,


"One of a kind" cups
Friday, June 19, 2009


If you live in New York City, you might, and probably know what I am talking about. Even if you don't you might.

I have always seen these blue coffee cups with a white square in the middle of them on tv shows set in New York such as 'Sex and the City' and '30Rock' and it intrigued me. What was this amazing coffee that seemingly everyone in New York was having. So, one day I googled 'blue coffee cups in New York City' and clicked on the first result. The result said that it wasn't a coffee joint at all. It was simply a company that made coffee cups for coffee joints in bulk. Apparently they're a New York icon ( I have seen them everywhere) and tons of coffee joints have them.

So once I knew what they were, I wanted to know what they fully looked like. It's greek apparently, and the white box on the blue cup says 'WE ARE HAPPY TO SERVE YOU' written in orange text, bordered in a puzzle-like pattern, and a bottle of sorts on both sides. "It's one of a kind" says the New York Times.

Have you heard of these cups before? Were you interested? Do you live in New York? Have you had coffee out of these cups before? Let me know!

>Matthew

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posted by Matthew @ 10:57 PM, ,