Froeman's Take

Jersey Shore: Taking Over

Eight boisterous, obnoxious, attention-grubbing New Yorkers are stuffed into a Jersey Shore beach house in Seaside Heights.  Four guys, “guidos” and four girls, “guidettes.”  Followed by MTV cameras, their simple, yet so seemingly-complex (consisting of “GTL” – gym, tan, laundry) life along the shore is wildly entertaining and engrossing.  After being told about the show by many of my friends, I decided that I would give it a try.  I started with an episode that was somewhere in the middle of the current debut season and quickly picked up the roles of each of the housemates.  They are not hard to distinguish to say the least…

We’re just going to take a look at a few of my favorite/most outstanding characters

Let’s delve into Snooki a little bit.  Standing somewhere near what appears to be about 3' 5", Snooki is the pint-sized, Italian center of attention, and seems to be everybody’s favorite.  What she lacks in natural beauty she makes up for with vibrant personality.  Snooki’s favorite snack is pickles which end up causing trouble on the set at one point or another.  I like Snooki, but I wouldn’t say she is my favorite.

Sammi “Sweetheart” who entered the show just wanting to have a good time (though I think this can be said for all of the residents) causes her fair share of drama as well.   She is acclaimed to be a heartbreaker, Sammi ironically enough, ends up with housemate Ronnie mid-season, which causes jealousy and a fair bit of tension within the house.

“The Situation”, I must say makes the show.  Though there are two sides to him and both must be brought to light.  The Situation is all about himself; his looks, his girls, his tan, his clothes.  He defines GLT.  On the other side, Mike (his real name) is an emotionally broken individual.  He began to develop a thing with Sammi, only for it to be crushed by Ronnie.  I think this imbalance is what causes him to be so outlandish.“This situation is gonna be indescribable you can’t even describe the situation that you’re about to get into the situation.” – This is a quote that just about sums up The Situation. But nevertheless, everybody loves the situation.

Jenni, also known as “JWoww”, is one of the more shady characters of the show.  She has a lot of personality and emotion, but she is not the most faithful of the bunch.  She comes into the show with a serious boyfriend back at home, who she publicly cheats on.  But I also think she is one of the more stable housemates at times.  She seems to be able to be the mediator when needed.  What I hate most about JWoww is her hair; from the back she looks like a 50 year old woman.

These are the characters that I find to make the show what it is.  This brilliant mix of guidos and guidettes lights up the Jersey Shore and brings a new vibe to their t-shirt stores.  Though this show has taken a lot of flack for its stereotypical portrayal of the Italian-American as well as its portrait of a party-every-day lifestyle filled with narcissism and self-obsession, I think it’s pretty entertaining and I look forward to future episodes.  Maybe Snooki will even have her own show soon.

Why Not Wiki it?

3,156,960 articles.  19,123,931 pages in total.  There have been 359,482,102 edits.  There are 870,137 uploaded files.  There are 11,394,907 registered users.  These are the most up to date (today) statistics, gathered daily by wikipedia itself and posted on their page. These are staggering and incredible in my opinion.  There is no physical encyclopedia with 3,156,960 articals let alone 19 million plus pages. 

Created by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger, Wikipedia, made its internet debut as "Nupedia" on January 10th, 2001, and was changed to "wikipedia.org" on the 15th of January.  This day is known to some as "Wikipedia Day."  It is safe to say that wikipedia has changed my life for the better and without a doubt touched you and someone you know as well.

My point is that Wikipedia is and should be considered a perfectly credible source.  School teachers world-wide have frowned upon, and discredited the consultation of Wikipedia for projects, papers, and other such school related activities.  Included in Wikipedia's 11,394,907 users are 1,700 plus administrators with special power to regulate wikipedia and keep it free from mis-conduct and false information.  If something were to be typed without citation or without due process of verifying the information, it will be deleted in most cases, by the time you refresh your page. (I have tested this several times, and each time have been banned for a minimum of 24 hours from making any edits to a page.)  But this is not an iron fist by any means.  If you believe there is a problem with content, Wikipedia administrators are easily accesible via a designated email.

Don't get me wrong, I love reading books, and I don't mind retrieving something from a cited database, but with this information of a close-cut Wikipedia in mind, I have a hard time arguing that it will mislead anyone from factual information that you may have gotten out of the same book referenced on the page anyways.  I believe Wikipedia has taken a step into the future that maybe everyone is not ready for yet (in my opinion, this is namely elderly academic administration that want to resist change for the remainder of their lives.)  Maybe, one day, Wikipedia and young students around the globe will see that the way of the future has only been a click away for almost a decade now.

Rihanna's New Album "Rated R" - Reccommend E for Everyone

Barbadian native, Robyn Rihanna Fenty, better known as "Rihanna", is undoubtedly one of the leading popular artists of the decade.  Surfacing onto the music scene with her first album in 2005; Music of the Sun, hits such as Pon de Replay, Umbrella, Disturbuia, and most recently Hard have defined the Rihanna that you love today.

After being signed by Jay-Z at Def Jam Recordings, this "Good Girl Gone Bad" paired up with a slew of artists like Kanye West, Ne-Yo, Justin Timberlake, Akon, and Jay-Z himself to produce a plethora of chart-toppers.  Also not to be left off her resume is her modeling career (Nike, Covergirl, Clinique) as well as her acting career, as she had a cameo appearance in Bring it On: All or Nothing.

Rihanna's personal life is about as inspiring as can be considering where she has come from and what she has all given back.  Also not to mention her humiliating period of public over-exposure due to a leaked photograph of her injuries inflicted by her former boyfriend Chris Brown.  Despite what seemed to be a national, public aura of detest coming Barbados, Rihanna has made great attempts to represent her country such as incorporating the Barbadian flag and trident into her music videos.Also, her philantropic actions are not to go unnoticed.  In 2006, she created the Believe Foundation which was aimed at helping terminally ill children, an aspiration she has had since childhood.

What I would really like to focus on now is Rihanna's latest album "Rated R."  To me, this album is one that I can listen to straight through, over and over again without becoming tired of it.  The songs, though very diverse in attitude, tempo, and even musical style all seem to blend together to form one beautiful album.  My favorite songs include Photographs(feat. Will.i.am.), Rockstar101(feat. Slash), and Rude Boy.  With a bit darker tone than her previous work, Rihanna brings to the table plenty of originalty and once again sets herself apart from the rest of the crowd.

Rihanna confirmed her 2010 tour through Europe on MTV in December.  You may be surprised that her tour is going to be in Europe instead of the United States.  To me, this is logical in that she is extremely popular across the pond, especially in Eastern Europe.  Also, this does not mean she will not tour the States, in that her last stop in Europe is in May, leaving plenty of time for many shows throughout the US.

Rihanna is in my opinion a true modern-day renaissance-woman.  She has expanded her horizons into many different categories of public productions, philantropy, as well as many personal endeavors.  Without a doubt, that Rihanna rain just don't let up.

Newsflash! Aliens DO Exist

As many children always have, I have been pondering as to wether or not aliens from a different planet actually exist.  Now before I get into my arguement I would like to give you the pretext of my spiritual beliefs.  I am not an athiest, nor an anarchist, and I do not believe in any magic.  I am a faithful Christian, but I also believe in natural selection and evolution, though I also recognize that humans have overcome the "normal" historical patterns of natural selection.  Also you might be wondering, yes I do believe that Christianity and natural selection can flow together harmoniously.  I understand that there are many more religious beliefs than just Christianity, but this is just what I am most educated on, and where I expect most of my opposition to come from.  I establish these principals of my beliefs as pretext because they will help bring about my logical approch to an explanation as to why I am convinced there are many forms of species outside of our domestic planet, earth.  Everything I am about to explain is based on sceintifical work (the actual processes of this are beyond my understanding, but the concepts are reletively easy to comprehend.)

Now I don't plan on explaining the mysteries of crop circles or questionable UFO sightings.  These are all to squimish of subjects to analyze just based on the fact that there is no hard evidence, only those that want to believe what they didn't really see.

The aliens I would like to discuss are most likely light years away.  They probably don't even know we exist.  I have no idea what they look like, sound like, or smell like.  But, I do know that they exist. 

A majority of today's leading scientists are coming to agree on the theory that "space" is constantly expanding at a furious rate.  Assuming that nature continues on at the same relative balance, this means that, it will go on infinitly.  With this knowledge, it is a mathematically supported fact that somewhere, sometime, there will be atleast a galaxy just like our milky way, with a planet just like our earth, that will be inhabitable and flourish with the growth of many types of mammals as well as cold-blooded animals.  Also I do not want to limit this concept to mammals and reptiles only.  There may be species upon this distant planet that would dwarf some of our greatest landmarks here on earth.  On the other hand, these organisms may be microscopic...but that does not mean that they cannot be more intelligent than ourselves.

Mathematically, there should be a race just like us, that contains exact "copies" of us.  But, I would rather not get into that prospect right now, as it brings up many other questions that would include the wonder of a "parallel universe" and the many complications that would come with it, mainly religious.

With this "infinite space" in mind, I find it hard to deny that there is no form of life outside of our blue marbel and it's atmosphere.  I hope that you can see my arguement for what it is and not let your religious beliefs or any other concepts you may hold, blind you from what I believe to be true.

Introducing: Michael's Midweek Mashup!

   I am honored to introduce the first ever guest blogger on Froeman's Take.  Hailing from American University and graduate of Carmel High School, Michael has recieved many accolades in his life, especially in economics and not to mention COD.  This is a really big deal for me, and Michael has come up with some brilliant stuff.  So give a look and enjoy!

Online Poker: Road to Riches or Path to Poverty?

  PokerStars. Sportsbook Poker. Full Tilt Poker. Party Poker. Titan Poker. You may recognize a few of these websites; particularly PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, as they are two of the most visible and advertised online gambling sites in the United States. They sponsor their own tournaments as well as elite players on the World Series of Poker. Some even host their own late night television shows pitting average joes against the pros. For the last five years or so I have been a regular at both of these websites. My experiences have led me to believe that online poker is a dangerous game, and if gone unchecked, can have a disastrous impact on a person’s life. These illegal activities performed in cyberspace are corrupting our fragile society, creating degenerates out of would-be college graduates, tearing apart families, and causing financial ruin for addicted players. 

      I began playing online poker at the age of 13 (the legal age is 21 but all you have to do is check the box, and really, how are they going to catch you?). However, I was only playing with “play money”, which is how the poker sites first advertise their services. They suck in innocent naive adolescents, much as the tobacco companies did for years before the government stepped in. For example, “Come play some Texas Hold’Em at our site! Its fun, fast, easy, and FREE!” Of course, it is free, however, a person can only play with “play money” for so long before they get tired of it. For awhile, it was fun to amass millions of these worthless chips, trying to beat my friends’ bankrolls. However, soon I began to wonder what it meant to play with “real money” as advertised all over the website. By the time I was fifteen and had just gotten my first debit card, I decided it was time to find out what all of the excitement was about. I wanted to become a professional poker player just like the guys on television. I asked myself, “How hard could it be? Surely it would be better than going to school. I liked math at the time, and if I got good enough, like Phil Ivey, I could make millions!” Finally, after a little deliberation, I clicked on “Deposit Now”, and sure enough, my life would never be the same.  

  Throughout my years as an avid online poker player, I have had my ups and downs. I will concede however, that overall, I probably have lost a considerable amount of hard-earned money. I vividly remember depositing my entire paycheck one occasion. Needless to say it was a waste. Although I went up nearly $300 in a matter of hours, I joined a high-stakes game, and quickly my small fortune disappeared at the tables. It takes years of practice, determination, and most of all, PATIENCE, something that I did not possess at such a young age. I wanted to rise to the top - the millions were only a few good hands away. Quickly I found myself addicted to the game- the adrenaline rushes, the bad beats, and most of all, the money. I kept depositing and depositing, sometimes only $30 at a time, and despite my temporary winnings, my bankroll would always end up back at $0.00. Yet, I couldn’t get enough of it. I soon began to accumulate large amounts of frequent player points (every site calls them something different). Basically, as you continue to lose money at the tables, they reward you with items from customized shirts to plasma TV’s, always bearing the company logo of course. This was just another attempt made by the companies to keep players returning to their tables.  Finally, I saw through the endless corporate advertising, and began to realize how much time and money the game was taking from me. I had a sort of revelation and made a life saving decision to quit online poker. As I still love the game, I decided that I can wait to play again until I am old enough to go to the casinos where I can enjoy the true experience of playing LIVE poker. I have stopped the endless cycle, and I am a better person for it. 

  Overall, my experience with online poker has taught me a few valuable traits that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Success only comes with hard work and dedication. The best poker players have spent years and years perfecting their games, just as any businessman would spend years in school before they make their fortunes. While some gambling websites have already begun restricting players within the United States due to government intervention, more action needs to be taken in order to prevent more people from becoming addicted to the lifeless nature of this game. Now, I’m not saying its impossible to be profitable at the tables, but don’t expect to win without putting in the time and money, and possibly your life. 

A Decade Under the Influence of Captain Underpants

Meet George Beard and Harold Hutchins.  George is the kid on the left with the tie and the flat-top.  Harold is the one on the right with the t-shirt and the bad haircut.  Remember that now.

I have just completed re-reading my collection of Dav Pilkey's "Captain Underpants" series.  I dare say that they have impacted my life as much now as they did 10 years ago.  I believe that George and Harold revolutionized and defined what it meant to be a reckless-trouble-making kid of the decade.  But, these are not the only two history-making characters that recieve appearances in the series.  The principal for instance, Principle Krupp (who is secretly the Captain Underpants - which alludes to a greater common misconception, which actually might not be a misconception at all) resembles many principles in both appearance and attitude, and I believe that he has set the standard for principles everywhere.

With all these praises upheld, there is more than one great responsibilty that Pilkey has failed to fulfill.  For starters, there are villains in these books such as the talking toilets, Professor Poopypants, the Wicked Wedgie Woman, the Bionic Booger Boy, and evil cafeteria ladies from outer space.  I would like to zero in on the topic of the third epic novel in the series titled: Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space (and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds).  Now my problem with this is that there are lunch ladies world wide who have been given a bad name by this title.  I know a lot of good lunch ladies.  Also, with the characters in general; mothers worldwide are taking away video games because of violence and language issues that may possibly give children nightmares.  But just because this graphic novel is just that, a novel, it has been left out of the conversation.  So are you telling me that a talking toilet with sharp teeth won't give a child who just happens to be learning how to use the big-kid toilet nightmares?

     A crucial point that must be mentioned is that Pilkey has built of many anticpations which usually become false and empty hopes and dreams.  The bulk of this letdown comes from his "flip - o - rama."  As a kid and as a teenager I have been dissapointed by the flimsy pages of what were promised to be spectacularly stunning, live-action-packed comics. Every time I end up ripping a page in desperation, or just putting the book down with a tear to go next to it.  Also on the cover of the the seventh book, Pilkey describes "chunky action!" and "cripsy laughs!"  This is great and all that he is promising these results, but it is infact a turnoff to me in that I don't want my action to be chunky or my laughs crispy at all.  Actually, I would rather have it the other way around.

So has society suffered from being force-fed Captain Underpants? I believe so.  But has it benifitted in that new standards for everyday living have been established? Yes, Indeed.

Farmville: An Agri-Web Revolution

  I have to harvest soon, so I'll make this short.  Farmville is quickly taking over the web via Facebook.  Its a hot young star burning bright and it doesn't seem to be fading anytime soon. 

I must admit that I myself judged the book by its cover in that everytime I recieved an invite or notification for the app, I thought it would be a lame waste of time.  I was very wrong...

It was thanksgiving, around seven or eight pm.  I was extremeley bored and could find nothing else to do.  So I figured I would give this internet flare a try.  I was immediatly wrapped up.  I was determined to develop an economic machine that would triumph over all other competitors and bring me to the top of the rankings.  I now had a destiny to fulfill.  As of today, I am currently a level 28 farmer, dubbed "thrill of the till."  The highest attainable level is 70, where one becomes the "world fair champ".  Needless to say there are few. 

Some may believe that Farmvile is dangerous to our society, and I must agree.  Many farmers in America probably have become so engrossed in the online sensation that they fail to tend to their own crops in real life.  There is no proof of this but I will take claim to the theory.  Also there is no telling how much more magnificent my grades this last period could have been if it wasn't for Farmville sapping my study and sleep time.  This theory applies to more than just the student and the American farmer.  The entire workforce has been put into jeopordy by the controlling, decieving consequences that wreak havoc on our already sleep deprived country.  These are the only negative things I have to say about Farmville, but despite all of this I am still a fan.

Farmville is growing more and more every day with over 70 million monthly active users and 100 millions unique users.  Farmville, developed by Zynga has surpassed twitter in its amounts of active users and is now the most popular game on the internet over "mafia wars" and "causes".

Call me an addict, call me a fan, call me a user.  Call me whatever you want to.  I, along with 100 million plus virtual farmers have to get going because theres always soil to be tilled, seeds to be planted and crops to be harvested.

The Legacy of Spongebob Squarepants

      If you are between the ages of 0 and 53 you most likely know who Spongebob Squarepants is.  Concieved in 1984 by Stephen Hillenburg, Spongebob rocked the modern world of children and adults alike upon its first nickelodean airing on May 1st, 1999.  The show started as just another loveable cartoon, but it was not to remain that way.  Spongebob quickly became a worldwide sensation and a household name.

    But, Spongebob was not without controversy.  He has been accussed of being a homosexual (presumably with close companion Patrick Star).  Though the creator has claimed that he represents a near-asexual.  In my mind he remains a fun-loving, inpirational role model to my life.

There are countless ways that spongebob has contributed to our society today.  For starters, there are many songs and jingles that have been produced as side products of the show; the f-u-n song, and the campfire song to name a few.  Secondly, Mr. Squarepants has been honored with his own self -titled film.  To me, any television show that has been made into a movie is successful...that includes icarly(igo to japan).  He has also drawn in over 8.8 million veiwers for a single episode...this does not include the countless reruns watched daily or the soaring number of dvd's sold.  Lastly, Spongebob is a genuine American icon.  His struggles between characters such as plankton or any other villians such as Ray-man demonstrate the classic "good defeats evil" pathology.  My question to you is, what American can sit on their coach and not profess to enjoying an episode of Spongebob?

It is safe to say that Spongebob has dominated the decade, not only in television, but in popular culture as a whole.  He ranks high among the many influences in my life.  I can also claim time and again that Spongebob is an undying friend.  When boils down to it, he is there for you both mentally and emotionally.

StumbleUpon.com: Discover Your Internet

Stumblupon.com is my most recent time-killer/educator.  It is easy to lose track of time “stumbling” onto new sites that suit just my interests – which I can constantly edit.  What exactly is StumbleUpon.com? – Exactly what it says it is.  This genuine search engine takes input from its users, primarily your personal input, and customizes a random search of the Internet for things that might interest you.  It is easy and fun to use.  Not to sound like an advertiser, but it really will take away that feeling that once you check your regular sites, you are done on the Internet. 

The key feature of this search engine, and really what makes it unique is that its results are human-guided.  There is, for every site it brings you to a “like” and “dislike” button.  The presage of these buttons by users determines the rating a certain site is given.  Websites that have not been brought up for a long period of time or receive a poor rating are discarded from what you can stumble upon.  Another feature of customization brought to you by StumbleUpon.com is the ability to indicate your certain interests to base your search off of.  Now, I have not completely decided whether I like this system of itemization or not. My main concern with it is that some of the topics are very broad such as “history” or “books”.  I like history and I like books, but I may not like every specific genre within those categories. 

I can definitly see StumbleUpon.com defeating my homework in the battle of how I use my time come sunday.

Avatar: Beautiful

  There is one word that came to mind immediatly following my viewing of Avatar to describe the movie: beautiful.  This 2 hour 42 minute movie delves into each one of your emotions a the same time.  It grips hold of you and never lets go until a highly satisfying close.  My initial thoughts going into the theatre was that it would just be another average movie and justified the price of the ticket by the fact that I was getting some quality time with my friends.  I was blown away.

Written and directed by  James Cameron, this movie has been in production for more than 15 years.  Those, including myself who have seen the movie will tell you that Cameron made a wise decision in waiting for technology to glorify the effects of this movie.  I saw the film twice; once on sunday night in regular format, and again the next night in 3D.  I will tell you that the 3D did not do much for me. I don't know if it was becuase that was my second viewing and I was looking for something more or if the 3D really is not that impresive.  Nevertheless, Avatar gave me a "Disney World" "magic" feeling.  The world the Na'vi live on is entranced with beautiful lights and spiritual surroundings to which you will develop a deep emotional attachment.  Another factor that set this movie apart from the many others I have seen was character development.  The exposition of each character through the eyes of crippled marine turned Avatar; Jake Sulley was brilliantly choreographed as you fell in love with the Na'vi race and ways. 

It becomes a viewer's love story on many levels.  You do not only fall in love with the main characters; Jake and Neytiri, but also with the planet of Pandora and the ways of its people.  Within the plot was a classic conflict of commercial imperialism vs. preservation of naive culture.  The Na'vi were a highly peaceful people with intentions only to preserve their way of life...as well as their lives themselves.  I was deeply angered when the bulldoazers were rolled in by the humans to destroy the domain of the Na'vi and collect the unobtainium, so valuable on planet earth.  I was left with no notion that it was only a movie.  I was attached completley.