I was pretty excited when I first heard about the Amazon Kindle, although my excitement has since lowered a bit. Basically, it is a decent-sized handheld electronic device onto which you can upload books for a lowered price than their price if you purchase them physically. It’s actually a pretty nifty idea, and appealing to anyone who enjoys reading a good book. Though the initial price for the device is rather hefty- $259 for the 6 inch and free two-day shipping for Valentine’s Day- but prices for books are priced significantly lower. If you’re someone who is constantly buying books brand new, it’s a good investment.
Books are delivered wirelessly, directly to your Kindle, and are stored online at Amazon in case you ever need to download them again. For just under $500, you could instead purchase the 9.7 inch Kindle DX which allows the storage of 3,500 books, while the original only holds 1,500. Only.
I’ve become less interested in the Kindle because of the price, and also because I like picking up a good ‘ol book. It seems like with the Kindle I would always be afraid of messing it up or breaking it, and after spending so much money on it, wouldn’t want to just be tossing it around my room when I get angry at something that happens in the book.
Another pro for the Kindle, though, as well as Barnes & Noble’s e-bookstore, is carrying bite-sized books. A division of the company Pearson (I know their company through textbooks), known as FT Press, has created “Elements and Shorts”. Cheaply priced, Elements are 1-2 thousand word pieces of books, and Shorts are approximately 5,000 word essays. Elements are being priced by FT Press at $1.99, and Shorts at $2.99. Amazon has already jumped at the opportunity to offer the lowest price- Elements at $1.59 and Shorts at $2.39.
Timothy C. Moore, the publisher of FT Press, has stated that there are currently 242 titles available, with an estimated 500 by the end of the year. While these books aren’t NY Times Best Sellers in fiction, they are major books in the Business genre, as well as others that are appealing to professionals who don’t have time to sit and read through a book for some fast advice.
While it seems like a good idea at first, I’m not quite sure how I feel about this. It seems quite reasonable to provide books for professionals that don’t need an entire book to learn what they’re looking for. However, if this program continues to expand, there is a very good chance it will soon include fiction books, which, in my opinion, isn’t a good idea. Plenty of nonfiction books, like those already released for this program do not need to necessarily be read in their entirety, but fiction books, on the other hand…well, they do.
Admittedly, I didn’t know who to root for in the Super Bowl tonight, but decided on the Saints after a friend suggested them (follow her- @aWignall- on Twitter). The game didn’t start out too much in their favor, with the halftime score at 13-10, although they were in the lead by 3 points. The halftime show was The Who, and they actually sounded pretty good.
In the third quarter, the Colts pulled ahead by 1 point, leading 17-16. The Saints made an amazing comeback in the final quarter- pulling ahead to 31-17 after a total of 3 field goals by Garrett Hartley and an amazing pick off of Peyton Manning by Tracy Porter and 74-yard (I think they said 74) touchdown. I also admit I don’t watch any football besides the Super Bowl, and I get way excited when I’m rooting for a team- even if I’m the only one in my house doing so. It was definitely an impressive touchdown, as were the three field goals by Garrett Hartley (I believe they also said that was a new record because all three were over 40 yards from the goal?).
In the fourth quarter, the Saints also grabbed a two point conversion after the play was reviewed and another point after their final touchdown by Tracy Porter. So, I spent a good time of my evening shouting, and maybe-sometimes clapping a just a little bit. Needless to say, I definitely enjoyed the game, and some of the commercials were actually pretty funny. I’m sure the commercials will be replaying all over the Internet and other channels.
Last Tuesday night saw the premiere of the documentary series Michael Vick Project on BET. Back in 2007, Vick was convicted of illegal dog fighting and sentenced to 23 months in jail. The controversy exploded- people supporting him despite his heinous acts and on the other side there were people hating him for what he had done to the dogs.
In 2009, he returned to football scene and began working with the Humane Society of the United States to discourage young people to become involved in anything like he was. The intent of the documentary series is to give an insight to the man he was, and how he has made a complete 180 after his conviction. The series will also be featuring interviews with his fiancée, family, and friends, filmed between August 2009 and January 2010.
After serving his time in jail, Vick signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and became reinstated in the 2009 NFL season. His passion for dog fighting was something that began as a teenager, continued through high school and college, and every Tuesday while he was a member of the Falcons.
He has stated that after the documentary series is over, he will stop apologizing; only while working with the Humane Society will he bring up the subject of his past in dog fighting. He has served his time in jail and apologized on numerous occasions, and many people are hopeful that the series will help people better understand Vick. The people who already dislike him may not change their opinions of Vick, but people who are supportive of him will get a chance at a better look of the man who inspired many people across America, and perhaps will have another chance of being an inspiration again.
Two of Britain’s major airports have implemented new requirements for select passengers: full-body scans. At the Heathrow and Manchester airports, if a passenger refuses the scan, they will not be allowed to even board the plane. The security surge is also taking place throughout airports in other countries, now more than ever. After an attempted suicide bombing on Christmas last year by the man who has become known as “The Underwear Bomber”, security in airports has continually increased. Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab hid explosives inside of his underwear and boarded a plane destined for Detroit on December 25; luckily, he did not succeed. The British government is especially uneasy because Abdulmutallab was a student in London for three years.
The full-body scanners have been introduced to U.S. airports, totaling 40 spread between about 20 airports, but only 6 are used for the main screening, the others only for back-up. Many people find the scanners to be rather controversial because “full-body” is a literal term. The scanners can see through the clothing of any selected passengers, which can easily be considered a violation of privacy.
Something perhaps even more controversial is the fact that the British government overturned the ruling that children under 18 would be required to pass through the body scanners. This interferes with Britain’s child porn laws, because the images produced by the body scanners are able to be viewed by airport personnel, and it is being questioned of the possibility that the images may clearly show every body part on the people who pass through them- practically a virtual strip search. Will this overturned ban be the incentive for other airports and countries to follow? The possibility seems very high for that to be the outcome. However, a Manchester official has been cited as saying that images cannot be stored or captured.
Despite the many people who find the devices to be a privacy violation, the majority of people are in favor of the use of the machines in airports, though fewer people would actually go through the scanners themselves. Another question being considered is if the body scanners are going to go beyond just airports and to other public places, especially transportation systems. More countries are taking higher security measures due to increased terrorism, and this seems to be one of the first major steps in security expansion.
When a 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, the world witnessed the devastation it caused. It wasn’t long for relief efforts to organize and begin doing everything they could to save the lives of as many people they could, help the wounded, and comfort anyone and everyone. Over 50 aftershocks have been measured by the United States Geological Society; the highest was of a 5.9 magnitude. It is estimated that near or over 200,000 people have died in this tragic disaster, and thousands more are wounded and in need of food, water, and medical attention.
George Clooney and Haitian-born rapper Wyclef Jean jumped on organizing a two-hour telethon which premiered on January 22. It was shown on multiple channels on TV, and streamed live online. Musicians were featured singing songs with encouraging lyrics, and actors told the stories of Haitian people while urging viewers to donate money. Over 60 million dollars is said to have been raised, and was spread amongst various relief organizations.
The songs which were featured on last Friday’s telethon were also digitally released to continue encouraging donations be made, and the all proceeds will be donated to relief efforts as well. The album features 20 tracks by artists such as Coldplay, Beyonce, Taylor Swift, John Legend, Jennifer Hudson, and other great artists.
The album saw over 150,000 downloads over the weekend, and has debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200. This makes it the first album to reach that spot through only a digital-release. No doubt, there will be even more purchases made and people will continue donating for many months to come.
The controversial news of the prison population reduction in California is raising some eyebrows, especially concerning whether or not it will be a safe thing to proceed in doing. Under the state law signed Monday, nearly 6,500 inmates will be released to begin the process of reducing the overcrowding in the coming year. The bill was signed last year as a piece of the state’s budget package.
Inmates will receive early-release credits for completing educational and vocational programs, which is a plan already being expanded upon. More incentives for getting their GED, learning a trade, and/or becoming clean and sober will also be another change taking place, allowing convicts to have improved opportunities after release. This will allow for inmates to be released earlier. The number of parolees will also be reduced- after their release from prison; ex-convicts with low-level offenses, and considered to be less dangerous and less likely to commit more crimes will not be monitored, though will still be able to be searched without a warrant.
The main benefit to this is that it will allow the state to place more focus on gang members, violent felons, and sex offenders, as well as reducing the load of parolees on the agents, and provide more time for being both a cop andsocial worker. The law will also end the automatic three-year parole of every released convict.
The estimate of financial savings of the state is 500 million in the first year, but only time will tell if this will prove to be true. With less monitoring, the possibility of ex-convicts committing another crime may rise due to lack of parole. One particular statistic is applicable to this situation- over 70% of released inmates return to prison after being released. Will this number decrease due to less attention to those considered a low-risk, or will it perhaps see decrease due to the law itself? Once again, only time will provide us an answer to this recently debated topic.
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