Media Convergence Initiative

My Epiphany on “The Great Gatsby”

Posted on March 24, 2014 by l.susan

When I first saw the 2013 film “The Great Gatsby”, I left the theatre with many things on my mind. I was stunned due to its incredible visual beauty and the spectacular acting talents of Leonardo DiCaprio and Adelaide Clemens. On the other hand, I was also slightly confused. The use of exaggerated visuals and music that did not match that of the 1920s made this a slightly confusing experience. Many others agreed with me, they thought that for a movie that was based in the early 20th century, it was way too exaggerated visually.

However, I thought to myself that such professional film makers could not make a mistake as big as that. There had to be a meaning behind it. Then, the light bulb came on.

I realized that the whole story told in Gatsby is narrated in past tense by Tobey Maguire’s character, Nick Carraway. What does this mean? This means that most of the film is nothing more than a memory. That is where it all makes sense. From a psychological standpoint, the exaggeration of all of the events that occur during the film is completely viable. It is no mystery that the memory of an event can be a distorted version of what actually happened. Taking into account that Carraway was mentally unstable while narrating his story to a psychiatrist, it is perfectly possible that all the details of what had happened were exaggerated.

When looking back at the film, I also noticed that the scenes when he is in the psychiatric office, everything looks very plain and normal and void of any exaggeration seen throughout most of the movie, which shows that the events narrated by Carraway are actually exaggerated.

Anyone who has seen this film should go back and watch it to understand this, and thus understand this film to a much higher degree.

Posted in Entertainment | Comments Off

Marlins President Unhappy With Team Play

Posted on March 24, 2014 by kbowerman

When we look at the Miami Marlins, we see a baseball team that is young, has a lot of potential but also lacks the proper leadership according to many sources. As the new baseball season approaches, the Marlins are looking to add to their dismal track record and begin the road back to the playoffs. Marlins President David Samson was quoted earlier monday morning stating that he believes that the marlins should play a faster style of baseball and this is important for the fans. But, when we look at the stats, who is he kidding? The Marlins are among the lead leaders in fastest play time and I believe this is all an excuse to why there aren’t fans buying tickets to see them play.

Samson, who was recently kicked off first on the show Survivor, believes the marlins problems are not dealing with their actual players but outside stimuli. When we look at the big picture, the Marlins are a minor league team playing against the biggest names in the game. The Marlins though, have picked up some key players this off season and believe that this can propel them into a bigger picture and start a quest to win another championship. Statistics don’t lie and contracts don’t either. The Marlins are the second lowest paying team in the league and still have aspirations to win baseball games. The fans of Miami are ready for a real team to show up and put on a show. Marlins fans are still predicting another slow year.

Posted in General, Sports | Tagged baseball, fail, games, lose, marlins, MLB, President, win | Comments Off

Missing Malaysian Plane went down in Indian Ocean

Posted on March 24, 2014 by alandelav

It took 17 days. A Malaysian Airline jet took flight and disappeared. Disappeared. After 17 days had passed, unfortunately everyone received the news that no one wanted to here. The Malaysian plane, flight 370, met its end in the southern reaches of the Indian Ocean. Unfortunately, there were no survivors. Officials have stated that the plane was lost somewhere over in the deep waters of Perth, Australia. The announcement came from Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, made the announcement and stated that now it’s a race to fine the black box before it stops working. The device is said to obtain batteries that can last for over a month and the black box can continue to send signals for up to two weeks.

The issue here is exactly why the plane faulted off course so quickly? Many individuals, including the families of the deceased, are complaining that the announcement does not explain any questions about possible mechanical or electrical failure. The announcement also does not state whether the plane was hijacked, sabotaged by terrorism or simply a mechanical failure that occurred during the flight. News reports state that Malaysian officials state that all passengers have been cleared of any foul play, however, the pilots are still be investigated.

Now the race is against time. Even in past flights that have met their end by flying into the ocean, due to the vast largeness of the ocean, it can take years to find the black box. Now, everyone just has to wait.

Posted in General, World News | Comments Off

Windermere Officer’s Killing Still Unclear and Under Investigation After Two Suspect Teens Were in The Windermere Area

Posted on March 24, 2014 by the one and only

A 31-year old police officer Robert German from Windermere, Florida was killed early March 22, 2014 while on patrol. Two teenagers shot this police officer. The two teenagers were Brandon Goode 18 years old and his girlfriend Alexandria Hollinghurst 17 years old and both from Davenport, Florida. Authorities are saying that officer German had called for backup and the crews from the Orange County sheriff’s office. The Ocoee police department and the Orlando police department had responded. German was rushed to the hospital and he later died from his injuries.

There has been some speculation about the shooting and investigators are saying that they don’t know what led to the shooting or why Hollinghurst and Goode were in the Windermere area because the both of the teenagers died from apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds around the same are that German was shot on Conroy Windermere Road and Horizon Circle.

The detectives are trying to figure out a timeline to see what led to the tragic series of events. The fallen officer’s mother said that German loved his job and going to work everyday. Investigators in Polk County found suicide notes from each of the teenagers last week. They had entered the suicide notes into the system so that if someone ran their names they would see that the teenagers were missing, endangered and suicidal out of Polk County. They have already set a funeral date for the fallen officer for this Thursday. There have been a few incidents happening a lot lately where people are killing the officers. Officers risk their life everyday for us and criminals go and kill these people that go and risk their life’s for us.

Posted in General | Comments Off

Chefs in California are angry at new law which bans bare hand contact with food

Posted on March 24, 2014 by keegan.kennedy

I think most of us agree that food safety and sanitation is very important. When we choose to dine out rather than cook our own meals, we are entrusting another person with our food. For the most part we don’t know what goes on in a restaurant kitchen but we expect the cooks to follow proper sanitary procedures, just as we would. Perhaps this is why California has passed a law which prohibits chefs from handling food with their bare hands. To a lot of people this would seem like a good idea. The though of someone handling our food makes us all a bit uneasy. We don’t know if our cook is as clean as us, if they happen to be sick the day we visit their restaurant, or even if they follow the “employees must wash hands” sign in the bathroom. Aside from putting our minds at ease, the point of the law is to make sure there is no contamination in our food which can make us sick.

Not everyone is happy about this new law which will begin to be enforced this summer. The primary critics are the chefs themselves; Many say forcing them to wear gloves will restrict them. It slows them down, wastes resources, and in general doesn’t feel natural. In my opinion they have a point; most of us don’t wear gloves when we cook our food. The chefs point out the law should only apply to fast food type places. I agree with them, i don’t really trust the average burger king teenage employee to be the cleanest person in handling my food. But if i go to a nice restaurant with professional chefs who went to culinary school i hold them to a different standard, and i trust them to be clean.

Posted in General, Health | Comments Off

Best Cities to Live 2013-2014

Posted on March 24, 2014 by samantha young

Its easy to consider the U.S. as the greatest country to live in, being an American, and though American cities may boast some of the best sites to see and great qualities of life, some of the best places to live in the world aren’t even within the borders of the U.S. Below is a compilation of the best places to live in the world based off of statistical data of the 2013 and 2014 rankings.

10. Copenhagen, Denmark– High living standards, great healthcare, and great leisure activities rank Copenhagen in the top ten places to live.

9. Bern, Switzerland– With its global neutrality and remaining the haven of international banking, this Swiss city also ranks as the #2 safest places to live.

8. Geneva, Switzerland– Geneva is home to some of the best private schools on the planet and is also listed as one of the greenest cities to live in. It will cost you to live here though.

7. Frankfurt, Germany– Frankfurt is considered one of the largest financial centers in Europe and also a large transport hub, giving it an intricate infrastructure.

6. Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada)- Vancouver is home to one of the greenest cities in North America and with its mild climate, its much more cozier than other Canadian cities.

5. Dusseldorf , Germany- Dusseldorf is leading Germany in fashion and and art and is a major telecommunications hub.

4. Munich, Germany- Munich is one of the most financially sound cities in the world.

3. Auckland, New Zealand- Auckland has the best quality of life in the Asia-Pacific region and has made the top 5 safest places to live.

2. Zurich, Switzerland- Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and is also one of the safest in the world.

1. Vienna, Austria- Vienna is the largest city in Austria and the main economic, political, and cultural hub.

Posted in Economy, General, World News | Comments Off

University of Central Florida Students Denounce Mathematics Assistance and Learning Lab

Posted on March 24, 2014 by rboniniv

The Mathematics Assistance and Learning Lab, also known as the M.A.L.L., was established at UCF in 2008. The MALL is composed of three rooms with 312 total computers. Students in Algebra, Intermediate Algebra, Trigonometry, and Pre-Calculus must complete a total of three hours a week in the lab for a hefty portion of their grade. The MALL was created to help students succeed in their math courses and have access to help in addition to classroom time. However, the main complaint about the The MALL is that the mandatory hours are annoying and unnecessary.

As an incoming freshman, one of the first pieces of advice UCF students get is to NOT take math at UCF. Many students who have taken a math course at UCF could attest to the hassle it is to take math here. As the school year goes on, it becomes more apparent that taking a UCF math course is frowned upon by the student body. Why is math at our university such a terrible thing to take?

To be completely honest, I share some of the same feelings as these students. This is seriously the first thing I tell to friends enrolling at UCF. The MALL caused me a great deal of stress and difficulty, and it is downright unreasonable. A friend didn’t take my advice about enrolling at Valencia for math courses. After one semester, she applied to Valencia as a transient student to finish her math courses there. She is a math major.

Something else not mentioned: mandatory MALL hours means you get double-graded for homework the entire semester. Homework is mandatory, and is part of your grade. If you do all of your homework and get a 100% without entering the MALL, you don’t get full credit. Even though the material has been learned and all assignments were completed to the highest completeness.

Posted in Business, Education, General, Odd News | Comments Off

Springtime is making everyone sick!

Posted on March 24, 2014 by brittney a. mckinney

No metaphor in that title. Springtime is here… and people are getting sick all over the place. And it’s not just a sniffle here and a sniffle there. Although that is happening too, that’s just the mild stuff. Most people are experiencing serious influenza, myself included. I suffered through a terribly painful flu a few weeks ago. Even with medication, I was barely functional.

While I was sick, I had realized something. This is the second year in a row that I have gotten so sick that I became incapacitated. Not only that, but it occurred at around the same time of the year! March of last year, up until Easter, I had strep throat for the first time. Even though I was raised in Florida, it has only been since I have moved to Orlando that I am experiencing this trend of springtime sickness.

I have also seen people experience unusual allergy symptoms. A friend of mine at church has a son whose face has swollen around his eyes. The father says that his son has allergies, but has never experienced something this extreme.

And it’s not limited to one city. It’s happening all over Florida. The bug is going around in Orlando where I am, and I have also heard that my mother in Jacksonville was getting sick too.

Is the pollen that dangerous here? I have heard that it is in full force. You can’t park anywhere and not find pollen all over your car.

Next year, take no prisoners. Lesson learned: get a flu shot.

Posted in Health | Comments Off

It’s Tea Time: The Health Benefits of Drinking Green Tea!

Posted on March 24, 2014 by joeyafemia

Everyone always says that they’re looking for the next new drink, whether that is drinking a juice, coffee, a smoothie, or just water, but this time it’s green tea and it has been consumed and hailed for its health benefits for centuries globally. Just now gaining popularity from the U.S. in the past couple of years, green tea has been considered to be the most consumed beverage in the world behind water. While many people don’t like to drink green tea because of the way it looks, green tea is actually very delicious and extremely good for you. I will give you a couple of health benefits that green tea can do for a person and by the end of reading all health benefits, you will be heading to the grocery store to get yourself a pack of green tea to brew at home!

Green tea is made from an un-oxidized leave and is the top tea for having the least amount of processed sugars or other ingredients within the tea. Because of this, green tea contains the most antioxidants and beneficial polyphenols, which not only controls bleeding and heals wounds, but it also aids digestion, improves heart ad mental health and regulates the body’s temperature.

Green tea not only taste good, but it helps your body feel good as well. By drinking green tea, the high level of polyphenols within the tea helps kill cancerous cells and stop them from growing. Studies have also shown that the positive impacts of green tea on breast, bladder, ovarian, colorectal, esophageal, lung, prostate, skin and stomach cancer have all seen tremendous health benefits due to just drinking green tea once or twice a day.

Along with all the internal health benefits green tea can give you, there are several external benefits this tea can do for you skin, hair, and emotions as well. When drinking green tea, there is a nutrient within the tea itself that helps the skin and hair grow healthy, strong, and shine on. Drinking green tea also helps the body relax and relieve some of the stress.

Drinking green tea not only taste good, but also it is good for you. So from here on out, brew yourself a cup of tea in the morning, a cup of tea in the evening and just relax!

Posted in Health | Comments Off

Russia’s Successful Annexation of another Sovereign State’s Land

Posted on March 24, 2014 by lauren gould

This is something not seen on the world stage since Nazi Germany annexed country after country before the break out of World War II. Russia has successfully invaded and reclaimed territory lost after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Russia’s President Putin ordered the takeover of the Crimea peninsula in the last month, effectively stripping it away from the country of Ukraine with little consequence.

The world watched as Russia ignored international policy and stole territory from another nation using a shame of a referendum and by breaking international law and the Geneva Convention. Russia used unmarked troops and subterfuge to work around their own laws and offer a reason to annex the Crimean state from the Ukraine. Not being a NATO nation, and unaffiliated with the European Union, the nation of Ukraine had no real alternative than to turn over the peninsula without loss of life or putting up a fight.

This has been the second time in recent history that Putin’s Russia has invaded another sovereign nation, the first being Georgia, to seize control of more territory lost after the collapse of the former super power. The worst part is, they have gotten away with it over and over again, knowing that no nation wants to go to war with a nuclear state and relatively advanced military. Putin’s Russia is doing as they wish with no concern for the political fallout they cause, which is making a second Cold War, or possible nuclear conflict seem more and more likely. On one had, appeasement has gotten no one anywhere before, as WWII has proven, while on the other hand, direct war with Russia would be the end of it all.