Turn It Up!

     Throughout the entirety of our lives we spend a significant portion of our time doing the same “activities” repeatedly.  For the purposes of this post I’m going to assume that the majority of us spend a very large percentage of that time listening to music while either driving or riding in a car.  Let’s face it, we listen to music all of the time and being in a car without music can be, well, boring.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some pretty deep conversations during car rides, but there are also those very awkward, music-less rides as well. 

      I for one am very adamant about the quality of the music that I listen too.  In fact, I have invested what most would consider being an unreasonable amount of money to ensure that I am constantly listening to the best sound quality possible.  The most important, and most expensive of my audio playback devices would without a doubt be my car.  For those of you who are still riding around with your factory system, I’m going to introduce you to the world of car audio.  I’ll teach you the basics so that you can enhance your listening experience if you so desire.  First things first, car audio can be an addictive hobby and run up a pretty price tag but like most things in life, you get what you pay for.  That being said, you can still upgrade any component of your car’s audio system for a reasonable price, and will still hear a tremendous improvement in the sound quality of your music.

      The first upgrade to consider is a stereo.  While you may think by turning up the bass level on your stock stereo you get “bumping” sound, you’d be mistaken.  Truthfully, the only thing that cranking the bass up on a stock stereo does is distort the rest of the playback levels, and can even destroy the little paper speakers in your doors.  Aftermarket stereos have a much better output levels that what comes standard in all vehicles, even standard Bose stereos.  This means that the highs come out crisper and lows deeper, even from those standard paper speakers.  Unfortunately, unless you know proper wiring techniques installing an aftermarket stereo on your own is rather tricky.  There are a few extra pieces and parts that need to be purchased as well, which is important to consider when shopping for stereos.  Since vehicle manufacturers do not want anyone tampering with their masterpieces, they make it more difficult to swap the stock radio out than just “plug-and-play.” 

      The next thing you should consider swapping out are those paper speakers I mentioned that are located in the door panels of your car.  While you can go ahead and swap out the speakers and keep your stock radio, they will sound better than what comes standard, but will be much better when receiving the quality outputs from an aftermarket stereo.  The benefit of adding aftermarket speakers to your car’s audio system is the wider range of sounds that can be produced from these speakers.  Aftermarket speakers are designed to be able to produce much higher, and much lower sounds than stock speakers.  Once you swap out your stock speakers for aftermarket ones you will immediately notice a dramatic difference, and you may be surprised to find that you are hearing sounds that you’ve never heard before from your favorite songs that you’ve heard millions of times.  Now swapping out speakers is much less difficult than installing a new stereo and can be done by the average Joe.  All you need to do here is go on the Internet and look up what size speaker your car takes, purchase a new set either online or in store, pop off your door panels, unplug the old ones, and plug in the new.  I know I make this sound pretty easy, but I must always recommend that you take your vehicle to a specialized car audio shop in order to get any of these upgrades.  Yes, you will have to spend a little more cash, but you won’t be liable for anything that might go wrong.  Plus, you will generally receive a lifetime warranty on products and installations from these shops.

The last upgrade I’m going to discuss is amplifiers.  Now for those of you that just want to hear your music clearer and crisper, you can go ahead and leave this item out because I’m sure your budget may be running thin at this point.  For those of you who want everyone else to hear what song you’re listening to or just get those new speakers to reach their full potential, this is a must have.  Amplifiers pretty much explain themselves.  What they do is amplify the outputs from the stereo, sending more power to the speakers, which makes them louder and drastically, improves the sound quality.  For amplifiers, I highly recommend that you consult a car audio shop before purchasing or attempting to install because if the amp is not properly installed it could cause your car’s battery to drain unexpectedly and even destroy your new, awesome speakers, trust me on this one I’ve had my fair share of blown speakers due to improper amp settings; even a small fire once, so this is a serious matter. 

      I hope that those of you who took the time to make it through that extensive explanation have learned something that you didn’t already know, and maybe are starting to put a little thought into upgrading your listening experience.  For me it is important that my car audio is of very high quality, seeing that I spend a whole lot of time driving.  Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

Jeremy Bugbee

Working the DNC

          Last week starting on friday the 31st of October until the thursday the 6th of September I worked at the democratic national convention.  One of the things that surprised me so much about working the convention was how friendly everyone was.  I realized that it’s amazing how much more you can experience when you take full advantage of an opportunity.

            On Friday while I was waiting in line for coffee I met a businessman around the age of 32 who invited me to a dinner party he was hosting for the mayor of Las Angles.  I took his number and at first was very skeptical about the whole situation but ended up going.  I decided that because the address to the party was for a restaurant downtown, I was going with a friend, and police officers were all over downtown due to the convention that I would be ok. 

I am so glad that I went because as soon as my friend Raulston and I arrived at the party and found Fabian Nunez who had invited us earlier that day we instantly felt welcome.  Fabian then introduced us to Antonio Villaraigosa Jr. who is the mayors son and Chris Delgado who is the mayors nephew.  The four of us hung out all night and ended up exchanging numbers so that we could see each other again.  All week long the boys brought us to almost every party they went to including a party hosted by Eva Longoria, and a small get together at Will I Am’s suite in the Ritz Carleton.  The week was crazy, I would make it back to my apartment sometime between 2 and 4 in the morning and then have to wake up at 7 to go to work for the dnc.  However I wouldn’t trade that week for the world.  And although I was exhausted after everything was over, years from now I’m not going to remember the experiences I had much more then how tired I was.                  
-Anna Kirwan 

Apples will say “bye bye DVDs”

Yup I said it, adios DVDs. It’s going to happen sooner or later so you better get with the times! You might think I’m mad, maybe I am, maybe I’m not, but I honestly believe we will see a drift away from people purchasing DVDs. Why you ask... Well let me explain.

First, let me just say thank you to Apple for sparking this craziness I visualize. When the ultra-thin MacBook Air debuted some people were outraged from the absence of a CD/DVD-Drive. Who listens to CDs anymore anyways.. really who does? Don’t worry, we’ll touch base on CDs here too. Back to the point, people questioned why! I respond with, WHY NOT! Who needs DVDs anymore when you can download High Definition (HD) movies on iTunes ranging anywhere from ten to twenty dollars. Then, I can take the HD movie I bought off iTunes and stream it to my HDTV via Apple TV. Wait, I can also sync the HD movie to/from my iPhone or my iPad. Why should I buy DVDs anymore? They take up space, get lost all the time, generally get scratched, and when someone ends up borrowing one of my DVDs I usually don’t get it back.

I’m not going to lie, I am an Apple fanatic. Just think about how they continuously change the market #innovationFTW. Take a look at what Apple did to the CD market, I honestly can’t remember when the last time was I played a CD let alone bought one. It seems now everyone plays music off their iPod, iPhone, or another smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy S III #billiondollarlawsuit.. Either way, look what Apple did with the spike of MP3 players; virtually all smartphones having MP3 capability, heck not just even smartphones but cars having an MP3 hookup or iPhone USB connection. It’s crazy if you really start thinking about how Apple has changed the market, it’s innovation at the finest. And that’s why I believe DVDs will become obsolete in the near future.

Krisztian Martin

Pets

Friend

     Pets. I have had many pets during my lifetime and all have been not only a cute and cuddly animal, but also a dear friend. Animals are sweet and gentle, protective and understanding. There is a reason that dogs are “man’s best friend”. I have found that I tend to think of my pets as my babies. They are “helpless” and need/deserve our care. But the care goes both ways. There are times when I am sick or sad, and my cat, Friend (yes, his name is Friend), will jump up and lay down next to me. There have been days where my dog, Otto has brought me into a better mood because he is, well to be frank; he is the most ridiculous little man in the world. I think that the connection between humans and animals is much stronger than we believe. Humans are animals; I don’t think that it is all that surprising that we (as humans) should create bonds with other creatures of this planet. 

Shepard in all his glory

     My current pets are “the boys”: Plato, Otto, and Shepard. They are the puppies of the family. We call them puppies but none are younger than two years old. Then there are the kitty cats, Savvy, our prissy little princess, and Friend, my loveable, goofy and partially psychotic, baby boy. They each have their own personalities and there own habits. Plato is a bit of a loner, while Otto just can’t get enough attention. Shepard is strong and wise but can also be a big old baby. Friend is a cat, and yet one of his favorite toys is a regular sized tennis ball. There is more to animals than meets the eye. 

Savvy, smashing herself into a shoe box

     I understand that they may not be sentient and have a “thought-processing center”, but maybe we are wrong. Just because we as humans have evolved, doesn’t mean than the other animals haven’t. How can we be sure that when a dog barks, he isn’t telling his friend about the kibbles and bits he had the night before? We can’t, it’s as simple as that. But this post is not about who is the more advanced species, its about the love of humans and their pets. If you have ever had a pet then you understand what I mean when I say that you have a protective attitude towards your pets. If you haven’t, then imagine your favorite item, now make it cute, funny, intelligent, caring, and give it a soul. That is what a pet is. 

Until next time,
Jenna Buthman

The Invisibility Complex of the Blair House

                                   
     College is a time for exploration, hard work, and even romance. Many people find their true love/soulmate/life partner/honey muffin during their college years, and I will preface this post by stating that there is nothing wrong with that. However, I have noticed a strange phenomenon going on at the Blair house recently. For those of you who don’t go to Queens, the Blair house is located in the direct center of the quad, just inches away from a junction of two very busy walkways. The very peculiar thing I have noticed is that when people swing on that porch swing with their significant other/girlfriend/boyfriend/pookie bear, they feel as if they are shielded from all eyes on campus.

     The first time this spectacle presented itself to me was during my freshman year. I was walking back to my dorm with a group of friends across the fateful walkway I described earlier when we noticed a couple on the porch swing. As we inched towards the infamous Blair house, we noticed that the couple were kissing (almost violently), and they continued even as we passed within about four feet of them. It was a haunting encounter to say the least, but that night was the first of many awkward walks past that terrible swinging bench. Dozens of couples repeated the offense all year, and soon it began to drive me mad.

It is as if the house itself, if not just the bench, has some sort of otherworldly power which tricks its victims into thinking they are invisible. The question of whether or not all humans, not just those in some sort of relationship, were affected by the incantation was lingering on my mind, so I began to experiment.

      I would sit on the bench in complete solitude and wait for a casual passerby. When someone’s commute brought them past my post, I would talk loudly to them and wave my arms. While this didn’t earn me any friends, it proved that only couples were under the spell of the Blair house, because people looked at me rather quizzically and hurried away. It was a major discovery for the case, but I regret to say that, to this day, little else is known about the effects of the curse. The truth will soon be found, but I suggest that the students at Queen’s either take alternate routes or where blinders until safety is restored.

- Eric Richard

             

Staying True to Myself

“When in doubt, choose change.” -Lily Leung

Neither of my parents went to college. As their oldest child, I wanted to go to the best college I could get into. My idea of ‘best’ at the time paralleled with ‘biggest.’ I applied to all of the schools with the highest populations and best football teams and when I was accepted to University of South Carolina and rewarded a scholarship, my answer became clear. 

I thought that I had made the right decision for myself because in my mind, everyone wanted to go to a huge school. I soon realized that’s what most wanted to do, but it’s not right for everyone- including me. Being in classes with over 100 other students, never with a professor that knew my name, made me totally disengage from learning the material. In a sorority with a pledge class of 89 girls, and a whopping total of 350 “sisters,” it felt less like a family and more like a dramatic version of high school with ten times the caddy gossip. I felt like half of my time there was spent standing in line for food or driving in circles trying to find a parking meter. The faceless crowds drained me, and I quickly felt that something wasn’t right. Instead of deciding that the school was wrong for me, I assumed that I was wrong for the school. I was quick to beat myself up for not enjoying being cramped in the bars, elbow to elbow with total strangers. I thought that I should’ve fit in more with the Stepford wives that made up my sorority, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Because I didn’t always have an exciting answer to “so what’d you do last night?” people looked at me as if I had ‘LOSER’ written on my forehead. I’m not saying by any means that I don’t love to socialize and go out with friends, but I just didn’t feel like doing it there.

After the longest three years of my life, I finally realized that the big-school scene just wasn’t for me and that there was nothing wrong with feeling that way. Deciding to transfer was the best choice I could’ve made. It definitely wasn’t convenient moving all of my stuff back to Charlotte, or having to be the new kid at a small close-knit college, but the longer I’ve been at Queens, the more validated I feel in my decision. I know everyone’s name in my classes and my professors take interest in me and want to see me succeed. Queens students seem to accept one another for their genuine selves and celebrate their differences. My ideas of sororities have totally changed after seeing the smaller, tight-knit groups of girls here that even socialize outside of their affiliations. And no more waiting in lines! And no more parking meters! I can confidently say that Queens University appreciates their students by how they keep the campus and provide all the tools necessary to succeed. As I get further into the semester and continue to do what I enjoy doing, rather than what I once thought I should enjoy, I continue to find reasons why I am so grateful for this welcomed and much needed change. 

-Brittani Pedersen

The Relationship Between Social Media and Unrest in the Middle East

          Yesterday the US Embassy’s in Egypt and Libya were rioted and attacked, resulting in the death of Chris Stevens, the US Ambassador to Libya. The causes of the protests and violence were many, but it was a large amount of bad timing. One of the biggest contributors for the Egyptians and Libyans to take to the streets was an amateur video posted to YouTube by a pro-Israeli supporter depicting the Prophet Muhammad in degrading fashion, as a womanizer. Any visual depiction of Muhammad is considered blasphemous by Muslims.

Today, we live in an environment where one person can put their opinion on social media and cause riots and violence on the other side of the world. I’m not sure what this means for the global society. I 100% agree that what the video stands for is wrong. I also understand why it upset thousands of Muslims across Egypt and Libya. What I don’t stand for is the violence. Chris Stevens was a lifelong worker of peace in the Middle East. He had nothing to do with the production, distribution, or opinions voiced in the YouTube video, yet he was killed. The attack may have been previously planned but was compounded by the mass protests occurring on the streets.

I think that the events that just occurred need serious consideration on many levels. In terms of this blog and of technology and media, I think that a serious look at the gravity of events that social media can initiate is necessary. From causing suicides due to cyber bullying, to causing nations to riot and commit acts of violence due to racial and religious insensitivity, social media has a wide range of effects on a local and global scale. I don’t think censorship is the answer, but I think that consideration for others could go a long way. Just consider what these Libyans in Benghazi put on social media.

 Calvin Lescault

BPP at the DNC with the PPL!

Few are given the chance to experience a political national convention in their home city. We here at Charlotte did and I have to say, thank God it was the Democrats! This week I have had the opportunity to discover the DNC for myself. Through Queens University, I was able to get course credit by volunteering at the PPL. The PPL is, as I like to put it, a convention for nonconventional media. About fifteen thousand people come to Charlotte during the DNC but only a small portion are allotted the credentials to get in. The PPL hosts the bloggers, internet and independent media at the Packard Place and gives them the space to work, charge their batteries, store their equipment and watch the latest news. They also provide a stage for people to speak and share about what they do, or provide panels with leaders of the community to discuss important topics in politics. From comedians to yoga instructors to senators- all kinds of people graced the stage and provided an outlet for visitors to take a break. 

At The PPL, I was a part of the editorial team for inside operations. The Editorial team covered what was going on inside of The PPL. We took pictures, videos, interviewed the people around us and later uploaded it to various social media. Upon arriving, I quickly learned that I had a lot of work to do before I consider myself ready to have a career in an editorial position. I was unfamiliar with many of the sites that they were posting too, like flickr, tumblr, and wordpress. Eventhough, I assisted them as much as possible. 

My jobs included covering what was going on outside the doors of the Packard Place. I took pictures of the action that manifested on the streets of uptown Charlotte including those of protesters, news anchors, the surcharge of policemen, and their onlookers. It was exciting yet difficult all at the same time. It was impossible to plan what I was going to do, but if I wasn’t in the right place at the right time, I would miss the shot. Still, I believe I captured some great ones! You can see a few that I took posted in this entry. I was also responsible for the Twitter Live Feeds during various shows and panels that were held on the PPL Stage, which UStreamed live onto their website. I was constantly posting quotes and informing followers of what was going on on stage, and directing them to watch it live on theppl.us. 

I met a lot of important figures in the media business, such as reporters from Al Jazeera-English who came to do a piece on the PPL. I also got to work directly under PPL co-founder Justin Ruckman, who has a vast knowledge about this new trend of creating workspaces for independent media, as well as the influence social media and communications play to succeed with this kind of idea. I also witnessed Chris Matthews and Michael Eric Dyson reporting for MSNBC in the epicentre and photographed them in a live setting. 

All of the leaders, volunteers and attendees at The PPL were so willing to give me advice, let me pick their brain, and teach me new techniques or strategies. I have learned so much in the three days that I spent uptown during this convention. It has confirmed to me that I am on the right track even more. I loved my time spent covering all of the action, and look forward to volunteering for more interesting and unique projects in the future. I am so grateful for the opportunities given to me by the PPL and Queens, and can’t wait to see what’s next! 

-Brittani Pedersen

Making the Most Out Of Bad Situations

Growing up in a rough neighborhood, you really can’t see your future. I lived in this apartment complex for 12 years. I saw the worst possible things in life. People were shot, kids got beat up for no reason and gangs fought each other daily. I grew up around a lot of violence but I never let the violence influence me to join. Living in this apartment complex I had to be in the house when the street lights came on, which was around 7:30. After dark, this complex became the worst place to live. We had two bolts on our main door along with a chain across the top. We also had a stick behind the balcony door because living on the second floor people usually find a way to get onto our porch. Making it through the night was a blessing, that’s anywhere you sleep but especially in that neighborhood.

During the day the apartment complex is a much better place to be. At this complex they had a playground, tennis court with a basketball goal on one side and a big grass area where we played football. I played every sport but basketball was my main sport. I could dribble, shoot, pass and jump. I had every basketball skill in my arsenal and my friends and family knew it. They encouraged me to play basketball and be the best that I could be. My family didn’t want me to end up like some of my friends that had no future for themselves because of theirs bad decisions. They also said people don’t expect kids to be anything in life that came from a rough neighborhood.

When my family told me that, my mind was made up. I started working on my game each and every day.  I attended Wakefield High school in Raleigh North Carolina. My senior year I was ranked number 12 prospect in North Carolina. After my senior year was finished, Queens University of Charlotte offered me a full ride scholarship to play basketball. This was the best moment in my life and I will cherish it till the day I die. No one in my family attended college so this is a major accomplishment to me and them. I have been in college for 4 years and my family and friends have been there right by my side no matter what. They came to many of my games and they also call and check up on me on a daily bases. Without my family and friends I don’t know where I would be right now and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.

Antonio Stabler