Recently by Ashley Barforoush

What's black and white and "read" all over? We all know the answer to this obnoxious joke is a newspaper but will our children be so quick to understand? With technology changing by the second it's worth thinking about.

Recently, I was talking to a copy editor for "The Kansas City Star," Paula Southerland. In the fast-paced world of news, Southerland loves constantly being "in the know." She also says there is nothing like seeing people at the gym reading articles that she edited. The fact that her job produces such a tangible thing is really rewarding and makes all pressure worth it in the end.

The worst part of the job is the lack of resources, which in due in large part to technology. When Southerland attended the University of Kansas there were no computers. Talk about unimaginable to my generation. The biggest revolution she has experienced, however, is the explosion of the Internet. It not only changed Southerland's world but the world of journalism as well.

Our society has become so obsessed with going online that it's causing printed newspapers to become a thing of the past. People at her work at getting laid off left and right because when papers aren't selling there is no need for as many workers anymore. She guarantees that by the time my generation gets older they won't even be printing newspapers anymore. She has really had to shift her way of thinking to deliver the news differently. Southerland says that it is change that will appeal to the younger generation.

Time will soon tell if a newspaper will be a collector's item on Ebay.

For more information check out the following video clip...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWfV5EK-JCw

It's usually difficult to predict a tragedy like Columbine before it happens. Luckily when 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate was delivered to the Schallenberger's home in Chesterfield, South Carolina the parents took it as a red flag. Soon after the delivery, they discovered their 18-year-old son's "hate diary" which included one years worth of diagrams, maps, and details on how to bomb his high school. Ammonium nitrate, the doorstep delivery, was what was used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and was the last ingredient to Ryan Schallenberger's master plan. They even found a tape Ryan wanted played after the sucide bombing. He went from one the top students at Chesterfield High to a prisoner in Chesterfield County jail on April 20th, 2008.

For the full story check it out http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iP1RA_f-7NiyXmAZJHLAXpdHL83AD905UOV80

"SAVE OUR EARTH, IT'S THE ONLY ONE WE'VE GOT"

"HUG TREES, DON'T KILL THEM"

"DON'T BE MEAN, GO GREEN"

I know we have heard it all before. We all know we should recycle, turn the lights off when we leave a room and take showers at a super sonic speed. However a there's a new green idea in town and it just might be crazy enough to work.

The idea can be explained in three words: reusable grocery sacks. The "green bags" are canvas bags that are even made from recycled plastic and are sold for a few bucks at HyVee and other grocery stores. A small price considering it could save the planet.

100 billion plastic bags are consumed by humans each year. This means 12 millions barrels of oil are used to make the bags which sit in the landfill and take 1000 years to biodegrade.

The invention really gives the term BYOB a whole new meaning. Bringing Your Own BAG to do your shopping is an easy way to help our environment in a big way. The hardest part is remembering your reusable bag!

For more info check out the video link below...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxLtrZg7jt0&NR=1

Always anonymous. Always juicy. This is the motto behind the gossip web site sweeping college campuses all over the nation. Have an enemy you feel like hating on? Now revenge is just a click away. Logging onto www.juicycampus.com leaves the door open for anyone to say anything, and I mean anything. Of course the site claims that no offensive comments are allowed but that is a blurry line, my friend. Especially when the site is demanding juicy information, they are basically asking for trouble. "Whose the gayest frat," "The ugliest girl," and "The biggest slut" are just three average of posting titles. Is the site legal? That is the question on authorities minds.

A Princeton student tried to sue because of a slanderous comment posted about her that included her full name and address. The problem is that the law has not caught up to technology. Web sites are immune to libelous lawsuits.

Want more information? Check out the video link...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/23843110#%2323719834

Forget everything your mother ever told you. Well, at least when it comes to dairy. We've all been told to drink our milk, however, recently doctors are saying the opposite. Contrary to popular belief milk can cause cancer and food allergies. Apparently everyone should stop milking their diet.

The first problem is that whole milk can cause your cholesterol level to go up because it is so high in saturated fat. Secondly, many adults don't have the enzyme that can successfully digest lactose, which is the sugar found in milk. This intolerance to lactose can eventually cause diarrhea, gas, and bloating. Milk can also cause many food allergies. Not to mention the liquid substance sometimes still has antibiotics that were given to the animal before they were killed for food.

Dr. Robert Kradjian, an M.D. in California, goes so far as to recommend we eliminate dairy from our diets altogether. He believes that milk only hurts our health and the only reason we drink milk is because it has become such a big part of our culture.

Do you remember the Dairy Council's "Milk Your Diet: Lose Weight" campaign? Think about the last time you saw one of those commercials. Exactly. They campaign told everyone to drink 24 ounces of milk every 24 hours as a part of a "your reduced-calorie diet." According to Cancer Causes & Control, not only does drinking milk not help you lose weight, but it has been associated with prostate cancer, Parkinson's disease and acne in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Frank Oski even wrote a book dedicated to the discovery called, "Don't Drink Your Milk!: New Frightening Medical Facts About the World's Most Overrated Nutrient." For more information visit Dr. Kradjian's web site http://notmilk.com/kradjian.html

A wise looking woman wearing sunglasses inside Spencer Art Museum takes her place behind the podium. Flowing black clothes drape her body, hiding her tiny frame. She looks fragile, even more so when her high-pitched voice quivers into the microphone. She clears her throat and takes in her audience that can't be contained in the chairs set up for the reading. People of all ages spill onto the floor around her, and after she begins reading her first poetry, coincidentally called "The Beginner", it is clear that she may look frail but her poetry is strong. I loved her idea that everything in life eventually starts over again.

I had never heard of Lyn Hejinian until I heard the words "extra credit." I must admit that is that was my main motivation to see her speak at first. After hearing her one of her poems I was intrigued. What she wrote about just so unexpected for an older woman. I was waiting for poems about flowers or the good old days. Instead she read from poetry called "The Fatalist" and became the first to ever attempt to sing American Philosophical poetry.

The ADD in me started to kick in but I remember snapping back to reality when she read the words "I, too, am an asshole." I'm almost positive she also dropped an F-bomb at some point. Obviously in a college environment cussing is nothing new but I was just not ready to hear it come from Lyn. It is probably for this reason that her works are so popular: her words are unpredictable. Part of this is because of her style of writing poetry. After you hear her read her first poem it's apparent that the standard rhyming poem is not going to cut it with her.

"It's ok if you laugh but you don't have to," these are the Lyn's opening lines as she dives into sharing some of her current work with us. She talks about the defiance of death and how death has no logic. Both of which are the two main themes of her new poems. Because as Lyn puts it "death has not logic," she figures that her poetry shouldn't either. Therefore no two lines in this set of works are the same. None of them even follow any of the same patterns, which as she expressed to us, is very difficult.

Lyn told us about how one of her friends died from heroin and all these experts were talking about how she needed closure. She tells us how she was disgusted by this idea; she feels that death should not bring closure it should bring pain. She also states how acceptance and closure are two very different concepts that are often used interchangeably. "I didn't want death to get the last word," Lyn said that her was her motive for writing the poems are such a morbid topic.

I thought the most interesting part was at the end of the reading when people from the audience questioned her. At one point she said something along the lines of "I am a big fan of thinking." I also found it interesting that she doesn't think about the readers at all when she writes her poems. My favorite quote from her, though, had to have been when she said, "For me poetry has been a median for staying conscious," Lyn said. I found this reason so fascinating and yet so brilliant. Poetry is a safe, peaceful and satisfying outlet that is often overlooked. Our world wouldn't be half as violent if people followed in Lyn's footsteps.

What is our world coming to? This a question I can't help but ask myself after watching a mere five minutes of TLC's daytime reality show 10 Years Younger. In case you have a life and have never seen it, I'll let the show speak for itself. "10 Years Younger takes one person and invites them to step inside the "big box" — a soundproof display case placed along some of the busiest streets in one of the most appearance-driven cities in the world — Los Angeles. As complete strangers critique our participant's looks and guess their age (www.tlc.com)." Even TLC can't make it sound good.

Let me explain the process of the show in more detail. In their ugliest outfit, looking like they just rolled out of bed, contestants are put in the display case with no makeup and no smiling allowed. (Based on these factors alone, a person can easily look 10 years older.) Next, the show's host went up to unsuspecting men and women on the street, keyword being men, and asked them to guess the box lady's age. (There are two things a man should never try to guess: weight and age, especially when both belong to a woman. Not to mention, the host also asks pre-teens and children to guess ages.) All of these guesses are, of course, video taped and mathematically averaged. (In that order.) I'm sorry but asking random LA locals just doesn't seem like the most accurate way to approximate age.

Besides, hamsters should be kept in glass boxes, not people. The show is degrading to our human race. After the contestant has kissed every ounce of dignity they ever had goodbye, we watch them as they watch the video of people guessing their age. We normally see horrified shock followed by tears, and at this point I realize how pathetic my life is that I have no better way to fill my time.

However, I can't move from the TV because I have to stay tuned to find out how old she actually is. The person always ends up being suspiciously about 10 years younger than the guessed age. Dozens of makeup artists and wardrobe experts are rushed in to save the day and then 30 minutes later, a young chick is hatched. She then stands in the box of shame again dressed her finest linens, smiling for ear to ear. The wise LA citizens then guess (surprise, surprise) much closer to her actual age and boom: 10 years younger.

What ever happened to inner beauty? I suppose, that went out of style the second Botox was invented. Plus what is wrong with aging? Our society's equation for life is basically young + hot = happy. One look at Britney's much younger, much more pregnant sister is proves that theory does not always add up.

Let's remember the name of the station that this intellectal show is broadcasted from. TLC, believe it or not, is an abbreviation for The Learning Channel. I really do learn a lot from this station. I learned that more than 30 tatoos on one arm looks tacky from "LA Ink" and that I am never having any children from "A Baby Story." The most important lesson I've learned is that nothing is worse than looking your age. I just don't agree, we should embrace time not fight it.