The Icing on the Cake

For my final blog I hit the jackpot! I found a whole page dedicated to an advice column, er, a sex therapy advice column. This column is probably very helpful to many people who read it and realize they too are going through the same thing. I found it interesting just to read about these people having affairs and being cheated on. This is definitely something you don’t find in American newspapers though it would probably be a big hit if they would include something like this! I enjoyed reading it and think it should be included in our papers. Obviously the Brits enjoy it because it had a whole page dedicated to these letters. 

And the Home Wrecker is...

I read an article about a lawyer who murdered his wife when she was trying to leave him after finding out he was having an affair. This is not unusual, these stories are printed all the time. The thing that got me was that they printed the name and occupation of the woman the lawyer was cheating with.  These details are usually never printed in an American newspaper. I’m not sure why exactly, maybe for privacy reasons, maybe for safety reasons, but names are usually not revealed. This is not so in UK papers. I guess they think that everyone should be revealed when a man kills his wife over an affair. I think that’s only fair. Everyone should know that you are the home wrecker that drove this man to kill his wife.

Two-Sec Hef

It is pretty safe to say that most everyone in the world knows who Hugh Hefner is or has at least heard his name mentioned along with his magazine ‘Playboy’. It is also pretty well known that he has had hundreds of girlfriends and enough sex for a lifetime. Though, what people did not know has now been revealed by Hefner’s ex-fiancé, Crystal Harris. Harris told Howard Stern in an interview that she only had sex with Hefner once during their relationship and that it lasted “two seconds”.  This type of information is nothing new for Stern’s radio show but I can hardly see how this is newsworthy enough for a newspaper, though it was printed in the Sun. Something like this would never be printed in an American paper, one because Hefner would probably sue them over it, two, because it is about someone’s sexual relationship, which is not appropriate to be printed in a newspaper. Obviously sex is not a taboo subject for the Brits. 

Happy Ending?

While reading the Wharf I found a section titled ‘Adult Massage’ and under it was a section for ‘Hostess and Escorts’. I could not believe that these advertisements were in a newspaper! You never see these things advertised anywhere except the internet in the US! Some of them even include websites that you can visit, which I did to see what was there. I could not believe my eyes. All of the massages included what we in America call a happy ending. Now, I know that many people use these services but my concern is for children that may come across these advertisements and decided to look up the website. They could learn way too much too early or even be scarred for life by some of the things they read and see on these sites. I don’t think these types of advertisements should be allowed in a newspaper. They are better off on the internet, though children could still find them, it is a little less likely unless they search for them on Google. 

Advertisements

The only gentleman’s club I’ve ever seen in America was on a billboard while driving down the interstate. These are not advertisements that go on television, in magazines, and especially not in newspapers. I was shocked to find an advertisement for the Spearmint Rhino Gentleman’s Club while flipping through the London Evening Standard. The advertisement featured a girl with very large boobs wearing small strings that were meant to cover her private parts. Though there were no inappropriate parts showing in the ad, I was still very shocked to see this ad in the newspaper. It even had a five pounds entry coupon. Again, you would never see this in an American paper. 

A Casualty of Riots

A gruesome picture of a man who looks as if he has a balloon blown up on the inside of his face stared at me as I turned the page of The Metro. Blood covered his shirt and his eyes were swollen shut. Just looking at the picture made me hurt. This is not something you would find in a US paper. There’s too much blood on the man’s shirt for it to be printed. Pictures like this are too disturbing for American people to see, or so believes the people who have the final say over what goes in the newspaper. I personally think there should be more pictures like this in the US papers so people can see what is really happening around the world. We are so sheltered here, we like to pretend that these types of things don’t really happen because we don’t see them unless we search for them on the internet. I think there should be more of them thrown in our faces like they are in the UK papers, so maybe then, we won’t be so blind to what is really happening. 

Looking for some fun?

One of the things that I found in the London Evening Standard that I thought was funny was all of the advertisements for adult chat lines. You see these types of things in the backs of American magazines but not in an American newspaper. There were at least 6 different chat lines for “older ladies” and “college girls” to call. Some of them even included pictures of girls that were supposed to be sexy but just looked nasty to me. And of course, their boobs were hanging out everywhere. 

Inappropriate Artwork

An article in the London Evening Standard was paying tribute to an artist who had passed away the week before. Lucian Freud was a realist painter who also painted portraits. In the picture that went with the article you see a woman holding a painting of a woman that is 8 months pregnant, and completely naked. I understand that this is art, and to some people a naked, pregnant woman is absolutely beautiful. I don’t think it is very appropriate for the newspaper though. I’m sure Freud painted many other paintings of people with clothes on that could have been displayed for this article. It seems to me that they just wanted a reason to put a naked woman in the paper.

Mini Romance Novel

In the London Evening Standard there is a section called ‘Fashion, Style and Sex’. I wasn’t sure how sex fit in with the other two categories so I read more. The only full length article in the section was about burlesque dancers. As I got further into the article, it reveals that one of the dancers has been neglecting her ménage a trois with a married couple to spend more one-on-one time with the stage manager. She goes out on stage to do her number then comes back and tells the other girls how bad she feels because the stage manager’s girlfriend was out in the audience cheering her on with no idea that she is sleeping with her boyfriend. So as I’m finishing up this article I wonder why I am reading a miniature romance novel in a newspaper. Interesting, yes I guess it is, but why is it in a newspaper? Especially with topics about ménage a trois, and the stage manager “going south” on the dancer. This is not very appropriate for a newspaper but then again, a lot of the stuff printed in UK papers is at least somewhat inappropriate.

Vile and Depraved

Monster, beast, vile, dangerous, depraved, predatory pedophile, fiend… All words used to describe 21-year-old Paul Wilson who had just been ordered to serve a minimum of 15 years in prison. He was convicted of over 40 sex crimes involving children as young as 18 months. I don’t think it is right for the writers of this article to be the ones to classify this man as these things. I agree that he is what they say he is but they are not giving the readers a fair opportunity to make up their own minds about the person. Why is it okay for the writers to include their opinion in an article that is supposed to be written in fact?

Attention Grabber

While flipping through the Irish Daily Mail I found an advertisement for a Cancer Center. The main part that caught my eye was the part that read “Save Our Boobs and Balls”.  This was definitely an attention grabber. I almost choked on my gum when I read it. There are no limits these people won’t go to. Some of these advertisements are tasteless, all just to get the attention of the reader. I think they should have some respect, but maybe this is completely acceptable in Ireland. Apparently it is, or it wouldn’t be printed in the daily paper. 

Private Life… Uncensored

Soft Porn Star… Bitchiness… A Drunken Catfight… Sex Toys… Kama Sutra Room… Viagra… Sexual Prowess. These are all words used in an article about 79-year-old Alexander Thynn, the 7^th Marquess of Bath, and his 74 wives. Apparently, at a luncheon one day, three of his wifelets engaged in a fist fight all started by one wifelet who is an alcoholic. The article was very well written and interesting, but how in the world is this considered newsworthy?? It should be expected for anyone with 74 wives to have tons of drama between them, especially if one of them (or more) is an alcoholic. Some of the “news” in these papers is not news at all, it’s more like trash-writing to me. 

Consensual but Brutal Sex

In America, rape victims and attempted rape victims are left unnamed in the stories published about the incidents in the paper. The same is not true for those in the UK. In The Telegraph, not only were names mentioned, pictures were also included in the article. The article talks about a mother and daughter who were both hit on by Dominique Strauss-Kahn. The daughter filed attempted rape charges, the mother admitted to “consensual but brutal” sex with him and that he had seduced her with the “obscenity of a brutish soldier”. When he was confronted by his second wife, he said, “I don’t know what came over me. I had sex with the mother – but I blew a fuse when I saw the daughter.” The daughter claims Strauss-Kahn lunged at her like a “rutting chimpanzee”. These details would never be included in a news story printed in a newspaper or online, these details would only be known if you were friends of the “victims” or if you attended the court hearings, one of which never happened because no charges were filed. Details of one’s affair should not be considered news, no matter who they involve. Not to mention that brutal sex should not be talked about in a newspaper simply because of younger children that may be reading. It will lead to questions about what brutal sex is, and older children may attempt to have brutal sex simply because they read about it in the paper. 

The Drunk Postman

DRUNK POSTMAN KEPT 31,000 PARCELS was the headline I could not help but notice and pulled my attention away from everything else on the page. I just had to read this story. I was very shocked that the writer of this story was able to include the word drunk in his headline. Not because it is a bad word or anything, but because you wouldn’t see that in an American paper. The headline would have read “Postman kept 31,000 Parcels” and in the story they would have called him intoxicated instead of drunk. It was definitely a good headline to grab the readers’ attention, I saw it and had to read it immediately. 

Bomb Blows in Oslo

A right-wing extremist killed 86 kids after blowing up a government building in Oslo, and the death toll is expected to rise to up to 98 when more bodies are found. Anders Behring Breivik is the man responsible for the deaths, killing many at close range after telling the children that they would be saved if they came to him. The account of the attacks that I read came from The Telegraph and included a somewhat disturbing photo of a man covered in blood. He was a victim of the massive car bomb that went off in Oslo shortly before Breivik drove to the island of Utoya to continue his rampage. I believe that American newspapers would have avoided publishing the photo because of the blood running down the mans face and body. Instead, I believe they would have printed pictures of just the building and the destruction. To me it seems that The Telegraph printed the picture to get the point across, to let the people know that there were real victims involved in this massive car bomb and here is one of them, all bloody and injured. To me the picture really hits home and I believe that American newspapers shouldn’t be so scared to publish something like this.

Simon Cow-ell

An interview with Simon Cowell revealed that he has had a threesome, and that he does not like to use condoms when having sex. I found this article on the Sun’s website and could not believe what I was reading. I know that some people would be very interested to know that Cowell has had a threesome, but who cares, wait, whose business is it to know that he does not like to use condoms?!? I understand if you are one that is about to engage in sexual intercourse with Cowell that you may want to know that he does not use condoms, but to print this as news? These UK journalists are crazy. This is not news, this should be classified as too much information!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/3801959/Simon-Cowell-My-3-in-a-bed-secret.html

Racism at its Best

On the website for The Sun newspaper, I found an article about fashion designer John Galliano being convicted of using anti-Semitic and racist language. As I read further into the story, I found a video of Galliano using these racial slurs while drunk and on valium at a bar in Paris. The story clearly states that he had been drinking champagne and taking valium pills “like they were candy”.  Later in the story, the newspaper quotes some of the racist comments he made toward people. Now, in an American newspaper or news website, you would not find these quotes, because they are racist and they include curse words. The UK papers do not seem to mind including these words in their column. I guess that is because they are the words of the man convicted and not the words of the journalist who wrote the story.

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3803175/Galliano-guilty-br-of-racist-rant.html

Grammatical Differences

There are many differences in the way the British newspapers are written and American newspapers are written. One of the main differences I’ve noticed that jumps out at me as a typo every time I see it is the fact that titles such as Mr. or Mrs. are not followed by a period. After seeing this in many different newspapers many different times, I know that this is not a typo, probably more of a cultural difference. Another difference I can’t help but notice is when a time is printed in the paper, a period is used instead of a colon. 8:30 is printed 8.30. I kind of like it, but at the same time, I sometimes wonder if they are printing it as a time of day or a date of the year. Another difference I’ve noticed, which is a big no-no in the broadcast script writing world is that they use the degree sign instead of spelling out the word degrees when talking about temperature. Some of these differences are slightly annoying to me, but at the same time, I’m sure they are annoying to them as well. 

The Page 3 Girl

Here in America you are supposed be 18 or older to look at pornographic images. You must be 18 to order a subscription to a pornographic magazine, rent pornographic movies or visit a pornographic website. Of course there are ways around this but it is a way to try to keep these images out of the hands of young children. In the United Kingdom though, there doesn’t seem to be an age limit. You can simply walk to the nearest newsstand and pick up the daily copy of The Sun. Each copy of The Sun includes what is known as the page 3 girl. She is usually, but not always, topless. Every day a different girl is featured, almost always gorgeous, and almost always topless. The models that are wearing clothes are wearing sexy lingerie or some type of skimpy bikini barely covering their private parts. They all have a story to tell, some aspiring to be models, others living a normal life with a normal job. Why they choose to be featured naked in a daily tabloid is beyond me. I guess it’s for the attention. From the time they are featured, they are known as that girl on page 3 of The Sun. What a thing to be known for! 

Trust Issues

In light of the News of the World hacking scandal, it has become apparent that some journalists and news organizations cannot be trusted. Many of the reporters for the News of the World got the information for their stories illegally through having peoples cell phones hacked. This raised many issues with and questions from the public. Because of the hacking scandal, the News of the World has shut down and quit publishing their Sunday paper. Rupert Murdoch is under a lot of scrutiny. Many people now do not trust the journalists of the UK and question others around the world. It’s not the stories the people don’t trust; it is the source of the story. People are skeptical of the stories because they wonder if the information was obtained through hacking or obtained through the hard work that reporters are expected to do. This goes to show that 1. Some people cannot be trusted, and 2. Reporters will do anything to get a story.

The Truth About the War

Everyone is aware that the United States is involved in The War on Terror in the Middle East. We also all know that there are soldiers being killed almost daily fighting in this war. What people don’t want to believe is that these soldiers are being brutally murdered, many dying slow and painful deaths. The news coverage turns a blind eye to this fact, almost pretending that it isn’t happening. There are never any pictures of these soldiers in the papers, especially not wounded soldiers fighting for their lives after being shot, or hit by a bomb. I found one UK paper that had a picture of one soldier completely covered in blood, obviously in a lot of pain. This surprised me because you would never see such a picture in a US paper. The UK is not afraid to show their people what is really happening. Though these pictures are disturbing, they show the truth about what happens to soldiers in the war. Americans don’t want to see this, but it is really happening, though not in our own country, it is happening to our men and women fighting to keep us safe. 

Are Americans Too Sensitive?

One question I have been asking myself in comparing the way news is written in the UK and the US is are Americans too sensitive? It seems to me that they are. I found a website that agrees with what I think. “Political correctness is a deliberate attack on free speech. Because something may offend somebody doesn’t mean it isn’t true or shouldn’t be said… Americans have become too sensitive. By this I mean that they are too easily offended.” Reporters and journalists will leave details or pictures out of an article because the information may be offensive to some. So, is it right to only tell part of the story to save sensitive Americans from being offended? The journalists in the UK don’t seem to think so. They will include every detail of a murder that is available, or put a picture of a bloody wounded soldier in a paper. I believe American journalists don’t include the whole truth because Americans don’t want to have to admit or believe that it is the truth. Americans don’t want to know all the gruesome details of a murder because if they don’t know them, they can think what they want about what really happened, instead of being told what really happened. To Americans, ignorance is bliss.

http://americaswatchtower.com/2008/01/21/have-americans-become-too-sensitive/

#@%&*$

In my introductory blog I mentioned that a UK paper had included the f-word in an article it printed. This would never be okay in an American paper. Even if the writer included it, the editor would definitely edit it out. This is funny to me because every American over the age of 13 has heard the word and most of them use it. I know many of the people I hang around use it in their everyday language. It is simply just another word. It is an adjective used to emphasize or describe something, a verb used to explain a sexual act, and in some cases even a noun to talk about someone. Even though I am one of those people who use or at least hear the word every day, I was still shocked when I read it in the UK paper. They are much more free to print whatever they feel in their papers and I believe that American papers and journalists should be more like those in the UK.

I tell you what to think.

In an article in the Sun newspaper titled "Dead lad theft grief", it became apparent to me that it is okay for the journalists in the UK to call people names. Instead of simply calling the person by their given name, they take it as far as to call him thug Jake Farhi. I understand that this "thug" murdered another person but I feel that calling him names in the paper is a bit too much. It automatically paints a picture to the reader and doesn't give them much of an opportunity to come to their own conclusions about the kid. And what about the family and friends of Jake? I'm sure that they don't appreciate seeing that sort of stuff in print going out for thousands to read.

British Newspapers

On the first day of class in London, our teacher handed out copies of some of the daily newspapers here in London. I was shocked to find the “f” word printed in one of them. A guy in our class was looking through a different newspaper than I was and on page 3, he found a picture of a topless model. The whole class was stunned that such a thing would be in a newspaper.

It was very obvious to all of us on that first day that British newspapers have very different standards than those in America. You would never find a picture of a topless model in any American newspaper. Those types of images are saved for Playboy magazine. Also, very rarely will you find a curse word in an American newspaper, and if you do, it will most definitely NOT be the “f” word.

The rules for British newspapers are very lax, there doesn’t seem to be much that they can’t print. And as we are all finding out during this News of the World phone hacking scandal, there isn’t much they won’t do to get a story. 

Word Usage

As social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter become more popular, I see more and more posts using words incorrectly. Now, I am not perfect, I do not speak properly all the time and yes, sometimes I do misuse words. Though, I would like to take the time to point out:

1. SELL and SALE are two different words. You do not SALE your car, you SELL it. But when you post your status to let your friends know you should say 'Car for SALE' or 'I want to SELL my car.'

2. WANT and WON'T are two different words. You do not WON'T candy, you WANT it. When you are saying you will not do something, you say you WON'T do it.

3. YOU'RE and YOUR are two different words. YOU'RE is a contraction for YOU ARE and should be used when saying something like, 'YOU'RE going to be in trouble if you eat all the cookies' or YOU'RE welcome.' YOUR is used when showing possession, 'YOUR dog just ate all of my prize roses!'

I'm no English teacher but where I went to school, they made sure we knew grammar and usage so things like this bother me. I guess that's one thing I learned at Resurrection.

Mini Sessions

I think that mini sessions could be the best/worst idea in history. I think it is great that you can go to class for one week and have 3 hours toward your major but I think it is also a terrible idea because you sit in a classroom doing the same thing day in and day out. I took a mini session last summer and my teacher let us out by noon every day. And! We didn't have to come in until 9:30. Sadly, I expected the same thing from the mini session I am taking now. We come in at 8 in the morning and don't get out til around 4 or 4:30 in the afternoon. Granted we do get a 2 hour lunch break (most days), which is nice. I can complain about this all I want but the fact of the matter is, I signed up for this and I have the option to not do it again. But, I probably will, all for the sake of graduating... SOON!!!!

My first podcast

Dr. Davies made me do it.

Hattiesburg's best kept secret...

Yesterday when I got out of my mini session class for lunch, I went downtown to have lunch with my friend Lara who now works at a law firm down there (woot woot!!). She suggested Hub City Diner or Coney Island Cafe. She was told by the lawyers she works for that Coney Island Cafe is "the Hattiesburg experience", so we chose to go there. When we walked in I was quite surprised. It was a small, family run place. We sat down and looked at the menu that included hamburgers, hot dogs, chili burgers and dogs, the plate of the day and breakfast. We placed our orders and within 5 minutes we were served our lunch. It reminded me of a place back home called Edd's Drive-in. The food was very good, though I would have liked my fries better if they were cooked for one more minute. Overall my experience there was great! The only problem we ran into was that they do not accept credit cards, and Lara only had a few dollars in cash. All together our meal was only $12 and I would buy that meal over and over again. When we were paying our bill the man at the register told us that his grandfather had started the cafe and that he was a third generation owner. I fell in love with this small cafe and its hometown owners and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quick meal that tastes fabulous!!

1-4-11

I love the tv show Weeds on Showtime. Season 6 just ended and will soon (in a few short weeks) be available on dvd. Season 7 is set to air in August of this year. I can't wait!!!  Nancy Botwin, the mother of the family, becomes a drug dealer after her husband dies in an attempt to support her family with no formal education. She drags her brother-in-law Andy and friend Doug into her plan and together they roam around the country trying to escape the Mexican cartel, and Nancy's new husband and baby's father, Esteban, all with her 3 kids in tow. Silas, the oldest son, and Shane, now the middle child, are appalled by their mothers behavior, the way she dresses and acts, and the fact that she thought that the best way to support the family was to sell marijuana. Shane ends up killing Esteban's manager and they are on the run. Esteban, being the crooked mayor and drug lord that he is, tracks them down and has Nancy put in jail while he takes custody of his months-old son. This show is full of crazy and unexpected twists and turns and cannot be missed!! If you have never seen Weeds, please take my advice and go watch it!! Season six was the worst season so far but 1-5 are awesome and hopefully season 7 will be better!!