Newspaper Log- Thursday April 29th

In today's paper, I read a few articles. One of the most interesting was about cell phone apps that can block you from texting or calling people while driving. It uses your phone's GPS system to calculate how fast you are moving and when it registers at over 5 mph, it locks the phone so you can't text or call. I think it's a pretty good idea for people who want to have the app to keep them safe and undistracted while driving. I can't exactly get this app since I don't have a phone that allows applications, but I think it's a fairly good idea.

Another great article I read was about the languages of New York City. One man can only speak his language, mamuju to his brother or when he goes back home because no one speaks it anymore. The article states that there are over 800 languages spoken in NYC alone... that is insane! To help keep small languages alive, a guy named Professor Kaufman has created an Endangered Language Alliance. I think this is a great idea since there are so many languages spoken in the world that are sometimes forgotten about.

The last article I read was about Toyota recalling yet ANOTHER vehicle. This time, it's the 2003 sequoia because it's going to upgrade the stability control system. Toyota really needs to get in shape...

Newspaper L- Wednesday April 28th

In today's paper I actually read one of the front page articles. It was titled, "Despair Grows on Devastated Street in Haiti." It was sad to read about the people who still are suffering even 100 days after the earthquake hit. I read the article because I was interested to see how bad the damage is there after a few months and the pictures show that it's still pretty bad.

The only other article I read was about how fast food chains are not going to ban the free child toy that comes with a kid's meal to try and help America cut back on buying unhealthy options for their children. This makes me a little sad since I always grew up getting a toy with my meal and America is finally changing that because people can't control their obesity. It was a really interesting article to read, especially with the statistics about the parts of America that are most obese.

Death of Boy Possibly Linked to Death of Wendy Watson And Shark Attack

Not even 24 hours after the body of Wendy Watson washed up on the shore of Amity Beach, another boy, Alex B. Kintner, 10, of Amity was killed as well.

According to Chief of Police of Amity, Martin Brody, the attack seemed to be some sort of vicious and unprovoked shark attack.

"We don't know for sure whats going on," Brody said. "We're not jumping to any conclusions."

According to the witnesses on the beach at the time, including the chief of police, Kintner had been floating on a rubber raft off Village Beach at 2 p.m. when the attack occured. His body has not yet been recovered, and divers have not found any remains. The only piece of evidence is the raft which floated ashore shortly after the incident with what appeared to be a large bite out of it.

"We hasten to ask the press not to jump to conclusions regarding the perpetrators in this tragic incident," Brody said in a press release. "Anything is possible at this point."

Brody also said that it might now be possible that the death of Wendy Watson could have also been linked to possible shark activities in Amity but the investigation is continuing.

"I join Amity Mayor Bob Farley in expressing the town's deeprest and most sincere condolences to the Kintner family," said Brody. "Now we know that these random acts of senseless violence, victimizing innocent, helpless citizens, do not just happen in the city."

Later tonight, at 6 p.m. a meeting will be held by the Mayor, Chief Brody, and the Board of Selectman to discuss the new business of possible beach closings, the Kintner family's reward, and the offer by a fisherman to hunt down the alleged shark.

Amity Teenage Girl Dead at Sea

The body of Wendy W. Watson, 17, of Amity was found this morning washed up on the beach. The Amity Police Department is currently investigating the death of the senior at Amity High School.

Chief of Police, Martin Brody said that Watson was last seen alive leaving a beach party last night with a male teen whose identity is being withheld at about 11 p.m. The male told Amity Police that Watson was an excellent swimmier and decided to go swimming last night at a remote section of South Beach near the bell buoy. Investigators also discovered that both teenagers were drinking heavily at the time.

The question of how Watson died is still being investigated. When her body washed up on shore, it was evident that she had been severly mauled by an attacker of an unknown origin. Her body is currently at the coroner's office waiting for an autopsy.

Last night the weather was clear, temperature of 72 degrees, and the seas were calm.

Possible reasons for Watson's death have come to be a boating accident, or possibly a shark attack. When asked if Brody thinks this may have been a shark attack, he replied with "We're very busy with this and we don't have time to deal with rumors."

"We want to assure all residents and visitors on our fine island that they are in no danger," said Brody. "Our lovely beaches will remain open for swimming pending the outcome of the investigation."

Newspaper Log- Tuesday April 27th

In today's paper, I familiarized myself with a bunch of articles, just reading the first few lines of them to get the idea. One article I read like this was about how newspaper circulations have fallen 9% since last year. This just confirms my idea that print journalism is slowly dying. This makes me a little nervous since I'm planning on going into the journalism field and I can see that it is on the decline. Hopefully we can make up what we are losing in online journalism.

Another article I read was a first person story about how people are so much more comfortable on flights knowing that a nurse is on board. The woman speaking is a nurse and has given people injections on board and says that being able to help random people is extremely gratifying. I think it's pretty cool that she feels so great about her profession because she is able to help people whenever they need it, even 30,000 feet above ground.

The last article I read was titled, "We Have Met the Enemy and He Is Powerpoint." The article basically talks about how powerpoint isn't always beneficial, especially when explaining military tactics and ideas. Powerpoint can easily confuse watchers and some generals have even banned it. I personally, can understand how powerpoints can be confusing. Too many graphs, charts, and ways to clutter them. I think powerpoint is a good program, but shouldn't be used to explain difficult or complex topics.

Newspaper Log- Monday April 26th, 2010

In today's paper, I read one of the front page articles. It was called, "South Africa Redoubles Efforts Against AIDS." I was interested in this article because I have visited South Africa before and I have a friend who lives there, so I wanted to see what was going on with the AIDS epidemic. I'm glad that they are being so proactive in South Africa about identifying who is HIV positive and trying to help those people.

Another article I read in the business section was titled, "Sex Ads Seen Adding Revenue to Craigslist." I can't believe that sex ads are going to bring $36 million this year. People are crazy for advertising that stuff on Craigslist anyway. Thats how people get raped and murdered. I think its terrible that women are selling themselves on Craigslist.

That's about all I came across in the paper today, hopefully tomorrow brings more interesting news!

Newspaper Log- Thursday April 22nd

In today's paper, I didn't find too much that sparked my interest. I read an article about underwater cameras because I am a scuba diver and might be interested in buying a new underwater digital camera one day. It was pretty cool to see how technology has developed an underwater camera that looks just like a regular digital camera. I only read one other article, and it was called, "Can't Stand to Sit Too Long? There's a Desk for That." I think it's pretty funny that there is now a desk made for people who would rather stand than sit. It seems like a great idea, but it looks pretty goofy in the pictures.

Newspaper Log- Wednesday April 21st

Unfortunately, another boring day to read the paper , in my opinion. Nothing in the national or international section striked me as fun and exciting. I did see that Britain is starting to open up airports again, since the dust and weather is clearing up from the volcano. In the business section, I read two articles.

The first is about how the F.D.A. is reducing the amount of salt in foods. The F.D.A. wants to make it known that the high levels of sodium in food are unhealthy and dangerous. A crazy fact that the article provides is that just by cutting back on salt in foods, the F.D.A. could be preventing 100,000 deaths a year. That is quite a lot. Since there is currently no limit on how much salt can be put in food, that is what the F.D.A. is trying to control. I personally think this might be a good idea. Too much salt is pretty harmful.

The last article I read, I looked at because it was about Delta and how they are continuing to lose money. My grandfather used to fly for Delta and a couple of years ago, lost a good chunk of his pension because Delta was doing so poorly. I read in the article that, unfortunately, Delta lost $256 million for the quarter. Good news though, is that Delta is benefiting from its merge with Northwest Airlines and this has caused other airlines to think about merging as well.

Newspaper Log- Tuesday April 20th

Today's paper didn't have too much that interested me. One article I read that was really interesting was about a guy who left his iphone in a bar... but it wasn't just any iphone. It was an iphone that has yey to be unveiled to the public and wasn't supposed to be for another few months. Soon after, pictures started spreading and the new iphone was leaked. Sucks to be the guy that left his phone in the bar...

The second article I read was called, "Lexus to Recall GX 460 S.U.V." I was assuming this would happen soon enough. Toyota is just digging themselves deeper and deeper with the amount of cars they've had to recall in the past six months. Who would even want to buy a Toyota right now? They must be doing terrible business.

"Fluffy" the Spotted Leopard Escapes from Durham Zoo

People were screaming, children were crying, and zoo keepers were panicking on the morning of April 21st, 2010.

"Fluffy," the rare spotted leopard held at the Durham Zoo had escaped. No one is sure how she was able to escape from her cage, but zoo keepers are sure she wasn't inside.

Zoo keepers, the New Hampshire State Police, the state wildlife department, and the National Guard are all on the lookout and ready to find Fluffy.

"We have no idea what time Fluffy escaped or where she went," said Gerry Durrell, the director of the Durham Zoo. "We are searching the grounds of the zoo but so far we haven't a clue. She may have left the area and she could be walking aroud Durham at this point."

Officials are desperately hoping that Fluffy is not strolling around the town of Durham since the spotted leopard species was driven to near extinction for feeding on small children.

Durham Police Chief William Blair said, "we are concerned because this is a residential neighborhood with an elementary school and we don't want Fluffy wandering around after the kids get out of school."

"These cats are nearly impossible to find in the dark--they can see everything, and we are blind," added Blair.

Kitty Smith, the zoo's chief biologist says that Fluffy is black with white spots, weighs 146 pounds, and can run 60 miles an hour. Fluffy's diet consists strictly of meat and she usually eats about three chickens a day.

The 10-year-old spotted leopard from Romania is only one of five spotted leopards left in existance. Fluffy was to be flown to China to mate with a male spotted leopard owned by the Chinese government next month.

"Fluffy is a wonderful, warm, gentle car who has never hurt anyone," Smith said. "But if these cats are cornered-- or encountered on a dark night-- their defense is to kill and to kill quickly."

Chief Blair states that officials are currently searching the zoo for Fluffy. If necessary, the National Guard will be suppling five helicopters with infrared sensors.

"If possible, Fluffy will be shot with a tranquilizer gun," Blair said. "But if necessary, we will shoot to kill."

Fluffy was last seen in her cage when the zoo closed at 9 p.m. last night. At that time, zoo workers thought everything was fine, but in the morning Durrell stated that when the zoo opened at 7:30 this morning, he noticed Fluffy was missing.

"Everything about her cage seemed normal. The door was shut and did not appear to have been tampered with, and the fencing was unbroken," said Durrell.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Newspaper Log- Monday April 19th

In today's paper, I started to read quite a few articles. I only fully read three of them though. One article titled, "5 Airlines Pledge No Carry-On Fees" I read simply to find out which airlines aren't going to require passengers to pay extra for their carry-ons. I was happy with the results being American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, United Airlines, and US Airways since these are usually the airlines my family and I take when we go on vacations. One of the three articles that I fully read through was called, "People StyleWatch Gains as It Blurs Ad Lines." It was pretty much just about the magazine called, "StyleWatch" and how even though other magazines have been suffering, StyleWatch has been increasing its profits and ad pages. Another article that I read was about Totoya and how it is going to have to pay a $16.4 million fine for concealing information related to it's sticky accelerator pedal. The last article I read about was called, "MTV Not Involved With 'Jersey Shore' Imitations." Apparently, there have been rumors cicrulating online about other parts of the U.S. creating a Jersey Shore type show, but MTV has said that they have nothing to do with it. Personally, I think Jersey Shore was a dumb show that really shouldn't be as popular as it is, but that's just my opinion. I've also heard around UNH that someone is making a Boston version of the show called "Wicked Summa." We'll see what happens...

Newspaper Log- Thursday April 15th

Today I read through and familiarized myself with the news that's going on in the world. I actually read the leads of many of the articles to get a feel for what is going on in the world today. I read half of an article about how people are making meth labs in their cars and disposing them on the side of the road... crazy people. I also peeked at an article titled, "This Time, Swift Action From Toyota," because of the article I read yesterday about the stopping of sales for the Lexus GS 460. It pretty much said the same thing that yesterday's article did. The next article I read was about the halting of the global release of the iPad due to such a large U.S. demand for it.

My favorite article of the day caught my attention because of the title. It was called, "Crocs and Style in the Same Breath." I hate crocs because they are so ugly and definitely wanted to read what this was about. Apparently crocs have created a new light flat that is odor resistant and even forms to the shape of the wearer's feet. I dont care if they look slightly better than the ugly gardening shoes that were popular last year, they're still stupid. The new slogan for crocs is "feel the love" which is lame because crocs just suck. I wonder how many different types of shoes Crocs will come out with before people realize they're hideous.

Newspaper Log- Wednesday April 15th

I only read one article in today's paper. I read it because the title intrigued me to want to know more. It was called, "Lexus Stops Selling S.U.V. That Was Called Unsafe." I think it's almost comical that Toyota is having so many issues. First the Camry, then the Prius, and now it's no longer selling this S.U.V. the Lexus GS 460 has a handling problem that could lead to a roll-over or even death. Oh Toyota, when will you stop selling shitty and unsafe vehicles?

Narrative- The French Connection

Bread
A Frenchman, and suspected assasin, Pierre Jeantot, 36, of Nice, France was shot and killed yesterday. Jeantot managed to kill three innocent people before being shot by NYPD narcotics officer, Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle.
The chase leading up to the assasination of Jeantot occured from the 35th St. Station to the 15th St. Station in New York City.
Jeantot ended up killing three New Yorkers during the chase, most of them happening on the train he hijacked.
Betty B. Badluck, 63, of the Bronx, was the first to be killed by a sniper rifle Jeantot was using to target Doyle. Horatio C. Hornblower, 30, of White Plains was shot on the train. The last person to be killed was 15-year veteran of the NYPD, Roland Evans, 34, of Brooklyn as he tried to talk Jeantot out out of killing anyone else.
"It is always unfortunate when these incidents end in a loss of life," said Ruth L. Ess, NYPD commissioner.
The terrible events that happened yesterday afternoon were recorded on a video that the New York Times obtained through a Freedom of Information request.

Meat
The video started with Jeantot firing an automatic rifle at Doyle on 57th Ave. Jeantot fired about five shots that police suspected were aimed towards Doyle, but ended up killing Betty B. Badluck who was pushing a stroller with her granddaughter in it. Jeantot had been firing from the roof of an apartment building at 1767 W. 57th Ave.
Doyle quickly took cover behind a tree, as shots were fired past his head, ricocheting off of the bark. Bystanders screamed as Doyle lept up from behind the tree to get inside the building. Once Doyle had climbed the stairs and reached the top of the apartment bulding, the only thing left to see was a rifle and about 8 bullet shells scattered around the deadly weapon.
Doyle spotted Jeantot running away from the building on the groud, and the chase was on. Doyle ran after Jeantot up to the Bay 50 St. Station and Jeantot boarded train number 4572. Doyle missed the train but commandeered a car down on the street and began the chase pursuing the train on the street right below the elevated tracks.
On the elevated train, Jeantot tried making his way to the controls at the front of the train. Horatio C. Hornblower, the conductor noticed Jeantot's suspiciousness and began to follow him through the train cars. Once Hornblower spoke and ordered Jeantot to stop, Jeantot fired a .44 Magnum bullet into the conductor's side immediately sending him to the floor and killing him. Jeantot didn't stop there.
Jeantot made his way to the control booth and held the conductor in the booth at gunpoint ordering him to not stop at the next train station.
Underneath the train, Doyle made his way to the second train stop but once he got out, he noticed the train wasn't planning on stopping. He ran back to his stolen car and began to race towards the train once again.
Up above, the conductor, Peter Howe, 27, of Queens that Jeantot held at gunpoint, died of a heart attack at the controls.

While this was happening, Jeantot shot and killed the veteran NYPD officer, Evans.

Once the train came to a stop, Jeantot tried escaping, but was stopped short coming down the stairs of the 15th Street Station by a penetrating bullet shot by Doyle's .38 caliber revolver.

Jeantot was allegedly working on behalf of a French drug kingpin whom Doyle had been investigating for quite some time.

According to Homeland Security records, Jeantot entered the country on November 4th, after a flight from Paris, France.

"We suspect he was associated with a crime syndicate that had been laying the groundwork for a major heroin shipment from France to New York City," said Ess. Two other men thought to be involved in the smuggling operation are being sought at this time.

Newspaper Log- Tuesday April 13th

Today's business section of the paper had some good articles that I enjoyed reading. I read two articles today, one about Microsoft unveiling new phones, and the other about airplane food actually tasting good. The first article about the new phones I was interested in because I wanted to see how technology is advancing, and since in another year I can get a new phone, I want to see what will be on the market. I googled pictures of the new phone, but they don't seem that cool. It was interesting to read the article though because the phones are targeted towards teenagers who are big on social networking.

The second article I read was called, "In-Flight Food Tries to Be Tasty." I was interested in this article because my family and I travel a lot and we started noticing that many airlines don't offer free snacks anymore, and it's true. Instead, passengers can buy healthy snack pack options. It seems as if this healthy eating epidemic throughout public schools all over the nation is starting to spread elsewhere also.

Newspaper Log- Monday April 12th

In today's International section, I didn't read many articles. I read titles and such so that I could familiarize myself with whats going on in the world, but I didn't read much into any of the articles. The business section had more interesting articles to read though. I took some time to read about how the iPad is going to start having rivals because Microsoft is going to combine with Hewlett-Packard and make a similar computer slate type object. I think I would be more inclined to buy the Microsoft version of the iPad because I've always had a PC and think quite fondly of them. Other than that article, I didn't find anything else too interesting. I did spend quite a bit of time on the crossword today though :)

Newspaper Log- Thursday April 8th

I really enjoyed reading the paper today. I found three articles that I was very interested in and even looked through some pictures related to one of the articles. The first article I read through was about a pocket knife that has a USB drive that can actually self-destruct. Honestly... who really needs that? I don't understand why people would want a finger-print only accessible pocket knife with a self-destructing USB drive, but I guess it's pretty cool. For $75 though, it's not that cool anymore.

The second article I read through had to do with the gorgeous weather we had yesterday. The article just explained what people in New York decided to do on this nice day and the article captured many New Yorker's statements. Many adults even skipped work to be outside on this nice day. I myself enjoyed the day outside yesterday, playing lacrosse, frisbee, and just enjoying the warmth of the April sun. I also looked online at the pictures the New York Times posted from yesterday. I hope we continue to get nice weather like we did yesterday.

The last article I read, I read out of concern. The title of the article was, "Lung Function of 9/11 Rescuers Fell, Study Finds." I was particularly very interested in this article because my mother was one of those workers searching through the rubble to find remains. We lived in New York at the time of September 11th, and because my mom was in the NYPD, she worked months searching and cleaning up Ground Zero. It's terrible to hear that some workers' lung functions are dropping. I really hope that my mother doesn't end up having abnormal lung function because of the smoke. Because so many people (13,000 the article says) have had increasingly bad lung function, I am genuinely concerned that this could happen to my mother. I will most likely send her this article, to inform her of what's going on, and hope for the best that she will never develop any issues from working at Ground Zero.

Newspaper Log- Wednesday April 7th

In today's paper I found two articles that were interesting to me. The first article I found on the front page. It was called, "Upbeat Signs Revive Consumers' Mood for Spending." It was essentially about how people are starting to buy more not-necessary things now that the economy is slowly coming back. Retailing chains are taking in much more money now, and people seem to be buying more jewelry, clothes, and cars. I'm glad to see this article because it means the economy isn't doing so bad now and that things are starting to look up.

The second article I read was about the video that WikiLeaks leaked about a 2007 shooting in Iraq. I read the article because we talked about it in class today, and it seemed pretty interesting. I even watched part of the 39 minute video. It was pretty disturbing watching the people being shot down. The point of the article is that it brought a lot of attention to WikiLeaks. Overall, pretty good day for the NYTimes.

Newspaper Log- Tuesday April 6th

Once again, nothing too interesting in today's paper. Will it just be a boring week? Who knows... I read through an article in the business section about a woman who carries tools with her everywhere she goes because she likes to fix things herself. She even carries them through airports, abiding by the security guidelines, although she says she has left, "thousands of dollars' worth of tools with security agents." It was interesting to hear her story about how once on a flight the drink cart lost a wheel and she was able to fix it and even got a free drink out of it. I thought it was nice to hear from a woman who does things herself, and enjoys it.

Only one other article caught my eye and it was titled, "Many Have Died in U.S. Mines" It was simply about mining disasters in the U.S. and how many people have died from them. It's amazing how many people can be killed on the job when mining. One mistake is all it takes...

Newspaper Log- Monday April 5th

Today, I didn't find too much in the paper that interested me. I started to read an article titled, "13 Inmates Escape in Mexico as Armed Men Storm a Prison." The title grabbed my attention but I didn't read past the second paragraph, I just wanted to get the immediate details. That was the only article I semi-read today. I looked at other interesting titles and read a few sentences of a couple of other articles, but nothing caught my attention past the lead. Hopefully tomorrow brings some more interesting news.

Newspaper Log- Thursday April 1st

Today I read a pretty interesting article in the Business section of the paper. It was called, "Imaginary Chats and Texts When a Quick Getaway Is in Order." The article brought to our attention the different types of apps that you can buy for iphones and other smart phones that can get you out of an awkward conversation. I can't believe that there are actually apps made now for getting out of a conversation. I feel like it's promoting us to lie.... especially when we get a fake phone call from our "mom" telling us dinner is ready. It's a clever idea, but I think it's crazy that technology has come this far.