MM 3503 - Ariel Little

Recently Starbucks released their Unicorn Frappuccino. Starbucks reports that not only is it flavor changing, it is color changing. Starbuck's website describes the pretty beverage as "magical flavors starting off sweet and fruity transforming to pleasantly sour" they instruct consumers to swirl it to reveal a color-changing spectacle of purple and pink and explicate how its finished with "whipped cream-sprinkled pink and blue fairy powders". Even though this magical delicacy is easy on the eyes it's terribly horrible on the thighs. The Unicorn Frappucino has been described as being the equivalency of three Snickers candy bars and mulitiple posts made on social media have described the frappucino as "nasty". NPR.org states "If ever a drink were concocted to quench the thirst of social media, this may be it," and I could not agree more. Before I looked anywhere else a glimpse of Twitter had released the images and reviews of Starbuck...

Out of all of my peer's blogs I think Angela's blog is the best one in every aspect from aesthetics to content. You can tell that she is genuinely interested in each blog topic.  I love how she incorporates actual  "factual" information in with her opinions. Her love for digital cinema is shown heavily throughout her blog posts, and her quality of work is impeccable. Most people only use images in their blogs, but Angela uses Gifs as well.  http://aryandell3.blogspot.com/

When the topic of international media comes into question I automatically think of Al Jazeera. I personally have a fascination regarding the middle east, it's customs, and culture. Al Jazeera was launched as an Arabic news and current affairs satellite TV channel, it has since expanded into a network with several outlets, including the Internet and specialty TV channels in multiple languages.  Al Jazeera is among the largest news organizations with 80 bureaus around the world. Al Jazeera is currently under the ownership of the government of Qatar. "Al Jazeera Arabic was the first independent news channel in the Arab world dedicated to providing comprehensive news and live debate. The network challenged established narratives and gave a global audience an alternative voice one that put the people back at the center of the news agenda and quickly made it one of the world's most influential news networks." It's not often that an international news medium is as ubiq...

Recently I just learned that Instagram is now under ownership of Facebook. I personally understand the perks of the partnership, but the similarities are almost uncanny. I don't understand the purpose of having both websites if they generally are the same. Instagram focuses mainly on pictures and short videos, but with the implementation of the story feature rigged from Snapchat it almost makes all of the social media platforms the same. I understand the need to evolve steadily and I agree with some of Facebook's newest implementation such as reporting suicide options and even being able to unfollow someone without unfriending them. An article on Forbes' website explicated all of the reasons why Facebook bought Instagram and they even went so far as to say" Because Facebook is having a midlife crisis, and the acquisition of the beloved, hip photo-sharing app is its equivalent of buying a sportscar". I love both social media platforms respectively, but ...

One of my new and most intense interest is in the how to and style genre of YouTube videos. I am so into how beauty gurus and lifestyle vloggers maneuver not only in real life but on their social media platforms, and their careers in general. A popular website for me is xoJane . xoJane is a subsidiary of Time Inc. and is derived from the partnership of the Time Inc. Style Collection and the Time Inc. Lifestyle Network. An excerpt from the about page on the xoJane website states: "We are not snarky. We are inclusive and encouraging. Like Sassy and Jane before it, xoJane.com is written and created by an entirely devoted community of women (and some token males) who have strong ideas, identities and opinions, who are living what they are writing about. This is a non-judgmental platform where honesty trumps all. This is a place where the comments are as valuable as the posts, where the commenters often become writers on the site and vice versa — the amount and de...

The music industry is constantly evolving with how they introduce new music and albums to the world. There are many mored mediums now than there were in earlier eras. Back then the only way you would learn about new music was from the radio; now we have radio, television, websites, billboards, charts, music, award shows. After the surprise release of Beyonce's self-titled fifth album without any warning many artists have jumped on board. Beyonce's album inspired the non impromptu album releases of Kid Cudi, Skrillex, and Wolfmother. Brokencool  has an article explicating the top 10 advantages of releasing an album without warning.  IT'S HARD TO ILLEGALLY DOWNLOAD SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T EXIST   IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THE SINGLE WORKS...THERE IS NO SINGLE  LETTING THE FANS DECIDE THE HITS  SMALLER BUDGETS  LOWER EXPECTATIONS - BOTH FOR THE LABEL AND THE ARTIST  NO DISAPPOINTMENT WHEN AN ALBUM DOESN'T MAKE ITS RELEASE DATE YOU DICT...

Since 1972 when the Magnavox Odyssey came to light with the "Pong" style console, there has been a constant "up-one" strategy between all of the big tech companies. Gamers flock to stores in droves yearly in search of bigger and better consoles. Maybe the concept surpasses me because I am not a gamer, but in the instance where a black console is relaunched in a smaller body with a different color casing I would not go crazy. In an article on Time's Tech page they provide an in depth look at what exactly gamers look at when purchasing consoles. The article entitled, " The Surprising Reasons People Buy the PlayStation 4, Xbox One or Wii U ", written by Matt Peckham is like an outsiders look in on why gamers flock to shop for game consoles yearly, he states,  "The chart's results are weirder than they appear at first. Take resolution, the number of horizontal by vertical lines output as video signal, and constitutive of the number of...

Over the past few months I have been on a beauty kick. Yes, a beauty kick. I personally believe that one aspect of fixing yourself on the inside and becoming a better person is also fixing yourself on the outside. With this heightened love for all things beauty I found myself seeking tips and opinions on how I could seek perfection in the beauty craft, and it is safe to say the many women can agree that Youtube is the Google of makeup. If you want a cut crease with ombre lips, a halo eye look with a highlight that could direct airplane traffic Youtube is the site for you. Beauty gurus post videos daily explaining tips of the trade, essential products, and just life lessons in general, which is all great, but my criticism is why are they so perfect? “A beauty guru is a person, male or female, that has a passion for an aspect of beauty, whether it be makeup, hair, nails, fashion, or skincare. To gain the title of a beauty guru, one must be interested in more than one of these are...

Living in University Housing the television channels that are available to students are not at our selection. There are no NFL Big Ticket channel packages, no Starz, no Cinemax, but there are multiple low tier options available for our viewing pleasure. One of my favorites is the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries . HMM is kin to same form of the regular Hallmark Movie channel, but it faces solely on programs regarding mysteries, sleuthing, and all things "Nancy Drew". "With sister cable television network Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is the second 24-hour linear channel under the Crown Media Family Networks umbrella. Distributed in both (HD) and standard definition (SD) in 66 million homes across the United States, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries is one of the fastest growing networks in cable and a leading destination for quality family friendly entertainment. Launched in 2008 as Hallmark Movie Channel, the network was re-branded in fall of 2014...

Over the last decade there have been drastic changes in the way music notoriety is measured. In the Golden Years of music every ounce of success derived from album sales and radio play. Now with music streaming and downloads being the norm, if you master the digital sector of music you have the "keys to the streets". The criticism I have regarding today's music as a whole is how it's in no way comparable to music back then. I don't know anyone personally that still buys compact discs at all. Why would you buy compact discs when you practically live on your phone anyway? The music quality is still decent and the influence of the pre-streaming era is still prevalent, but album sales of this age will never be able to hold a flame a candle to the sales when compact discs were king and the shift has shifted up revenue for the music industry. The New York Times reports, "Revenue from music sales in the United States has hovered around $7 billion since 2010, accord...