#11 Civics- (new/revised), The Kids Aren't Alright.

  In recent years the interest that the youth of America has in politics and civics has gone down significantly. Children are becoming more flippant and blase towards important matters that ensure their rights and secure their future. One thing I will say is I don't blame them, politics now has a negative connotation with much of the younger demographic. While I understand their point of view but I also realize that knowledge is power. Being uniformed is just as good as being defenseless. 

Citizenship Practice Quiz

  As someone who has taken various civics and government classes I feel as if I know a bit about how the basics work but actual citizenship tests are difficult to say the least. As a natural born citizen I was lucky enough to only have to take one for fun, not to secure my entry into the country. In some cases new citizens have a better understanding of teens who've lived here for 18 years. Some states have instituted mandatory civics classes for middle school children. In Florida this is the case along with college students having to prove a basic understanding of civics. The Governor of Florida feels high school students need a refresher in the subject as well. While it will not be a graduation requirement it will be used to gauge their knowledge pertaining to our government and how it works. Personally I think it's a great idea. After taking a government class last spring I feel more empowered and I feel as if I can actually discuss more serious topics with newfound knowledge. All in all I see higher civics education standards as an absolute win.

Original Story and Video

Visual Journalism.

  As a musician you tend to be your own worst critic and I'm certainly no exception. For my final project I wanted to find another artists on campus to do a brief coverage of but the ones I knew seemed to be feeling "shy". I however am beyond the point of embarrassment. I wanted to do a simple cover of one of my favorite songs but my throat felt hoarse and everything sounded wrong. I was at a loss for what to do so I sat down and started strumming like I do when I get stumped. I decided to take a chance, I hit record and did something I do all too often, I winged it. I thought up a title and started playing what came to mind. The music was choppy at first but then it started to slowly unravel and stretch out into something interesting. I left the video at one take. Often times I do songs in one take and the results vary. While I feel that my voice wasn't all it could have been I left everything as is. This speaks to who I am as a person, I'm not always going to be perfect, in all honesty I may not even always be good. The real lesson is taking your experiences positive and negative alike and learning from them. Throughout I've included other snippets of me playing. I also have a youtube channel with a few mediocre dorm room made songs on it.

Keep the Wolves Away

 On a less serious note I suppose I should tell about how I started doing music. I had always seen people play instruments growing up and wanted desperately to have that sort of talent. As a child with ADD, ADHD, and various other issues focus was not my strong suit. I watched a film called School of Rock and was mesmerized by the music abilities of the children in it, I wondered if I would be able to accomplish something similar. I picked up a guitar for the first time at around 8 years old.....and was instantly terrible. I'd like to say I was a child prodigy but in truth I didn't actually start playing till high school. Some friends wanted to start a band so I learned how to play bass guitar fairly poorly. After our band flopped I began to learn ukulele. After that I moved on to guitar. I've also worked on percussion and piano every once in a while. I would play at lunch during school with some of my friends and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. The biggest crowds I've played for were probably 100 people or less, the biggest of which being at a benefit for an extended family member who was injured in a car crash. Fun fact: I have never performed one of my own songs live. 

  I'll talk briefly about some of my inspirations. I draw on multiple genres and play whatever I feel like but I think I generally fall into a more folksy or alt-soft rock. Modern Baseball has been one of my main inspirations in recent years. Generally their songs are about a husky guitar player/singer who has bad luck with women so I relate. While I'm getting into fairly good shape, inside I still feel like that same chubby guy who wrote sad songs about girls who didn't like him in high school. I also like that the lead singer Brendan Lukens doesn't have a great voice but he makes what he's got work for him. Artists like Arlo McKinley have influenced my guitar playing and my singing on occasion. Around Texarkana I try to lean into the folksy side to cater to the large amount of country music lovers.

 In all honesty the only reason I've learned as much about music as I have is simply because I enjoy it. While I have no serious aspirations when it comes to making music, as long as I enjoy it I'll keep doing it.

You Don't Care Enough For Me To Cry 

#20- Wild Card, The Witcher is Coming

  Anyone who knows me knows I'm a huge fan of video games. I've been playing since I was old enough to hold a controller. One saga I've enjoyed over the years is The Witcher, gamers of all types enjoy the action packed game play of this series. I've played all three installments based loosely off of Andrzej Sapkowski's hit novels. Netflix has been teasing it's live action series based around the characters in the Witcher universe, and now as the release date grows near fans are thrilled at what promises to be a spectacle of Game of Thrones level proportions. The action scenes are rumored to be bigger then anything we've seen so far.

  Henry Cavill was cast as the iconic hero, Geralt of Rivia, back shortly after the project was announced. Graphic wizard BossLogics created a render of Cavill as Geralt and Netflix cited this as an influence on their casting choice. Cavill is a big name in Hollywood, known most for his role as Superman in Man of Steel, he's a sought after talent for his acting skills and his chiseled physique. Other actors were considered but Cavill seems to be a choice that Netflix and the fans are both satisfied with. The only complaint with the look of our new Geralt that fans seemed to have was that his iconic video game beard was not present. This is actually due to the fact that Netflix will be sticking closer to the books and in them Geralt is notorious for despising facial hair for some odd reason. Regardless of the beard situation Cavill looks fantastic

If you aren't familiar with The Witcher it's a story revolving around a monster slayer (a Witcher) named Gerlat. Witchers are highly trained an highly skilled individuals who are subjected to magical transmutations to give them unique abilities allowing them to take down monstrous foes. In the video games Gerlat is usually equipped with a silver sword (particularly effective on monsters), a steel weapon of some sort, a crossbow, an array of magical abilities and runes, and his ability to take on mutations to make him even more formidable.

Witcher Trailer

  As a fan of the series I'm particularly excited to see it brought to life. The show releases on December 20th but Netflix already has plans for more seasons on the way. They anticipate massive success and based on the source material and Netflix's knack for cranking out hits I believe they have a reason to. If you're a fan of the fantasy or action genre this series would likely be a good choice for you. The cinematography looks absolutely fantastic so far and the production quality looks like what I would expect a quality Netflix original to have (much like most of the Marvel Netflix series). While disappointment is possible I have extremely high hopes for this series, come December 20th I suppose I'll see what it has to offer.

#19- Classmate Blog Critique, Interactive and In-Depth

  I'm a busy person, a college student who works a job on the weekends. While I do tend to do deep dives into certain topics I also appreciate brevity. Sometimes I'm just eager to get to the point like many of us get from time to time but when it comes to quality work I don't mind reading a bit. My classmates do fantastic work that is often filled to the brim with interactivity and information. Elizabeth Nalley delivered consistently strong work and had a fantastic layout for her blog.

https://mm2003elizabethnalley.blogspot.com/

  One thing I appreciate about her work is the various range of topics she chose to cover. From popular country musicians, to hit films, and politics. I didn't find repetition or pigeonholing which I myself an often times guilty of. I particularly enjoyed her piece on the youth and their opinion towards voting, her writing style was concise and easy to take in. I thought she acknowledged both sides of the argument but still made it known what her opinion was. As a young potential voter I identified with this feeling of "why bother" when it comes to elections.

   Another solid example of her work that I liked was her post on the new Joker film. Her use of interactivity throughout added another dimension to the text. As a film devotee and an avid DC fan I always love to see the success of comic book films. I feel like Elizabeth's use of box office facts, current news (police at the showings), of course the memes, made this a very good read. I enjoyed the abundant visuals which accentuated the tone of the story nicely. Overall I would give her a 9.5/10.

https://camcarterscorner.blogspot.com/

  Another student who's work I thought deserved a quick shout out was Cameron Carter. I've had classes with Cameron before and I've always enjoyed her presentation style. She always delivers clean and concise opinions which leave no question how she feels. I find this kind of genuine honesty refreshing. Overall I'd say 8.5/10, the only clear issues I saw were tech related and not her fault.

#18- News App Critique, Friend to the Fans

  Fantasy sports took the world by storm in the 80's and has become a past time for people all over the world. As a relatively seasoned fantasy player I can tell you that it's massively important to keep up with news in your leagues. In the past people would have to rely on newspapers and sports broadcasts exclusively to help pilot their fantasy team but in the age of the internet it has become considerably easier to keep yourself up to date. Other issues were management of teams and drafting. An app that combines streamlined news about specific players and sports leagues with a system to draft your teams and compete against friends seems like a dream come true. A few years ago I found out that the ESPN Fantasy app seems to be exactly that.

  "Does this technically count as a news app?". Since this is my blog I'll give myself a pass. To be fair this app is saturated with sports news. Personally I only play fantasy basketball but I can attest to the saturation of information on the other sports as well. ESPN devotes resources to keeping this app as up to date as possible. If your were to check a player's performance after a game on your team you would likely see a fairly in depth summary of their last game. You can check their stats and get the fresh opinion of sports analysts about nearly anyone in the league. While there is generally more info available on star players, anyone putting forth strong performances are sure to be covered. This is a more reliable way to scout players because the mainstream sports news platforms are flooded with the same handful of stars every week. How is someone supposed to scout lesser known player? The ESPN Fantasy app.

 
  Above is an example of a lineup from the app. If you'll notice the red icons by the names of the players they serve a very important purpose. Clicking said icons brings up the previously mentioned summaries which include things like shooting percentages and points per game, basically any stats that factor into their fantasy score. Another useful touch to this app is that the writers usually give predictions on how the players will perform based on their current performances and suggestions on whether the player will be worth keeping or trading. Another feature is league news, anytime someone has a breakout performance you can find the details and highlights on the news feed. I know for a fact that it's useful to use this feed to see just how badly your friend's players are stomping your team into the ground. Speaking as someone who uses this app as my primary source of game scores and player statistics I think it accomplishes the goal of bringing sports news to fantasy consumers in the most efficient way possible. As an official ESPN app expectations for it are set high to begin with and as far as content it meets those expectations. My only complaint would be the occasional crashes that the app experiences. Overall I would give it an 8.5/10 as a sports news source.

#9- Public Records State (revised), Protection or Secrecy?

  Back in March Arkansas law makers decided to put more limitations on what was available for public record. In this situation these changes could be seen as positive. While some may see this as an effort to deprive people from free information it seems to be a way of protecting certain groups. These changes could be considered a threat to the Freedom of Information Act.

  Some of these news changes include protection of the name's of those who've won the lottery. This actually makes sense, unexpected wealth can also come with unprecedented danger. On the other hand it will make things more difficult to determine if there were any unusual connections to a lotto winner and the lottery itself. Another change was a vote towards keeping the ingredients of lethal injection drugs a secret. Again this seems to make sense. While I do see how some people think that if you give the government an inch (in the ways of repression of information) that they'll take a mile. In some cases this is likely true.

  The need for transparency of public records is self explanatory but there are some things that are better left a secret. Generally, the word "secret", has a negative connotation but that shouldn't always be the case. Whether it be for public safety or the safety of individuals some information should be withheld, and I believe that's justifiable. 

Original Article

#17- Opinion (International), Coldplay Cares

  Recently hit band Coldplay has decided to suspend their most recent tour. With their popularity fluxing over the past few years it seems like and odd move. It turns out they have a good reason. Coldplay took a look at the environmental damage tours can cause. Their new album Everyday Life recently released which left fans eager to see them on tour for the first time since 2017. The album is quite good, with songs like Orphans, which feel very characteristically like Coldplay. While I'm a music fan and even more of Coldplay I understand their reasoning completely.

  According to Chris Martin, front man for the band, it is vital that musicians take a stand against climate change. As influential as celebrities and musical artists are it makes perfect sense that they would be great advocates to spread awareness. Since they deemed the tour ecologically irresponsible they will be doing two live shows in Jordan which will stream via YouTube for all the fans to watch. Personally I think it's admirable that Martin and his band mates are leading the charge on eliminating unnecessary carbon emissions and plastic waste. He claims that they won't launch the tour until they feel they can do so in good conscience. They would like the next tour to be carbon neutral if at all possible.

Chris Martin on recent tour cancellation

  With themes of humanity and saving the Earth the new album gives us something to think about. It's refreshing to see megastars care about something important. Martin not only talks the talk, he walks the walk. He often drives electric vehicles and donates to stop climate change, he is also a big fan of renewable energy and recyclables. While i'll still be attending the HellaMega tour early next year featuring Green Day, Wheezer, and Fallout Boy I hope that they'll take a page out of Coldplay's book and try to make their shows more environmentally friendly

Original Story

#16- Opinion (Local), Closed for Thanksgiving, Tradition or Outdated?

  As someone who's had "inconsistent" family gatherings over the years it's nice to have other options around the holidays. Thanksgiving is about taking a day to be thankful for what you have but in a way it has become equally about one other vital thing.....the food. So if you don't have a family from straight out of a Rockwell painting where can you go to enjoy a meal? In Texarkana options have been limited for as long as I can remember but as people my age start to set out on their own or start families they have a different way of doing things. Many younger people don't do traditional holidays anymore. Restaurants are realizing this and making changes. Some people are of the mind that all restaurants should be closed for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons include the idea of all the workers getting to spend time with their family, the idea that people should be with their family instead of eating out, or the misconception that everyone has someplace else to go.

  While I do enjoy spending time with my family there have been times when I wasn't able. I also understand from my time working as a waiter that you can make big money on holidays. The fact is some people don't have families and would like to use the holidays to bolster their wallet. I understand the struggles and I believe in the restaurant industry that there are usually always enough people to fill out a staff who don't feel forced to be there. This isn't necessarily the same situation in all professions but it does seem to be the case for Texarkana's eateries. Thanksgiving is a great time to be open, competition is limited, tips are usually generous, and it fills a need for customers.


What's Open In TK?

  While it isn't a super pressing issue I find it hits home for me in particular. I've been at ends with my family on a holiday and set out to find a place to enjoy a meal with my friends or my sister. It's slightly depressing to have the exclusive option of drowning your sorrows in Denny's hash browns and chocolate milk. It's nice to have more of a variety. Even if you enjoy an actual family lunch, it's always nice to go out late and have a dinner with your extended family. Personally I'm glad to see restaurants meeting the lifestyle demands of the modern consumer.

15- Entertainment or Pop Culture, The Mandalorian Review

  Recently Disney Plus launched an of course as a film devotee I had to get a subscription for "research purposes". One of the Disney Plus originals available on launch was The Mandalorian. Now I've been a huge Starwars fan since before I could walk so I went into this show with extremely high expectations, after all it's been hyped up so much in the media recently. With Pedro Pascal starring and Jon Favreau as one of the lead producers it was a must watch. I've been a huge fan of their work as well so needless to say I was stoked to finally get my hands on an episode of this show.

The Mandalorian Trailer.

  To give any non-Star Wars fans some background this show takes place five years after the fall of the Empire in Return of the Jedi. It follows a Mandalorian bounty hunter making his living across the galaxy. Other famous Mandalorians include Jango Fett (genetic model for the clone troopers) and legendary bounty hunter Boba Fett. The Mandalorians are essentially a race of helmet wearing, blaster toting bad asses.

The Mandalorian Trailer 2

 I finally sat down with my room mate (who isn't a huge Star Wars nerd like me) and watched the first episode of the series. All I can say is wow. This show proves Star Wars can work well as a live action television series which opens up tons of new possibilities and bodes well for the upcoming Kenobi show also on Disney Plus. This show felt like it belonged in the Star Wars universe, the blend of practical effects and CGI was seamless. Pascal played his role to perfection with his cool steely voice and wonderful costume acting. The shootout scenes were action packed and even had a joke or two tossed in. I enjoyed Taika Waititit's Bounty Droid character especially. In addition to being visually stunning the story had just enough mystery to be compelling but not give too much away. The ending had a surprising twist involving a very prominent alien in the series who's origins have been a mystery so far, he was thought to be the only one of his kind. I won't say too much about that but I can say that overall even my roommate was on the edge of his seat. I think The Mandalorian may have made a fan out of him yet. I highly recommend this series to anyone, Star Wars fan or not.


  Need to brush up on your Star Wars knowledge? Check out Wookiepedia.

#14- Trending, Gotta Go Fast

"Dear God, please kill it with fire."- Jonah Rathburn

  Recently Sonic has been trending on social media, but this time it's for a good reason. As many know the design for the live action Sonic movie featured above was......not well received. The CGI specialists went to work after the outcry's against sonic's creepy incarnation flooded the internet a few months back. The team did a complete redesign of the character and some aspects of the film. 

 This is the one time complaining on the internet actually got something done. The memes ran rampant and bombed the twitters of anyone associated with the film. The original trailer was honestly pretty terrible, that's me being lenient. The new design was a hit with long time Sonic fans such as myself. While the old trailer caught flack for featuring the song Gangster's Paradise by Coolio I almost wish that they had kept it, I found that usage hilarious. However, this new less terrifying Sonic is a drastic improvement. All in all he seems more expressive and closer to the character we all know and love. After the success of Detective Pikachu this  film is trying to live up to the hype and keep the video game movie curse broken for good.

  New vs. Old Trailer

#13- International Feature News, "Bloodhound" Attempts to Break Land Speed Record

  What do you get when you cross a supersonic jet with a dragster? A literal "Highway To The Danger Zone", the answer is the Bloodhound. This super car is designed for one thing and one thing only, speed. As someone who doesn't race cars or fly jets for a living anything over 100 miles an hour seems fast to me but for the crew of the Bloodhound that's a crawl.

Bloodhound SSC

  
  With high performance stock cars reaching over 200 miles an hour this is still only a 5th of the projected speed of the Bloodhound. It is estimated that with the proper modifications and conditions that it can break 1,000 miles an hour. This would shatter the current land speed record of 736 miles an hour by a fairly large margin. The record holding car named Thrust SSC looks significantly more impressive but it's what's under the hood, so to speak, that matters. 

Thrust SSC (not a Pod Racer sadly)

  As a Starwars fan this monstrosity impresses me, partially due to it's sheer speed but also partially due to the fact that it resembles a Pod Racer. The Bloodhound recently clocked in at 501 miles an hour and is said to be at least a year from attempting to break Thrust's record. Here is a video of the recent Test Footage of Bloodhound. Forgive me if I make another Starwars comparison by mentioning how much the Bloodhound blasting across the sand of the South African Desert reminds me of Luke Skywalker gliding over the dunes of Tantooine.

90-HP Napier , 1905

  It's amazing to think how far automobiles have come over the past hundred or so years. The first car to break 100 miles came in 1905 with the 90 horsepower Napier featured above. This may seem like a pretty hefty achievement for such an early date but what we've succeeded in doing the last 20 years surpasses that by leaps and bounds. I am personally excited to see what the future holds in terms of speed an ingenuity in the field of automotive advancement.  

Original Story

#12 Numeracy- Basketball by the Numbers

Basketball is all about breaking records, I personally enjoy taking a look at players who exemplify this mindset. The names of players like Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, James, Harden, and even Russell Westbrook come to mind. These players have scored in troves and put many others in the league to shame.

Let's talk triple doubles, first off a triple double is when a player achieves double digits in three statistical categories. The record for most triple doubles in NBA history belongs to Oscar Robertson . At 6'5 Oscar brought a different dimension to the scoring game at the point guard position. Think Magic Johnson but smaller. Robertson was a fantastic combination of speed and skill to net himself the all time highest amount of triple doubles at 181. The only person who comes close to this achievement is Russell Westbrook with 140. But it is fair to give Westbrook respect in the sense that he is the only player to average a triple double in two seasons.

Let's talk about the truly impressive numbers, single game scoring. When people think of scoring Wilt Chamberlain comes to mind. The man was an absolute freak of nature in the best possible way. "Wilt Chamberlain could run a 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds, had a 45+ inch vertical, and could bench press 500+ lbs (all while being 7’2, weighing 280+)". While these figures are questionable most people don't doubt them due to the sheer force Wilt exerted when he played and his previous achievements in track and field. This athleticism put him above and beyond any player of his day. It was almost child's play for him to put up massive amounts pf buckets including the NBA's only triple digit scoring from a single player with 100 points. It was no stretch for Wilt to put up 70+ points. He did it 6 times that I can personally recall from the record books. The only person who came close to breaking into triple digits was one of my childhood heroes Kobe Bryant who put up 81 points in a game after dropping 62 in only three quarters earlier that month. I'm a huge fan of prolific scoring, personally two of my favorite high level scorers of all time are Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony. Obviously I had to name drop Melo because I've always been a fan. But none the less the NBA has had some of the most impressive athletes in sports history. Whether it be the "super freak" athletic ability of Wilt Chamberlain, the high flying dunks of Vince Carter (who holds the NBA record for oldest active player and the only player to have played in three different decades), or the blazing quick speed of De'Aron Fox (who I have seen outrun Russell Westbrook, widely regarded as one of the leagues fastest players, on multiple occasions)

#10 Listening Post- Eichenberger Lobby, A.K.A. the Hall of Justice

  Nerds assemble! In college it's good to find friends who you can relate with, finding your people is important. Now, personally i'm a social Jack-of-all-trades and I can hang with just about any crowd but the students in Eichenberger Hall are......special creatures. I chose the lobby and my fellow dorm mates as my listening post because I spend the majority of my free time there. Since Eichenberger is the engineering and nursing dorm you can expect that the students are borderline geniuses, at least when it comes to math. I have a slightly different perspective being a mass communications major, while i'm pretty versatile as far as conversation skills go, when they start talking math my ears turn themselves off.  So often times when they're banging out 12 pages worth of circuits homework i'm less than useful but when they need help with an essay i'm their golden goose. To be honest I try to steer the conversations toward waters i'm more familiar with and that often leads to humorous interactions or half-cocked debates about nonsensical topics.

  An example of what qualifies as news for our lobby is essentially anything pertaining to entertainment in a wide array of categories such as video games, television, comic books, or memes. The latter of which being one of the most discussed. No topic is safe from becoming a meme in our hall. I've been following the struggle in Hong Kong since it is a matter of freedom of the press and the people, and it's also a known fact that I love basketball. Both of which were combined into a now heavily circulating meme which we witnessed live. The NBA has recently reprimanded anyone who showed support for Hong Kong such as the Rockets GM. Well a child at NBA game had other plans. He baited the dance cam by waiving around an L.A. Clippers shirt then when the camera zoomed in he dropped it revealing a shirt showing support for the citizens in Hong Kong. We were shocked, impressed, and couldn't help but laugh at how this kid stuck it to the entire organization which was more concerned with profit loss than freedom.

Kid Pulls an Elegant Bait and Switch in Support of Hong Kong

  Now some of our other topics are a little to "edgy" for this blog so we'll move on to video games. We often spend our free time playing video games such as Super Smash Brothers, NBA 2k, and Mario Kart in the lobby. In between rounds we often discuss what's new in the world of video games whether it be Blizzards censorship of Hong Kong protests, over priced memberships for failed games like Fallout 76, or reminiscing on the lies that No Man's Sky sold its customers to try and boost sales. If there's a new game in development Eichenberger lobby most likely has the scoop. The same holds true with films, but that's mainly due to my contributions. I'm also known in some circles as the movie guy, you name it and I've probably seen it. We're always up to date on which comic books are being adapted for the big screen and what TV shows are due to come out in any given month. I think I stirred a ton of excitment when I shared all the titles that will be available with the launch of the Disney+ streaming service.

All Known Titles Coming To DIsney+ on Launch

  While the news and info we share may not be seen as particularly important by most its what we enjoy. We're all nerds to some extent and it's nice to have a place to talk about our interests with like minded people. This isn't to say that we don't have the occasional "Is water wet?" or "If there was no friction could we grab things?" debate. All in all we mainly congregate there to have a good time and we always manage to achieve that.

#8 Public Records- Texarkana Restaurants by the Numbers

  As a food devotee who's eaten his way through most of the restaurants in the Texarkana area it's interesting to see what scores local establishments get on their health inspections. As someone with experience working in a fairly nice restaurant I feel like I have a solid insight into what sort of violations are commonly taking place. Interestingly enough only Texarkana, Texas businesses are listed so I wasn't able to retrieve my own place of employments rating.

Health Inspection Ratings

  As a loyal Cane's customer sometimes frequenting multiple times a week after work I was happy to see their score was 100. Having taken a peek into the kitchen I can see why they were able to get a perfect score, everything looked immaculate. Fast food restaurants are often knocked as unclean but that all depends on management, I've seen many upscale restaurants with much dirtier equipment and spaces. It's notable that Osaka's, a high class hibachi joint, received a rating of three points lower. Cane's also managed to score seven points higher than Longhorn Steakhouse. Now reasons for this could include the types of food prepared. More health violations tend to occur in places that work with raw meat. So in a way upscale restaurants can have significantly higher chances of mishandling food and perpetuating food born illnesses.

     
  The lowest score on the list is Lee's China which comes in at 69 (nice). I can see why Lee's might have received this score. The kitchen and dining area often appear visually dirty but the food tastes quality so I usually try to ignore the warning signs. Maybe i'm playing a dangerous game but a 69 isn't the lowest possible score that could have been given. Chinese restaurants tend to catch a bad rep around the Texarkana area from Golden Palace to China King Buffet there are clear violations and they look grimy in general but the prices and food aren't bad so much like me people try to ignore it.

#7- Campus News- "5 rapes reported on SLU campus in 8 weeks"

  Since August 9th there have been five separate reports of rape concurring on the Saint Luis University. Four of the occurrences happened in university housing and one happened near Herman Stadium. A quote from a student interviewed said "It's really sad that it's that many in such a short amount of time,".

Clery Report for SLU

SLU Campus

  By decision of the victims none of the rapes are being investigated by the St. Louis police. Instead the incidents are being handled by the Title IX office. Coordinator Anna Kratky had an interesting view on the situation, "I would be very worried if our numbers were zero, right, because we know these things are happening. And if they are happening, we need to know about it so we can help our students"

Anna Kratky, Title IX Coordinator 

  It is interesting to note that Washington University and UMLS have had zero reports of rape. Also a university twice the size of St. Louis University, the University of Missouri-Columbia, has the same number. Kratky feels like there aren't more incidents at SLU but that students are more comfortable reporting them. "When you say the number five what that means to me is that students here at SLU know how to report, they know where my office is and who I am, and they know how to get the support and resources that they may need after something like this happens,”.

More Info on Title IX and The Fight to End Rape on Campus

Based on statistics showing that an estimated 20-25% of female students will encounter some sort of sexual assault on campus then Kratky's stance makes perfect sense. Sadly preventing these crimes completely is nearly impossible but at least on campuses like SLU victims will have a safe place to turn to so they can get the help they need.

Original Article

#6- Campus Crime, Duke University vs. Southern Arkansas University

The Clery Act requires Colleges to publish annual crime statistics, After viewing SAU's statistics I decided to take a look at a larger school such as Duke University. I found the comparisons interesting due to size and differences in safety protocol. I found that even with more extensive safety measures Duke has a significantly higher crime rate.

Clery Report 2019 Duke- https://forms.hr.duke.edu/media/police/2019%20Annual%20Clery%20Campus%20Security%20Report.pdf

Clery Report 2018 SAU-https://cd1.saumag.edu/police/files/2019/09/2018-Clery-report.pdf 

To break down some numbers on the reports themselves Duke has a 65 page long report dealing with all the various incidents and the sources of help for victims on campus. In comparison SAU only has 45 pages. Duke seems to have more resources to deal with these criminal acts but that is likely because duke is proportionally larger. SAU had an enrollment of around 3, 546 whereas Duke had nearly 5 times that with around 15,892.

Looking at crimes like "fondling" SAU only had one reported incident in 2018 whereas Duke had 13.

As far as domestic violence SAU had 2 incidents and Duke had 20. Stalking seems to be a major issue at Duke whereas SAU had few incidents actually reported, so much so that there wasn't and official category for that particular statistic at SAU. Stalking was up from 16 cases up to 38. Duke has a fairly high number of motor vehicle thefts which doesn't seem to be as big of a problem on our campus.

https://today.duke.edu/2018/09/duke-releases-annual-security-report

One thing shared by both schools is the distinct lack of murders. The only murder that took place involving Duke was their NCAA finals run.

#5- Hometown Feature News, "Dine on the Line/Downtown Revival"

It's once again time for an event unique to the Texarkana area. The fifth annual Dine on the Line event is coming up and tickets are still available through the 27th of September. The purpose of this event is to bring the two halves of the city together as a whole in a community driven event to promote the revitalization of downtown Texarkana. Come out on October 4th and party in two states at once.

Main Street Texarkana Events- https://www.mainstreettexarkana.org/dine-on-the-line.html

Dine on the Line 2018

It has been a long running dream of many citizens of Texarkana to restore the downtown area to it's former glory, back to a time where it was a bustling social hub full of art and music. As of now only a few scattered restaurants and store fronts remain open and once grand murals chip away from the side of ancient buildings. Dine on the Line is attempting to draw in crowds with a seated farm to table meal right on the state line, a beer garden, a live performance by local band "Chasing Rita", and finally the unveiling of the new Dr. Pepper mural on the side of TLC Burgers and Fries. 

TLC Burgers and Fries

Be sure to buy tickets in advance, purchase will not be allowed at the gate. Members of the TK community are urged to come out and do their part by having a great time and adding steam behind the movement to make our city wonderful again. Future plans for the area include more loft housing, renovation of the Arts District, and eventually a refurbishing and re-purposing of the Hotel Grim (https://www.ci.texarkana.tx.us/479/Hotel-Grim-Redevelopment). As of now these large iconic buildings sit in ruin waiting for innovative partners to give them new life. Downtown Texarkana has become a place associated with crime and homelessness which is a far cry from it's heyday. If every building had been maintained and used like the Perot theater then downtown would still be a site to behold. It is a shining example of classic architecture and style reminiscent of the Gatsby-esque style that we've all learned to love. In addition to the Perot, Silvermoon Children's Theater has done a fantastic job of taking an older building and modernizing it for maximum comfort, aesthetic, and crowd draw (https://www.silvermoononbroad.com/). Another example of ingenuity in the downtown area is a recently opened restaurant housed in a converted rail car.

Perot Theater 

The Flying Crow Diner

 In recent years the push for revival of the old spirit of the city has gained traction. Activities like the Christmas parade and Rail Fest come to mind. These activities are the fuel behind the sense of community Texarkana is attempting to foster and rekindle. One thing to notice is the target groups for said events, the city does a fairly decent job of touching on various demographics. As more events are held and more people come out the city is reaching ever closer to finding the will to bring itself back into the spotlight and out of gutter.

Downtown Texarkana

State Line

#4- Hometown Hard News- "State resets in Child Rape Trial".

Larry Neff Jr. is currently on trial for the rape of a girl who was 11 years old at the time of the incident. This Fouke resident is far from the first to face trial for something so heinous, the town seems to have an alarming number of similar instances. The alleged victims mother passed away when she was 4 which resulted in her and her brother being sent to live with a relative of their father. This woman was living with Neff and later married him. The defense attorney for Neff, Tommy Potter, has a reputation around the Texarkana area for defending questionable individuals which in a small town setting doesn't bode well for the chances of an unbiased jury.

Potter is resting his primary defense on the lack of supporting evidence involving pornography that was supposedly show to the victim and Neff's poor health. Neff's house was searched as well as most of his personal devices but experts were only able to say there was no apparent sign of pornography. In this case something read off of an external storage device would not have left an imprint on the devices other than the fact that it was connected to the PC. The experts said that USB drives had been read by some of the devices but they had no way of telling what was on them without the drives themselves. This lack of evidence take plays strongly off the fact that their are private browsing options that would render all of Neff's search history irretrievable, even for said experts.

The other part of this defense deals with Neff's weight. Potter says that Neff weighed close to 400 pounds and "had to sleep in a chair" due to breathing problems. This argument is notorious for not holding water in court. The fact is that if someone wants to do something bad enough, they'll generally find a way to make it work. And the testimony from the alleged victim stated Neff assaulted her with his hands and made her perform a sexual act on him. Overpowering a frail 11 year old girl doesn't seem like a difficult task for someone who weighs literally almost an estimated 4 time more that she does.

Physical evidence isn't particularly strong so in the end it will likely come down to the jury deciding between the testimony of the victim or "innocent until proven guilty". It is hard to separate facts from fiction in hearsay cases but originally the victims cry for help came in the form of a note given to her guardian by the woman's daughter. The note was submitted to evidence which is particularly compelling from an emotional standpoint. No one seems to doubt the authenticity of the note so far so if a little girl were to write for help then pass that note to another young lady who is evidently like a sister to her, it doesn't seem that odd.

Neff is currently out on a $50,000 bail. If convicted of rape Neff faces 10 to 40 years in prison, as well as a possible 5 to 20 years if convicted for a charge of second-degree sexual assault. It is likely that if the rape charge sticks so will the sexual assault charge, meaning 50 year old Neff is potentially looking at life in prison.


Original story- http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texarkana/story/2019/sep/25/state-rests-child-rape-trial/796643/

#3- News Leads

Tweets by RathburnJonah

#2- Breaking news: Social Media Over 24 hours- Daniel Johnston

  Yesterday around midday social media began to light up with messages about singer Daniel Johnston. Johnston is famous for songs such as "True Love Will Find You in The End" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma7lyfYzIw8) and his signature art style which he often used to illustrate his own album covers. His name began being mentioned fondly in posts by celebrities which, sadly, often times means something bad has happened .The heart breaking news first officially came out over news sites out of his adopted state of Texas. An underappreciated icon had taken his last breathe, he had died of a heart attack at age 58. Big news pages stayed virtually empty at first on social media so fans took it upon their selves to begin honoring a true icon.

 Celebrities and fans of all ages began to sing their praise a mere hour after the news broke. Jonah Hill left a heartfelt message at the bottom of his post thanking Johnston for sharing his struggles with mental health in the form of  music and getting many people through tough times. Even younger stars like Finn Wolfhard made posts about the late great musician. Even the brand Supreme's New York Branch made a post stating that "Some things last a lifetime", referring to his impact on music and the lives of many. Johnston reached many with his music, it always seemed to find people at the right time in their lives. Seeing more and more "Rest in Peace" posts emerge on my feed as the hours ticked by made it all too real for me. In reality there isn't much in the ways of breaking news when someone passes away after the initial shock but I believe its important how this news comes to certain people. In situations like this I find it interesting which publications and people receive the news first. For example the New York times published a story on Johnston's death nearly a day ago whereas less main stream sites like The Takeout just managed to publish theirs 35 minutes ago. Time moves differently on social media most of the tributes I saw were posted within 30 minutes of each other meaning the news likely spread faster to more diverse areas because of celebrity followings.

Artists seem to have a way of banding together when someone dies. On Twitter musicians like Beck and Clario honored Daniel Johnston memory. Twitter was absolutely flooded with kind words about him ( https://twitter.com/search?q=daniel%20johnston&src=typeahead_click). Seeing two artists who very clearly have taken inspiration from Johnston delivering the news of his passing softens the blow. I think back to the photo of Kurt Cobain wearing one of Johnston's art works on a t-shirt and I find it odd to think how artists like this often leave intertwined legacies in strange ways. After all, it was Kurt's public support that helped Johnston's career catch fire and in the end Daniel ended up outliving him.
It's a situation where the ones who knew him and his work don't want us to be sad that he's gone but to celebrate his memory instead. Johnston was always battling mental illness but that never changed his soft childlike heart. He taught us that being different isn't a bad thing. He paved the way for many soft spoken, introspective, low-fi artists. In the spirit of what he stood for I think it's only right that these artists keep this kind of music alive and thriving. The only question we're left wondering is did true love ever find him in the end?

#1- The News, Tackling the Age Old Task of Defining News.

I've been fascinated journalism from a very young age. I saw a theme in the media that I consumed, and naturally as a child I loved cartoons and comic books. These mediums always portrayed hard nose reporters and photographers as somewhat heroic. Characters like Clark Kent (A.K.A. Superman himself, my personal childhood hero), the fearless Lois Lane, and Peter Parker who would scale buildings to get the perfect photo in between fighting crime. Even characters like April O'Neal and Vicki Vale left an impression on me.

 Often times I think about how much my perception has remained the same. I always saw news sources as a way for the truth to be spread at any cost. Average people risking their safety to keep the world informed was a mesmerizing concept. As I've grown I realized something that is a twist on an old adage, "Truth (and news for that matter) is in the eye of the beholder". What is news to me may me nothing to you. Sure, I care about NBA trade updates, movie castings, and what films get rave reviews but some people don't.

 News is simply information relayed to the public, should we choose to accept it. I have found over the years that if you wish to live blissfully unaware that you can read news that is specifically tailored to your world views, but I won't drop names (*cough cough* Fox and CNN). Whether you lean right or left there's a biased source waiting to tell you what you want to hear. No offense to people who trust a single source but I prefer to do my research. A source can claim anything and give opinions, for example my blog could fervently claim that the Philly 76er's are in talks to sign Carmelo Anthony but that may just be one mad mans dream. The moral of this story is that real news can be verified by multiple sources. So at the end of the day to me, good news, is the truth and nothing but.