Radio Shack

Even CEO Can't Figure Out How RadioShack Still In Business

This article made me realize how obsolete and useless electronics stores are becoming, especially since there have been so many technological advances and franchise stores for one-stop-shopping such as BestBuy. Radio Shack has been around for as long as I can remember, yet I find myself going there less and less. Even the very device the store is named after--the radio--is hardly bought in a store anymore because we now download music and buy mp3 players. Just another advancement in a world that can barely keep up.

Senseless Tragedy

I grew up with my friend Omar Samaha at St. Timothy Catholic School since kindergarten, along with his younger sisters Reema and Randa. Reema was a victim in yesterday's shootings at VA Tech, and the Samaha family is suffering a great deal. Please keep all of the victims in your hearts, and try to offer as much support as possible to those who are suffering. We are all suffering in one way or another-- even if you don't know someone personally who goes to VA Tech, you probably know someone who knows someone, etc. We are all connected in the Northern VA Community, and we need each other now more than ever. Stay strong, be safe, and tell your family how much you love them.

Ah, Technology

I came across this article from The Onion, and it made me think about how we always discuss in class how technology has advanced, and will continue to advance rapidly. I wonder if computers and the internet will become as eerie and efficient as the Roomba vacuum in this story, and if machines will eventually control us...

Roomba Violates All Three Laws Of Roombotics

The Onion

Democrats Demand Inquiry Into How They're Doing So Far

As we've seen in class, The Onion is a hilarious source for satirical news. I found this article particularly amusing, and reccommend it (as well as The Onion's website) to anyone who has some free time and needs a laugh. Happy reading :)

Pride Week

George Mason University will sponsor Pride Week Apr. 1 through Apr. 9 with several activities and guest speakers. Students are encouraged to participate and interact with events, such as the Drag Show on Friday, Apr. 6 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the Johnson Center. During the week, students can attend seminars and workshops focused on safety, embracing diversity, and speaking out.

For more information on events, as well as all sponsors involved, visit the web page for the official flyer at http://odps.gmu.edu/PrideWeek%202007v5.pdf.

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus

The circus is in town! And it's also taking up parking spaces in Lot A for GMU students. The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus will be at the Patriot Center through next week for several show times. Tickets range from $14 to $85 and are available through the ticket office at the Patriot Center or on their website at http://www.patriotcenter.com. Show times range from evenings on weekdays to three different times on weekends.

The last shows are on Sunday, Apr. 8. The following Monday, students can welcome back their usual parking spaces.

Human Services Career Panel

There will be a Human Services Career Panel in the Johnson Center Room D on March 29 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Students will learn about entry level positions & careers in Human Services, Social Services, and Human Resources fields for BA and BS students. The panelists will answer questions about positions in their organizations. They will also provide tips to students going into the fields of: Counseling, Mental Health, Human Resources, Case Management, Client Advocacy, Social and Human Services.

The panel is hosted by The Career Center. For more information, visit their website at http://www.careers.gmu.edu

Job & Internship Fair March 21 &22

GMU's Career Center is sponsoring a job & internship fair on Wed. Mar. 21 and Thurs. Mar. 22 in Dewberry Hall in the Johnson Center from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Employers from several different companies are coming to recruit students for jobs and internships. Some of the employers include: AOL, American and Steel Institute, GMMB, Intuit, Library of Congress, Media Research Center, National Wildlife Federation, Public Broadcasting Systems, and XM Satellite Radio.

For more information on the job & internship fair and featured employers, visit The Career Center's website at http://www.careers.gmu.edu.

NEWS: Man Who Jumped Off Cruise Ship Found Alive

A man was found floating in the ocean at 8:45 a.m. on Mar. 16 after jumping off the balcony of a cruise ship eight hours earlier.
The man, 35, was intoxicated.
He was airlifted to a Florida hospital, where he was treated for mild hypothermia. He is reportedly in good condition.

After being on a cruise myself this past week, this is pretty alarming news. The ship the man was on was very close to the one I was on, and I'm pretty sure my ship assisted in the search as mentioned in the article. Falling, or jumping, off the ship seemed like such a far-fetched possibility, but this story shows how real and dangerous the threat is. With so many passengers running around intoxicated, it's amazing that this type of thing is rare. It makes you wonder what was going through the man's mind, or if the jump was voluntary.

On that note, I hope everyone had a safe Spring Break. Reading that story made me happy to be back home.

To read the full story, go to http://www.nbc6.net/news/11269296/detail.html?rss=ami&psp=news

Welcome Back!

It's time-- back to work for students and faculty members of GMU! Spring Break has come to an end and it's time to finish what we've started. Spring semester has flown by, and graduation is just around the corner. It seems like it took forever to reach this point, but now that it's so close it feels like time is going by way too fast. There's still so much to do and learn in these last few months of classes! I hope everyone had a restful break, and that those of us who are all set to graduate will pick up right where we left off and work hard to finish up. Welcome back-- and good luck!

Check out the events on campus this week at http://www.gmu.edu/

Graduating Seniors

For all of you students graduating in May 2007, the date is approaching quickly and so are deadlines! Information packets concerning the commencement were sent out a few weeks ago, and this past week of March 5 was the Commencement Fair. At the fair, students were able to purchase class rings, caps & gowns, announcements, official graduation steins, diploma frames, and alumni apparel. Students who wish to purchase class rings MUST do so soon in order to receive them in time for graduation! Today was the last day to order them at the fair, but they can be ordered online as well, although styles are more limited on the web.

Seniors, find out more information about commencement ceremonies here:
http://events.gmu.edu

Herff Jones college rings: http://www.herffjones.com/college

Balfour college rings: http://www.balfourcollege.com

Graduation Announcements: http://www.herff-jones.com/college

Diplooma frames: http://www.framingsuccess.com

Safe Spring Break Week at GMU

It's the week before Spring Break, and GMU has lined up several activities to teach students how to avoid dangerous behavior on their yearly vacations-- most of which tend to get a little out of control. The Wellness Education Resource Room (WERR) at GMU has set up a website giving students important health, safety, and travel information among other resources. Activities included lectures and information kiosks earlier this week, and a party will take place in the JC Atrium Wednesday at 12 p.m. with music, giveaways, and tips to make Spring Break fun and safe.

WERR reminds students to "Make it fun. Make it special. Make it safe."

For Spring Break information, visit the WERR Spring Break page at http://gmu.edu/student/health/HWRRWeb/SSB_OpenHouse.htm

For more information, visit WERR's website at http://wellnesseducation.gmu.edu

Career Center Activities for week of March 5

The Career Center has a few workshops for this upcoming week, including a resume clinic where students can receive feedback on their resumes from employers, and the Career Center's weekly "Ask the Employer" employer residence lunch where students can have a Q & A session to find out inside information that will make finding a job a lot easier. There is also a Spring Job and Internship Fair coming up on March 21 & 22.

For more information on all of these events, visit the Career Center's website at http://careers.gmu.edu/

NEWS: Picasso Paintings Stolen

A bit of interesting news flashed on my RSS feed on my personalized Yahoo! page and made me look twice. Here's the gist of the story:

Two of Picasso's paintings totaling about $66 million were stolen from his granddaughter's home in Paris. According to the police, her home was broken into Monday night and the robbery was reported the following day. The two paintings were known as "Maya and the Doll," which was an interpretation of his daughter as a child, and "Portrait of Jacqueline," which was of his last wife. There are currently 549 missing Picasso pieces-- a large number due to his fame and popularity. Stolen Picasso pieces usually do not sell for much, or very often, because potential buyers are usually wise to the well-known stature of the art.

For the whole story, visit Yahoo! News at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070228/ap_on_en_ot/france_picasso_theft

Career Center Workshops

George Mason's Career Center will be offering several workshops for the week of February 26, 2007. The eight available workshops include: information on how to find jobs and internships, a question-answer session called "Ask the Employer," information on jobs in Education, an Accounting Career Panel discussion, international internships, advice and practice for qualifying exams, information on an Annenberg Apprenticeship program at "The National Interest," and an explanation of the On Campus Interviewing program. For dates and times of these workshops and other resources from the Career Center, visit their website at http://careers.gmu.edu or e-mail at mailto:careerhp@gmu.edu.

Backfence.com

Backfence.com is a great resource to find out what's going on in your city or town. Unlike traditional news sites, this one is primarily written by community members rather than professional journalists. This allows audiences to be directly interactive about events and news in their areas instead of learning information from professionals who might not know the community that well. Backfence.com was created by Mark Potts, a former journalist from the Washington Post. Several cities in Virginia have their own backfence sites, check out http://www.backfence.com to see if your community is involved.

Indoor Ice Rink at GMU

The Mason Gazette announced that GMU's Homecoming Committee created an indoor ice skating rink in the Johnson Center's Dewberry Hall in honor of the Homecoming festivities. The rink is made up of synthetic ice panels called EZ-Glide, and students can rent ice skates if they don't have their own. The rink opened Wednesday, February 14 and will operate until the evening of Saturday, February 18.

For more information about ice skating rink hours, visit the full article in the Mason Gazette:

http://gazette.gmu.edu/articles/9725/

Passport Fair

There is a Passport Fair at the Johnson Center Room 116 today from 9am-3pm. Students who plan to go out of the country for Spring Break should consider attending, since a new law has passed that requires all U.S. citizens to have a passport in order to travel in and out of the country. The Fair is sponsored by the U.S. Post Office, and they will be taking passport photos for a $15 fee. For people 16 & over, the total fee is $97. For people under 16, the total fee is $82. The Passport Fair is open to all people, not just students. For more information on the required documentation needed, check out the flyer:

http://www.gmu.edu/departments/cge/PDF/Passport%20Fair%20Flyer.pdf

Claude Salhani

Today in my COMM 351 class (Writing for the Mass Media), UPI International Editor Claude Salhani spoke about his experiences as a journalist in the Middle East. He shared some really interesting stories about how he took risks as a photographer and journalist in order to get information. He has covered events in the Middle East for 30 years, and spent half of that time living in the areas he wrote about. He is an accomplished writer, reporter, editor, and photographer. He really demonstrated a passion for his work, and said "There is no greater job in the world than a journalist."

Check out Claude Salhani's Blog:

http://www.claudesalhani.blogspot.com/