Okay, staying within the journalism world, my dream job as a journalist would be a successful entertainment reporter. Given the fact that I love everything about “the biz,” I wouldn’t want to be tied down to one area. Idealistically, I would be able to write about all aspects of the business including, but not limited to, film, television and music. I would love to be able to write all sorts of articles like reviews, profiles, and features.
I am open to the idea of going into both the magazine and online side of the business, but given that I’m still pretty new to the whole online thing I haven’t really given that much thought to possible entertainment websites I would like to report for that aren’t already associated with an established publication. But in terms of magazine possibilities, I would love to write for Vanity Fair or Entertainment Weekly. I read them both and am always interested in what they have to say. They both currently have pretty interactive websites (especially EW) as well.
Another side of my dream job is to be a freelance entertainment reporter. More specifically, I would really love to have a syndicated weekly column about the entertainment business and pop culture in general.
Basically, I’m just really hoping to find a job where I can do something different everyday and learn about things that interest me. I’ve always been a film junkie (or nerd) so it’s always been the obvious career path for me. I love learning new things and obsessing over films and tv shows I love, so getting to work with people who feel the same way and getting the opportunity to communicate with the entire world would be a dream come true.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Viva Las Vegas
Last week I got no sleep in the 24-hour hotspot known as Vegas. I not only got the opportunity to take part in the casino floor now that I am the big 2-1, but I was able to attend the motion picture industry convention ShoWest. The conference is the largest gathering of motion picture professionals and theatre owners in the world so obviously the experience was a bit overwhelming, but still extremely fun.
While I got to preview some impressive films set for release in the following months, hear filmmakers discuss thoughts behind their creative ideas, and sample future items and gimmicks for movie theaters across the country, if there is one thing to take away from this convention it is how much free stuff one can generate from film publicity.
Shirts, key chains, dvds, backpacks, pens, paper, toys, books. If you can imagine it, someone in the world is probably manufacturing it with a movie logo pressed on.
The crazy part is how sucked into the whole advertising scheme you can become. Everyone wants that next goodie bag even if it is full of a bunch of crap you don’t want or need. I saw 40-year-old men grabbing at bags for the upcoming musical “Hairspray!”
Now to an extent a free t-shirt or new backpack can be beneficial. As a poor college student, anywhere I can get some free stuff is great. But soon you begin to realize how much useless stuff you can accumulate. Did I really need this “Ocean’s 13” keychain?
Now a lot of the merchandise was shared between my family and some of the things were justifiably kept as mementos of the experience, but I just can’t imagine how professionals in the industry who regularly attend film conventions and junkets handle the massive amounts of free stuff.
Where can they possibly put it all?
Anyways, the whole experience was really exciting and lots of fun. A highlight was getting to see the Christopher Walken in person.
And personally I had a great time running around Vegas attempting to gamble. But since I know nothing about all of the different games I mostly stuck to the slots. And while I didn’t win a lot of money, I was simply entertained to be able to pull that addictive lever.
I also saw the Cirque Du Soliel show “Love” inspired by all Beatles music. The show was amazing! Anyone who likes the Beatles should go see it.
While I got to preview some impressive films set for release in the following months, hear filmmakers discuss thoughts behind their creative ideas, and sample future items and gimmicks for movie theaters across the country, if there is one thing to take away from this convention it is how much free stuff one can generate from film publicity.
Shirts, key chains, dvds, backpacks, pens, paper, toys, books. If you can imagine it, someone in the world is probably manufacturing it with a movie logo pressed on.
The crazy part is how sucked into the whole advertising scheme you can become. Everyone wants that next goodie bag even if it is full of a bunch of crap you don’t want or need. I saw 40-year-old men grabbing at bags for the upcoming musical “Hairspray!”
Now to an extent a free t-shirt or new backpack can be beneficial. As a poor college student, anywhere I can get some free stuff is great. But soon you begin to realize how much useless stuff you can accumulate. Did I really need this “Ocean’s 13” keychain?
Now a lot of the merchandise was shared between my family and some of the things were justifiably kept as mementos of the experience, but I just can’t imagine how professionals in the industry who regularly attend film conventions and junkets handle the massive amounts of free stuff.
Where can they possibly put it all?
Anyways, the whole experience was really exciting and lots of fun. A highlight was getting to see the Christopher Walken in person.
And personally I had a great time running around Vegas attempting to gamble. But since I know nothing about all of the different games I mostly stuck to the slots. And while I didn’t win a lot of money, I was simply entertained to be able to pull that addictive lever.
I also saw the Cirque Du Soliel show “Love” inspired by all Beatles music. The show was amazing! Anyone who likes the Beatles should go see it.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Final Project
Quite frankly, I don't have a firm idea of what I want to do for my final project. I know I want to do something entertainment based because that is my concentration and the area I am most interested in. But beyond that I don't really know. Most likely I would like to do something related to film or television.
Some elements I would like to produce on my project website to support my reporting are pictures, video and a really great web design. Basically anything that you would typically find on an entertainment focused website.
In terms of other skills, we've been learning a lot of things in this class that I had no idea we would cover and it has been really helpful. I don't really know what all the different types of online production skills are, but I basically just want to learn a little bit of everything that would allow me to comfortably put together a website. It seems like we are going to do most of that with the final project though. Maybe we could learn a little about uploading music on to sites. Right now I only know how to do that through myspace.
Some elements I would like to produce on my project website to support my reporting are pictures, video and a really great web design. Basically anything that you would typically find on an entertainment focused website.
In terms of other skills, we've been learning a lot of things in this class that I had no idea we would cover and it has been really helpful. I don't really know what all the different types of online production skills are, but I basically just want to learn a little bit of everything that would allow me to comfortably put together a website. It seems like we are going to do most of that with the final project though. Maybe we could learn a little about uploading music on to sites. Right now I only know how to do that through myspace.
The Times They Are A-Changin'
One thing newspapers could do is try to localize their papers by covering smaller communities within each city. We touched on this in class one week, but it could be handled by allowing readers to contribute coverage of their own neighborhoods so that everyone could have their own little personal news source. Readers would be more inclined to check the website more often to keep up to date with what's going on in their area instead of just occasionally coming to look at the day's top headlines. It could be almost like a 24-hour news site because readers could post any time of the day. I know I would visit the sites more often if I had the opportunity, especially to be able to keep up with what's going on in my hometown.
Newspapers could also try to connect with local or national news stations to have attached video to their stories so readers can navigate around the site and look into extra information if they are interested. While sites usually already have some sort of video content it doesn't feel that substantial and if there is something a reader is really interested in, they want to know everything about it. And sometimes pictures just aren't enough for people. So papers could either form relationships with broadcast news sites or simply improve their own video access. They could get readers involved through this avenue as well, allowing the public to contribute videos but this might take longer to screen before posting.
Third, newspaper websites could really benefit by improving their template and overall website design. Many of the sites are really plain and boring and on top of that are somewhat confusing to navigate through. They are usually so busy that sometimes you can get lost in the jumbled text and miss out on really great stories. As well, sites like the LA Times have a completely different site for their calendar section but most probably assume those articles would be in the entertainment portion of the website. Little things like this could be easily fixed and it would make readers more inclined to visit the website because they know they are going to be able to find everything they are interested in reading.
Newspapers could also try to connect with local or national news stations to have attached video to their stories so readers can navigate around the site and look into extra information if they are interested. While sites usually already have some sort of video content it doesn't feel that substantial and if there is something a reader is really interested in, they want to know everything about it. And sometimes pictures just aren't enough for people. So papers could either form relationships with broadcast news sites or simply improve their own video access. They could get readers involved through this avenue as well, allowing the public to contribute videos but this might take longer to screen before posting.
Third, newspaper websites could really benefit by improving their template and overall website design. Many of the sites are really plain and boring and on top of that are somewhat confusing to navigate through. They are usually so busy that sometimes you can get lost in the jumbled text and miss out on really great stories. As well, sites like the LA Times have a completely different site for their calendar section but most probably assume those articles would be in the entertainment portion of the website. Little things like this could be easily fixed and it would make readers more inclined to visit the website because they know they are going to be able to find everything they are interested in reading.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Gomez Groupie
Okay, at first I was completely overwhelmed with trying to decide what topic I might possibly know more about than the average internet fanatic who posts tons of information on a regular basis. But then I calmed down once I realized that everyone doesn’t obsess over the same things. I began to think about some of my favorite things: movies, books, music…MUSIC! Aha!
My favorite band is a group called Gomez. Heard of them? If you haven’t that’s alright because pretty much every single person that I’ve talked to about music has no idea what I’m talking about. (Just in case you’re wondering, they’re a British rock/alternative band) So naturally I figured I could refresh the information posted on their Wikipedia page. And I felt a duty to spread the Gomez love to other music lovers out there. So if you haven’t checked them out, you should.
Once I decided what I was going to add to the page, the editing process was pretty easy. The template is very user friendly and you simply type in the new text. Then by following the example of the rest of the text, you learn the symbols needed to make certain words italics or links. And the fact that you don’t have to type in any html language or web addresses as long as the entry already exists within the system is great.
I can see why the wiki format is becoming so popular. It’s extremely easy to participate and is very useful. Here is the previous article, my edited version and the live page.
My favorite band is a group called Gomez. Heard of them? If you haven’t that’s alright because pretty much every single person that I’ve talked to about music has no idea what I’m talking about. (Just in case you’re wondering, they’re a British rock/alternative band) So naturally I figured I could refresh the information posted on their Wikipedia page. And I felt a duty to spread the Gomez love to other music lovers out there. So if you haven’t checked them out, you should.
Once I decided what I was going to add to the page, the editing process was pretty easy. The template is very user friendly and you simply type in the new text. Then by following the example of the rest of the text, you learn the symbols needed to make certain words italics or links. And the fact that you don’t have to type in any html language or web addresses as long as the entry already exists within the system is great.
I can see why the wiki format is becoming so popular. It’s extremely easy to participate and is very useful. Here is the previous article, my edited version and the live page.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
UrBEN Legend
Okay, so I went into this assignment trying to find interesting facts about campaign contributions that somehow related to my hometown (Orlando, FL) or my last name (Kaiser). But as it turns out, the information I found was pretty obvious. Using the campaign search engine Political Money Line I learned that Orlando is pretty split on their political views (shock me, shock me...if you’re thinking about the 2000 recount, please don’t get me started) and that quite a few people make campaign contributions with the last name Kaiser (242 to be exact). So for fun I started to randomly look up famous actors and once I reached Ben Affleck I learned something really surprising. Affleck never donated money towards electing John Kerry as president.
Now think back to the 2004 election (I know this is hard, but bear with me). Affleck was basically attached to Kerry’s side. He campaigned for him, talked him up in interviews, and even wore Kerry t-shirts almost every day. So naturally, I expected to find numerous contributions for Kerry from the politically active actor. Instead I saw that Affleck contributed to the presidential campaigns of Dennis Kucinich ($1,000) and General Wesley Clark ($2,000), but not Kerry.
This got me thinking about how some critics claimed Kerry lost the election because of all the publicity he got from big Hollywood players. Whether or not you agree this had a negative impact on his campaign, I’m sure you remember all of the celebrity endorsements. But the truth is a lot of celebrities that supported the presidential candidate didn’t actually donate money to his campaign. Some actually gave money to Kerry’s competition.
This included celebrities such as Matt Damon, Paul Newman, Jane Fonda, Aaron Sorkin, Bradley Whitford, and Martin Sheen.
So while a great deal of Hollywood probably voted for the Massachusetts senator, they didn’t contribute money to his campaign. Those millions came from the general public...and the billion-dollar food company Heinz.
Now think back to the 2004 election (I know this is hard, but bear with me). Affleck was basically attached to Kerry’s side. He campaigned for him, talked him up in interviews, and even wore Kerry t-shirts almost every day. So naturally, I expected to find numerous contributions for Kerry from the politically active actor. Instead I saw that Affleck contributed to the presidential campaigns of Dennis Kucinich ($1,000) and General Wesley Clark ($2,000), but not Kerry.
This got me thinking about how some critics claimed Kerry lost the election because of all the publicity he got from big Hollywood players. Whether or not you agree this had a negative impact on his campaign, I’m sure you remember all of the celebrity endorsements. But the truth is a lot of celebrities that supported the presidential candidate didn’t actually donate money to his campaign. Some actually gave money to Kerry’s competition.
This included celebrities such as Matt Damon, Paul Newman, Jane Fonda, Aaron Sorkin, Bradley Whitford, and Martin Sheen.
So while a great deal of Hollywood probably voted for the Massachusetts senator, they didn’t contribute money to his campaign. Those millions came from the general public...and the billion-dollar food company Heinz.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
More Real News
I’ve never really compared video stories from the nightly news and sources online, but once I started to really look at both of them I realized how different they were and that I found the online videos much more interesting.
In terms of the television nightly news, the stories I liked the most were simply because of the subject matter. One package on elephants during the NBC broadcast had some great footage of the cute animals but that was pretty much the only thing that was appealing about it.
Of course the piece was well edited with a variety of different shots and had nice voice over, but those qualities are expected in broadcast news. They’re professional but at the same time pretty boring. There is nothing that grabs the attention of the viewer. And of course the whole piece is through a third-person narrative where the reporter remains objective. While news should remain objective, it can still be done in a way where it doesn’t feel impersonal and stiff.
A great example of this is the stories featured on Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone. The “Occupation: Dreamland” series is fantastic. In Part II we get to follow the camera through a raid in Iraq. Just this fact alone makes the video completely different than anything we might see on the news. But what makes this video great is that it is raw and real.
The camera really gets in the action which makes you feel like you are in there with them. This really took me off guard because stories that I am used to on TV mostly feature action that looks planned and directed. The package isn’t full of stale shots just edited together either. There are longer shots that simply show the audience what is going on. This is what makes the news video great. It’s showing real life as it’s happening.
Another extremely interesting video that shows it like it is on the site is a video about recruitment. You should check it out as well.
Other online videos that are less successful are those on You Witness News and an informational video on You Tube about seahorses. These videos are more amateur with their poor video and sound quality. As well, while they have long sequences like Kevin Sites, they don’t use it in the positive way like the Dreamland sequence does.
Ultimately, I think stories told using online video should be professional like those on TV news, but more raw and realistic. Because sites can be more open without the strict FCC rules in television, they have the opportunity to really capture real life. This can really attract the audience’s attention and make them invest in the stories they are telling.
In terms of the television nightly news, the stories I liked the most were simply because of the subject matter. One package on elephants during the NBC broadcast had some great footage of the cute animals but that was pretty much the only thing that was appealing about it.
Of course the piece was well edited with a variety of different shots and had nice voice over, but those qualities are expected in broadcast news. They’re professional but at the same time pretty boring. There is nothing that grabs the attention of the viewer. And of course the whole piece is through a third-person narrative where the reporter remains objective. While news should remain objective, it can still be done in a way where it doesn’t feel impersonal and stiff.
A great example of this is the stories featured on Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone. The “Occupation: Dreamland” series is fantastic. In Part II we get to follow the camera through a raid in Iraq. Just this fact alone makes the video completely different than anything we might see on the news. But what makes this video great is that it is raw and real.
The camera really gets in the action which makes you feel like you are in there with them. This really took me off guard because stories that I am used to on TV mostly feature action that looks planned and directed. The package isn’t full of stale shots just edited together either. There are longer shots that simply show the audience what is going on. This is what makes the news video great. It’s showing real life as it’s happening.
Another extremely interesting video that shows it like it is on the site is a video about recruitment. You should check it out as well.
Other online videos that are less successful are those on You Witness News and an informational video on You Tube about seahorses. These videos are more amateur with their poor video and sound quality. As well, while they have long sequences like Kevin Sites, they don’t use it in the positive way like the Dreamland sequence does.
Ultimately, I think stories told using online video should be professional like those on TV news, but more raw and realistic. Because sites can be more open without the strict FCC rules in television, they have the opportunity to really capture real life. This can really attract the audience’s attention and make them invest in the stories they are telling.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Beach Day
maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach(to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea
~ e.e. cummings
went down to the beach(to play one day)
and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn't remember her troubles,and
milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;
and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and
may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.
For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea
~ e.e. cummings
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Starbucks: The Unifying Link
I decided to spend an afternoon observing the fascinating (sort of) social life of us USC students at the local Starbucks near campus. With my eyes and ears open and my handy invisibility cloak (how cool would it be to own one?), I learned some interesting things about what goes on during coffee breaks...
It’s a typical Thursday afternoon at the local Hoover and Jefferson Starbucks: young minds studiously work on upcoming papers, concerned teachers mentor eager students, and friends (many of which follow the rule of three) congregate over coffee and sticky pastries to discuss the highs and lows of the week.
While the entire world around the corner java shop continues to change, the “business as usual” pattern at the overly-priced coffee conglomerate creates a cloud of comfort that surrounds the café. In its own way, the commonplace hangout even represents how all students at USC are the same: struggling to make it, while trying to find their place in this world…or a reasonable price on a decent apartment.
As the sun starts to weaken and the outside patio begins to transform into a shadowy nook, two separate groups of students chat about their current living situations simultaneously. Stereotypically the two crowds are at opposite ends of the social spectrum, one being the conventional blond, sorority girl troupe and the other symbolizing the clichéd male, film posse. But, in actuality, the two crews deal with similar problems, including apartment hunting.
Just like the petite brown birds flutter around the gray cobbled ground searching for scraps of food, students from all different backgrounds and social scenes are beginning to rummage all over the city of Los Angeles for the perfect apartment. Low rent, their own bedroom, and easy freeway access are at the top of everyone’s must-have list.
So as students sip on their routine four-dollar pick-me-ups, while trying not to get hit by the constant whizzing by of colorful bike riders, they seem at ease knowing they are not alone.
It’s a typical Thursday afternoon at the local Hoover and Jefferson Starbucks: young minds studiously work on upcoming papers, concerned teachers mentor eager students, and friends (many of which follow the rule of three) congregate over coffee and sticky pastries to discuss the highs and lows of the week.
While the entire world around the corner java shop continues to change, the “business as usual” pattern at the overly-priced coffee conglomerate creates a cloud of comfort that surrounds the café. In its own way, the commonplace hangout even represents how all students at USC are the same: struggling to make it, while trying to find their place in this world…or a reasonable price on a decent apartment.
As the sun starts to weaken and the outside patio begins to transform into a shadowy nook, two separate groups of students chat about their current living situations simultaneously. Stereotypically the two crowds are at opposite ends of the social spectrum, one being the conventional blond, sorority girl troupe and the other symbolizing the clichéd male, film posse. But, in actuality, the two crews deal with similar problems, including apartment hunting.
Just like the petite brown birds flutter around the gray cobbled ground searching for scraps of food, students from all different backgrounds and social scenes are beginning to rummage all over the city of Los Angeles for the perfect apartment. Low rent, their own bedroom, and easy freeway access are at the top of everyone’s must-have list.
So as students sip on their routine four-dollar pick-me-ups, while trying not to get hit by the constant whizzing by of colorful bike riders, they seem at ease knowing they are not alone.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Kara Kara Bo Bara...
This week I got the opportunity to interview the wonderful Kara Nichols and I learned a lot of interesting things about her. The thing that stuck out the most for me was how much she has already moved in her life. I would think it’s really hard moving around all of the time while growing up and Kara was able to tell me about her firsthand experience with it.
Q: Where are you from?
A: I was born in Birmingham, Alabama but I’ve moved about 10-11 times in my life so I don’t know if I’m from anywhere specifically. I’ve lived all over the country.
Q: How come you moved so much?
A: My dad just kept changing jobs or getting transferred at the job…so we were just always on the move.
Q: Was it hard to make friends at so many different schools?
A: Yeah…I went to five elementary schools. It’s hard as a kid just getting things done. I remember I went to all day kindergarten in Georgia and I almost failed because I couldn’t tie my shoe. And I got F’s in cutting and in handwriting. My mom was like, “She’s 2-3 grade levels above in reading so she’s perfectly fine. I don’t care if her handwriting doesn’t have the right curly q.” So that was hard.
Making friends is hard too just because people just stick with the people they know. Especially because I moved between sophomore and junior year of high school and I think that was very hard. I had a ton of friends from middle school and high school in California, but then when I moved to Kansas most of the people had lived there since early elementary school and they all had their friends and weren’t interested in really making new friends. When you move in and out you’re kind of always on the outside.
Q: So do you have any old friends that you keep in touch with now?
A: No, I don’t keep in touch with anyone from before college. Most people have tons of friends from high school or when they were young and I mean I had best friends when I was little and I tried to keep in touch with them but it just never worked out. I had 3 or 4 best friends that I hung out with everyday in different places. It’s one of those things where you write letters for a year or two and then after the first year letters start tapering off. And this is before computers got really big and I’m not a big computer person myself. So that makes it pretty hard.
Q: Looking back, do you prefer any specific area?
A: So far I’ve liked California the best but I think eventually I want to head back towards the east coast because I spent the summer in Washington, D.C. and I really liked it. So maybe back there at some point.
Q: Where are you from?
A: I was born in Birmingham, Alabama but I’ve moved about 10-11 times in my life so I don’t know if I’m from anywhere specifically. I’ve lived all over the country.
Q: How come you moved so much?
A: My dad just kept changing jobs or getting transferred at the job…so we were just always on the move.
Q: Was it hard to make friends at so many different schools?
A: Yeah…I went to five elementary schools. It’s hard as a kid just getting things done. I remember I went to all day kindergarten in Georgia and I almost failed because I couldn’t tie my shoe. And I got F’s in cutting and in handwriting. My mom was like, “She’s 2-3 grade levels above in reading so she’s perfectly fine. I don’t care if her handwriting doesn’t have the right curly q.” So that was hard.
Making friends is hard too just because people just stick with the people they know. Especially because I moved between sophomore and junior year of high school and I think that was very hard. I had a ton of friends from middle school and high school in California, but then when I moved to Kansas most of the people had lived there since early elementary school and they all had their friends and weren’t interested in really making new friends. When you move in and out you’re kind of always on the outside.
Q: So do you have any old friends that you keep in touch with now?
A: No, I don’t keep in touch with anyone from before college. Most people have tons of friends from high school or when they were young and I mean I had best friends when I was little and I tried to keep in touch with them but it just never worked out. I had 3 or 4 best friends that I hung out with everyday in different places. It’s one of those things where you write letters for a year or two and then after the first year letters start tapering off. And this is before computers got really big and I’m not a big computer person myself. So that makes it pretty hard.
Q: Looking back, do you prefer any specific area?
A: So far I’ve liked California the best but I think eventually I want to head back towards the east coast because I spent the summer in Washington, D.C. and I really liked it. So maybe back there at some point.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
My Favorite Sites
Okay, so of course I frequently check my facebook and myspace accounts to keep in contact with my friends but I'm not going to count those sites on this list. Why you needed to know this...I don't know. But there you go.
The Internet Movie Database
I love film. Everything about it. The creative side, the business side, the gossip side (guilty) to some extent, just everything. That's why I am also studying cinema-television here at USC and why I love imdb.com so much. I don't know exactly what profession I will end up with but I know I want it to be something related to the industry. I like to keep up with developing projects and who's doing what film. The site allows me to do this and also gives daily entertainment news and background information on any actor. And it has come in very handy when I'm watching something on TV and I recognize someone but I can't quite figure out where I know him/her from. Whenever that happens to me it's really hard for me to continue watching without figuring it out. I can always relax more once I remember, so imdb has saved me many times from agonizing over an unidentified face for hours. :)
People
Keeping with my entertainment obsessions, I admit that I incessantly visit people.com. I just really like to keep up with pop culture and I mean we do live in LA so it's kind of hard not to be surrounded by it. And while I shallowly like to look at the site's "Star Tracks" there are other entertainment news stories on the site that supply useful information about the business. I also really like the design of the webpage. There is a lot of different things to look at but it is organized in a simple way where it's easy to navigate. But did you know that Marilyn Manson is supposedly dating Evan Rachel Wood now? Shocking, I know. But who wouldn't want to know that? :)
LA Times
Last, but not least, I like to try and keep up with current events so I check latimes.com frequently. While I never have time to read as many articles as I should I like to at least get the gist of what's going on in the news everyday. Then I pick and choose what jumps out at me the most. But checking this site is important so that I keep up with what's going on in the world. And I like how if you find a story you really enjoyed you can easily email it to another person by just clicking a link.
The Internet Movie Database
I love film. Everything about it. The creative side, the business side, the gossip side (guilty) to some extent, just everything. That's why I am also studying cinema-television here at USC and why I love imdb.com so much. I don't know exactly what profession I will end up with but I know I want it to be something related to the industry. I like to keep up with developing projects and who's doing what film. The site allows me to do this and also gives daily entertainment news and background information on any actor. And it has come in very handy when I'm watching something on TV and I recognize someone but I can't quite figure out where I know him/her from. Whenever that happens to me it's really hard for me to continue watching without figuring it out. I can always relax more once I remember, so imdb has saved me many times from agonizing over an unidentified face for hours. :)
People
Keeping with my entertainment obsessions, I admit that I incessantly visit people.com. I just really like to keep up with pop culture and I mean we do live in LA so it's kind of hard not to be surrounded by it. And while I shallowly like to look at the site's "Star Tracks" there are other entertainment news stories on the site that supply useful information about the business. I also really like the design of the webpage. There is a lot of different things to look at but it is organized in a simple way where it's easy to navigate. But did you know that Marilyn Manson is supposedly dating Evan Rachel Wood now? Shocking, I know. But who wouldn't want to know that? :)
LA Times
Last, but not least, I like to try and keep up with current events so I check latimes.com frequently. While I never have time to read as many articles as I should I like to at least get the gist of what's going on in the news everyday. Then I pick and choose what jumps out at me the most. But checking this site is important so that I keep up with what's going on in the world. And I like how if you find a story you really enjoyed you can easily email it to another person by just clicking a link.
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