For some time now, Christians have argued that Harry Potter books are a bad influence toward children with the magic and sorcery theme because it promotes the work of the devil. Now, they might have something to argue about again, this time dealing with Dumbledore’s sexuality.
JK Rowling announced during a reading at Carnegie Hall in New York that Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, is gay, according to USA Today.
"I always saw Dumbledore as gay," Rowling said in answer to a fan's question about whether the wizard ever found love, reported USA Today.
The fans reaction was quite surprising to me. According to the article, “The crowd of about 2,000 hardcore Harry fans, who had won tickets through a nationwide drawing, exploded in screams and applause at the news.”
I would’ve expected a different response from the fans, not that the first one is a bad one. But when you look at all the Harry Potter books, it seems like Dumbledore is depicted as a very masculine character who served as a strong father figure for the students, and now being announced that he's gay adds a feminine side to him.
I also didn’t think that announcing Dumbledore’s sexuality was an important move for Rowling because it shouldn’t have mattered. The book allows children to use their imagination and they should be able to picture the characters in their head without wondering what sexual orientation they are. If anything, she added more controversy toward her books and gave another reason for parents to ban Harry Potter books from their homes.
The article also mentions how Rowling wanted to break prejudices in the book since they exist in society, which I can understand. But the book is about flying wizards and a magical school, where does that part exist in society?
If Rowling wanted to come out with a political statement about how everyone should be free to be who they are, then she should’ve done it through some other way, not through a fictional character who fights dark arts.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Friday, October 19, 2007
So close, but yet so far
When you think great football teams in Florida, usually one big name comes to mind and that's the University of Florida Gators. But yet, another team has made rankings and some media hype over the past couple of months and that's the University of South Florida Bulls. It's too bad that it wasn't the University of Central Florida Knights that got as far (with me going to UCF), but what the Bulls have proven is that a winning streak doesn't last forever.
USF Bulls was beaten by Rutgers 30-27. The St. Petersburgh Times had this on their main page with a picture of disappointed fans over the 3 point upset. The good thing about the coverage of this game is it doesn't all the way focus on how USF Bulls just lost their chance with being part of the Top 10 or the winning the Big East Conference, but it also focuses on the fans who filled almost half of the stadium of the Sun Dome during a watch party.
USF Fans supported their team as if it was a home game with decked-out green and gold t-shirts and hats and went to the South Dome and cheered on the Bulls. Now that's some school spirit. And St. Petersburgh Times captured the whole thing.
"This is the first time they let people come to the Sun Dome, and I think it's cool of the school," told Brian Dillard, a USF sophomore, to St. Petersburgh Times.
It's always interesting to see exactly how crazed fans would show their devotion for their football team, and I think the St. Petersburgh Times did a great job covering it.
In a state where Gators rule the national title, it's nice to see another team get some media coverage and I'm hoping UCF will eventually make it up there. But just like the Bulls, it's still a long road to victory.
Picture by Melissa Lyttle, St. Petersburg Times
USF Bulls was beaten by Rutgers 30-27. The St. Petersburgh Times had this on their main page with a picture of disappointed fans over the 3 point upset. The good thing about the coverage of this game is it doesn't all the way focus on how USF Bulls just lost their chance with being part of the Top 10 or the winning the Big East Conference, but it also focuses on the fans who filled almost half of the stadium of the Sun Dome during a watch party.
USF Fans supported their team as if it was a home game with decked-out green and gold t-shirts and hats and went to the South Dome and cheered on the Bulls. Now that's some school spirit. And St. Petersburgh Times captured the whole thing.
"This is the first time they let people come to the Sun Dome, and I think it's cool of the school," told Brian Dillard, a USF sophomore, to St. Petersburgh Times.
It's always interesting to see exactly how crazed fans would show their devotion for their football team, and I think the St. Petersburgh Times did a great job covering it.
In a state where Gators rule the national title, it's nice to see another team get some media coverage and I'm hoping UCF will eventually make it up there. But just like the Bulls, it's still a long road to victory.
Picture by Melissa Lyttle, St. Petersburg Times
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Racial tension grows
First it was the case with Jenna 6, then it was the noose hung in University of Maryland's campus, now it's the death of Martin Lee Anderson. What these three issues have in common is the racial factor dealing with discrimination against African Americans.
Martin Lee Anderson is a 14-year-old African American who died a day after being punched and kicked by boot camp workers which was caught on video tape, reported by USA Today.
The case was a painful, emotional trial for Anderson's family because they had to watch the video tape of Anderson being punched and kicked in the courtroom. What was even more painful for them was that the boot camp workers who were taken to court for aggravated manslaughter were found not guilty.
The defendants, boot camp workers, defended themselves by saying that Anderson wasn't intentionally beaten up, but rather it was tactics used to discipline juveniles. But after Anderson was punched and kicked, the workers took him outside to the military-style camp and made him inhale ammonia which they said was used to revive him.
Prosecutors, on the other hand, argued that instead the ammonia suffocated Anderson and lead to his death, aside from the punching and kicking he received.
Later on, an autopsy of Anderson revealed that he was suffering from sickle-cell amenia and that was the real cause of his death. But another autopsy revealed that Anderson was suffocated by the ammonia.
If a reader were to read this article and Anderson's race wasn't mentioned, it would just be an article exposing a problem with how juveniles are treated in a boot-camp setting.
"Ninety minutes of deliberation for a child's life, a child who we saw beaten to death on videotape over and over again?" asked Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami to USA Today. "Ninety minutes and not guilty. That's un-American. That is racist, discriminatory, bigotry."
A comment like this introduces race as a factor in this article. It's becoming more frequent in the news that racial crimes are being reported. But what exactly is triggering all these racial hate?
It's the 21st century, about 140 years past since the Civil War, and what should've been settled a century ago is still very much alive today.
"A nation divided against itself cannot stand," said Abraham Lincoln, which is something we are all still dealing with.
Martin Lee Anderson is a 14-year-old African American who died a day after being punched and kicked by boot camp workers which was caught on video tape, reported by USA Today.
The case was a painful, emotional trial for Anderson's family because they had to watch the video tape of Anderson being punched and kicked in the courtroom. What was even more painful for them was that the boot camp workers who were taken to court for aggravated manslaughter were found not guilty.
The defendants, boot camp workers, defended themselves by saying that Anderson wasn't intentionally beaten up, but rather it was tactics used to discipline juveniles. But after Anderson was punched and kicked, the workers took him outside to the military-style camp and made him inhale ammonia which they said was used to revive him.
Prosecutors, on the other hand, argued that instead the ammonia suffocated Anderson and lead to his death, aside from the punching and kicking he received.
Later on, an autopsy of Anderson revealed that he was suffering from sickle-cell amenia and that was the real cause of his death. But another autopsy revealed that Anderson was suffocated by the ammonia.
If a reader were to read this article and Anderson's race wasn't mentioned, it would just be an article exposing a problem with how juveniles are treated in a boot-camp setting.
"Ninety minutes of deliberation for a child's life, a child who we saw beaten to death on videotape over and over again?" asked Sen. Frederica Wilson, D-Miami to USA Today. "Ninety minutes and not guilty. That's un-American. That is racist, discriminatory, bigotry."
A comment like this introduces race as a factor in this article. It's becoming more frequent in the news that racial crimes are being reported. But what exactly is triggering all these racial hate?
It's the 21st century, about 140 years past since the Civil War, and what should've been settled a century ago is still very much alive today.
"A nation divided against itself cannot stand," said Abraham Lincoln, which is something we are all still dealing with.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Say cheese
As cliché as it may sound, a picture is worth a thousand words and may even be worth a thousand votes. Yahoo displays pictures from the Associated Press that correlate with current events and latest news going on nationally and internationally. And viewers can vote on how great these photos are and they can e-mail them to as many people as they please.
I remember looking at picture of a man who could barely fit into a regular size chair at an airport and then when I clicked on the caption, it described how obesity is a growing problem in the U.S. The text and visual go well together. Readers can read and see how big the problem is.
It’s becoming more frequent for news to become more than just text, but also moving into a visual aspect.
USA Today has a photo gallery which is organized in different news categories like breaking news, sports, celebrities and even space. The category, the day in pictures, are some of the most moving pictures I have ever seen as it depicts issues from the war in Iraq to protests going on in the nation’s streets.
The Florida Times-Union has community photos submitted by Jacksonville residents, as well, as pictures taken by reporters. This gallery displays local events and daily activities.
Some newspapers do not make their photo galleries as visible as USA Today and The Florida Times-Union's in their homepage. It’s a shame because sometimes pictures are able to convey descriptions that words can’t emphasize. They can fill in the missing holes that words leave behind.
An article may be limited in how much words are written, but pictures can take up a lot more meaning.
I remember looking at picture of a man who could barely fit into a regular size chair at an airport and then when I clicked on the caption, it described how obesity is a growing problem in the U.S. The text and visual go well together. Readers can read and see how big the problem is.
It’s becoming more frequent for news to become more than just text, but also moving into a visual aspect.
USA Today has a photo gallery which is organized in different news categories like breaking news, sports, celebrities and even space. The category, the day in pictures, are some of the most moving pictures I have ever seen as it depicts issues from the war in Iraq to protests going on in the nation’s streets.
The Florida Times-Union has community photos submitted by Jacksonville residents, as well, as pictures taken by reporters. This gallery displays local events and daily activities.
Some newspapers do not make their photo galleries as visible as USA Today and The Florida Times-Union's in their homepage. It’s a shame because sometimes pictures are able to convey descriptions that words can’t emphasize. They can fill in the missing holes that words leave behind.
An article may be limited in how much words are written, but pictures can take up a lot more meaning.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
The cost of freedom
Our advanced reporting class contributes to the U-News page of the Orlando Sentinel. This week it featured Lisa Velardi's story on student soldiers returning from Iraq and are now taking classes at UCF. Usually, two of the best stories go into the U-News page, but this time the story on student soldiers was the only one to go in and I can understand why.
The article titled, Student-soldiers have to adjust to life without war, focused on two students, Jason Hatcher and Andrew Zeeb. The lead starts off by making a comparison between the normal lives of UCF students and what Hatcher and Zeeb had to do in a day to day basis. Hatcher spends the day loading Humvees to a cargo plane and Zeeb repairs M16 rifles, while UCF students would usually worry about their class loads and GPAs.
When Velardi makes this lead, it automatically attracts readers to stop and think about their busy life and come to a realization that there are others who do have it worse. As the story unfolds, it puts the readers inside Hatcher and Zeeb's heads. The story includes details of Hatcher spending time in the 130 degree desert of Kuwaiti and missing the rain. Then it leads to a quote from Hatcher that says, "I just walked around in the rain. I was excited to talk to regular people again." I liked this quote because it makes the reader feel a connection to the person.
The story also mentions about how Hatcher and Zeeb have witnessed carside bombings and fellow soldiers' casualties in Iraq, but that has not made them suffer from post-traumatic stress which they are fortunate about.
It's hard to realize sometimes that people going off to fight the war in the Middle East to protect our freedom are people my age and that at one point in their lives, they were laughing at their favorite movie, playing a sport or splashing waves at the beach, just like normal people would do. But they made a choice to go into battle and give up those things so we could enjoy them. And as students, the one thing we aren't really taught in school, is to just stop once in a while and think about what our other fellow students are doing with their lives because as we do worry about our GPA's and classes, there are others who are worrying about just surviving today. And this is just the story to remind us that.
The article titled, Student-soldiers have to adjust to life without war, focused on two students, Jason Hatcher and Andrew Zeeb. The lead starts off by making a comparison between the normal lives of UCF students and what Hatcher and Zeeb had to do in a day to day basis. Hatcher spends the day loading Humvees to a cargo plane and Zeeb repairs M16 rifles, while UCF students would usually worry about their class loads and GPAs.
When Velardi makes this lead, it automatically attracts readers to stop and think about their busy life and come to a realization that there are others who do have it worse. As the story unfolds, it puts the readers inside Hatcher and Zeeb's heads. The story includes details of Hatcher spending time in the 130 degree desert of Kuwaiti and missing the rain. Then it leads to a quote from Hatcher that says, "I just walked around in the rain. I was excited to talk to regular people again." I liked this quote because it makes the reader feel a connection to the person.
The story also mentions about how Hatcher and Zeeb have witnessed carside bombings and fellow soldiers' casualties in Iraq, but that has not made them suffer from post-traumatic stress which they are fortunate about.
It's hard to realize sometimes that people going off to fight the war in the Middle East to protect our freedom are people my age and that at one point in their lives, they were laughing at their favorite movie, playing a sport or splashing waves at the beach, just like normal people would do. But they made a choice to go into battle and give up those things so we could enjoy them. And as students, the one thing we aren't really taught in school, is to just stop once in a while and think about what our other fellow students are doing with their lives because as we do worry about our GPA's and classes, there are others who are worrying about just surviving today. And this is just the story to remind us that.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Yahoo to compete with Google
I’ve always heard the term, “Google it!” when someone needs to find out information on something, but I’ve never heard the saying, “Yahoo it!”
Yahoo has upgraded its online search engine in order to compete with Google’s popularity, according to to USA Today. The new search engine is intended to improve Yahoo’s reputation and provide more sources such as links, pictures, videos, etc.
The article states:
In August, Yahoo had a 23% share of the U.S. search market compared with 56.5% for Google, according to the most recent data from comScore Media Metrix. At the beginning of 2005, Yahoo's market share stood at 32%, just slightly behind Google at 35%, based on different measurement techniques used at that time by Media Metrix.
Yahoo isn’t really trying to re-invent itself, according to the article, but rather it’s playing catch-up to other popular search engines like Google and Ask.com and Yahoo’s new search engine is said to be similar to the two.
I rarely use Yahoo anymore because I’m so attached to Google, but I do have an e-mail account with both. When I was in high school, the most popular e-mail accounts were either Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL.com. Now, I’m seeing less of those, and more gmail accounts. I often heard people complaining about how their yahoo accounts do not filter spam very well. Which makes me curious to ask, why doesn’t Yahoo upgrade their e-mail service?
So I dug in little more and I found this article, also by USA Today, about Yahoo’s $350 million purchase with Zimbra Inc. Zimbra is an e-mail service that serves large corporations like Comcast Corp. and H&R Block, Inc.
According to the article:
Yahoo's free e-mail service recently has been losing traffic, according to the research firm comScore Media Metrix. In August, Microsoft's Live Hotmail service attracted 255.3 million visitors worldwide to eclipse Yahoo's e-mail traffic of 254.9 million, which represented a 1% decrease from the same time last year, Media Metrix said.
Google's Gmail ranked a distant third at 82.9 million worldwide visitors, up 64% from last year. Google opened its e-mail service to all comers seven months ago.
"Zimbra's tremendous talent and innovative technology will help to extend our core mail offerings, further strengthening our strong leadership position in this space," said CEO of Yahoo Jerry Yang to USA Today.
I still prefer Google to Yahoo anyday, but one has to wonder, with all these technological advances, will it be enough for Yahoo to catch up to Google? And will the phrase, “Yahoo it!” become a reality?
Yahoo has upgraded its online search engine in order to compete with Google’s popularity, according to to USA Today. The new search engine is intended to improve Yahoo’s reputation and provide more sources such as links, pictures, videos, etc.
The article states:
In August, Yahoo had a 23% share of the U.S. search market compared with 56.5% for Google, according to the most recent data from comScore Media Metrix. At the beginning of 2005, Yahoo's market share stood at 32%, just slightly behind Google at 35%, based on different measurement techniques used at that time by Media Metrix.
Yahoo isn’t really trying to re-invent itself, according to the article, but rather it’s playing catch-up to other popular search engines like Google and Ask.com and Yahoo’s new search engine is said to be similar to the two.
I rarely use Yahoo anymore because I’m so attached to Google, but I do have an e-mail account with both. When I was in high school, the most popular e-mail accounts were either Yahoo, Hotmail or AOL.com. Now, I’m seeing less of those, and more gmail accounts. I often heard people complaining about how their yahoo accounts do not filter spam very well. Which makes me curious to ask, why doesn’t Yahoo upgrade their e-mail service?
So I dug in little more and I found this article, also by USA Today, about Yahoo’s $350 million purchase with Zimbra Inc. Zimbra is an e-mail service that serves large corporations like Comcast Corp. and H&R Block, Inc.
According to the article:
Yahoo's free e-mail service recently has been losing traffic, according to the research firm comScore Media Metrix. In August, Microsoft's Live Hotmail service attracted 255.3 million visitors worldwide to eclipse Yahoo's e-mail traffic of 254.9 million, which represented a 1% decrease from the same time last year, Media Metrix said.
Google's Gmail ranked a distant third at 82.9 million worldwide visitors, up 64% from last year. Google opened its e-mail service to all comers seven months ago.
"Zimbra's tremendous talent and innovative technology will help to extend our core mail offerings, further strengthening our strong leadership position in this space," said CEO of Yahoo Jerry Yang to USA Today.
I still prefer Google to Yahoo anyday, but one has to wonder, with all these technological advances, will it be enough for Yahoo to catch up to Google? And will the phrase, “Yahoo it!” become a reality?
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