Teen E-dition @ FPL

by Lauren Y.

Everyone knows about the iPad, right? The iPad is a tablet PC, and supposedly the “next big leap for the iconic Californian company.” Apple unveiled their new product on the 28th to its usual extravagant media fanfare. But majority of the reviews and consumer feedbacks homed on what the iPad didn’t do, as opposed to what it did. In fact, it was quickly coined, the “giant iPhone.” As lists of the pitfalls of the iPad spread over the internet, Apple shares fell 3.5 percent, after gaining 1 percent just prior to the launch. I found an article with a list of what the iPad’s detractors centered on:

The display – the iPad’s backlit LCD screen is too bright for extended e-book reading.
Battery life – At 10 hours, it’s ahead of any netbook, but still a good 20 or 30 hours behind any e-book on the market.
Security – If your iPad gets stolen, there’s apparently no way to remotely lock it.
Apps lock-out – The iPad only runs apps from Apple’s App Store. Which is a lot of apps, admittedly, but not everyone’s happy about Apple’s inconsistency when it come to what apps it allows for sale.
Camera – There isn’t one.
USB input – There isn’t any. At least, not without an adapter.
No Flash – Without Flash, forget about displaying around the majority of internet content the way you could on a netbook or laptop.
Multitasking - Is impossible on the iPad, which means you can only use one application at a time, reducing its functionality as a work computer to little more than a large iPhone.
No HDMI – So you won’t be sitting back to watch any movies you download from iTunes on your TV.
Well, it is the first look at what is, essentially, a first generation machine, even though tablet computers have been around for a decade, so users can expect at least several of the iPad’s shortcomings to be rectified in one way or another over the next 12 months.

(maybe I’m just super old school but I still don’t like e-readers…to me, nothing will replace the joy of reading a good old fashioned paper book.)

Eamonn Daniel Higgins must have really loved school. Or liked it enough to make hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to college for eight more years.

He posed as foreign students that came to America with a student visa (F-1) and would go to the classes, take the tests, and do all the homework for them. In return, these immigrants would pay him more than $1,000 per test. And who said all college students are broke?

He was finally caught and stood before the Santa Ana Federal Courthouse on Monday morning. Personally, I think this job rocks! I love school! It would be awesome to take a bunch of classes and make bank while doing it! But no matter how much I’d try, I wouldn’t be able to find any Asians that would want me to pretend to be them. Haha, They would come with a student visa and actually use it. There goes that business idea…

by Lauren Y.

This weekend, I re watched the movie Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time, and I cry every time I watch it. I know it’s a pretty old movie; it was released on May 5, 2000, which is, in my defense, only about 9 years old.

The movie begins with Roman general named Maximus Decimus Meridius leading the Roman army to victory against the Germanic barbarians. As the prolonged war ends, , Commodus,the Emperor, Marcus Aurelius’s son tries to curry favor with his father, who is dying and about to appoint an heir to the throne. But Marcus Aurelius, (who’s played by the guy who played the original Dumbledore) favors the morally upstanding Maximus. When Commudus realizes that his father intends to give the throne to Maximus, he kills the Emperor and orders the death of Maximus and his wife and son. Maximus escapes, but ends up as a Gladiator. He goes through a series of battles for survivor and is named the Spaniard by the people who love him for his victories. In the end, Commodus challenges Maximus to a duel to be fought in front of a full audience in the Colosseum. Acknowledging that Maximus’ lethal skills far exceeds his own, Commodus stabs Maximus with a stiletto, puncturing his lung, and has the wound concealed. Maximus does win, but also dies in the end, with the honor of a general.

The movie was a box office success, receiving generally good reviews, and was credited with briefly reviving the historical epic. The film was nominated for and won multiple awards; it won five Academy Awards in the 73rd Academy Awards including Best Picture.

(Pretty old?!  OMG, I was already graduated from high school when this came out!  Hahahaha! *Feels so old…*  I had a coworker who named his son Max after this movie.  –shirley)

by Lauren Y.

All drivers, especially teens, are aware of the laws that forbid motorists from using hand held cellphones or texting while driving. But according to a new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute, there doesn’t seem to be a significant decrease of car accidents resulting from cellphone usage.

The study, expected to be released at a conference in Washington, D.C., Friday, comes amid increased efforts by federal highway-safety regulators to ban texting while driving and reduce other forms of distraction that may divert the attention of drivers.

The Transportation Department criticized the HLDI findings, saying “It is irresponsible to suggest that laws banning cell phone use while driving have zero effect on the number of crashes on our nation’s roadways. A University of Utah study shows that using a cell phone while driving can be just as dangerous and deadly as driving drunk. We know that by enacting and enforcing tough laws, states have reduced the number of crashes leading to injuries and fatalities,” in a statement Friday.

Auto makers and mobile-phone makers have expressed support for efforts to curb text messaging by drivers, however, auto makers are concerned that federal regulators could ban more than the use of hand-held messaging devices, and ban the use of other communications or display technology that could be distracting to drivers—such as on board Internet connections, three-dimensional display screens or voice-activated communications and navigation systems, which are some technologies that could be an option for future cars and other vehicles.

by Johnny L.

Marei Von Saher, a Connecticut woman who sought for ownership of two famous paintings currently in exhibit at the Norton Simon museum, was refused appeal by the U.S. 9th Circuit court of Appeals. Before during World War II, Marei’s father had died while fleeing the Nazis.Therefore his business sold the works, which were close to 500-years-old, to the Nazis. After the war, his descendants allowed for the Dutch government to keep the paintings. However, now the only way for Marei to retrieve those paintings is to appeal to the U.S. Supreme court.

(Repatriating art and other cultural artifacts has been a complicated issue for museums.  In the last twenty years or so, a lot of Native American tribes have been asking for their cultural artifacts back b/c some things like burial artifacts were never intended for people to see, so museums have been returning them to the various tribes and the tribes will then rebury then.  Which is good b/c we need to respect various cultures, but bad b/c it is also harder to learn from an artifact when it’s buried in secret locations.  Wow, our books on museum science are ancient…I should look for mine and see if they are better and donate those.  –shirley)

 Possibly one of the cutest movies I have ever seen. Although very predictable, still remains entertaining and hilarious. A movie that no girl would not love. If you looked up Chick Flick, in the dictionary, I would not be surprised to see this picture right next to the definition. This movie is every girl’s fantasy.

Picture this. You’ve given love a try. More than once. Multiple times. But you just get hurt every single time. In anger and frustration, you are hauled away to your little baby sister’s wedding, which you know is going to end horribly. In Rome, you decide to do some hauling of your own: steal five men’s hearts. You know this is just going to lead to trouble.

While this movie has been rated lowly on many sites, including IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes (a whopping 17%?!), I still think its incredibly cute. Yeah, maybe the acting isn’t perfect but Kristien Bell is a great actress and Josh Duhamel is a hunk. This movie will have alot of teenage girls jumping into fountains of love and getting $100 worth of coins. Trust me. I’ll be one of them. Enjoy (:

by Hannah C.

When the Georgian luger, 21 year old Nodar Kumaritashvili, passed away during a practice run, the world was shocked. His country considered pulling out of the Olympics, but ended up participating. The other Georgian luger was the only one who pulled out of the event to mourn for his teammate. After this fatal accident, adjustments were made to the track. When he called his father, he even said that he was scared of the track and especially of one of the turns. The average speed is 80 mph, but the Vancouver track’s average speed is 90 mph. The length of the men’s and women’s track were shortened and changes were made to prevent anymore accidents.

(There are a lot of dangerous sports… It’s sad that we lost an athlete this year though.  That’s why I play video games, the only thing I have to worry about it Mountain Dew overload and carpel tunnel syndrome.  Books on luge and bobsledding.  –shirley)

by Johnny L.

The article “A Cultural Agony in a Nation where Art is Life,” reports on the major destruction inflicted on Haiti ’s art life after the devastating 7.0 earthquake. It is estimated that “dozens of galleries, museums and other venues” were damaged by the quake. Many of these centers house artworks in water color and real life attributes such as lions, tigers and bears. In fact, these works consist of the ancient “voodoo traditions” and customs of “African roots.” One very important museum that lay in ruins is the Centre d’ Art. The quake almost entirely eliminated the buildings facade and severely damaged its walls. All in all, Haiti ’s art life, which makes up most of Haiti ’s cultural makeup, had been greatly reduced by the disaster.

(I read that in addition to material cultural artifacts that a lot of poets, writers, and artists were injured or killed in the earthquake.  We don’t yet have books on the earthquake in Haiti, it’s too early but there are articles through our online EbscoHost database where you can search tons of journals and other periodicals for more current information.  Go to http://fullertonlibrary.org/databases/ and then scroll down and then click on Masterfile Premier. –shirley)

by Hannah C.

On Saturday, the men’s short track was held. Among the favorites was Apolo Ohno and J.R. Celski, representing America. Both athletes made it to the finals, along with 3 South Korean athletes and one Canadian. The event was pretty intense, especially in my house. My parents wanted South Korea to win, but my brother and I were rooting for America. Near the end, it looked like the Korean athletes were going to take all three medals, but one of the Koreans just had to try to get gold. He tripped one of his teammates and both of them slipped and fell to the side of the rink, making Ohno second and Celski third. It’s understandable why the Korean did it, but it was rash because it cost him and his teammate a medal. I was glad that Celski was able to get a medal because of his horrible accident in September when he slipped and his own skate cut his leg.

(I’m curious, if they only ever race facing one direction, does like one leg get much stronger than the other leg?  Books on the Olympic Games!  –shirley)

TOKYOPOP’s 2010 Digital Media Production
and Marketing Summer Internship

Complete and promote a real-world, digital production project as part of the TOKYOPOP Tour, a 3-month national tour for the world’s most innovative entertainment company!

From May 28 through September 6, 2010, TOKYOPOP will tour America, going to anime and manga conventions, bookstores, libraries, parking lots–anywhere our passion leads us!–to promote TOKYOPOP, our stories, and our characters.

But this isn’t any old tour. This is a multimedia experience…which is where you come in!

We’re looking for a few good manga and anime fans to join us on the road and create a viral grassroots experience the likes of which have never been seen before.

For more info and to apply go here!