No Need for 3D

Lately, I've been asking some pretty simple questions. Why has an entire generation turned against our President? Why can't Germantown Avenue developers put something useful on the Ave? And, why exactly is Facebook taking over the world? Now I'm moving towards a more serious question: why in the world are 3D TVs becoming popular?

By the end of this year, TV makers expect 3.4 million 3D TVs to be shipped. This is the worst consumer mistake since the time we chose to spend our Thursday nights watching Jersey Shore. As I prepared to write this article I didn't know much about 3D TV's. But, I figured all needed to know is that they are overpriced and useless -- kind of like the cast of Jersey Shore.

31 Minutes to Takeoff: Plenty of Turbulence

After two good mixtapes and a hit single (Cooler Than Me), Mike Posner released his new album yesterday, "31 Minutes to Takeoff." With an early release of Please Don't Go, Posner's new album was on the top of my list, yet, when I got my hands on it last night, it proved to be a bumpy flight.

Posner's first mixtape, "A Matter of Time," promised  future success with studio albums, however, his first album didn't get close to reaching the level of his mixtapes.

To start, Posner's voice proves whiny and raspy, which didn't suprise me considering this was the case from the beginning. Yet, in his earlier music the heavily nasal sound worked because he was much more reliant upon rapping. Here, however, the sound got plain boring. Also, the love songs were absolutely tiresome. Posner may not necessarily want to or need to appeal to rap enthusiasts, but with all the crying love songs on his album, he definitely gravitates towards R&B/pop. Here's each song (emboldened titles are the songs worth listening to):

Hooked on Facebook: A New Era of Addiction

In the past, addiction was simple. There were alcoholics, drug addicts and gambling addicts. In these days of rapid innovation, however, it seems that people can be addicted to nearly anything: food, shopping, and even plastic surgery. The worst addiction yet (yes, even worse than plastic surgery) is the Facebook addiction. The odd thing is that although countless members of my generation may be on their way to “Facebooks Anonymous,” most of us don’t even enjoy signing onto Facebook to begin with.

Last week I spent four days at Princeton University’s water polo camp – a camp filled with kids from 15 to 18 from all over the country. I noticed well over half of the kids checking their Facebooks regularly on phones, iPods, and even laptops during the four days.

One kid got out of the pool, dried off, and checked his Facebook from his iPhone. Even when I was recording a video by the pool, my friend said, “this has to go on Facebook.” Nearly every teen would say that’s not the first time they’ve heard that statement, as Facebook has become a centerpiece for my generation. It’s such a vital part of our lives, and we can’t seem to live without it. Yet, many of my peers can’t believe how much time they waste on Facebook doing things that are, quite frankly, pointless.

10 Songs Adam's Listening to This Week

1. Fresh Like Us by Chiddy Bang -- Off their first mixtape, "Air Swell," Xaphoon Jones (the duo's beat maker) uses a sample from French artist Yelle. The beat, coupled with one of Chiddy's better raps makes for a song worth listening to

2. Please Don't Go by Mike Posner -- Mike Posner released this song off his new album, which is set to release next week. If this song is a sign of how his album is going to be, I'm very excited

3. Trippin' by B.o.B -- Off the mixtape that put him on the map, "B.o.B. vs. Bobby Ray," B.o.B slows it down with Trippin'

Teen Support for Obama Takes a Hit

About two years ago my sister's iPod was blasting "It's a New Day" by rapper will.i.am, she was wearing a t-shirt that screamed "Hope," and her backpack was sprinkled with several red and blue pins. If you haven't recognized her yet, she was a generic teenager in 2008: an avid Barack Obama supporter.

Today, her iPod probably no longer has that will.i.am song, that "Hope" t-shirt is probably somewhere in my room, and those pins are most likely shoved somewhere in the cluttered basement. Where these three objects ended up today symbolize the shift in not only total support for now-President Obama, but also more specifically, teen support.

CNN Tumbles in Ratings

Does anyone really want to read this?" This question is printed on a poster that hangs on the wall of my school newspaper's office--the answer to this question should be "yes" before we print an edition of our newspaper. This is the same question that popped up in my head after reading a TIME magazine article about CNN's recent free-fall in ratings. After reading the article, I gathered CNN was the victim here: It puts out the most honest news and in return gets the lowest number of viewers. Yet, I shouldn't feel bad for CNN. The question it never answered is: "does anyone really want to watch this?"

In journalism, whether it's an article in The Local or a large news network like FOX News, this question needs to be answered to some extent. I understand that CNN is trying to be middle-of-the-road and honest, but it left behind one thing: a viable audience. I'll admit it's a sad thing that we as Americans cannot sit through an hour newscast without changing the channel to a more opinionated, less fact-based program to get our news. At the same time, I'm one of the many who abandoned CNN.