The celebrity of the athlete has grown enormously since I was a young boy.Today the athlete is everywhere promoting everything from auto insurance to the local zoo. When I was growing up, one of the first commercials was Joe Namath wearing a pair of Leggs Panty Hose. At that time it was a controversial ad. Nowadays it would get lost in the mix. We have products that we never thought would be advertised on television, like erectile disfunction medication, and yes, there are celebrity athletic endorsers for that. Before there was only television to get your face or the product you endorse out there. Now Facebook, Twitter, instant messaging, and digital media in general has been able to put a message and face out there almost instantly. This is an advantage for the athlete endorser and can add millions of dollars to their bank account. But as we all are aware of, the ability for you to be seen in a negative light has instantaneous ramifications also. If you mistreat a waiter or car valet, you can be taped by a cell phone and your image can crash and burn as fast as you rose to popularity. The ability to get your image and a product you have been paid to use or endorse shows future generations of athletic spokesmen or women that you can broaden your image and audience. It's beneficial in other ways because the product or service you are endorsing can make you seem like an average guy, not an untouchable or out of touch celebrity. I do not think that the celebrity aspect of their lives interfere with the game. Some celebrities have become much more famous in their advertising career after their stint as a professional athlete. For instance, Magic Johnson is a Hall of Fame basketball player but alot of people recognized him as the face of h.i.v/aids campaign after he made public his positive diagnosis to the disease. I,  under very few circumstances, do not use or view athletes as role models for my son. He can look up to them for the way to pattern his intensity and work ethic to prepare or approach their specific sport, but not as a role model. Role models in my eyes are reserved for teachers or someone in the community that has a positive image and contributes to real life on a day to day basis.

The internet has done a great deal for artists in the entertainment field today. When you can get your image, song, new dance or whatever it is that you do to an unlimited audience, instantly, I see no bad side to it. Not only is the internet a positive, but social networking as well, the financial gain can be immeasurable. You as an artsist have the ability to determine who, what, where, and how your product is introduced to the masses, is control like never before. For instance, people in China can see a perfomance by someone performing at a local county fair immediately as it is happening, and can be shown to anyone interested with the click of a button. Sure some artists take  hit by the music sharing web sites, but if you take the time and have the right people and plan in place it can be very lucrative for you as a performer. As a performer you have the ability to put your music out there either one song at a time or release the whole album all at once. The power has shifted from the record label to the artist in an ultimate paradigm shift. To me, the financial gain by the atrist i at an all time high. The record company are the ones scrambling around to try and find ways to regin some of the power. The artist is now in control like they only dreamed of before in the past. Some people like Kid Rock literally sold cd's from the trunk of his car before and after concerts and make a killing doing so. He reportedly sold 2 million albums before the label he is currently with signed him to a deal. In essance, he was self made before any music executive ever even heard his name or knew who he was. Justin Beiber is another one, who along with You Tube, made him an overnight sensation. Granted, he put in the work to get where he is but the accessability he had and the audience he was able to reach made the record label take not and kind of forced their hand. Today I think that the positives tht are out there with the internet and various social networking has given the atrist the control to stipulate to the companies their side of things and they have to honor and respect their individual demands because it is kind of like jump on board before the train leaves the station. The labels want to make what they can off the atrist and if they miss the train, the potential of losing out on millions of dollars leaves with it..  http://www.mtv.com/  http://www.vh1.com/

    The good old days of the news being brought to you in a kind and courteous way are over.Way over. Now we have anchors with their own axe to grind. And boy do they grind it!!When Walter Kronkite, we just felt like he cared about the country, about what was going on with our country, and he provided the news in an exact way. Nowadays, we get interviews with people and 3 solid minutes of Bill O'reilly and whoever his guest is yelling at one another.. I was left after the program wondering what the hell was that? Was it even  real? How could anything have been settled, discussed or arbitrated while they both just yelled at one another ..I seriously don't even think that the other heard what was said.. They have guests that either prsent the point that they favor and when an opponent comes out, you better get ready.. It is like , on your mark, get set, go!!One is trying to out yell the other and call each other a liar and your mamma smells and your mamma smells and wears boots?WHAT THE HELL?!?!? I have seen better results in divorce court. Once in a while you can get a decent interview, but only when someone has taken their medicene. Alittle Prozac and we're all good to go. When these interviews are scheduled, they should each be allowed to talk uninterupted for as long as it takes to get their answer out. Every broadcast decends into anarchy and we as an audience are left wondering if it was even real.. Sometimes I would rather watch a one legged ass kicking contest..lol 

Reality Television, My A@#

In my most humble opinion, people who think up these reality television shows as well as the contestants themselves are in a word, pathetic. People who eat dead animal parts or get on a show to be the biggest bitch or act outrageous to gain popularity, clearly are untalented and will stoop to the most impossible lows to gain fame and fortune. Is it really worth it? What does your family think? What about your kids? Would you support them if they wanted to be a contestant on one of these programs? Let us give the props to the correct shows, shall we? I believe that The Real World on Mtv and Fear Factor were the fore fathers of the reality television generation.I hardly think the creators of these shows ever envisioned the plethera of of similar programming it would spawn.
       After the release of information that Dancing With The Stars sent out memos to the competitors about who would be let go and who will be coming back confirmed my suspicions that they are as fake as the day is long. Furthermore, why in the hell do I care who got voted off or what the contesetants had to eat this week to win the money? One main draw to these shows are the inevitable trainwrecks that probably will and did occur. Take the Osbournes for instance. Most people watched to see how smashed Ozzy was as heself medicated and his kids try and one up each other in more and more outrageous fashions. Sadly, the people that watch these programs feel connected in some way to these nut cases. What does that say about us as a society? Some of these shows deliberately place people with serious character flaws/issues in a confined space with otheers that have the same problems. What do they expect to happen, really? That trainwreck I was talking about earlier. Here's the best part... These incompetent nit wits walk away with millions of dollars, fame to go with it and the knowledge that some suckers like us will sit in on a Saturday night and watch it!! Realizing makes me question who is really more pathetic? Us watching or the people on the show itself?  Any thoughts?

Like the dinsaur the newspaper is on its way to extinction

   Today I would like to discuss the significance of  newspaper.  There is none. Easy enough right? I wish it were. The big newspapers of the past are slowly but surely going into irrelavence. In todays society we are able to gain our news faster, more conviently and without killing trees and staining our fingers black from that god forsaken ink. Let's be honest. By the time the paper is printed, shipped and eventually purchased, is it even news anymore? Most of the time by the time it hits the newsstands the story has either changed, evolved ,or expanded since the original report was published. The physical dimensions of the paper has changed also. However I do still like to see the little local papers like the Dundalk Eagle. The stories written in this paper are basically about Dundalk and For Dundalk. It is geared toward its audience that reads it. The people of Dundalk. It's only $.50 and contains interesting tid-bits and ads for Dundalk specifically.I think the quality of the writting can hold its own with other papers, in fact I like it because I consider it an easy read.I can go online and read big news stories in the Washington Post, New York Times and the USA Today from the comfort of my home, but I love Capt. Harveys cheesesteaks. So as I slide on down to get my grub on, I grab a cop of the Eagle and enjoy both together.. Isn't it a wonderful world we live in? The Dundalk Eagle will survive because the people of Dundalk care about the happenings of their hometown and want to see the positive and perhaps the negative side also. Besides the articles, they have ads for prominent businesses in Dundalk as well as reviews for their local sports teams as well. I think the Eagle will be around for a while..

I don't know about you but I am fed up with the images and sensationalized headlines on the magazines at the check out counter in local grocery or convience store.. Why should I care about the latest arrest of an overpaid and under talented plastic surgery enhanced loser? These magazines are meant to grab our attention with the racey photos and outrageous behavior, one more unbelievable the the next. What do these magazines really focus on? Gossip not reality.. At least not my reality..The fact is, my reality focuses on how I can support my kids and protect them from the pitfalls in real life instead of why Lyndsey Lohan was arrested for the thirteenth time and some how gets rewarded with  anew movie with a multi-million dollar paycheck!! I guess that is great work if you can get it.. Where do I sign up?? The fact is I would sacrifice a night in jail, have it be front page news, and then get a picture on the front page of all these garbage fillers so I can make that kind of coin.. This has an absolutely negative effect on anyone who actually believes this is relavent information.. Unfortunately, that usually are the kids who used to see these people on Nickelodeon or the Disney channel.. Why aren't there magazines out there showing the generous side of some people or the great philanthropists who give there time to local shelters for kids, or with their time and money actually done some good.. Because kindness and honesty DO NOT SELL!! The majority of people want to see the latest crash and burn or fall from grace any movie star, t.v. actor, athlete or musician just faced..Look at the stats, the National Enquirer has more readers than the Wall Street Journal..Amazing isn't it!! Sorry rag mags, I have better things to spend my 5 dollars on, like milk or bread or anything that has relavence to me and my kids in a positive light..The problem is when you spend your hard earned money, yes it helps the economy but it also encourages these nit wits to print another useless copy.. Great.. Just what we as a society needed.. Another update on some famous all be it pathetic celebrities drug fueled binge and glamourized arrest..Thanks Hollywood!